Can my dog's collapsed trachea symptoms appear suddenly overnight?

Usually dogs with collapsed trachea will show signs (honking cough, possible breathing problems, eating, drinking, tracheal irritants (smoke or dust), obesity, and hot and humid weather.) after exercise, or excitement or jumping up and down. Treatment consists of giving cough suppressants, bronchodilators, corticosteroids to control inflammation, and/or antibiotics. In obese patients, weight loss helps decrease respiratory effort. In severe cases surgery is needed.

Hello, and thank you for your question. If Lacy is only coughing once or twice at night, you can ask your vet about trying a cough suppressant for the night time only. However, if she is coughing frequently at night, I'd also want to rule out heart disease as an underlying cause. Coughing due to heart disease often happens during rest, as fluid accumulates in their lungs when they are lying on their sides. Chest x-rays would be necessary to rule this out. For dogs with collapsing trachea that cough regularly at all hours, you can ask your vet about using a bronchodilator, and/or inhaled steroids, which get the medicine directly into her lungs where she needs it, with minimal absorption into the rest of her body, in turn minimizing side effects of steroids. Check out the Aerodawg, which is an inhaler designed just for dogs. However, as stated earlier, if her coughing is minimal, just a cough suppressant at night may be enough. In addition, switching to a harness instead of a collar can be very helpful, as it minimizes pressure on the trachea when the dog is pulling on the leash. I hope this helps, and that Lacy is doing well!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Generally, tracheal collapse is diagnosed based on many findings but usually at least radiographs or fluoroscopy are needed to make a diagnosis. Even though it is possible that Savanna has tracheal collapse, there are other possible things that she could have such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among other possibilities. This warrants a veterinary evaluation. Good luck and have a great day!

Based on the symptoms you've provided, it is very possible Mimi has a collapsing trachea. This is when a portion of the trachea (the wind pipe) is too narrow for one reason or another. This is can be due to structural abnormalities, inflammation in or around the trachea, and can also be a secondary result of cardiac disease. As the heart gets bigger, the trachea can get pushed up until it has no place to go. If your dog isn't having any active distress from these episodes, it isn't an emergency. However, since it is something abnormal that is happening with great frequency, I would recommend having your regular vet check your pup from head to toe. Getting a chest xray will confirm or rule out if this is the issue. Hope this makes sense.

Hello! I hate to hear that Iggy has this happening to him. Coughing can have many causes. In general, the most common are all allergies, kennel cough, or poor air quality (and often it can be even a combination of these). A collapsing trachea can cause a deep cough. It is often described as a goose, honking cough. Some people will also describe a condition, known as a reverse sneeze as a cough. You likely could go online and find several videos of pets who have these conditions and could see what they sound like. YouTube has many videos of pets exhibiting the types of conditions. If this is infectious, in an otherwise healthy pet, they can often clear the infection without a vet visit. There are some things you can do at home to aid in the recovery: Avoid any strenuous activity and vocalization. Panting, barking, and vocalization will cause further irritation to the trachea, and this will cause more coughing…. Which will cause more irritation. Keep your pup indoors. Only go outside to potty and then back inside. Keep the air filters changed on the recommended routine schedules in your house, and you may consider adding an additional HEPA air filter. Make the drinking water and food room temperature. Retailers do sell herbal remedies that can help to soothe the cough for dogs. Honey can also help. Run a humidifier in the room Iggy hangs out in the most. Do not add any essential oils. Avoid contact with other dogs for one week after the coughing ends in case it’s contagious. Have Iggy examined if you see: A significant decrease in eating or drinking. Significant lethargy. Coughing to the point of vomiting. Coughing so frequently, it is not allowing proper rest or sleep. Discharge from the nose or eyes that is green or yellow and last three days or more. Coughing up blood or any pink tinged fluid. Worsening cough. A cough not improving after one week or lasting longer than two weeks. Any significant deviation from normal in any form. I hope this helps, and that Iggy recovers quickly! Sincerely, Dr. Elizabeth

Hello there! Collapsing trachea is a condition where the cartilaginous rings that surround the trachea and keep it an open tube are weakened, and sometimes, when excited or breathing hard, the trachea will flatten or collapse. This causes a harsh, loud "honking" sound when breathing, and sometimes coughing. This condition is more common in small breeds as a genetic abnormality, but it could also be seen in other dog breeds as a result of respiratory infection, obesity, or damage/disease of the trachea. The treatment for collapsing trachea depends on its cause and severity. Most dogs with collapsing trachea are managed by keeping them calm and in good body condition, and sometimes with the use of cough suppressants and steroids for inflammation caused by coughing. Some dogs do require surgery if their coughing and honking doesn't abate with regularity, or if they have trouble breathing. Surgical implantation of plastic rings around the trachea is currently the surgical treatment of choice. It really is quite uncommon in larger, young dogs, so I highly recommend that Bruno has a full work-up by the vet before considering his symptoms to be caused by collapsing trachea. Kennel cough, for example, can produce very similar symptoms. Good luck, and I hope Bruno gets well soon!

Thanks for using PetCoach! In general, what you describe does fit with a collapsing trachea but I would also check out this video to make sure it’s not reverse sneezing you’re seeing. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3L4v0W2_Sw If that is what you’re seeing, great news- it’s rarely anything to worry about. I’ve attached some links to more information about collapsing trachea but other, causes of coughing/wheezing include: kennel cough, allergic bronchitis (consider if anyone smokes anything in the home, incense, etc). And very unlikely but possible would be heart failure, fungal infection, and cancer. If it persists, worsens, or you’re concerned, it’s time to see the vet. Often x-rays are recommended to help narrow things down. https://www.petcoach.co/article/collapsed-trachea-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/coughing-in-dogs-and-cats-causes-diagnosis-and-treatment/ Hope this helps. Best of luck to you and Sophie!