# Collapsed trachea



## Sketchisfuzzy (Mar 29, 2007)

Hey all! 

We just rescued a little senior maltese/shih-tzu mix who has been diagnosed with a collapsed trachea and a heart murmur. The trachea issue causes him to cough in this terrible "honking" sound. Has anyone else ever dealt with this issue? Any words of wisdom or sagely advice? 

THANKS! 

Helen


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Watch his exercise level, put him on a good diet, and use a harness. I'm sure your vet has advised you of these things? Is he on any meds? Poor guy...he's so lucky to have found you.


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## DogsforMe (Mar 11, 2007)

Welcome to DF & good on you for rescuing this little guy. Look forward to hear more about him.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My papillon honks sometimes. I switched to a harness, from a collar, when she was young. That helps. And sometimes she just can't seem to stop. If I pick her up and gently rub up and down gently (like you're massaging the trachea) along the trachea and at the back of the throat area, it seems to help. Sometimes you have to repeat it for a few minutes.


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## Sketchisfuzzy (Mar 29, 2007)

Thanks all for the warm welcome and replies to my post. I will try using only a harness when I walk Bentley. I just feel so bad for him. I am calling the vet when they open. He had an awfully long episode of honking last night. He has to be worn out. The vet put him on a broad spectrum atb (in case he has any secondary infections from the pound) and a bronchiodilator to try and help his lungs be able to pull in all the air they can. 

Thanks again...Will keep you posted.

Helen and Bentley


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## LoveLilly (Oct 25, 2006)

I learned after buying my papillon that collapsing trachea is common in small breed dogs. Are you sure its that and not kennel cough? We thought Lilly had collapsed trachae and it turned out to be kennel cough.

Lilly does hack more than honk from time to time but it after a very hyper episode of chase & she just needs to settle down and she's fine.


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## Sketchisfuzzy (Mar 29, 2007)

THe vet took an X-ray last night and it does show a collapsed trachea pretty far down and pretty collapsed...But I am beginning to theorize that he may also have Kennel cough which is irritating his trechea, because he was also sneezing and snorfelly (or maybe it is just allergies irritating his trachea)...It just seems weird that from Sunday to Wednesday he showed no signs of this honking business and then yesterday he starts with it...Unless he was masking the symptoms until he felt comfortable enough with us to not put up those natural defenses. As of yesterday none of the other dogs he was brought into that pound with were showing signs of kennel cough. At this point we can't get the antibiotic in him to deal with any underlying infections...sigh...  

H.


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## bearlasmom (Feb 4, 2007)

Sketchisfuzzy said:


> THe vet took an X-ray last night and it does show a collapsed trachea pretty far down and pretty collapsed...But I am beginning to theorize that he may also have Kennel cough which is irritating his trechea, because he was also sneezing and snorfelly (or maybe it is just allergies irritating his trachea)...It just seems weird that from Sunday to Wednesday he showed no signs of this honking business and then yesterday he starts with it...Unless he was masking the symptoms until he felt comfortable enough with us to not put up those natural defenses. As of yesterday none of the other dogs he was brought into that pound with were showing signs of kennel cough. At this point we can't get the antibiotic in him to deal with any underlying infections...sigh...
> 
> H.


they can often have episodes of pronounced honking, especially if they have been exercising or extremely active. Try making his foods softer for him to swallow, if you are feeding dry foods, mix it with a bit of milk or soup boulion. Keep a humidifer going in the house and if he gets too bad especially if he has kennel cough on top of everything else, i would suggest that you take him in a bathroom with the door closed and a towel against the bottom of the door (to seal in steam) and run hot water in your shower for about 10 mins. much in the same way that you do with a child with croup. I do this with my daughters chihuahua.



Sketchisfuzzy said:


> THe vet took an X-ray last night and it does show a collapsed trachea pretty far down and pretty collapsed...But I am beginning to theorize that he may also have Kennel cough which is irritating his trechea, because he was also sneezing and snorfelly (or maybe it is just allergies irritating his trachea)...It just seems weird that from Sunday to Wednesday he showed no signs of this honking business and then yesterday he starts with it...Unless he was masking the symptoms until he felt comfortable enough with us to not put up those natural defenses. As of yesterday none of the other dogs he was brought into that pound with were showing signs of kennel cough. At this point we can't get the antibiotic in him to deal with any underlying infections...sigh...
> 
> H.


also keep him quiet if you can and make him rest.


