Re:Collapsed Trachea...none of the meds have worked

[cinnamonmon]

My Yorkie mix has been having trouble with what I believe to be a collapsed trachea for the last two or three weeks. I took her to the vet once a few weeks ago, and she didnt do any x rays or anything, just pressed on her throat and said it was likely that and gave me what she said was cough medicine and an antibiotic. She didnt really tell me much more about the condition, but I read about it myself. The cough medicine did seem to help a little for a few hours after she took it, but the coughing seemed worse and more frequent. I called back my regular vet last week (the first one was a weekend vet who subs for the regular guy), and he gave me a medicine called Temeril P which is a steriod and antihistramine together. She started this on Wednesday and seems no better...in fact the coughing seems a little more frequent.
I am so worried. They never have done any xrays so I dont know how bad it is. When I first realized what it was and then read about it, I felt guilty for letting it happen. She always pulled so hard on the leash when we walked and was always choking herself, but I didnt know about collapsed trachea then. I initially wasnt too worried as everything I read said that most of the time they are able to live out their regular life span though they will need medicine every now and then.
But now I am wondering if this is true or if my dog has a really bad case.. In every other way, she seems like herself, except for the cough. Poor thing, she wakes up several times a night, coughing, and cant play with the other dogs without coughing. She wants to play with my other Yorkie so bad, but the minute they start, she begins to cough. I feel so bad for her.
Anyways, does anyone have any advice. I will call my vet again monday and see what they can do. Is there medicine they havent tried, or tests they can do that will help or give more information?

[Little Bit]

I am so sorry to hear about your little one. I don't have any info for you, but hopefully someone can help you. Please give her a hug from me!

[sadiesamie]

I have a yorkie that suffers from CT and I also have a post on our recent episode just last week. DEFINITELY have your vet do xrays. they may need to do 2. (2 diff views) spend the 100.00 or so to have them done bc that is the only way you can see how bad the trachea is or ISN"T. Temeral P i have heard is for "allergies" and my little girl also suffers bad allergies- My vet would not prescribe the temeral p for her bc she said it would make her pant more. (more panting... triggers more ct problems) My Samie was on chlorephanarine (spelling) and i had to stop giving it to her bc it made her ct so bad. Now that we quit that she is quiet and no problems. the cough syrup--- if it's called HYDROMET. that will help soothe her throat and limit the irritation. when their throats become irritated they cough more.

VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT----use irritants. hairspray, air fresheners, glade plug ins... perfume, or burn candles. Dust or anything strong is horrible for dogs that suffer from ct.

And if you are a smoker... which i do not know if you are? smoking around a dog that suffers from ct will make him suffer SOOOOOOOO bad. My husband smokes and he does not in the house. we used to and years ago my little one really struggled (so we are guilty of that) now we know and there is NO Smoking in the house.. It will harm your dogs trachea and she will cough constantly. We are investing in an air cleaner in a few weeks. My vet said it would help a lot. Dry air could effect the trachea too. Since we have turned our furnace on it's dry in our house and that makes my little one cough.

My dog is also on "Flovent" inhaler that i give to her twice a day with an infant mask. She gets the hydromet only when she needs it. sometimes every day, sometimes not for a whole week.

our episode this past Tues involved both of my yorkies eating and the other one finished her food and then went to eat out of my other dogs bowl. they got into a fight and before I could get into the room in time my little one fainted because my other dog literallly put her to the ground. we didn't know this until it came time to feeding them again. that was when my little one refused to eat and she gets very uneasy around the other dog while they eat. (she acts very scared) Needless to say that was not a good morning- in fact it was super scary. I thought I lost her and I am lucky that i did not. I have posts listed just click on my name and you will find the threads i've started on ct.

I strongly encourage you to have xrays taken!!! And please please use a harness that goes around the rib cage. NO LEASHES. that will cause so much harm to the trachea it isn't even funny. It's ok- I didn't now before that this would be a problem but we found out the hard way. For the time being limit exercise- the more calm you keep your dog the better it will be for you both. you can go to veterinarypartner.com and search ct. good info.
let me know if you have any other questions. if i could be of any help I would be glad to respond. I know this ct all too well and it is very scary.
No walks either. Our walks are over with bc my little one gets too excited and she can't take it. she collapses every time so we are done with that. also look at her tongue and underneath. make sure she doesn't turn blue. my dogs cannot go to the groomers anymore either b/c of the one with the ct problems. i learned how to groom both of my girls. and bathtime for my ct little girl are scary too. you have to be very careful not to get water in their noses. makes them cough very bad.

keep me posted. :-) and good luck to you. Keep in mind that our little one could be a lot worse than your dog. DO THE XRAYS. tell your vet that you want them done.

