COLLAPSED TRACHEA..please help!!
 

I have a small 3lb yorkie who is 3 1/2 years old. He was diagnosed with a collapsed trachea about 8 months ago. My Vet said it is too close to his heart so surgery was not an option. He has been doing ok since we took him from his owner at that time. Now all of a sudden he has been non-stop with his breathing problems. I feel so helpless. I cant put him to sleep even though he is suffering. What can I do for him? Ive read some yorkies live a long life with this disease. It has been in the high 90's this whole week where i live. I have him in the a.c. though. He started yesterday with the difficult breathing and when I got home about 9pm he was still doing it. I know if I call my Vet he will say its time to put him down. :( I pray he makes it til morning. Please, any advice or suggestions?? My poor Cosmo!:(

No advice to give you. But I wanted to give you a cyber hug.

:-(
 

thanks :(

What medications is he on?

* Cough suppressants such as hydrocodone, butorphanol, or tramadol may be handy.

* Corticosteroids such as prednisone and related hormones cut secretion of mucus effectively but are best used on a short term basis only due to side-effects potential. Long-term use may promote infection and weaken cartilage further. Inhalers for dogs, similar to what asthmatic humans use may be helpful in delivering corticosteroids while minimizing side effects.

* Airway dilators such as theophylline or terbutaline are controversial as they may dilate lower airways but not the actual trachea. By dilating lower airways, however, the pressure in the chest during inhalation is not as great and the trachea may not collapse as greatly.

In a recent retrospective study of 100 dogs with collapsing trachea, 71% responded to medication and management of secondary factors (obesity, irritants in the air, etc.

Tracheal Collapse

I don't have any experience w/CT, but have read that there are medications & oxygen treatments. Hope he'll be ok...& hope someone w/more experience can help.
Ok, good Ladymom posted.

Hoping you get some good advice. I will be thinking of sweet Cosmo and wishing him well. This is so sad.

Have you seen another vet, I think I would get a second opinion, maybe theres something they can try. I find it hard to believe there is no hope.

??
 

I was givin pills for his cough 8 months ago but never really needed it til now. I will be calling my vet asking him about all these other options. I am also going to look for a second opinion God willing he makes it, :( thank you very much for the info

I Wish
 

I hope you are right. My Vet said he does not know of any surgeon who would do this surgery because of the high risk factor. It is collasped too close to his heart so I was told he would die during surgery. Now what if I come accross a Vet that would do it but he dies anyway? Im so worried that I will make the wrong decision. I am going to try medicine.

My Lil Man
 

this is my Cosmo earlier tonight....Attachment 321106

my fife had ct, his dx was over 2 years ago, in ct to the degree he had 2 years is long time sure he had his bouts a bad day or 2 here and there a few trips to the vet change of meds and then he was back to himself,,, this heat and humidity is horrible. I needed to put fife 2 sleep a few weeks ago anyone who knows about ct knows its horrible to see and hear them suffer. I loved fife from the min i saw him, whne he needed his g4 lp fixed off we went to the univ of penn, when he again started to limp off to the vet again who said you need penn, he needed a new hip mind you he wasnt even 2 yet, but fix it i did, breeder didnt give a hoot told me she would exchange the dog umm no ty he is not shoes that the heel broke off of, anyway new hip both g4 lp fixed all was good for about 2 years then ct omg how awful back to the vet and another and another back to penn saw dr weiss the best in the world or top 3 in collapsed trachea, i was ready for a stent the surgery is 5k i didnt care if it was 25k i would have fixed him,but he couldnt be fixed in order for the stent to work it needs to be high up not low like fifes was, so we tried so washes and scoped him tried every drug in the previous post plus about 10 more, at first fife did well on all of them, then they stoped, so we would change tried some marax, tried holistic stuff that worked for a time too, he got it daily even if he was ok, and for most of the 2 years he was ok, its like an asthma attack once its over your fine but some of his attacks could last a few days. a light sedative helped him at times to take the edge off if people would come to visit,, fife was always a happy dpg and the excitment of seeing people over did it and he could not breath, after a while I learned what helped him and I had all the meds at home. I could pretty much do for him everything the vet could, excpet oxygen, so i got that at home too,, mind you it wasnt all the time i did not make him suffer for 2 years, well may came and the humidity in nj is awful and fife really started to change he slept under the soaf or bed he removed himself from me in 6 years he never did that,, in his last 2 weeks he had NO good days so I needed to do what was best for fife, i miss him everyday. He was a gem of a dog. If you have any questions feel free to contact me but you are pretty close to penn maybe go for a 2nd opinion,, dr weiss has left penn he is now in ny but the people at penn are the best of the best. they will tell you if the stent is possible but if it is know the rate of success is not huge and your dog will need to be on steriods pretty much everyday after the stent is placed. You can ask your vet to give you a script for oxygen, in nj you dont need a script for oxygen for a pet but they like to have it anyway, you can rent a tank or buy one i bought mine, i had a tank and a spare that i could exchange out when needed. The other thing with ct is its cumulative so once it starts to go bad it only gets worse it doesnt ever repair itself. The steroids may work for a short while, sadly they seem like a miracle for a while but in my experience it doesnt continue to work and prolonged use of them makes the need for more and more a reality. I tried it all i wish i could have done more for my fife but i did what i needed to do and put him out of his pain. All of this is just my experience with ct, but i have done tons of research and sadly even the cure of the stent isnt a great option even if your baby is a good candidate for it. im sorry for you and your baby i know how horrible it is and all the sleepless nights, i still hear that noise, in my head. my fife has been gone 2 weeks today and my heart has a big empty spot. i made a sizablke donation to dr weiss and to penn so maybe they can find a cure or a better option,, but the sad part it could be fixed if bad breeders didnt exist. I thought i had a GOOD breeder,,she represented fife as 1 thing I paid 4200.00 for him I thought i did enough research cleary i didnt, they cost of the dog was not my only factor but i thought he was quality.. my breeder/ broker went to jail so i heard, i never sued her but many others did. She sad she was a breeder she lied. I sice found out fife was born in MO in a puppy mill and my broker paid 400 dollars for him, Even with all his problems my pain and his, i dont think anyone could love me more, Im so glad for the time I had with him even if he was a health disaster. I wish the bad breeders would have seen the pain they caused me because they wanted to make a dollar.