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## Sketchisfuzzy (Mar 29, 2007)

bearlasmom said:


> they can often have episodes of pronounced honking, especially if they have been exercising or extremely active. Try making his foods softer for him to swallow, if you are feeding dry foods, mix it with a bit of milk or soup boulion. Keep a humidifer going in the house and if he gets too bad especially if he has kennel cough on top of everything else, i would suggest that you take him in a bathroom with the door closed and a towel against the bottom of the door (to seal in steam) and run hot water in your shower for about 10 mins. much in the same way that you do with a child with croup. I do this with my daughters chihuahua.


OK...will do that...Something needs to be done...He is miserable and it sounds just horrible. I have been feeding him wet food (he prefers it) but he didn't seem interested in eating anything today. I couldn't entice him with anything. I'll do some beeef bullion when I get home. It doesn't seem to be triggered at all by activity since his main activity is sitting/laying and getting scratchies. 

THANKS! 

Helen


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## bearlasmom (Feb 4, 2007)

no problem, by the way what type of food are you feeding him? brand i mean


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## Sketchisfuzzy (Mar 29, 2007)

bearlasmom said:


> no problem, by the way what type of food are you feeding him? brand i mean


Right now I am trying to get him to eat anything...I picked up some A/D food from the vet which is high in protein and fat, etc to get him some nutrients...For the first couple of days before he got so sick, I was giving him Natural Life Adult Lamaderm. It's a moist per food and one not on that recall list otherwise I would have gotten Authority or Nutro. 

H.


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## Ratelo (Mar 31, 2007)

Hello everyone!

Just ran into this site while looking for answers that are related to this thread. My 13 yr old mutt started coughing about three months ago, the vet said it is a heart condition and she has been taking enlapamil (sp) and lasix. He had given her hydrocondone that took care of the cough but he only gave her that a week. Today she has been "honking" really bad, so bad am very worried.

All her life she has worn a harness and eaten dry food. Guess I will have to start mixing the food with liquid to soften it. If there are any other tips on dealing with this issue I will appreciate it, that way I'll be able to calm my mother (she got the dog from my brother that passed in 2001 and she is very worried..almost desperate).

Warm (and wet) greetings from the Caribbean


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## HoundDog76 (Apr 5, 2007)

Hi all, I have an 8yr old Aussie and have been through alot of this just like you. We adopted him at 3 yrs old and over the course of the first year, he would cough every once and a while on walks, but several times over the year he would have these horrible coughing fits. They were bad enough that we had to take him to the emergency clinic out here.

At first we thought he had something stuck in the back of his throat it was so bad, then they thought it was kennel cough. Eventually we narrowed it down to being a partially collapsed trachea. 

My vet reccomended a really fantastic walking harness called a Bjorkis walking harness. It has really helped. Here's a link... (http://www.pawlickers.com/products/gear/walking_harness.html)

I also switched from dry kibble to a homemade diet. It's a lot of work, but all three of my dogs seem to be doing better on it. If anyone is thinking of going that route, I would reccomend Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats. Here's another link... (http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Complete-Guide-Natural-Health/dp/0875962432) I'm so glad I'm not feeding kibble anymore what with poisoning going on now.

Anyway, I hope that helps. I know it's worked for me.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Ratelo...your issue is totally different than a collapsed trachea. I'm not sure that changing to a wet food would make a difference in your dog's case. Your dog has heart failure. The meds your dog is on are high blood pressure meds to reduce the stress on the heart, just as we would do with a human. The enalapril is a newer med that works very well (in humans too!) and the lasix is a diuretic so that the dog will be more apt to get the excess fluid out of the system by increased urination. (Think of it as a pipe that is a certain inside diameter. if you put more fluid at the same flow rate through the pipe, the pipe has to expand to accomodat the additional fluid, so one of the goals is to reduce the fluid in the system, however, do not restrict your dog's water intake, that will not help and may hurt) The coughing was caused by the backup of fluid into the lungs because the heart is not moving the fluid fast enough into the blood stream. As people and animals age our hearts may become less efficient and this is the result.
Be sure that your dog is on a high quality diet and that you keep her as close to an optimal weight as possible. Obesity will worsen the condition much faster.
Also, your vet should ocassionally be checking your dog's potassium levels. Whenever there is a diuretic involved (lasix) and the dog is urinating more there is a chance that the dog is losing too much potassium in the urine output.


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