Cough is a protective mechanism, promoting clearance of the respiratory tract, while also contributing to pathology of clinical disease; as such, it is a both a marker for and target of therapeutic intervention. Cough assessment in dogs is subjective, generally based on owner's perceptions. An objective method of evaluation is needed. In humans, acoustic cough monitoring provides objective data on cough number and intensity by examining acoustic waveforms. We hypothesized that healthy dogs would demonstrate cough waveforms which could be distinguished from other acoustic behaviors (AB); whine, bark, growl, lick, drink, chew and throat-clear. Data were obtained from 10 healthy employee-owned dogs with informed consent. Acoustic behaviors were recorded using a CTA-laryngeal-microphone and analyzed using RavenPro© bioacoustics analysis software for AB duration, peak amplitude and frequency, time to peak amplitude and frequency, power, and energy. Inter- and intra-group statistical analysis was performed using a one-way ANOVA on ranks with p<0.05 being significant. With the exception of throat-clear, cough was distinguished from every other evaluated AB by one or more of the analyzed waveform parameters (p<0.001). No between-subject differences were identified between cough and throat-clear groups for any waveform parameter. All other behaviors showed statistically significant within-group variation (p<0.001). Cough and throat-clear (a clinically similar mechanism to protect the airways) have repeatable acoustic features that are distinguishable from other common AB and are consistent between dogs. Acoustic monitoring may provide an objective means for evaluating cough in dogs with respiratory disease and assessing response to therapeutic intervention.

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