Severely collapsed trachea...what to do

I am in utter torment about what to do. My beloved bedwarmer and companion, who never leaves my side and has never had a collar on or been exposed to smoke, is suffering so horribly.

My husband said that I should put him to sleep. He is not even 4, yet!!! He is not a good candidate for the surgery and the medicine seems more of a waste of money (and traumatic vet visits) than anything else. The symptoms are not relieved and he suffers, so.

It started before age 2. It was occasional at the start, then several times a week. Now, its all day and almost constantly at night. Often, he is panicked and all I can do is try (helplessly) to comfort him as it happens. He gets unsteady on his feet during the fits, be it from the not breathing well, stress, vomiting or whatever.

Now, the fits are so bad that each night, each fit, I feel he is not going to survive and his last moments will be an agonizing death, slowly suffocating. Again, the meds aren't working very well.

Is my husband right? Should I put him down? I am dying inside. I don't want to do this, in case the vets are wrong and he could live a long time (I have seen them be wrong on such a prognosis...my first pom had this to a much more minor degree, was given 6 months and lived to be 12). Never have I seen anything like this, though!!! It's so horrible to watch, literally 5-10x per hour, 24 hours) and all I can do is cry, rock him and tell him "it's ok, mommy loves you".

Do I end his suffering?

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Severely collapsed trachea...what to do

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Feb 28, 2012

collapsed trachea
by: Donna

My pom has a collapsed trachea. I found what works for him is an antihistamine (zyrtec, chlortrimeton) along with a medication you get from the vet called Tramadol. It's a pain med for pets after surgery, but for some reason it helps with this. He gets both twice a day and he is doing fine.
I know how scary it is watching them go thru this.
I hope everything works out for the best

Feb 26, 2012

trachea, when all else fails try holistic
by: Anonymous

I had a pom with a tricky trachea and it would scare him when he was young. I had a lot of holistic friends around and believe it or not by the time he was two - a lot of reiki and therapeutic touch (which they also use with babies in the hospital) it calmed him (he was sensitive to energies) - helped him immensely. it lessoned his episodes and eventually stopped them for the most part to occasional and very short one sin times of excitement.
He lived to 13 1/2 when he had an on-going tooth problem which was cleaned up but not 'quite'. I took him back to the vet (which was a university top touch vet teaching hospital)- they wanted to do a needle biopsy rather than administer an antiboiotic again.
I would think to see about a resistant strain - he went in there very healthy for his age.....people in the waiting room thought he was a pup.
The vet did not listen to me as I had adamantly refused a needle biopsy. I saw no reason to risk this without trying an antibiody and a health check up first.
They (as a teaching hospital) went against my wishes knowing his record at age 1 and 2 and and about pom tracheas, they muzzled him beside.
He died on the check up table choking to death..and they wanted to try resuscitating him which I refused (I was afraid of brain damage to this very proud and intelligent dog).

I am still upset 9 years later that they killed my dog in this manner and should of known better
(head teaching vet). I lost my cool over this and cried and cried and never got over it.

POINT IS...........IN THE LAST FEW YEARS A LOT OF HOLISTIC PRACTICES HAVE GONE TO SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT FOR ANIMALS. IN THE CASE OF MY DUGAN..THEY WORKED FOR HIM AT A YOUNG AGE AND HELPED HIM THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF THE TRACHEA PROBLEM. HE WOULD PLAIN SCARE HIMSELF AND MAKE IT WORSE.
WHEN WE CALMED HIM ...........HE GOT BETTER....AS HE RELAXED. I HAD EXTREMELY ASTHMATIC CHILDREN AT THE TIME SO WAS WELL VERSED IN THAT.
WITH THE POM TRACHEA IT IS REVERSED, IT IS NOT THE MOTION OF BREATHING IN AND GASPING FOR AIR BUT OUT.......THEY TOLD ME AFTER EXPENSIVE X RAYS.

if nothing else is working.......and you have nothing to lose, try holistic.......massage, reikie, energy balancing.THERAPEUTIC TOUCH (NASSEAU USED THAT) ......it is calm and soothing and relaxing......and if you pom absorbs this treatment.........he learns to adjust and lose the fear of what happens with the breathing, just as a child does. WHEN relaxed, the recovery time is amazing and then constantly stabilizes.
to some of you it might sound crazy or hokey but it was so beneficial for my pom, it was unbelievable. it's better than meds to stop this cycle.

Sep 21, 2011

severely collapsed trachea
by: Andrea

Omg I have a Foster dog right now who is going through this. The lady at the Foster group thinks she had heart problems but now that I am reading this it sounds like it may be a damaged trachea.

