If theophylline and/or hydrocodone does not stop the coughing for a dog with collapsed trachea, what is the next step to give relief? My dog is on both meds, but she may still cough occasionally after administration.. My concern is the way her coughing has been sounding recently.

Hello and thank you for your question. I hate it that the medications are not providing cough relief for your dog. In my experience, if these two medications are not stopping the cost of a tracheal collapse patient, then surgery should be considered. there are so many great surgical methods and treatments now for collapsing trachea. One of them being a mesh wire coil that can be placed in the trachea to keep it dilated without the possibility of collapse. These are usually performed by surgical specialists and your general veterinarian may have to refer you to one of them. I urge you to make an appointment with your local veterinarian to discuss possible surgical options for your dogs condition. I hope I have helped.

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 appointment for Bonnie for an exam and a radiograph. The doctor will listen to her heart and lungs and check her trachea for sensitivity. A radiograph (x-ray) is the primary way to diagnose a collapsing trachea. It will also show the heart and lungs which will be examined for any other abnormalities. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there. I'm so sorry to hear about your dog's troubles. Collapsing trachea can be a very frustrating condition. The therapies used can also be hit or miss as far as their efficacy. They may help very much, just a little bit, and sometimes not at all. The surgical procedure can be considered at any time honestly. I would however, make sure any and all other conditions causing chronic cough have been ruled out. This can be anything from infection to allergy to a heart condition and then some. When you're ready to consider the procedure, it will likely have to be done at a specialty hospital. Normally you'd first go for a consult to discuss the option. They will discuss the procedure in detail, recovery period and what to expect, and also the pros and cons of the surgery. Some downsides to the surgery can be how invasive and time consuming it is. This can create a prolonged period of anesthesia for the pet, which always comes with risks. There is also the potential for nerve and blood vessel damage to the area, as well as increased likelihood of chronic inflammation due to the sutures placement. The specialty center may want to confirm your pet has this condition doing additional tests prior to the procedure due to how invasive it is. I personally don't really recommend the surgery, but choose to manage the symptoms to help the pet be more comfortable. This can sometimes result in a few medications having to be given daily. I also will refer to the holistic veterinarian in town as there are options as far as herbal medicine and acupuncture that can be attempted. I am a huge believer in mixing holistic and traditional medicine. I have had much success with doing so in a lot of dogs with varying conditions. I also have had some positive improvements as far as symptoms with therapeutic laser treatments. All in all, I always tell my clients that the surgical procedure should be considered only when we are at risk for pulmonary hypertension, or absolutely nothing is working to manage the symptoms. Once we get to this point, I always have a long conversation about quality of life, age and how stressful the procedure can be on a patient, potential complications, and cost before referral to a specialty hospital. If we still want to proceed at that point, I will refer for an initial consult with a surgeon. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do everything and anything, and there is also nothing wrong with focusing on quality of life for as long as possible. I hope this answer was helpful to you. Best of luck!