Collapsed Trachea- Yorkie

Question
Hi Susan,

I have a one year old female yorkie that is 5.6LBS. We are suspicious of collapsed trachea. Ever since she was a baby after drinking water she would do a snorting/breathing thing that sounded like a reverse sneeze (not everytime). She would also do it occasionaly while on a walk. Well for the past week or so she has been doing is severely, and ALOT- like she can't breathe.

I took her to the vet saturday and showed him a video of what she does. He seemed really concerned over CT and suggested an X-ray. He said it would NOT be good at all to have these issues already in a dog so young :( THANKFULLY her X-ray showed a nice and wide opened trachea.. he was suprised- though this doesnt rule out trachea collapse, it does confirm that she DOES NOT have a permanent narrowing or abnormally developed trachea.

He gave her an anitbiotic (in case of respitory infection) and a steroid to use for 8 days. I know the steroid will help with allergies AND CT.

Well in one day- she is light years better.. That tells me it is the STEROID that is helping- not the anitbiotic (unfortunately)

I'm SOOO worried because she is SOOOO young and I know she cant be started on steriods permanently for so long. Plus limiting exercise in such a young dog is hard AND sad, because she LOVES to play.

I'm looking into natural alternatives. So far I found Omegas, Inflazyme, NuVet Plus, ALJ Liquid and Glyco Flex (to help strengthen cartlidge) I want something natural but the most potent combo! I dont know which of these to get, the dosage I should use and if they are all ok to combine- I dont want to OD her on vitamins. Any help would be appreciate. If only there was a natural combo that could have the same effect as steroids.

She is on Wilderness dog food, only drinks bottled water. She is energized, large appetite, normal stools, has never had an issue besides this horrible honking now.

My husband and I are in love with this little dog!

Answer
Hello Angela,

The collapsed trachea thing seems to be the latest in little dog physical issues, and vets really don't know much more about what to do with it than I do, as it appears to be a genetic issue. The first thing I would do is put her on a totally raw food diet because it will develop the strongest tissue over all. There are many good frozen formulas available. OC Raw is one of the newest and best, and BARF has a drop ship program ( http://www.barfworld.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?category=29&af=1011 )if you are not in an area where raw is available in pet shops or health food stores. Also, please don't vaccinate this girl ever again. She is too small and genetically weak, and the long term negative effects are just not worth the risk. Pick up a free PDF of my book, "Simple Steps to a Healthy Pet" at http://naturalsforanimals.com and read more particulars on this, natural flea control, and other natural care topics. It is a short read, but includes over 25 years of research and experience.

Your intuition about staying off of steroids is totally correct. They are dangerous. An omega supplement is good for heart and other tissue, so is a good addition; plus an enzyme and probiotic supplement with vitamins and minerals would be good for over all health and development. Since she is so young and still growing these combined with a raw diet should help.

For further vet consultation on this and her future health, I would recommend doing phone consultation with holistic vet, Dr Gerald Wessner at 352-245-2025. He is awesome. We have his homeopathic heart worm prevention available on our site as well so you can avoid using toxins on her.

I hope this helps.

Sue