Cody and CT
 

We went to the vet yesterday for Cody’s allergies, and a slight cough he’s had on and off for a week or 2. I was concerned the cough may be start of CT. GOOD NEWS not CT. Trying to avoid “back Lash” so I have to be detailed. Cody had been scratching for months, as many of you I assume know I adopted back in Nov. Cody came to me with several medical issues, unbeknown to my vet. (I adopted Cody through my vet) I saw his scratching the day I went to see him, he had just gotten shaved, I blew off the scratching due to the hair cut, thinking shaved hair could be on his skin causing the scratching. Taking Cody home the first day he had diarrhea with blood and mucus, I took him back to vet the next day, The vet started treating him for Colitis as this is what I thought it was and did not bring in a stool sample. I also told my vet about the scratching, She advised as to not stress out this dog that was just rescued she will address each issue separately, starting with the most severe, the diarrhea, with blood & mucus. After several different meds & treatment and tech big time screw up of stool samples I was bringing in, it was discovered by using a scope Cody had a stricture. My vet used the inflated balloon which worked for one day, so surgery had to be performed. This was in April. Cody has had BEAUTIFUL poop lol. I wanted this poor lil boy to re-coop from all the months he suffered before coming to me, and the time he was with me and had this problem. The scratching continued. In May I called my vet to see can we start doing something about this, she said it could be food allergies, feed him limited ingredients food with either Bison or venison. So he has been on that for 3 months, and still scratching. Reason for vet visit yesterday. 7 days before the visit Cody refused the food he LOVED, the dry food, he LOVES the crunchy kibbles, will not eat if moist. He wouldn’t eat for one entire day, I was feeding limited ing. with venison, I thought he was tired of the venison so I went out and got him the Bison, still not eating. When my dogs refuse to eat I will always buy boneless chicken cutlets, boil them up and feed to them, if they refuse to eat chic then I know they are sick. Cody ate the chic. I didn’t offer the kibbles. When I saw he ate the chic I knew he wasn’t sick. The next feeding (he eats twice a day) I mixed the chic with the dry food, he picked out the chic and left the kibbles. Cody is not a picky eater, he will eat whatever you give him, there had to be a reason he wasn’t eating the kibble that he LOVES so much. I added chic broth to the kibble, added more shredded chic, OMG, he was like a vacuum it was gone in a blink of the eye. So for the rest of the week that is how I feed him, kibble soaked in broth mixed with shredded kibble. I thought there must be a tooth / teeth issue that he couldn’t eat hard kibble only moist. I told all this to the vet yesterday. So this is the results of the vet visit. For the itching he was given an injection of Apoquel, this I was told stops itching for 3 days giving enough time for the other meds to kick in.The meds I was given was (the bill reads Dexamethasone), the vile is labeled Apoquel? And a vile of Cetirizine. My vet said he has nasal drip irritating his throat, dry food is scratching his throat that is why he is eating the moist kibble, the Cetirizine is to treat the nasal drip and controls itching. The coughing is from the allergies, to me it looked like she put her arm under his chest, pushed up and at the same time kinda squeezed pinched his throat and he did that cough, she did this 2 or 3 times, then said cough is allergy related. Since the injection and so far meds were given one last night and one this morning no scratching. The Cetirzine is short term. From what I have read on YT environmental allergies meds have to be taken for life. I guess I have to wait until all meds are finished, close to finish or scratching begins to ask my vet he Cody is to stay on Dexamethasone / Apoquel. I checked out the meds on the internet, I need a couple of asprins. So mush information and I learned nothing about the meds other than Dexamethasone has a lot of side effects these are the ones I see affecting Cody. Increase in food and water intake has been drinking a lot… and Increased urination he has been Peeing a lot. Any thoughts on the meds he was given. Sorry for long thread I just wanted to cover all bases.

Im not sure what they are for sure, but chester has had prednisone before and it will make them urinate a lot, it is an antiinflammatory

I guess every vet is different because your vet pressed the neck and he coughed and said allergies. I have heard that online that it is allergies when vets do that but my vet and other vets on this forum have done the same test and said it is from collapse trachea if they can elicit a cough by touching the neck. So I am confused which one is it? My dog is very itching to and he has problems with acid reflex. If I don't feed him fast enough he will vomit yellow bile. So I sometimes wonder if that is irriating his throat and causing a quick cough.

I think it depends on how the dog coughs, because I know rubbing the throat can also get a dog with KC to cough. I found a video of a vet showing what coughing from allergies sounds like.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_2qA_pnLEM

LOl we are so much alike I found that video too!! That is how Sammie coughed when the vet pushed his neck and she still said CT

lol, yes we are. When Lexi coughs her mouth looks closed, but I can still feel air coming out of her mouth, not open like the dog in the video. I always heard you don't see allergies in young puppies. Lexi itches some too, but the vet didn't seem to think it could be allergies since she is so young.