[sadiesamie]

limit activity and don't encourage her to play with the other dogs. too much activity is not good for a dog that suffers ct. hide toys if you have to. your dogs life depends on it. your dog needs to remain calm.

[cinnamonmon]

Thanks for your answers. I know not to use a regular collar...I always use a harness now. I just feel guilty that I didnt know that before. I know that is what caused it, as she used to pull so hard.

The two meds you talked about are exactly the ones that my vet used,so maybe he doesnt know what he is doing, though I did hear that steroids are often used for ct,and the Temeril is a steroid too. He never has suggested x rays either. Its like he doesnt believe me.

The good news is that she had a better night last night and I think she is doing better. I did find two of her Temeril P pills on the floor this morning,so she must have been spitting them out which may explain why she isnt doing well. I am calling the vet tomorrow anyways and if he doesnt listen to me, I am changing vets, for certain.

[sadiesamie]

My dog has never been on the temeral p. so i am not familar with it. I would definitely ask to have xrays done for sure. That way you can see the trachea. I think over time your dogs trachea will be better especially if you think the collar and all the pulling is what caused this. The more and more the trachea collapses the weaker it becomes. it is hard to find a good vet for our "small dogs" i would also call the emergency vet in your area and see if they can help you find a good vet. When vets work together with a particular emerg vet you can usually find a good vet that way. (that is- if you are planning on switching) Our vet is great but she tends to be a little "test happy" I believe in all of the tests but I just think she has gone a little overboard that's all. :-)

what are you using to give the meds? I find using a tiny bit of canned food is great for giving the pills. that way there is no chance of them not getting the med's. I use Innova senior canned food. you are only using a very super small amount so use whatever canned brand you are comfortable with. there are a lot out there. My girls need to be on a high protein/low fat so that is how we ended up with the Innova. for their dry food I feed them wellness. (a very good food)

I also have removed both collars from my dogs. Seems like if there is nothing around their neck it makes it better. when was the last walk? if it was recent you dog should feel better soon. It's when the tracheas collapse w/o any reason to worry. you were just causing irritation with the collar so don't worry- i bet he will be just fine. but definitely get those xrays. I cannot stress that enough. those xrays do not lie. (althrough i wish they did)

My little ones trachea seems to be worse at night. i give her the hydromet syrup at night but i wait for that first cough before I give it to her. she has done amazing all weekend. Been quiet and no coughing or panting.

keep me posted. I will continue to follow the thread for updates.
Send me your email and I will send you a few links I have on ct. very good info. i have been researching for quite some time -there is a lot out there but when i stumble on a good site i save it.

[cinnamonmon]

Thanks Sadiesamie....I appreciate the information and support. I hope for both of us that our little ones stabilize and get to be with us a long time.

I am struggling with finding a vet though. There is one 2 minutes from my house that I have always used, but that is the one that prescribed the Temeril and the other med that we talked about. He also was no help when I was trying to debate home feeding and struggling with allergies with my dogs. I just think maybe he is old school. He was so compassionate when I had to have one of my dogs put down 16 yrs ago, that I have stuck with his practice. Plus as i said, 2 minutes from my house and never have to wait to get in. I did ask around to co workers and friends what vet they used but no one had any suggestions, so I will continue to look around.

Thanks again for your help.

[sadiesamie]

go to this link: http://www.healthypet.com/

This is something called AAHA. enter in your address info and it will bring up a listing of all vets that are "AAHA certified"

There are many qualifications for a veterinary clinic/hospital to be aaha certified. you can watch an online video about how these vet hospital operate and i think you will have luck finding a new vet that way. that is what we did when i moved to texas. we had to start all over finding a new vet and not knowing anyone here in my new state I didn't want to just pick anyone to go to. so my vet from back home in Ohio told me to go to this site. I hope you can find a vet that is close to you. YOU WILL BE QUITE IMPRESSED WITH THE AAHA WEBSITE. :-) I know we were. There is a HUGE difference when you go to a vet that is AAHA certified.

Let me know what you find :-)

[sadiesamie]

when you go to the website click on "find a hospital" in the top left hand corner. also check out next to that where it says "about aaha"

i know you will find something. might be worth it if you have to drive a little further. who knows- maybe something is just as close. vet clinics seem to be everywhere we just don't know which one is a GOOD one. this website will definitely help you find one. I am sure of it. Our vet is AAHA certified and let me just say they know their stuff. And when it comes to my girls i want nothing but the best for them.

