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Originally Posted by beachdog  Well I spoke too soon, because last night was one of the worse nights yet. Paris could not stop coughing and wheezing for around 15 minutes! I put him under the covers with me and comforted him until he caught his breath. He still sounds very rattley this morning. I don't know if it could be the piece of foam I put under his bed giving off some kind of fumes, but I took that out this morning. I also had a fire in the fireplace last night. I just don't know. |
Hi. I don't know you and I don't know what ailment Paris has but obviously he is having breathing problems. I have had to deal with both asthma and congestive heart failure in people but don't know much about how they deal with it in dogs. With CHF and asthma I do know that propping the patient up so the lungs don't fill up quite so much is helpful. It's easily done with a human patient by using pillows but I guess it would depend on your pet's sleeping habits on how you can keep his head up while he is sleeping. If he sleeps in a dog bed you might put something under it to put the bed at an angle while he sleeps. If he sleeps with you you could try laying him on the pillow with his head up. I know it's not easy with a dog especially when they are uncomfortable.
We often did a physical therapy thing with heart and lung patients that involved making a cup like shape out of your hand and lightly tapping the lungs in order to loosen the secretions in the lung and other airways. I don't know if your vet knows how to do this so he could show you how to do it. It's basically just tapping lightly on the lungs while the body is inclined slightly with the head down to so the secretions will drain toward the head. Another thought would be to run an ultra sonic humidifier near him as it helps keep secretions flowing and not sticking and clogging up the airway. The humidifier also keeps the dust and other particles down out of the air he is breathing. Any little particle in the air can make it more difficult for him. You need to keep his airways as loose and as clear as possible.
These things may be things you already know or have tired. They are comfort measures and I'm sure that is what you want for him. He sounds like a really cool guy and I hope you can make him as comfortable as possible.