i guess it depends on how bad it is
our Oliver has had this for most of his life and he is now 15 years young...
we never use a collar only a body harness which is a fine rope type like they use for the shows ...
we were also alarmed about it at first ..but have found over time that it is more shocking to us humans than it is too them ...i used to pick him up and run home out of fear but found out the less you are shocked the better your little one copes
he would start hacking and gasping for air and then cough in reflex to stop it himself
we also through a homeopathic web dr found a cough syrup with honey it was hylands cough syrup for kids it has an antispasmatic in it that stops the spasm or reflex once you give him a few drops of it (about 1/8 teaspoon ) for a 7 lb little one...it acutally stops the hacking in seconds and it can be given several times a day if needed...also, as the dog ages they say the structure of the trachia gets harder so there is less hacking...he still does it but we tell him cough and he does and if the coughing does not stop it he gets the syrup and it does stop... just wanted to let others know there is hope for those little ones..but it is not an easy situation to cope with also hard kibble is not so great for those with this problem homecooked is best to keep them healthy |