My Min Pin coughs and struggles to breathe. Is it collapsing trachea?

Poor guy. Coughing a small breed older dog can be caused by several things including: underlying heart disease, chronic bronchitis, tracheal collapse, or even neoplasia. The first step here would be to get Dino Diaz seen by your vet and have chest x-rays done to help narrow down the possibilities here. Once we have a proper diagnosis, then proper treatment can be recommended to hopefully reduce or even completely resolve the cough. In most cases though, the cough can only be reduced, which helps the pet become more comfortable and have a better quality of life. Schedule an appt with your vet soon. I hope that Dino Diaz does well moving forward and that his cough improves. Best of luck and take care.

A collapsing trachea would be high on the list of possible causes for this, especially since this is only happening during extrenuous activity. Have your vet take a look at him if it gets any worse for an x-ray to confirm and then medications to help treat it. Here is more information on this condition in dogs. --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951968 Thanks for visiting Petcoach. Take care.

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.

It can be tricky to diagnose because tracheal collapse can be present part time and the rest of the time it will not be seen. it is recommended to do a series of XRAYs in order to try and diagnose tracheal collapse.

Has your dog ever had an xray of his throat (windpipe)? If not I highly recommend that you talk to your veterinarian about such an x-ray. Small dogs often suffer from a collapsed trachea (wind pipe) and this can be diagnosed easily with radiographs. Here is some information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/collapsed-trachea-in-dogs/ I hope that helps.

This could be something like kennel cough or a collapsed trachea. It could also be a severe respiratory infection. You cannot share videos on the forum, but if you request a consult, you can share one there. I recommend having Tito seen by a vet for this problem.

Hi, I'm Dr. Johnson. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think if she drinks water slowly and has no issue I think that she is just vomiting the water because she drinks it too fast. Just try to slow her down when she is drinking. I do not think she has kennel cough if she's had this hacking cough for months. Kennel cough is self limiting. You didn't indicate what breed Pepper is but I see that she is small. My best guess for the cough is that she has collapsing trachea. Collapsing trachea is a congenital abnormality of the tracheal rings making them weaker. It effects small breed dogs like Yorkies, Pomeranians, etc. Usually they cough when exercising or pulling on the leash. I'd monitor for progression of the cough or issues with her breathing. Keep her thin because dogs that are overweight have a harder time with collapsing tracheas Good luck!