Collapsed Trachea

[luvfla]

My Clarence has a collapsed traec. He was disgnosed as a pup via xray. His vet said that he could do surgery on him but it never worked very well. Clarence is now 12 & acts like a pup.
His current vet has him on a good mixture of drug therapy & the little guy is doing great! He now has an enlarged heart from it & is on a diaretic which makes him frequently misjudge is ability to make it out to potty on time but we don't care....he is a joy. Oh yeah, we tiled all of our living area because of him....now THAT's how much he means to us.

[anjsmiles]

Hi, my name is Angie and I just joined tonight. We have a 16 week old Yorkie Apso puppy. His Dad was a 5 lb pure Yorkie and his Mom a 7 1/2 lb half Yorkie half Lhasa. I joined this sight since our dog is closest to being a Yorkie than anything. He currently weighs 4 lbs.

The reason I am replying here is that our Reggie has had a cough going on 4 weeks now that has been somewhat worrisome to me. He never has a fever at the vets and he only coughs sporadically. He might cough 3-5 times a day. It seems worse in the mornings and evenings and when he drinks water. His cough sounds a little like a hack and often he acts as if he has phlegm in his throat. I don't really hear what sounds like "honking" although it has been a bit more hacking at times. Still he seems to be sort of gagging type coughing to me. 3 weeks ago when he got shots they tried massaging his throat to see if it would make him cough like it often does with Kennel Cough but he didn't cough at all. I had him back to the vet yesterday for puppy shots and mentioned the coughing again. The vet said yesterday that even though he didn't seem to be coughing as bad as a dog with kennel cough (he has never coughed at the vet's) that she wanted to give him a round of antibiotics in case it is that. He has had 1 kennel cough vaccine 3 weeks ago and is due for the other one in 1 week but he was already coughing some before he got the vaccine so it could be kennel cough. The thing that worried me was that she said if the antibiotic doesn't clear it up we may need to get an X-ray to see if he has a collapsed trachea. I have been reading up on this and nothing I read about it is reassuring as many sites I found talked about folk's dog dying with this. I am feeling a bit better to read here that some of you have had dogs live productive lives with this.

I wanted to ask a couple questions. Is the medication expensive to treat it? How long can a dog usually live and be okay with it?

[anjsmiles]

Also, today Reggie had an episode of diarrhea. We are not sure if it is the antibiotic he is on or the ProDerma supplement they also started him on for his dry skin. I called the vet and they said it could be either one. I am leaving the ProDerma off today and watching to see if he has diarrhea again and if so I will take him back to the vet so they can check him. His coughing is not better either. In fact, he seemed to cough more this morning than usual. It is the same gagging type coughing.

[Princes mom]

Originally Posted by luvfla

My Clarence has a collapsed traec. He was disgnosed as a pup via xray. His vet said that he could do surgery on him but it never worked very well. Clarence is now 12 & acts like a pup.
His current vet has him on a good mixture of drug therapy & the little guy is doing great! He now has an enlarged heart from it & is on a diaretic which makes him frequently misjudge is ability to make it out to potty on time but we don't care....he is a joy. Oh yeah, we tiled all of our living area because of him....now THAT's how much he means to us.

I just sent you a pm. I have some questions about CT.
Thank you.

[anjsmiles]

I wanted to post an update here about the coughing. I followed someone's advice about elevating the water bowl since I noticed that Reggie seemed to cough most after drinking water. I also happened to be at the groomer's shop who is also the person who sold me Reggie and noticed one of her s**tzus coughing just like Reggie does. I asked her about it and she said that lots of little puppies do that and it is the soft palate of their throats getting irritated or "stuck" a little. She said they will outgrow it. Another thing I noticed was that Reggie was chewing the fake fleece lining on his doggie bed as well as had a fleece doggie toy and this seemed to make him cough. So I took the toy away and covered his doggie bed completely with a sheet. I has been about 2 mos since I did all this and Reggie almost never coughs now. He has grown a good deal more and I don't even have his water bowl elevated but I did exchange it for a deeper one so the water level is closer/higher up when full. The only time he ever coughs now is when he drinks his water too fast or if he gets a bit of food or something hung in his throat from eating too fast. I feel sure that he has basically outgrown that coughing stage and that it sure enough must have been a soft palate thing.

[Mitzis Mom]

Originally Posted by LittleRalphie

Our 4 month puppy has been coughing for about 2 weeks. He is on antibiotics but it doesn't seem to be getting better. The vet seems to think it is kennel cough. How many weeks is normal for this to run its course?

As far as I know Kennel Cough is a viral infection and ergo antibiotics don't help. It can even slow the healing process down...