I'm so sorry for little Cosmo. My Abbey had that same problem but also had an enlarged heart and lung problems. She would seem to get worse during allergy season. At the time I didn't know there was a surgery that could possibly help and my vet didn't tell me about it either. Before we lost her she had been to the emergency vet 4-5 times (she always seemed to have an attack at night or on the weekends). Her attacks came on in a hurry and by the time we got her to the clinic her tongue would be dark purple. They would put her on oxygen, start an IV and give her something to relax her and something to help with her breathing. The night we lost her we had taken her to the emergency vet and they treated her and sent us back home but after a few hours she got worse and was having to tilt her head way up and back just to be able to breathe. We lost my sweet baby that night. After her first episode at 8 yrs old my vet told me she was "not longed for this world". It made me sooo mad because I already had the feeling he didn't like dealing with the senior dogs so I changed vets. They put Abbey on several different medications and she did live until she was 10 1/2. My heart goes out to you and litttle Cosmo but maybe trying the meds and inhalers will help. It might also help to put him on a diet if he is overweight. Abbey was overweight and they said that could make it worse.

I reread your post and im not trying to say you are wrong but obvious that if his collapse os to close to his heart its risky but the stent wont work to open his up,,, Ill explain it like you have no knowlege of how it works not because you may not know but because its the best way to do it, not trying to make anyone feel ignorant so please dont take it wrong,.. ok lets think of the trachea as a straw, your cosmo and my fife had a weak straw, then eventually the weak part starts to split, now if the break is in the middle of the straw or in the top portion of the straw they can go in and put in a stent,,, think of this as a straw within a straw, so the break or bad part of cosmos treachea doesnt matter anymore. but in the case of my dog anyway his break was to low for the stent to work as the space at the bottom cant be expanded with the stent so its less about his heart and the risk as it just wont work, they make 2 kinds of stents right now for tracheas and neither fix the problem in the bottom portion. I hope this helps explain things a little better. I can say the the first time that fife was diagnosed we went home with cough meds and it was a few months before it bothered him again and many meds before he could get no air in, so maybe you can exlore some different meds,, for sure the ac is best i always kept my house on 67 when it started to get hot. Often a bath would help him or a shower,, I would stand in the shower with him that seemed to calm my fife when he first started with the honking and wheezing

Just wanted to add: Glucosamine/chondroitin supplements to help strengthen cartilage

And Ladyjane reported success with Imodium (anti-diarrheal) for CT...

sorry to hear about this...i dont know what to tell you either, but i do wish you and Cosmo the best of luck as well as a miracle.....:D

Omg
 

OMG, Im so sorry for your Loss. I did take your advice and asked my Vet what else he could do for Cosmo. I took him in right away on Wednesday, he was bad to me. Tey said his color was pretty good and put him on antibiodics(Clavamox) and gave him a shot of a steriod. A few hours later he was much better. He is on steriod pills now for the 1st time. He was ok last night but tonight when I came home from work it was non-stop again :(..I finally got him to relax and put a fan on him with the air conditioner. He is sleeping quietly now.:) I know this is tempoary but I will try and help him as much as I can. His orginal owner (my cousin in law) might come to get him this weekend. Being that my girl just had puppies 7wks ago, it is too much for him. Too much excitement and traffic. I am going to miss him sooo much but this is best for so he will live longer. I can't believe these darn breeders who sell these tiny yorkies for so much $$$$ and do not get all the tests done to see if they carry diseases. Or even care about their reputation. Im so glad she is in jail now for putting you and your doggy through that. These are our children and we love them with our whole heart. When they suffer we suffer. Thanks for your story. I cant deal with watching Cosmo suffer.:(

