She was honking like a goose! There’s no mistaking it. That is the sound of a collapsed trachea in dogs or Congestive Heart Dis-ease/Failure. Sophie has both.
How did I know her Congestive Heart Failure brought on a collapsed trachea? In the midst of her encouraging report at cardiologist, Dr. Julia Lindholm of CVCA North Austin’s office, I received the news that her chest xray revealed a collapsed trachea. Dr. Lindholm assured me it’s fairly common, a lot of senior small dogs get it, especially Yorkies, Maltese, Poodles and Poms. Sophie is a Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, but in creating the wired-hair version of this breed back in the 1960’s, they’d mixed in Yorkies.
As this new condition was presented to me, my mind was already working on how we would handle it naturally. H
Here’s a bit of background.
What Exactly Is Tracheal Collapse in Dogs?
As the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center describes,”Tracheal collapse is a progressive disease of the trachea (windpipe) that causes chronic coughing. This is common in toy and small breed dogs such as Yorkshire Terriers, Pomeranians and Toy Poodles that are middle-aged or older. There is no cure for tracheal collapse, but ongoing medical management can improve clinical signs and quality of life. This condition can worsen over time, and in severe cases, may become a respiratory emergency requiring surgical intervention. ”
Tracheal Collapse can also be a result of Congestive Heart Failure, because the constant pressure on the lungs from pulmonary hypertension, a common part of CHF, weakens the tracheal walls and eventually they break down and bow under the pressure. Here’s what a normal and a collapsed trachea in dogs looks like:
How Does Conventional Veterinary Medicine Address Collapsed Trachea
Since this is a condition that isn’t curable, conventional medicine doesn’t know what to do with it. The most common ways to treat it are:
- Cough suppressants…suppressive.
- Corticosteroids-Big suppressives.
- Sedatives or anxiolytics (anti-anxiety meds) – suppressives
- Cerenia, which is an anti-vomiting medication, often prescribed
- Bronchodilators – Suppressive.
- Antihistamines have been prescribed by some veterinarians, as they find the decrease in mucus production and mild to moderate sedative effects may help. However, there are no actual studies providing their efficacy with this disease, and they are suppressive.
- And if needed, antibiotics, if an infection were to occur. Suppressive.
All in all, a lot of suppressive drugs.
Even Dr. Lindholm said they manage it symptomatically, meaning they don’t put a dog on ongoing medication to control it. When they have a bout of coughing, she suggested cough suppressant.
If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I suppressants when I can. Suppressants, by their very nature, suppress the condition presenting itself. That condition, the symptom, is like a red light on the dashboard, letting us know there’s an imbalance in the body that needs to be addressed. Suppressing it may make it disappear, sometimes temporarily, sometimes for good, but the imbalance is still there. And, if it disappears for good, that’s cause for big concern. Why? Because the body will need to find a new outlet to release the imbalance. Usually, it goes deeper in the body. And this, we don’t want.
So, I thanked Dr. Lindholm, who I have a lot of respect for as a cardiologist and like very much as a person. And, I set out to find natural ways to address Sophie’s newest condition.
Recommendations from Dr. Sagrera
My first outreach was to Dr. Adriana Sagrera at Natural Pet Care, just outside of New Orleans. If you’ve been following Sophie’s story, she has been a key vet on Sophie’s team, a homeopathic vet as well. Dr. Jacqueline Ruskin of VCA Animal Healing Center in Yardley, PA. and Dr. Sagrera have come up with so many wonderful suggestions; they have a wealth of experience and knowledge about things to try I never would have thought of nor probably found on Dr. Google (yes, even a Pet Health Coach goes searching on Google sometimes, as the pet parent to her own baby). LOL.
The Homeopathic Approach – Early Days
Dr. Sagrera shared she’d had success using the homeopathic remedy Causticum for collapsed trachea in dogs. However, these dogs were Labradors! So, she wasn’t sure if the Causticum would work with a small dog. But, we agreed it couldn’t hurt to try.
She suggested a high potency of 10M and giving her one wet dose every 7-10 days for several doses. A wet dose means tapping two of the medicine coated pellets into a half glass of filter water, stirring it rapidly ten times and giving her a syringe with about a teaspoon of liquid in it. When you’re using a higher potency homeopathic remedy, you generally give it less frequently than a lower potency one. So a 10M potency is higher than a 1M potency, which is higher than a 200C potency, which is higher than a 30C potency and so on.