You could give him a good old home remedy like warm milk with honey. It helped Maximus with his persistent cough...

[SWEETJADE74]

Originally Posted by ShelbyKate

My Yorkie is three months old today. I have been told by the Vet that she has problem called Collapsed Trachea. He also said that she would grow out of this problem. Can anyone tell me if they have had a yorkie that did in deed "grow out of a collpased trachea?" Most of what I have read indicates that this is not true.

I was wondering if you still had your yorkie and if so how its doing, I was just reading what you had posted and I have to be straight with you...I do hope you have changed Vets!This is a problem they will have for life, they DO NOT grow out of it!
Mine was diagnosed 16 months ago, but with meds and proper diet and limited exercise, minimal exposure to the heat and sun...& he has been great (thank God)
Should you want to touch base, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards, Tricia

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ShelbyKate

My Yorkie is three months old today. I have been told by the Vet that she has problem called Collapsed Trachea. He also said that she would grow out of this problem. Can anyone tell me if they have had a yorkie that did in deed "grow out of a collpased trachea?" Most of what I have read indicates that this is not true.

join this group

CollapsingTrachea : YTNR_COLLAPSING TRACHEA

did the vet do an xray to determine this? Did you watch the videos i posted about ct and reverse sneeze? Did you take a video of it to the vets so he could watch it and confirm

If he is doing spay make sure he has the tiniest tubes and also make sure he xray the trachea while under anesthesia as i did this with my dd as i was confused between ct and reverse sneeze when i got her and she did rs alot due to allergies but it was just rs

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by mmyorkies

A collapsed trachea does not correct itself. There is a surgery that has been done once in a while to correct it, but it does not always work. Please go here to see some diagrams of what it is and to read a little about it. History of the Yorkieshire Terrier

NO WAY would i have recommend this surgery too risky and many times it collapses and the dog dies - there are not enough success stories for me to ever recommend this surgery as it is still in experimental stages and most good vets will never recommend it

[dwerten]

here are the videos i found so people can distinguish between the three common things that happen as there is a definite difference

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...d-trachea.html

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by anjsmiles

I wanted to post an update here about the coughing. I followed someone's advice about elevating the water bowl since I noticed that Reggie seemed to cough most after drinking water. I also happened to be at the groomer's shop who is also the person who sold me Reggie and noticed one of her s**tzus coughing just like Reggie does. I asked her about it and she said that lots of little puppies do that and it is the soft palate of their throats getting irritated or "stuck" a little. She said they will outgrow it. Another thing I noticed was that Reggie was chewing the fake fleece lining on his doggie bed as well as had a fleece doggie toy and this seemed to make him cough. So I took the toy away and covered his doggie bed completely with a sheet. I has been about 2 mos since I did all this and Reggie almost never coughs now. He has grown a good deal more and I don't even have his water bowl elevated but I did exchange it for a deeper one so the water level is closer/higher up when full. The only time he ever coughs now is when he drinks his water too fast or if he gets a bit of food or something hung in his throat from eating too fast. I feel sure that he has basically outgrown that coughing stage and that it sure enough must have been a soft palate thing.

the soft palate causes reverse sneeze and this breed has it and allergies can trigger it in a dog with allergies as well when they get excited and also dogs who are over weight will do it more when they get excited. The easiest way to stop RS is put your finger over the nose and open the mouth and it will stop immediately

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by anjsmiles

Also, today Reggie had an episode of diarrhea. We are not sure if it is the antibiotic he is on or the ProDerma supplement they also started him on for his dry skin. I called the vet and they said it could be either one. I am leaving the ProDerma off today and watching to see if he has diarrhea again and if so I will take him back to the vet so they can check him. His coughing is not better either. In fact, he seemed to cough more this morning than usual. It is the same gagging type coughing.

if it is a gagging cough then that is kennel cough watch the videos - ct is a honking noise like a goose --- antibiotics will cause diarhea and as far as proderma have not heard of that but thinking that is a fish oil type product?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by anjsmiles

Hi, my name is Angie and I just joined tonight. We have a 16 week old Yorkie Apso puppy. His Dad was a 5 lb pure Yorkie and his Mom a 7 1/2 lb half Yorkie half Lhasa. I joined this sight since our dog is closest to being a Yorkie than anything. He currently weighs 4 lbs.

