Just Breathe, Baby!

Daisy

I recently had a little scare with my pup. If you haven’t met or heard about our PETS mascot, Daisy is a thirteen-year-old Poodle/Terrier mixed breed that my family rescued. She has the energy of a puppy and the stubbornness of a terrier, but at times, her age naturally slows her down. 

Daisy also has a mildly collapsed trachea- a preexisting condition that she has lived with for most of her life. This doesn’t usually affect her breathing or mobility. She only has sporadic bouts of a mild honky cough that seems to follow when she’s overly excited, if she eats/drinks too fast, or when her leash is tugged too firmly. It is short lasting and subsides quickly. But a few days ago, she had an episode that felt more severe than usual and prompted me to take action.

What’s a pet parent to do? 

Follow me in this blog post and I’ll share with you step by step how I chose to deal with this somewhat scary but definitely manageable situation. Hopefully my words will help the next pet parent if they have to experience something similar. If anything, I invite you to learn more about this all-too-common condition in many pups. From symptoms to treatment and everything in between, here was our experience…

Symptoms

Daisy woke up with a honky dry cough- it was consistent and loud enough that it startled me from my own sleep. It reminded me of the croupy cough that you hear in babies. She usually sleeps in my bed beside me, but this morning I found her in her “floor” bed. Here, she mostly sleeps in during the day, and occasionally uses after late night water sips, when she’s too tired to climb back up in my bed. 

Daisy in her "floor bed" sleeping normally (before episode).

After hearing and then seeing her like this, several questions arose in my head: Did she get down from the bed for water, and she gulped too much at once? Did she hurt herself when she jumped off the bed and the coughing was a way to alert me? Was something stuck in her throat? Did she have ‘kennel cough’ or another viral or bacterial infection?

Regardless, my goal was to keep calm and keep her calm. In a soothing tone, I reassured her that she was going to be okay and that Mommy was here for her. I looked her over to see if there was anything restricting her airway-and as far as I could tell, there wasn’t. She was breathing regularly and her breaths were not rapid. Her chest appeared normal and she didn’t seem like she was in pain. So, what was with the cough? It sounded familiar, like one of her bouts, but it was also more frequent and didn't want to subside. Eventually it did, and I carried Daisy to the couch where I could better assess her. I figured the movement (from one resting position to another) might motivate her to naturally get her own body (breathing and heart rate) self-regulated again. It did. I decided to go about my day yet keep my eye on her closely for any worsening or changing symptoms. If that was the case, I would take her to the vet asap. 

As the day progressed, her cough stayed intermittent and seemed to get heightened only when she tried to move about. I wanted to take her out for a bathroom break, but I didn’t want her to overexert herself and if it was a breathing issue, the humidity outdoors would not be great for her condition. As far as I could tell, she acted like she knew she had to rest, but also that she was missing her usual walks that she loved so much. I tried to carry her out front for a quick pee, but she just stared into space lethargically. Plus, she wasn’t drinking water, so I wasn’t sure if she even had to go. I let her rest a few more hours and when the cough persisted on and off, I decided it was time for a vet visit. Resources online suggested that if a pet is mildly coughing but breathing is normal, then you might wait two days and up to a week before calling the vet. But she just seemed miserable. And I was concerned about her age and her preexisting condition possibly worsening. 

Diagnosis

We went to the closest after-hours vet emergency that a client had previously recommended. I had called ahead, informed them of her symptoms and they said to come right in, and that they would have a space for her. On the ride over, she presented no new symptoms, her cough had suppressed a little but I was grateful we decided to go. 

The intake at reception was amazing! The techs were eager to take her in right away, because of her condition and her age. They were soft spoken and gentle with her, but I could tell they were eager to get her treated. As a side note: I would highly recommend the Veterinary Emergency Center of East Volusia. Thank you, guys, for being so swift to treat my Daisy! 

To be completely honest, from the get-go, I was hesitant about emergency vet care for her and had heard horror stories about the cost alone, not to mention the wait. But this team was thorough and honest up front. They informed me clearly of the options we had for her treatment and of the cost. They respected my decisions for each.

First and foremost, I gave them the go ahead to take x-rays. They wanted to see if it was tracheal issues and rule out that it was not a breathing problem or something to do with her lungs and heart. That made sense to me. I opted out of the bloodwork though because I decided that if the x-rays didn’t show any tracheal issues and if we needed to look further, then we would consider another treatment option at that point. Why start poking her if it wasn’t absolutely necessary? 

Instantly, they saw a problem with her trachea. They had taken three x-rays to ensure they could observe what was going on from different angles. These angles viewed all the areas in question- throat, heart, lungs, abdomen. Take a peek at the x-rays here. You can see the area in question circled.  

Treatment

Hearing the somewhat confirmed diagnosis was a relief, to say the least. The treatment going forward would be some cough suppressant capsules to keep it at bay. I would administer them every eight hours and then as needed. Also, they recommended she get lots of rest and keep walks to a minimum until she felt better.  

That night, Daisy ate soft food (easier on her throat and for digestion) and water and I took her outside for a quick pee break before bed. She slept pretty soundly and only woke once to mild coughing, so I gave her the meds as suggested and she naturally went right back to sleep. 

The next day, she ate soft food and water again and I was able to take her to a close by park a few times so she could at least sniff around and get some fresh air. The following day she seemed almost back to normal, and we resumed her walk schedule gradually each day. I eased her off the meds and will keep them on hand for future use if needed. 

Prevention 

Going forward, I got her a tug-free harness for walks and will try my best (regardless of her stubbornness) to avoid any pulling at her leash. There are several tug free harnesses that are appropriate for this type of condition. I asked several PETS clients what they recommended, and I got lots of great feedback. Check out this article that best lists some of the picks they preferred. I ended up choosing another recommended one that I saw on Amazon. It seemed to suit my Daisy best. It has a no pull design and easy slip on and secure clip closure. Plus, it's affordable and was delivered within two days. Here’s some pics of Daisy modelling it.  

Daisy is getting better and stronger every day. She seems back to her enthusiastic (and sassy) self...especially on walks. Although we have accepted this as a lifelong condition for her and she may have another episode at any time, it’s okay. We know how to recognize an episode if it triggers. We have a treatment plan in place. We also have some tips for prevention of future episodes and that includes reminding her to just breathe baby, breathe!

Tracy & Daisy can be seen enjoying gold cart rides and walks around Venetian Bay. If you see us, feel free to wave and/or say hi! Come visit us for a treat at Pets On The Bay...where Daisy is known to make frequent cameo appearances:)