My 11 yr old dog has developed a cough he sounds like an old man and at the end it sounds like he is coughing up something. I thought it was him coughing up fur but my husband is worried that it is his heart. He is overweight which is something we are constantly battling with

It could be Congested Heart Failure. You need to take him in. Older dogs need their bumps and bruises looked at closely by a vet... Coughing that all of a sudden pops up with no other symptoms is not a good sign.

Even if your dog has gotten the doggy cold, being an older dog.. this disease could take his life

Off to the vet you go!

Old man is very common in older dogs. Mine has it too. As long as they are not actually coughing something up then you just have to let it take it's course. Good news is, it's common

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Originally Posted by CFCFC

Old man is very common in older dogs. Mine has it too. As long as they are not actually coughing something up then you just have to let it take it's course. Good news is, it's common

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I'm not sure what Old man is but a cough should not be ignored in an older dog or in any dog for that matter.
The older the dog the greater the likelihood that there is heart disease.
Even in younger dogs things like collapsing trachea, growths that are obstructing the airway, or respiratory problems are likely.
If the cough is due to something like kennel cough they still need to be treated with meds to minimize the discomfort so that the dogs doesn't stop doing things like eating and drinking because they have a very irritated throat.
In short if your dog coughs even if only occasionally (whether anything comes up or not) he should see a vet to rule out the more serious reasons for coughing.