The reason I am replying here is that our Reggie has had a cough going on 4 weeks now that has been somewhat worrisome to me. He never has a fever at the vets and he only coughs sporadically. He might cough 3-5 times a day. It seems worse in the mornings and evenings and when he drinks water. His cough sounds a little like a hack and often he acts as if he has phlegm in his throat. I don't really hear what sounds like "honking" although it has been a bit more hacking at times. Still he seems to be sort of gagging type coughing to me. 3 weeks ago when he got shots they tried massaging his throat to see if it would make him cough like it often does with Kennel Cough but he didn't cough at all. I had him back to the vet yesterday for puppy shots and mentioned the coughing again. The vet said yesterday that even though he didn't seem to be coughing as bad as a dog with kennel cough (he has never coughed at the vet's) that she wanted to give him a round of antibiotics in case it is that. He has had 1 kennel cough vaccine 3 weeks ago and is due for the other one in 1 week but he was already coughing some before he got the vaccine so it could be kennel cough. The thing that worried me was that she said if the antibiotic doesn't clear it up we may need to get an X-ray to see if he has a collapsed trachea. I have been reading up on this and nothing I read about it is reassuring as many sites I found talked about folk's dog dying with this. I am feeling a bit better to read here that some of you have had dogs live productive lives with this.

I wanted to ask a couple questions. Is the medication expensive to treat it? How long can a dog usually live and be okay with it?

ok time out they gave him a bordatella shot while your dog had kennel cough ???? ok new vet time -- vaccines can cause them to get the virus in some cases so if your dog had kennel cough and then they gave him the vaccine that may have triggered a worse case - VACCINES ARE TO BE GIVEN TO HEALTHY DOGS ONLY -NEVER LET A VET GIVE A SICK DOG A VACCINE ! also bordatella does not cover all strains of kennel cough so if your dog went to groomer and there was another strain there your dog could have got a strain not protected by the vaccine so honestly i do not do bordatella for this reason as it does not cover everything so why take the chance and my parents dog got a horrible viral infection from a bordatella shot and their dog is perfectly healthy for 7 years prior to that vaccine

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by luvfla

My Clarence has a collapsed traec. He was disgnosed as a pup via xray. His vet said that he could do surgery on him but it never worked very well. Clarence is now 12 & acts like a pup.
His current vet has him on a good mixture of drug therapy & the little guy is doing great! He now has an enlarged heart from it & is on a diaretic which makes him frequently misjudge is ability to make it out to potty on time but we don't care....he is a joy. Oh yeah, we tiled all of our living area because of him....now THAT's how much he means to us.

lol yes i know that feeling as we ripped out all carpet for my dd who has allergies and it was new and put laminate in

yes ct leads to heart disease later in life so they have to be managed together

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by bonnieand

bonnieand) hi i only hope this information may help.I have had my dog now 14years six months she has just been diagnosed with this problem. when i got her as a pup my friend who had her brother told me she would take throat spasms, which she did take about 9 months, i always massaged her neck which helped her through the spasm, it certainly never restricted her life, the spasm didnt last for any lenght of time, last week she took a very raspy sounding cough and a gagging as if she was going to choke, it was very upsetting for me to watch and listen to as the vet wasnt opened until the next day, she didnt see our usual vet, i wasnt happy with the young mans diagnose, as the injections she was given did not relieve the symptons,the vet told me she would need to get further examinations x rays i did explain she has always taken throat spasms, as a pup, but nothing to make me worried he told me her throat was fine, my daughter gave me the phone number for her vet, whom i phoned right away i got an appointment for that afternoon, my wee dog was examined and x rays taken,she has a collapsed trachea,she has been given capsules to relieve her symtons, her cough isnt as raspy or prolonged but she is also showing signs of enlarged heart as she is overweight,i have to keep her calm and no excercise over this weekend,i have to phone the vet back tommorow to let him know how she has been over the weekend. She certainly is better than she was, the capsules prescribed are to help her airways,if i where you i would seek a second opinion as 3 month seems a bit young for a collapse in the trachea but there again the yorkies do have this complaint, i am broken hearted but i will keep her on meds for as long as i possibly can, as long as she is not distressed as she only has 18 months of of her life span left,1 to 16 is their recorded life span,the vet told me once the trachea collapses there is nothing you can do thats the bad news, some dogs are fine with the meds given thats the good news, but as puppies they do get excited and can take throat spasms,just massage the throat, but if the dogs trachea has collapsed please do not use this method as it irratates the throat more, i hope you may find this usefull information as my dog has just gone through this and that was her symptons,but she is a lot older than your wee puppy

get the weight off and restrict diet as being over weight is horribel for ct just 2lbs over weight can make a huge difference in this condition as there is a fatty deposit by the trachea and it presses on the trachea so if a dog is over weight it will cause more pressure on the trachea in this area so start cutting back food 25% and do a low fat diet asap and if acting hungry in the mean time add green beans to diet as they are filling as they are fiber - this will help your dog alot