I gave Sophie one wet dose on the morning of Thursday, September 21. The previous day, on a scale of 1-10, she’d been coughing at 7 or 8. Like waving a magical wand, her coughing stopped the next day. Completely. On Saturday, it returned but at about a 2 out of 10, so not bad at all. She’s been coughing very minimally so far, and today is Monday, the 25th. In homeopathy, it’s oftentimes a waiting game. Patience is key because less is more. So, I’m waiting. I”ll see at the 7-10 day mark how she’s doing and decide with Dr. Sagrera whether to give her a second dose.
Other Natural Things We’re Doing
Because a collapsed trachea needs rebuilding by adding minerals and by strengthening the walls of the trachea, Dr. Sagrera suggested a collagen-rich bone broth. The trachea in dogs is a flexible tube made up of 35 to 45 C-shaped cartilages with inter-ring ligaments and mucosa, connective tissue, and tracheal muscle. Since collagen builds the connective tissue in the body and also is a great anti-inflammatory, it can help reduce coughing symptoms. I found Primalvore, a grass-fed broth that is a mobility formula, rich in collagen and turmeric. I started adding that to her food several days ago.
But, There’s A Blip In All This
About a week ago, just after Sophie returned from her last ER visit for breathing difficulties, her appetite took a bit of a hit. She spent a couple of days getting back to herself after staying overnight in the ER , where they kept her in an oxygen tent. And, while she hasn’t had another issue exhibiting breathing problems, she’s not that interested anymore in her kidney support raw food from Darwin’s. She just doesn’t want it. She’ll eat the treats she likes, the freeze-dried raw she likes that I’ve bought for Anabelle or the kitty kat food (also freeze-dried raw), so I know she has an appetite, which is great.
But, since I put all of her important supplements into that food, I have to get her to eat, so either I have to spoon or hand-feed her or find another option. I’m looking into another option now; maybe the freeze-dried raw with water added so I can mix the supplements in. What we go through for our little loved ones.
The Rest of the Collapsed Trachea Protocol
In addition to the Primalvore collagen-rich bone broth, I found a collagen supplement called Ultra-Flex Collagen for Pets from Ask Ariel. I thought it looked really good and liked that it made mention of collapsed trachea as a condition it is used for. She started on that today.
Dr. Sagrera suggested a Vitamin E oil. As a strong antioxidant, Vitamin E binds and neutralizes free radicals, protects cells from oxidative damage, and assists with healthy nerve function. I found this beautiful, full spectrum Vitamin E oil called Sunn-E K9 by BioStar. It is made from non-GMO, hexane free, expeller-pressed sunflower oil. It includes all four tocopherols, which are the most biologically active forms of vitamin E – alpha-, beta-, delta-, and gamma, and also small amounts of tocotrienols, which are only now being recognized in the medical literature as important to health. And, it’s also mixed with organic flax seed oil, which adds more omega 3’s, which we love.
I also discovered that a higher MGO Manuka Honey, mixed with MCT oil and a little warm water is a great, soothing mixture for their throat. My Manuka Honey is a high MGO (methylglyoxal), which means it has strong medicinal properties like being antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. The MCT or medium chain triglycerides oil I use is from CocoTherapy. It contains caprylic acid, which is anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, promotes good digestive health and helps restore the natural gut flora.
Finally, I discovered an essential oil formulation called Open Air by AnimalEO, a wonderful company I sometimes use for my dogs. It was created specifically for respiratory issues in dogs and contains Essential Oils of Tangerine (Citrus reticulate), Cinnamon(Cinnomomum zeylanicum), Spruce(Picea mariana), Copaiba (Copaifera officinalis), Eucalyptus radiata, Clove(Eugenia caryolphyllata), Helichrysum(H. italicum), Frankincense (Boswellia carterii), Lemon(Citrus limon), Marjoram(Origanum majorana), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis C).
It smells absolutely gorgeous and I tested it on Sophie to make sure she liked it. When you want to try an essential oil on your dog or cat, place the capped bottle before them and let them sniff. If it resonates with them, they’ll stay close, they may even rub against it or get affectionate. If it doesn’t, they’ll walk away, leave the room, turn away.
Sophie stayed next to the bottle; she didn’t move. And, when I started diffusing it in the room, she stayed in the room…all day! Always leave a door open when you diffuse an essential oil, so they have the choice to leave. Sophie chose to stay. That was a great sign.
So, there you have it. Our unique protocol for collapsed trachea in dogs – all natural aimed at helping her own body rebuild, strengthen and heal. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. It’s now Monday night, September 25, and Sophie hasn’t coughed in hours. I’m grateful.
It takes a village and I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful village. And, that includes you!
To their best health ever!
