Collapsing Trachea (HELP)

[tee-bigginz]

I'm recently a single Yorkie-parent. My dog's name is T Bear, and he suffers from a collapsing trachea. He's experienced several episodes where he couldn't breathe after playing with other dogs/toys/people who didn't know he shouldn't be made excited. I've recently met owners of several Yorkies, some older than my own, who've told me that their dogs also have this collapsing trachea issue, though I neglected to find out how badly they suffered from the defect. My question as it relates to this is at what point do you decide your animal requires the stenting procedure? The procedure, from what I understand, the dog can either die on the operating table or the stent could fail after only a few years. The vets have told me to do it, but I don't trust them. Is this something he's better off living with or do I have to risk this procedure? Has anyone had any experience with this? Can anyone lend any advice, please?

I love this little guy and don't want to make the wrong decision.

Thank you for your thoughts,

George

[MauiGirl]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk, sorry your guy has CT.

I have no first hand experience with it, however have read discussions by others on here. I've heard from many owners that the surgery is not that effective, to risk it. Hopefully some of the other owners who have dealt with it will give their opinions too. You can also use the search feature and look for other threads about it. Good luck.

[Lovetodream88]

It's still experimental. Have you tried any medicines. My moms yorkie has ct and takes hydrocodone twice a day and it massively helps him.

[matese]

several years ago one of my yorkies had CT, she was 7 years old at that time. She was on meds, she live to be 13 y/o, Her death was not due to the CT.if she got to excited she would cough, but it didn't interfere with her life style. This was years back, there was no stenting procedure. I would try to keep him as calm you possibly can. If you don't trust your vets advise, you can seek a 2nd opinion if he needs this procedure. Good luck on your decision, I will keep you and lil TBear in my prayers.

[tee-bigginz]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

Welcome to Yorkie Talk, sorry your guy has CT.

I have no first hand experience with it, however have read discussions by others on here. I've heard from many owners that the surgery is not that effective, to risk it. Hopefully some of the other owners who have dealt with it will give their opinions too. You can also use the search feature and look for other threads about it. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your feedback. In sure will get to checking on the other posts as well as to heed the advice here on this thread. Thank you!

[tee-bigginz]

MauiGirl - Thank you for your ideas. I'm planning to research this on here using the search feature you mentioned. My friend suggested I try forums for this issue, and I'm so glad I did! Thank you!

Lovetodream88 - I tried the hydrocodone, and it sedates him to the point to where he can't function. I've asked the vet for other medication, and he said hydrocodone is the most effective. Perhaps it's time to revisit

matese - I've just moved out to Long Island after my recent break up, and I haven't yet had the chance to fully investigate the vets around here. Now that I'm on my own, I believe I can do that the right way. It's on the list of things to do for this week. It's heartening to know that your Yorkie lived to 13 (and sad to know she's gone... Yorkies are special animals). This guy is only 6, and he's already having such issues with it. I'm with you on the "keep him calm" plan. I try not to let him to far out of my sight. His spirit is so young, and he wants to play. His episodes are due mostly to his own desire to enjoy his life, I think.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by tee-bigginz

MauiGirl - Thank you for your ideas. I'm planning to research this on here using the search feature you mentioned. My friend suggested I try forums for this issue, and I'm so glad I did! Thank you!

Lovetodream88 - I tried the hydrocodone, and it sedates him to the point to where he can't function. I've asked the vet for other medication, and he said hydrocodone is the most effective. Perhaps it's time to revisit

matese - I've just moved out to Long Island after my recent break up, and I haven't yet had the chance to fully investigate the vets around here. Now that I'm on my own, I believe I can do that the right way. It's on the list of things to do for this week. It's heartening to know that your Yorkie lived to 13 (and sad to know she's gone... Yorkies are special animals). This guy is only 6, and he's already having such issues with it. I'm with you on the "keep him calm" plan. I try not to let him to far out of my sight. His spirit is so young, and he wants to play. His episodes are due mostly to his own desire to enjoy his life, I think.

Have they tried lower dose? Sammy takes half a pill in the morning and half at night.

[tee-bigginz]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Have they tried lower dose? Sammy takes half a pill in the morning and half at night.

It's certainly appreciated and an idea worth trying. I stopped the medication completely when I saw his reaction to it. I have a call in to a friend's vet to discuss this further. I'm still very leery about the surgery. I haven't found good things about it.

[matese]

I use to live on The Island, Mastic Beach, It was along time ago and I cannot remember what vet I used. My niece and nephews live in Wading River, they all have dogs plus many other animals, I could see who they use if you are in a pinch at finding at vet being newly relocated , but, depending on where on The Island you live, Wading River may be a far drive for you.
If you have neighbors that have dogs you can ask who they use, that's better then letting your fingers do the walking in the yellow pages, or finding one by you on the internet, a personal reference is always the best. Yorkies are a very hyper breed, all my yorkies were wild things, zooming around up till age 10 y/o when they finally slowed down, yes, it is very difficult to keep them calm, and kinda sad that you have to do that, I know for me it was, I had 2 other yorkies at that time who wanted to play fight and she was not allowed to join in on the fun. Follow the advise you were offered, ask your old vet if the meds dose can be split in two, this sounds to me like it would work in not making your baby so tired.

[ladyjane]

I have had pups with CT of varying degrees. The last really difficult case I had was on various meds...and I did speak with the specialists about the stent and opted not to do it because the success is limited if it is successful. In my mind it was simply prolonging the inevitable. BUT, I have successfully medically managed a few pups with CT. Each one had different protocols. I have never had one be as sedated on hydrocodone as yours was; but I would not want that either unless it was necessary. I have had to heavily sedate before to keep the coughing down. Again, just depends on the pup and the severity.

One interesting medication you might want to ask your vet about is Lomotil. It is an antidiarrheal and has a small amount of opium in it. It really helped one of my pups and also a friend's pup who had CT. There is no sedative effect because the opium is a very small amount. Somewhere in my files I have information on this but if your vet has not heard of it, tell him to look at Kirk's Vet Manual. Not sure what edition, but the dosage and all is in that book. I am busy atm so don't have time to look for the article, but I will try to find it for you later on.

I have had two pups with CT pass at an older age from other conditions. Recently I lost my beloved senior pup, George, due to a pancreatic mass and other issues in the GI tract. He had a profoundly collapsed trachea that was diagnosed in 2011. Amazingly he had very few symptoms...he was on Temeril P for years because of allergies and we suspect that the symptoms were held down because of the prednisone in that med. So, they can live a full life in spite of the CT. The real trick is to find meds that work and also keep them cool, relaxed, of a decent weight .. in over words, avoid all triggers as much as possible. Of course, some are just so bad that no matter what you do the CT will get them. I have sadly lost two foster pups due to CT.