Hacking cough, panting, difficulty breathing maybe?

Hi all, My Chihuahua x Maltese (15 yo female), has been coughing for the past week. Took her to the vet who said it is kennel cough and she was prescribed anti inflammatories and codeine tablets (doesn’t take cough syrup, has had kennel cough previously). She produces a cough if her throat is touched but her tongue and gums are still pink. However she does produce a wheezing sound after she coughs. I am just wondering if it could be something worse than kennel cough as her panting and restlessness is worrying. Will book her in to see the vet again in any case. Thank you all!

Hello - and thank you for this interesting question.  I'm sorry to hear about the kennel cough which, at the best of times, can be dramatic and difficult to watch.  A wheeze is simply an audible high pitched breathing sound that relates to the reduction / partial blockage of airflow as the air travels through the trachea or larynx.  This is a symptom which can occasionally happen in kennel-cough (where the throat is inflamed) as well as with a multitude of other diseases.   However, it's worth noting that kennel-cough can also progress to peumonia and furthermore, that an old dog could be more likely to catch kennel-cough if their immue system was already being put under pressure by some underlying disease.  I haven't examined your dog and am certainly in no position to judge whether kennel-cough is the only thing going on in this case.  You don't say how much time / treatment has elapsed since the veterinary visit or whether your dog appears to be brighter or duller overall.  Kennel-cough can take three weeks to clear.  However, when the breathing equipment is involved there is little leeway, so if things are deteriorating or you are hearing new symptoms then it would be advisable to contact your vet.  Because of the infectious nature of the disease, they might prefer that the initial contact was by phone.  Wishing you and your girl the very best of luck - please will you let us know how you get on?