I am glad your dog seems to be doing a bit better,, Im glad the steroids worked, the clavamox is usually a precaution for infection, my guy never had an infection so he only took it a few times, but I always kept it on hand, I would also say calm is best for him, puppies may just make him a little more anxious. you might also want to ask your vet for some light sedation, I always used Ace for fife and benadryl. My vet was always great about the meds. I always kept them on hand after a while I kknew best what worked how much and when, I could see the signs almost before they started. The weather is also a huge factor, so lets hope cooler days are on the way. I hope he is feeling better soon. how much does your dog weigh and how much steriods and how many days is your dog on them?

I have had a few pups with CT and can tell you that I would never put one through that surgery! My most recent one was seen by two specialists and while the one said she could do it, when I pressed her she did admit it would probably only work for a time and that sadly, his prognosis was not great. The other specialist told me what I have read many times...those stents do not hold up.

One medication that I have used with success and know of others who also have is Lomotil. I have mentioned this many times on YT but seems that people have not caught on to its use in these pups. The information and dosing can be found in Kirk's Veterinary Therapy a book that most vets use. I am sorry, but I am not sure which volume it is in, but your vet should be able to find it. Why it works...I am not sure of the exact reasoning. It is an anti diarrheal that has been around for a long, long time..it does have an opiate in it, so maybe that is why? Not sure...but it did help a foster I had for some time. He also was on steroids daily...and I had injections on hand for those times that he would really get out of control at night. They were a combo of Torbutrol and Ace Promazine. Very tiny injection and not difficult to give if your vet is willing to try it. That is used only when they get so bad that they cannot relax! It really does help.

You are doing a good job about keeping him out of the heat and humidity...that is really rough on them as is any weight gain.

I will say a prayer for him and for you. I really sympathize...it is heart breaking to see them suffer with this condition. :(

Feel free to PM me if you ever have any questions or just need to talk.

Correction: Sorry, I meant to say Lomotil.

:(Just wanted to say I am so sorry your little one is suffering. Hope you can come up with a medication regime that will keep him comfortable. My thoughts are with you and your baby.

???
 

Thank you all for your thoughts and kind words. Cosmo is doing better so far. I know it is temporary but he is breathing better. He weighs 3.7lbs and is almost 4yrs old. He is on .25 (a quarter pill size) of steriods and .25 oz of clavamox. The puppies are 7 1/2 weels old and there are 4 of them. They weigh almost the same as Cosmo and very playful. I feel it is best I send Cosmo with his orginal owner who live in NJ. Am I making the right decision? With the traffic in my house with my kids in and out in the pool and the puppies Im worried its too much for him. I dont want to lock him up all day. :-( Im not sure what to do! I am keeping one of the puppies but they all will be with me for a few more weeks. I am worried about Cosmo and never seeing him again. :( but it may be best for him...:confused:

Hi Im gald he seems better and I assume the weather in scranton is anout the same as it is here in Nj and the cooler days are much better for him, not that 88 is cool but 88 from 104 is like the artic, I cant say what is best for cosmo about where he lives but I do know excitement always made fif worse when he was in an attack mode. I would hope that if cosmo goes back to nj you would get to see him now and again. Will his old owners be able to care for him now? will he be better there because its quiet, what was the reason that he left there in the 1st place,,, you dont need to answer these to me just what I think I wouls ask myself if he was mine, I always wanted to see if I could find a foster for fife in alaska for the summer LOL since the weather humidity and barometer all contributed to his condtion to get worse. I know its not an easy choice but I hope what you decide comes easy to you and now matter how much it hurts you will do whats right for cosmo.

i'm learning here so i have to ask what i don't know about this. CT can actually be FATAL?? how bad does it have to be and what causes it to get that bad? i keep hearing that it's not that big of a deal from the techs at work when a dog comes in with it. it's obvious that it IS a big deal, but they don't seem to make one of it.

also, did the previous owner walk the dog on a collar? what other ways do dogs develop CT if not from leash/collar pulling?

thanks guys.

my dog was never walked with a collar ,,, only a step in harness ... i probably bought 20 of them before i found one that worked best. I can tell you 1st hand CT is fatal, the trachea doesnt ever regenerate and the dog can no longer breath or get air in. Its the worst noise to hear when your dog cant breath. i cant tell you the night i would stay up with him even if he was alsleep and comfortable he made a horrible wheez noise
Im not sure who told you its not a big deal but it is, I think some dogs have it worse than others, but there is no cure only meds to make it easier for the dog to breath.
ct is causede beacuse breeders breed dogs that should not be its hereditary and common in small dogs

I imagine what the techs mean is that when a dog is honking it does not always mean severe respiratory distress. I have had people react to my CT pups in a way as to panic when in fact the dog was fine. In other words, it sounds worse than it is when a dog may not be in actual acute respiratory distress.

