Leash the younger dog and let them drag the leash. Correct immediately with the leash. Be consistent. If you aren’t already crating the dogs when you aren’t supervising, I’d start doing this to give the older dog a break.

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And to further impress the need for speed on this one – many dogs who start coughing as the first outward sign of DCM are already in congestive heart failure. You NEED to get this dog to the cardiologist TODAY.

This might mean an ER visit.

I am speaking from experience, here.

You can get him a vet visit. Possibly one with a cardiologist in addition to one with your regular vet. This breed is very prone to heart failure, and coughing is often the first outward symptom.

DON’T have the vet drain it. It should reduce on its own. You can try making a leg covering for her, or encourage her to lay on soft surfaces like beds, mats, etc. If you crate her, have something soft in the crate.

(We went through this with our Doberman. It did reduce on its own, though it took awhile and we had to back out of two shows while it resolved.)

Yellow vomit is bile, and is something we see in Dobermans when they have an empty stomach for too long. When was his last meal? What happens if you give something small, like a little plain yogurt?

I think it’s fair, especially if you’ve never dealt with this before. We were definitely more willing to call the vet over every little thing until we began to understand how our dog handles things. Better to be overly cautious than let something go for far too long, you know?

I forgot to add one thing: once he’s keeping food down, plain yogurt is something I’d keep in your repertoire of things to help gut health. Bonus, most dogs absolutely love it.

I wouldn’t force feed without vet guidance. I would, however, call your regular vet and have a serious conversation about what you can do for her, and what sort of prognosis your vet can give you.

I will say she needs to start eating, so I would get her in to your vet today if at all possible.

I’m so sorry this is happening. It’s scary when it’s so sudden. My heart goes out to you as my stinky kidney cat burps in my face. Let us know what happens?

Depending on how long this has gone on, I would fast him for 24 hours, then slowly introduce bland food in the form of chicken or ground beef cooked well with no other seasonings and mixed with plain white rice, with a higher rice to meat ratio at first. Give SMALL amounts to see how he does. Give plenty of water. If the vomit and diarrhea persist, call the vet. If the vomit and diarrhea have persisted more than 48 hours already, call the vet.

I would go with a female, yes.