by: Rita Rail

I have seen hair in my two Poms feces. Not as much as in my Persian cats. I found the difference between the dogs and the cats is that the cats will bring up hairballs constantly if not given their hairball medicine. In my experience with my dogs, they coughed. I have also had Shitzus who coughed quite often and I had no hesitation in giving them hairball paste. Two treatments was all they ever needed at one time. I have not had to medicate my small dogs as yet as the coughing usually clears up in a day or two but I will not hesitate to do so if it lasts till the third day. If you watch your dog you will notice that he could be chewing on his feet in which case he will swallow hair. He will also swallow hair if his hair is long and hangs in his food bowl or if it gets wet while drinking or if food sticks to his hair beneath his chin. Another area of contention is off of his toys, whether plastic or soft, also off of your floor no matter how much we clean. I have not found any medication for dogs for hairballs, only listed for cats but I feel that the dosage is so small that it really made no difference, this is my tried and true solution and yours to try if you wish. This is sold in pet shops but I prefer to purchase mine from my vet. RR

by: Keith Hovey

We had this same issue with our 13 year old pom, and subsequently saw several vets. Unfortunately you can expect this issue to get worse over the next few years. The hacking “hairball” type cough is caused by a narrow airway caused by a collapsing treahcea..not sure if I’m spelling that correctly but should be close enough for you to look up on the web. The good news is that it can be treated with oral steriod medication that is administered when the hacking begins. We’re not at this stage yet, but they can also do reconstructive tracheal surgery that can be done if this issue progresses to the point this begins to impact thier ability to breathe. While it’s not an incredibly pressing issue, you’ll definitely want to visit your vet soon so you can be prepared with medicine to help ease thier discomfort during the flare ups.