A person with a CT pup needs to be educated about the signs of respiratory distress so that they are not at the vet every single day. The key is watching the color of the mucous membranes.

The actual cause of CT is not from using a collar and leash. That will indeed aggravate it and is not good because it puts pressue on the trachea.

No Problem asking
 

:) Its no problem to ask. Cosmo is my husbands cousins dog. When he was about a year old is when we 1st got him. She was living at my husbands Mothers house and was unable to care for him. After a year she took him back for another year. We went to visit My Mother-in-law about a year ago when I realized something was wrong with him. That house has a lot of traffic and another dog who always trys to play woith Cosmo. He had that goose sound and I knew something was wrong. They were unable to afford a vet visit at the time so I took him home with us. Thats when I took him to the Vet and found out he has the collapsed trachea. We all were so upset and decided he was best at my home where it was quiet and my other dog Gezell was so good with him. He was good up until this past month. We had a 4th of July party and it was too much for him. We recently got a pool so the kids are always in and out and want their friends over. Ive had to put Cosmo in my bedroom bathroom away from the traffic. Now his owner really wants to see him and get a second opinion about surgery. She now lives with another room-mate in NJ where he can be in her room in the ac without traffic. Cosmo is kind of getting used to the puppies now but everytime they get excited, he does:(. Im not sure when he is leaving me but his orginal owner (my cousin in-law) really wants to spend time with him. I know I will see him again because she is not a stranger. Thanks for asking and I will be sure to keep updates..:)

Wow, I can't believe the tech thinks its not that serious. Maybe they have never been up all night listening to a doggy suffocate because of no air getting in his lungs. It is Most definetly FATAL. Please if you have a puupy that sounds like a goose, get him checked out. When we 1st found out my Vet suggested we think about putting Cosmo down so he doesnt suffer. I believe it is Inherited from and could be from mis-use of a collar or from children holding them too tight. It is common in toy breeds. Once you find out your puppy/dog has CT, you think of all the ways it could of happened but do not take this lightly. It is so sad to watch a doggy suffocate! :(

Again, I really do NOT believe that the tech said that CT is not serious. People tend to overreact to the honking sound.....and sometimes these pups are honking but NOT in respiratory distress. There is a difference! I am sure that someone was probably reacting to a pup who had it and the tech was trying to make people understand that the honking is going to stay...it is when the respirations become more rapid and the pup starts to lose oxygenation that it is serious.

Most vets and techs always, always minimize rather than maximize since it is best for the owners to remain CALM...that is best also for the pups! The key is to educate a person to know when it is an emergency..otherwise they will be at the vet and/or EC almost daily!!!!

I hope little Cosmo continues to improve. I know you don't want him to suffer but on the other hand you certainly don't want to give up on him to soon. I have never had a yorkie with ct but I can only imagine that it is a pretty scary thing to witness.

I just want to point out that sometimes collapsed trachea can also be brought on by dogs getting into things they should not. I know a lady that had two young pups around 10 weeks old that suddenly started having breathing problems. They rushed them to the vet and the vet said they had collapsed trachea, he ran all the test that did show the trachea had collapsed. The owner was considering putting them to sleep because the vet suggested surgery, which was very expensive and no guarantee it would help them. They took the pups home and kept them on medication and they appeared to be improving. Not long after that the owners discovered the puppies had chewed on a paint brush that had been used to apply some kind of insulation. The owners took the pups to a different vet for a second opinion and that vet told them the stuff the pups got into cause their trachea to collapse. Luckily for the owner the pups recovered but it makes me wonder how many times a breeder gets blamed for a collapsed trachea when it was really caused by some chemical the dog got into. We have to be so careful of these little ones because they will chew on just about anything.

I have never heard of a dog ingesting anything that caused CT, Breathing problems because a dog got into something yes, The trachea does not heal it does not get betterby itself no meds make it better there is no cure the drugs only make the dog comfortable so if those pups now dont have a ct problem now they were diagnosed wrong by the vet. A vet cant always tell if a dog has ct by what it presents with, they can usually make an educated guess but extensive tests need to be done to make sure its a ct not something else. Bad breeding causes ct, it can be agravated by many factors a collar not a harness the heat any many many more but the cause is in breeding its genetic.