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Has anyone ever had a dog that suffered from pretty severe collapsing trachea? Did your dog pass out from not being able to breath?
My nearly 13 year old papillon has had three "seizures" within the past 5 days. I have come to suspect that they might not be actual seizures but more a result of asphyxiation We have a vet appointment tomorrow, but I was hoping that someone here might have experience with this. I am honestly not sure how to determine if he is having seizures vs. passing out and convulsing from lack of oxygen, but hopefully the vet can help me out. Until last week, this particular dog has never been sick a day in his life, aside from his steadily worsening "goose honking" caused by the trachea issues.
Hope it's not serious, and they can solve the problem.
Could also be heart related,
Wishing you both all the best hoping for good news
take care.
Thanks. A year ago at his annual physical his heart sounded great, bloodwork was all normal. I know things can change quickly though. I am hoping that this can be managed, but my fear is that he is experiencing the horrible sensation of asphyxiation every 2 days now. I think I can mentally handle the idea of a seizure, where he is not aware of not being able to breath. But if he is essentially choking to death, and aware of it, well, that is just horrifying to me. I hope this is not the case.
Is it possible for you to video the next incident so your vet can see what it looks like? Collapsing trachea is no fun to deal with. I hope you get some good answers that will give you something to work with!
This sounds like one of my dogs, a 12 year-old Lab. He has Dialated Cardio Myopathia (an enlarged heart). The heart has increased in size and is taking the room needed for his lungs. He has distended abdomen, looks pregnant, from water gain. He was given 2 weeks to live but has survived for almost 2 years since with fluid and heart medicine. Sometimes it sounds like he's coughing up a furr ball. An X-Ray can diagnose this quickly. This came on quickly, about one week from when I noticed it till I took him to a vet. Riding in a vehicle worsens it, but he's comfortable at home.
Is it possible for you to video the next incident so your vet can see what it looks like? Collapsing trachea is no fun to deal with. I hope you get some good answers that will give you something to work with!
So far no luck. Might try to induce one with exercise at the vet, if she thinks it is possible and helpful. No luck catching one randomly so far.
This sounds like one of my dogs, a 12 year-old Lab. He has Dialated Cardio Myopathia (an enlarged heart). The heart has increased in size and is taking the room needed for his lungs. He has distended abdomen, looks pregnant, from water gain. He was given 2 weeks to live but has survived for almost 2 years since with fluid and heart medicine. Sometimes it sounds like he's coughing up a furr ball. An X-Ray can diagnose this quickly. This came on quickly, about one week from when I noticed it till I took him to a vet. Riding in a vehicle worsens it, but he's comfortable at home.
Yea, i do wonder about heart problems. Except he looks completely healthy. No extended abdomen. Perfect body condition, good flexibility. He looks like a healthy, young dog except for the cough.
Hi Voltige -- My almost 16-year old shih tzu (recently passed) was diagnosed with a collapsing trachea and seizures and CHF, among many other age-related issues.
The collapsing trachea diagnosis was changed to a laryngeal spasm diagnosis last year, I believe, but he suffered from the symptoms since 2006. Gasping for air; teeth clinched; loud, heavy breathing; blue lips and gums if the episode lasted too long. I gave him modified CPR -- breathing into and out of his nose, etc -- many, many times over the years and he was never left alone due to this condition. It scared the he** out of him, and I was afraid I'd come home and find him dead. (This happened as often as a couple of times per week for weeks on end, but then we might go months with it not occurring.)
Now his seizures, OTOH, were totally different. He had mostly grand mal seizures, usually cluster, and a few petite mal. So the grand mal (tonic clonic) left him falling to the ground, howling a most unearthly howl, convulsing, paddling his legs, and usually losing control of his bladder. With the petite mal (partial) seizure, I would just happen to look at him, and his eyes would be blank for just a couple of seconds and then he'd snap out of it. Thank goodness, this didn't happen often. I preferred the grand mal -- even though that howl will scare you to death -- because I knew it was happening.
Barnaby also did had an enlarged heart, also since 2006. I had to put him down on July 31 (the hardest thing I've ever done). He went into acute heart failure on June 29/30, and we treated him by putting him into an oxygen cage for 24+ hours. This bought me a little more time with him -- 31 days. When he went into acute heart failure again, I had to let him go because nothing more could be done. I tell you this because his breathing/coughing during these two events was totally different than the collapsing trachea/laryngeal spasm. Different in that it sounded watery and like congestion and nothing I did could help him catch his breath. It also sounded like it came from his chest and not from his head and throat, if this makes sense.
Hope this helps... good luck at the vet today!
Edited to add: Just thought of one other thing. A dog who's in chronic CHF but not acute CHF may have a cough that sounds like it's coming from the chest, almost like bronchitis, but not watery. I know you're not really worried about a heart issue, but I did want to mention this difference since I talked about acute CHF.
It is heart failure. Very atypical presentation. Hope to be able to manage medically. The vet was shocked at how good and normal he looked compared to his chest x rays. Just goes to show ya.....
OH NO! I am so sorry. I hope very much that the medical plan your vet lays out for you buys you the time that you need with your little guy. I had 31 extra days with Barnaby after he went into acute failure the first time, about six extra months if I count the days from the first time he started coughing, and six years of him living with mitral valve disease. Every single day was precious.
The medicines that he took were critical, and managing his heat level and stress was essential.
Very best of luck to you...
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We have a vet appointment tomorrow, but I was hoping that someone here might have experience with this. I am honestly not sure how to determine if he is having seizures vs. passing out and convulsing from lack of oxygen, but hopefully the vet can help me out. Until last week, this particular dog has never been sick a day in his life, aside from his steadily worsening "goose honking" caused by the trachea issues.
