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My dog coughs when excited, drinks water. Is it collapsed trachea?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | unneutered | 4 years and 2 months old

My dog sounds like he's having an asthma attack Everytime he gets excited and I have to rub his throat to help soothe it. He also coughs when he drinks water. It's on going 4 years. He's had antibiotics but nothing has helped. He's a very happy dog normally. Is there anything I can do to help him

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 16th, 2019

Has your dog ever had an xray of his throat (windpipe)? If not I highly recommend that you talk to your veterinarian about such an x-ray. Small dogs often suffer from a collapsed trachea (wind pipe) and this can be diagnosed easily with radiographs. Here is some information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/collapsed-trachea-in-dogs/ I hope that helps.

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    Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 17th, 2016

    She could have a condition called tracheal collapse. This condition causes coughing/checking sounds in the pits gets excited or drinks water. Have you Venerian do a simple physical examination and they should be able to determine if this is present. Tracheal collapse can be managed with medical intervention from your veterinarian.

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