I just recently volunteered to Foster an older pomy who was rescued by a pom group in my area. They were not sure of her age, they think she's 7, I'd say around 9 since she has very few teeth left and already getting the blue cloud in her little black eyes...She also had four surgeries the week before I brought her home. She had a double hernia, bladder/kidney stones removed, spay, and had a mammary tumor removed, and also dental. I understand I will probably be a permanent Foster and do not think she will ever be adopted as she has many health issues. She goes pee a lot, I mean A LOT..but I think this is due to the kidney stones, which I do not mind cleaning up after her. I bought baby pampers and poked a hole in the back for her tail and rig the diaper to where it does not fall down and is held up by her sweater. She will go every five minutes but only pees a.dime sized spot of pee. She also coughs a lot. I understand that due to all of her surgeries that her trachea could have been damaged. The lady at the Foster group says has thinks she has heart problems bc she is so old. It is a dry hacking type cough that goes on for a while. When I took her to the home of the lady who runs the rescue group she did not say to take her to the vet, she kinda just diagnosed the.dog herself and I brought her back home. I don't make a whole lot, I support my whole family, and have two poms of my own so I can't afford an outrageous vet bill. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I ask the.rescue group to pay for her to see a vet? Is there something I can do myself to make her comfortable? This old girl has been through so much. I don't want to send her back to the rescue lady bc she has several and this poor girl will live in her cage the.rest of her life bc she pees an they wont be as patient with carpet cleaning, diapers, constant coughing...

Is your boy still having coughing problems? This dog is very old so I'm not sure the rescue group will want to pay for a really expensive operation. I don't really know what to do at this point...

Aug 25, 2011

Horrible...
by: Anonymous

I can sense this happening to my pom as well. He gasps for air (sometimes), chokes up hairballs, and reverse sneezes. It freaks me out to hear him gasp for air. His previous owners (grrrrr) had him on a leash and a chain collar. I replaced that with a harness.

I am so sorry to hear about your young dog with this horrible condition. Can we all please remember to NOT feed our pets Pedigree, Iams, or Purina (there are more brands but i'll keep it short), for they contain the MOST fillers and grains. I took my pom off of his gross Iams diet because it was making his fur really, really dry and his skin irritable. Switched to blue buffalo and am now giving him Omega-3 supplements and eureeka! his coat is now nice and soft, fluffy, and his natural oils are displacing evenly. I hope you can get your dog help. If you go to a good animal hospital, they will have more options for you.Don't go cheap, and don't go inexperienced here, go with an older doctor that cares... Blessings!

Jul 11, 2011

collapsed trachea
by: Anonymous

I have a 10 yr old Pom, Gizmo, he also suffers from a collapsed trachea, i keep what the groomers call a very short puppy cut on him, surgery isnt for him, but if you go to a big city where they have top notch vets, surgery might work. I also recommend keep away from extreme heat and humidity, keep lean lean lean, this is a common thing among toy breeds,keep his teeth brushed as surgery might not be an option, i will say a prayer for you and your little friend, most of all you need to keep calm during these spells, get 2 or 3 opinions as vets can be wrong also, God Bless I hope you a long happy friendship with your little friend.

May 05, 2011

Prednisolone
by: C

My Pom is approaching 16 and besides the occasional sensitive stomach, his trachea problems sometimes flare up. Use a harness for walks, avoid strenuous exercise and extremes of weather and make sure he drinks plenty of water.

Has your vet ever prescribed prednisolone? It's an anti-inflammatory steroid which are prescribed in courses (usually a gradual increasing dosage during a 2-or-so week period). Most dogs achive good results from prednisolone. You'll notice the cough reducing after a few days if your dog responds well to it. The hacking cough of a collapsed trachea not only starves them of oxygen (check always for healthy pink gums and tongue), it often induces vomiting, and a constant sore throat; which anti-inflammatories can help reduce.

Your dog (if no other major problems exist) would be a good candidate for surgery because he's young for a pomeranian at 4 years of age. This gives him an excellent chance for a speedy recovery.

The sound of their hacking cough can be absolutely heart-wrenching, keep him calm and consult a different vet if you're vet has given you a dead-end. Best of luck, I hope he gets better soon.

Feb 20, 2011

Observe more closely
by: Anonymous

Poor little guy, feel so bad for him.

My guy was doing it pretty bad for a while too. He still does once in a while but not like every week like he used to, he is almost 4 as well.

We recently moved and before we were on hardwood and now its mostly carpet and the dogs seem to be healthier. We have two poms, the other one used to throw up constantly at the old place, but there was bugs, lots of them, and mold, and it was in a stinky big city. Now we are in the country and the puking has stopped as well as the coughing fits for the most part.

He could be allergic to the air, maybe try an air purifier to see if that can help him as well a humidifier, the air is especially dry on anyones throat in the winter/cold months especially for little fur balls.

Try keeping his hair short, especially near his bear, as well, feed him less try and keep him at a normal weight, any extra weight on a pom, even a point 1 on the scale as a dramatic effect at there size.

Good luck God Bless.

Dec 21, 2010

suffering
by: Mary

I am inclined to agree with your husband but you have both my sympathy and my prayers that God will guide you to make the right decision and the strength to see it through. Bless you dear.

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