Haven't been on the board much this weekend.  I've been both busy and slightly depressed. 

Some of you may remember that I took Skipper to the vet soon after getting him and one reason was that he coughed after playing hard.  The vet said it was damage from heartworms (he had been treated at the shelter but it had left damage.). Well, that would get better and then get worse but never REAL bad.  Until Friday night.

He started coughing, I don't even remember the cause, and would cough a long time, then get quiet for a while.  I was up with him part of the night....had to take him out of the bedroom and sit with him and pet him until he calmed down some...then the coughing would eventually stop.

Saturday morning I got up at 5:30 and he was still coughing.  I woke up Bill, ran to WalMart and got Benedryl and cough suppressant.  Gave him the Benedryl and planned to take him to the vet at 9....within an hour of taking the Benedryl he had stopped coughing.  So I didn't take him....figured if he wasn't coughing when I got there the vet would just say heartworm damage again.

So all weekend he will be ok for a while and then start up coughing...we give him Benedryl and within an hour - 1 1/2 hours he's fine.  I give him the children's cough suppressant at night.  Last night he slept through most of the night....I didn't though as he would come to the bedroom door and whine and I'd have to go sit with him in the living room until he fell asleep.

Here's a weird thing - going to for walks doesn't seem to make it worse but excitement definitely does.  Also, yesterday morning they all ran and played in the park with their friend Rosie and he didn't cough much.  His appetite and energy is fine.  But the symptoms are classic tracheal collapse.  It's hereditary and chi's are one of the breeds that it is common in.

Obviously I will be taking him to the vet but I hate putting him through that.  He gets so very upset at the vet's office and they have to use a muzzle on him....because of all his past surgeries, etc.

Can anyone recommend a harness for him that puts NO pressure on his throat?  I'm using a regular one which is better than a collar but not good enough.  Also, I've read where glucosamine can help these dogs.....anyone know if regular human glucosamine is ok or special doggie stuff?

  I'm sorry.    Poor little Skipper.   I hate it when our kids are sick    Max just has a regular harness - probably not good for Skipper .  

MB---Lucy has a couple of Puppia harnesses, and the only 'pressure' that is applied to her is right in the center of her shoulders---none whatsoever on or around her throat.  And my vet told me that human glucosamine is the same as the pet variety, so I give it to Darmok in the winter months when her arthritis in her left shoulder acts up. 

I sure do hope that Skipper is ok.

MB: I'm sorry little Skipper is coughing and uncomfortable. Poor little guy. I'm not sure what kind of harness or lead might work, but the Puppia harness Paul mentioned sounds good.

I did a quick search and this site seems to have TONS of information on trachea collapse in dogs and medical treatments that seem to help:

http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtrachea.html

About a quarter of the way down is a question/answer entitled: Hypoplastic trachea or Collapsing trachea in Sheltie followed by a thorough explanation of the symptoms, treatments, etc. Might be helpful for anyone experiencing this type of condition in their dog.

Lucy weighs about 11 lbs, and we got her a size xs for her army camo one, and a size s for her pink flowered one.  They are totally diferent styles from each other, and the measurements from the puppia website had different measurements for each one. Actually, she is a thinner-body style, so the xs fits her better. The army camo style is more of a total vest-type, where the flowered one has an open back.  I'll post pics of them when I go home at noon for you, MB.

Thanks.  The heartworms didn't cause the collapsed trachea.  It's a problem that many toy dogs develope and it's thought to be hereditary.  Chihuahuas are one of the breeds prone to it and Skipper is at half chi if not more.

The good news is that his coughing is much better.  He was able to sleep in the bed with us again last night.  Poor little guy, Sunday night when I checked on him in the living room he had gone under the blanket on the couch with his little penguin!

MB, I just saw this!  I am so sorry to hear about Skipper!    Please keep us updated...  poor baby.