:-) there is lots to look at on the website. very good info. I don't know where i'd be if my vet in ohio did not tell me about "AAHA"

[sadiesamie]

http://healthypet.aahanet.org/eweb/D...zip=&Type=name

[sadiesamie]

Originally Posted by cinnamonmon

Thanks Sadiesamie....I appreciate the information and support. I hope for both of us that our little ones stabilize and get to be with us a long time.

I am struggling with finding a vet though. There is one 2 minutes from my house that I have always used, but that is the one that prescribed the Temeril and the other med that we talked about. He also was no help when I was trying to debate home feeding and struggling with allergies with my dogs. I just think maybe he is old school. He was so compassionate when I had to have one of my dogs put down 16 yrs ago, that I have stuck with his practice. Plus as i said, 2 minutes from my house and never have to wait to get in. I did ask around to co workers and friends what vet they used but no one had any suggestions, so I will continue to look around.

Thanks again for your help.

Hi, were you able to find a vet near you through the aaha website?

[Princes mom]

Originally Posted by sadiesamie

I have a yorkie that suffers from CT and I also have a post on our recent episode just last week. DEFINITELY have your vet do xrays. they may need to do 2. (2 diff views) spend the 100.00 or so to have them done bc that is the only way you can see how bad the trachea is or ISN"T. Temeral P i have heard is for "allergies" and my little girl also suffers bad allergies- My vet would not prescribe the temeral p for her bc she said it would make her pant more. (more panting... triggers more ct problems) My Samie was on chlorephanarine (spelling) and i had to stop giving it to her bc it made her ct so bad. Now that we quit that she is quiet and no problems. the cough syrup--- if it's called HYDROMET. that will help soothe her throat and limit the irritation. when their throats become irritated they cough more.

VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT----use irritants. hairspray, air fresheners, glade plug ins... perfume, or burn candles. Dust or anything strong is horrible for dogs that suffer from ct.

And if you are a smoker... which i do not know if you are? smoking around a dog that suffers from ct will make him suffer SOOOOOOOO bad. My husband smokes and he does not in the house. we used to and years ago my little one really struggled (so we are guilty of that) now we know and there is NO Smoking in the house.. It will harm your dogs trachea and she will cough constantly. We are investing in an air cleaner in a few weeks. My vet said it would help a lot. Dry air could effect the trachea too. Since we have turned our furnace on it's dry in our house and that makes my little one cough.

My dog is also on "Flovent" inhaler that i give to her twice a day with an infant mask. She gets the hydromet only when she needs it. sometimes every day, sometimes not for a whole week.

our episode this past Tues involved both of my yorkies eating and the other one finished her food and then went to eat out of my other dogs bowl. they got into a fight and before I could get into the room in time my little one fainted because my other dog literallly put her to the ground. we didn't know this until it came time to feeding them again. that was when my little one refused to eat and she gets very uneasy around the other dog while they eat. (she acts very scared) Needless to say that was not a good morning- in fact it was super scary. I thought I lost her and I am lucky that i did not. I have posts listed just click on my name and you will find the threads i've started on ct.

I strongly encourage you to have xrays taken!!! And please please use a harness that goes around the rib cage. NO LEASHES. that will cause so much harm to the trachea it isn't even funny. It's ok- I didn't now before that this would be a problem but we found out the hard way. For the time being limit exercise- the more calm you keep your dog the better it will be for you both. you can go to veterinarypartner.com and search ct. good info.
let me know if you have any other questions. if i could be of any help I would be glad to respond. I know this ct all too well and it is very scary.
No walks either. Our walks are over with bc my little one gets too excited and she can't take it. she collapses every time so we are done with that. also look at her tongue and underneath. make sure she doesn't turn blue. my dogs cannot go to the groomers anymore either b/c of the one with the ct problems. i learned how to groom both of my girls. and bathtime for my ct little girl are scary too. you have to be very careful not to get water in their noses. makes them cough very bad.

keep me posted. :-) and good luck to you. Keep in mind that our little one could be a lot worse than your dog. DO THE XRAYS. tell your vet that you want them done.

Are you still online? I'd like to talk to you about CT.

[Patti]

I am sorry you are having health issues with you baby. I have had 3 yorkies with varying degrees of CT. A stated earlier an Xray is needed to see where the collapse is and how severe. It can be tricky to see on an Xray beause they need to catch it when it is collapsing but definitately helps with the diagnosis and treatment plan.