I have had some vets tell me yes to young for allergies and other no not to young. That is why I like Yorkie Talk because I thinks that is how you can get the best information for experience of other dogs. I wish more people that read the posts would comment. You get 89 people look at it but only 3 comment. I think its helpful if people comment so we can all learn

I posted this in another thread but I wanted to add it to yours as well as Buster is going through similar symptoms. We just got back from the Vets today. Buster started backing away from his wet food and treats and although he would eat his kibble he was not enthusiastic. That for Buster is a big deal, he loves food. He also has been biting his rear, underarms, and paws, rubbing his face and dragging his stomach. I also noticed he had a stuffy nose and more occurences of reverse sneezing and a slight darkening to his belly skin. The Vet diagnosed him with flea dermatitis and allergies. He also has swollen lymph glands. She said he was backing away from his food because he was nauseous and gave him a shot of Convenia and Cerenia pills for the nasea. She has prescribed Prednisone for the swollen lymph glands. She said the swelling was causing the the stuffy nose and the increase in reverse sneezing. I am doing the Comprehensive Plus Allergy panel (110 allergies) and a special Diet food allergy panel with 11 ingredients found in premium and holistic diets. That way I will know what is causing him issues rather than trying to figure it out by diet because he just has been miserable. I have reservations about the flea & heartworm treatment she recommended and that I bought as it is Triflexis and from what I am reading I don't think that is what I want to use. I do have to find something as he is really allergic to flea bites and I think I might be washing off the Frontline Plus I was using. I too worried that it was CT or aspiration pneumonia but it seems to be more due to allergies.

Thank you Carolyn, that was very considerate of you to add your thread to mine, it's just another thing I will look for. Cody had nasal drip that was irritating his throat causing him pain when he ate his dry kibble. He was given Apoquel for the nasal drip, which has helped as he's been eating his kibble for appox 6 days, but still on that med. I know nothing about human allergies let alone dog's. With all the dogs I have had none of them ever had allergies. I have much to learn. Thank you again.

Joan it looks like you and I are on a similar learning curve. I hope we both find solutions for our poor dogs. Best wishes.

I'll tell you this much, it's a good thing I had gery hair when I got lil boy, with all that I have been through with this lil guy, if it wasn't grey before it would be now from all this worrying lol. Everything Cody has, that is how he came to me. Poor lil thing was sick a long time with prev. owner, so this is not going to be a quick fix. Reverse sneezing, 7 dogs over the past 40 years, I never heard of reverse sneezing, I don't even know what that sounds like lol, Stumbling upon YT was the best thing, I have learned so many things that can befall these small breed babies, so my eyes and ears are in tuned. All my past dogs never had what Cody has had or is going through now. Yes it seems you and I are on the same learning curve, that I am hoping will end soon. Again Carolyn, thank you.

All meds can have side effects. You have to weigh out are they side effects I can live with or not to see if you want to give that med

As I have said many times, CT is not as common as many people on this forum seem to think lately.

If any of you ever have a dog with CT you will more than likely have no doubt what you are dealing with. I only had one pup with a severe collapse that did not exhibit classic symptoms and I have had a few who did. I pray you never have a pup with it. It is a very sad condition in most cases.

If a dog is coughing, he/she needs to do to the vet. As for how vets diagnose, it simply is not as simple as it sounds; and, yes, if a vet manipulates the trachea they can often get that telling response that it is CT/ but to be perfectly frank it takes a history and multiple exams for a conclusive diagnosis. Vets do it just as *one* diagnostic tool.

I have tried over and over lately to put people's fears to rest on this forum; and, hopefully some are helped by it. It bothers me immensely that so many people are thinking their dogs have this because, as I said before, it simply is not that common; and I go by that old saying "be careful what you ask for". We often have a tendency to think the worst; and it is a vet's job to look at all possibilities, starting with the most obvious which, in a cough, would not be CT.

This thread title really concerned me when I saw it....it looked like Cody had been diagnosed with CT. Thankfully that is not so! :) I did not read the entire post but read enough to see that it is not CT. Yay!

Yay is right, I thank you again for your input,your first post was very informative for ME, thanks to you I know what type of testing would need to be done to get a positive diagnostic on CT. I hope anyone that would read my thread gets out of your input that I did. I would like to again thank you for this re-enforcement.

Ladyjane I did have a dog with CT. At the begnining. 1 year old she would sometimes do the quick fast cough after drinking and sometimes well out running she would do it too. For years she only would do that quick fast cough on and off. Then at 8 she started to faint. The vets told me seizures but I beleive it was from CT becasue she would have problems breathing after the fainting. Then at 12 the honking cough they did a xray and said englarged heart pressing on the trachea. So thats why I feel my puppy might have early signs of CT becasue he does the exact same thing my other dog did. I think a lot more dogs have it then people thing. A lot of dogs cough and owners just ignore it thinking it just is allergies or normal but everyone that I talk to that has a dog that coughs early on ends up having CT later in life. What I mean by that is they have significant signs. Honking cough. problems breathing. Not all dogs will die from CT complications. Some dogs live forever with it and die of something different.

