My Cocker is 14 years old and quite frequently starts coughing and then gags one time with nothing coming up. He licks on his paws a lot lately, and it sounds like a hairball. Could that be possible, or should I take him to the vet for this?

Anytime a dog coughs is not a good sign. And licking of the paws is not good either. Please take him and see what the vet says. Any dog that old needs to be looked after very closely.

Due to age, I would definitely take your dog into the vet...

Coughing can be many things.. from congestive heart failure to kennel cough.

I wouldn't play around much with a 14 year old dog..

Thanks, He will go to the vet tomorrow.

Please come back and let us know what it is. My Jack Russell is now 10 and in good health but I like to know what's going on with other senior citizen doggies just in case.

Please let us know. Coughing and retching is often signs of a heart murmur.