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Old April 27th, 2009, 07:57 AM
mindy10 mindy10 is offline
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Anyone Have Dog With Collapse Trachea

Hi does anyone out there have experience with a dog that had collapse trachea. My vets are telling me my dog has both collapse treachea and heart disease. She has always had couching spells here and there due to the collapse but now they are daily. She is at the point if she barks she will faint for 5 seconds. She still eats and loves to go to the park and eat her treats so im wondering when do you know the time is right to put them down. Im hysterially crying on and off for days trying to make the right decision. It makes me sick to my stomach thining of what I would be doing. I feel like im killing somebody. Thanks Mindy
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Old April 27th, 2009, 04:24 PM
kandy kandy is offline
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While I have never dealt with this condition personally, I do know that there are things you can do to deal with the collapsed trachea. With some modifications, she can still live a good long life.

As far as whether the time has come for your dog to go to the bridge, only you and your vet can decide that. I think if your dog is still enjoying her life, well....a lot of dogs live comfortably with all sorts of health conditions.

How old is the dog? Is she overweight? Does she wear a harness or a collar?
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Old April 27th, 2009, 04:34 PM
kandy kandy is offline
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I just went back and see that the dog is a maltese and she's 11 years old. Tracheal collapse is common in the small breeds.

Because weight plays a huge part in respiratory disorders, if she's overweight it will help considerably to get the extra weight off of her. It will make it easier for her to breathe, and her heart won't have to work so hard. I'd also suggest trading her collar for a harness so that she is not putting any pressure whatsoever on her trachea. Limiting her activity level will also help. There are medicines that will help to keep her airways open, and of course there are meds to control her heart condition.
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Old April 27th, 2009, 05:12 PM
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Scuba Scuba is offline
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Sorry to hear about your little one's poor health. I don't personally have any pets of my own at the moment. However I do volunteer at my local shelter a little bit. There are often times dogs come down with kennel cough. Whilst no where near the severity of a collapsed trachea, we always walk those dogs on a harness. So I would do what Kandy has suggested already. Change from a collar to a harness for walks and exercises. Still use a collar for the tags and registrations but don't walk the dog on it.
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