So I guess what I am saying if a dog does a quick fast cough as a puppy does not mean he has severe CT. I think it means he will have the chance of getting severe CT in the future when he gets older. Not all dogs with CT go into the severe case. Does that make sense

It doesn't even mean he has CT. As for how they will be in the future, no one has a crystal ball. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

It's really quite simple. If a dog is coughing, he/she needs to see a vet. If it continues perhaps further diagnostics are in order.

All I can say is: Be careful what you ask for.

Exactly we don't have a crystal ball so we don't know if it will get worse if it is ct. Not all coughs are due to ct but I feel from research most are.

It drives me crazy too. Someone will do a thread - My dog is coughing what are the signs and symptoms of CT and what can be done about it All I am thinking is why are you jumping the gun and thinking its CT it could be so many other things. Take your dog to the vet and find out before assuming the worst. At least when you know that it is or isnt then you can ;ook at what you need to do to manage it

The only experience I have had with CT was back in early 1990's. At that time vets did not advise against using collars for leash walks. All My dogs had collars for leash walks. All my yorkies pulled like crazy on leash walks, I had 3 at that time, all 3 years apart. They pulled because who wanted to be the first one to get to their dog friends to get that first hello kiss from their buds. For years I tried to break their leash pulling, walking 3 dogs all pulling was not fun for me. One of my pups the middle one developed a cough, I thought nothing of it, but then it became worse, so off to the vet we went. It was diagnosed as CT from the constant pulling on the leash, remember, all my dogs wore collars. Even then the vet did not say not to use collars, I took it upon my self to use only harnesses on all 3 dogs. Also meds were not given for CT back then (I guess) The coughing lessened after she was put on the harness, She lived a healthy life for 6 or 7 years after diagnosed with CT. She died at age 13 y/o, in the house of a stroke. That has been my only experience with CT, so many years ago.

I had a dog with CT in the 90s and I absolutely was told not to leash walk him. I don't believe that collars necessarily cause CT...it is a weakening of the trachea and a collar will certainly aggravate but is not the total cause. The fact that three dogs you were walking all pulled and one had CT would make that obvious in my mind.

I have posted before about him. His name was Maxwell and I almost lost him after cervical disc surgery because of his trachea. That surgery was in 2004 .. he was old then and ended up passing away in 2006 but not from CT.

As for meds, they absolutely prescribed them for the symptoms of CT. One must remember that they are treating symptoms, not the condition as there is no med that will "fix it".

Yep...

We thought bogie had CT for the vet visit a few weeks ago. Our vet didn't say it was 100% but that if his cough worsened we could do an x-Ray. I jumped to conclusions that he did have it because the cough was getting worse and at an alarming rate.
Instead of just assuming it was the CT I took Bogie in for a digital x-Ray. Thank goodness his trachea was open and working fine, he did have some fluid in the lower trachea ,throat area. His heart is also sitting very high in his chest, this causing a cough when he's walked on a harness.
I was beside myself with fear when he was getting worse by the day. Only 4days of meds and the cough when playing and getting excited is gone.
We will always have to be careful on the type harness he wears because of the heart being so close to his windpipe, but I will take this diagnosis any day.

I want to add. Bogie has had the cough when walking on harness his entire life. I never mentioned it to the vet because it was the only time it happened. I never thought it was CT and was shocked to think it might be when my vet heard Bogie cough because he walked into the office that day on harness. Otherwise I wouldn't know today this the had the fluid and the situation with his heart

Chaachi what are the other reasons a dog would cough when drinking water or when pulling on a leash or when getting excited or when scratching his neck. Becasue that is what my puppy does. I would think that would be from a weak trachea. I am not saying it is fully collapsed but I do think he has a problem with his trachea and don;t think I am jumping to conclusions becasue two vets pressed his trachea and said yes CT. I would love it if i was jumping to conclusion.

You need to have him exrayed to know for sure I wouldnt rely on a vets opinion on something so serious. It could be reverse sneezing or anything else read Jadabugs post about what it ended up being and she was concerned her dog may have CT too

What research? I would like to see that because I have never heard that most coughs are due to CT.

Everywhere online you look for a dog that has a quick fast gag cough, when drinking or when playing hard or pulling on a leash they say is due to CT. Now I am not saying the CT is a severe case. Just that it is most likely due to a weak trachea. Even most vets say it. Especially if it is a puppy it is not usually due to heart failure or kennel cough. Kennel cough has a specific sound just like a reverse sneeze does. Some say allergies but I have never had a vet say a cough was due to allergies and I have seen many vets in my time.

My dogs gag they sound like they are gaging up a hair ball have been doing it for ten years now it isnt frequent but they do it

I am sorry I don't mean to upset anyone. I just got two vets opinions and both said probably CT. Second vet said not to do the expensive testing at this time becasue it is mild. I just thought it would be good to come on here and read other peoples experiences with there yorkies. I sometimes think owners know more than the vets. I wanted to get other peoples stories on dogs that have the quick fast cough (not a reverse sneeze) so I can feel better about my puppy knowing other peoples dogs do it and are still around years later. Just want to do whats best for the puppy if I can help him.