My dog has a collapsed trachea. How can I prevent pneumonia?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Boop by Petco. I'm sorry to hear that Cassie was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, but I'm glad to hear that she is getting treated with antibiotics. Your idea of trying to feed small amounts at a time may help her, especially if you can try to form the food into little meatballs (if it is wet food). If she normally eats dry food, you can moisten the dry food and form it into little meatball-shaped pieces. This make be easier for her to swallow and cause her to cough less afterwards. That being said, coughing is not a bad thing when dogs have aspiration pneumonia. Coughing means their body is trying to cough up the mucus and phlegm that is down in their airways, and bring it up and out so they can breathe better. Her historical collapsing trachea should not make it difficult for her to swallow fluids, although it may contribute to her coughing. As long as Cassie still has a good appetite, is drinking, and is able to keep fluids and food down (

Typically, medical management of collapsing trachea includes cough suppressants such as hydrocodone, tapering doses of prednisone or inhaled steroids such as fluticasone. If Chaisey has developed an acute worsening of symptoms, thoracic radiographs and an airway wash should be considered to rule out infection. Albuterol is typically not helpful in my experience.

A narrow trachea could indeed be the cause of aspiration pneumonia in dogs, because they can have difficulties breathing they may need to take a breath while eating or drinking which causes aspiration pneumonia in some cases.

Collapsing trachea has no cure. There is a surgery that can be done depending on where the collapse is occurring, but it is not commonly recommended or performed due to risks and complications. It is not usually dangerous, but if the coughing can't get under control, then they may have a hard time breathing, which could be bad. Management of collapsing trachea include weight loss for overweight or obese dogs (the excess fat puts extra pressure on the trachea and makes breathing harder in general), decreasing stressful situation, avoiding the heat, and staying on top of coughing spells and allergies. Cough suppressants and/or steroids can help with episodes of coughing. Here is some more info: https://www.petcoach.co/article/collapsed-trachea-in-dogs/

Usually dogs with collapsed trachea will show signs (honking cough, possible breathing problems, eating, drinking, tracheal irritants (smoke or dust), obesity, and hot and humid weather.) after exercise, or excitement or jumping up and down. Treatment consists of giving cough suppressants, bronchodilators, corticosteroids to control inflammation, and/or antibiotics. In obese patients, weight loss helps decrease respiratory effort. In severe cases surgery is needed.

Some dogs with tracheal collapse need to stay on hydrocodone long term and also a bronchodilator. You should call your vet and give him/her an update and maybe your vet can just prescribe additional medications without having to take him back to the vet.

I would have Teddy examined by your veterinarian before giving him any medication. Coughing in dogs can be caused by tracheal collapse, but that tends to affected older animals predominantly. Coughing can also be caused by infection, or ingestion of foreign material, or allergies. Your vet will potentially want to take x-rays of Teddy's chest to make sure his lungs are normal and also the width of his trachea. They can recommend appropriate medications as well. Good luck!

Hello, and thank you for your question. If Lacy is only coughing once or twice at night, you can ask your vet about trying a cough suppressant for the night time only. However, if she is coughing frequently at night, I'd also want to rule out heart disease as an underlying cause. Coughing due to heart disease often happens during rest, as fluid accumulates in their lungs when they are lying on their sides. Chest x-rays would be necessary to rule this out. For dogs with collapsing trachea that cough regularly at all hours, you can ask your vet about using a bronchodilator, and/or inhaled steroids, which get the medicine directly into her lungs where she needs it, with minimal absorption into the rest of her body, in turn minimizing side effects of steroids. Check out the Aerodawg, which is an inhaler designed just for dogs. However, as stated earlier, if her coughing is minimal, just a cough suppressant at night may be enough. In addition, switching to a harness instead of a collar

I'm so sorry to hear that you think Jessie has tracheal collapse. Here is an article for more information. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1527 The best things you can do at home are to make sure that Jessie is not overweight and that she does not breathe in any irritants (such as cigarette smoke, scented candles, perfume, air fresheners, etc). Such things may make her disease worse. When you are able to have her evaluated, talk to your vet about some medications that may help her. Unfortunately, there aren't any over the counter medications for you to give at home that will be helpful. If Jessie is having any trouble breathing be sure to have her evaluated immediately. I hope that helps! Thanks for using Boop by Petco.

I hate to hear that Bonnie is having a problem with coughing. There are several reasons Bonnie may be coughing. Certainly a collapsing trachea is common in small breed dogs but other issues such as heart disease, allergic bronchitis, enlarged heart, tumors in the lungs, parasites or kennel cough can also cause coughing. Collapsing trachea is treated prednisone if the inflammation is severe but it is generally not the mainstay of treatment as it has systemic side effects on the body. Antibiotics are sometimes used if an infection is suspected but again, it is not the mainstay. Cough suppressants are the main choice to treat a collapsing trachea. Fatty acids and anti-oxidants can also be beneficial. An online veterinarian cannot prescribe any medications due to state and pharmacy laws. Your primary care veterinarian will be the person who can prescribe any needed medications (some of which can be purchased online but must be approved by your vet). I would recommend to make an appointme