Dog with Collapsed, Narrow Trachea

February 12, 2014

Hi Rudy,

For your little dog Easy, you are already taking the proper steps to improve his health.

1. The diet sounds great, but please make sure he has the proper ratio of Calcium to Phosphorus. If you are not sure of the Calcium in his diet, he may need a ‘whole’ dog vitamin/mineral supplement, such as Canine Whole Body Support from Standard Process. (I am not sure if Standard Process ships to Australia, you may need to contact an Australian rep)

2. Glucosamine supplement should provide at least 300 mg one to two times daily for Easy.

3. Tick protection: check into a NON-toxic product such as http://www.wondercide.com, EVOLV for dogs.

4. Regarding the reverse sneeze, Rabies ‘miasm’ is considered to be a big factor in respiratory diseases, and will manifest as a reverse sneeze in many cases. I am not familiar with the vaccination protocol in Australia, how often they are required, or if Rabies vaccine is even given. If possible, I would seek the help of a holistic veterinarian to write an exemption form for Easy to avoid any more vaccinations.

5. You wrote,
***Is there something else maybe homeopathic we can give Easy instead of the Flixotide?

Yes, see if you can find the homeopathic remedy, ‘Lyssin’. Also called ‘Hydrophobinium’ in some places. 6C or 12C potency. Give him one pellet by mouth TWO times daily. Or dissolve one pellet in a one ounce dropper bottle, and fill with Spring Water. Give Easy 1/2 dropperful by mouth two times daily. Continue using the inhaler, but try to decrease the amount you give, from 1-2 puffs per day, to one puff once a day to every other day, after he has been on the Lyssin for a couple of weeks, and you hear his breathing is improving. If he is improving, continue the Lyssin at the same dose, and give the inhaler less and less. He may need a higher potency of Lyssin eventually, or he may need a different remedy. We must observe and monitor his response.

You wrote,
** Can we restore the cartilage rings in his trachea with natural supplements?
I have not seen the cartilage return to its original/normal shape. I think genetically the cartilage rings in some toy breeds are shaped more like a narrow ‘C’ instead of a large round ‘O’ (in cross section).
Therefore on inhalation, the two sides are already closer together and the change in pressure causes the two sides to collapse.

The best we can do, is supplement with the glucosamine, feed a balanced fresh diet, NO DRY DOG food, treat with homeopathic remedies, minimal vaccinations, no toxic tick products, and use the inhaler only as needed, all of this may prevent the tracheal collapse from getting any worse.

Another resource for vets knowledgeable in homeopathy is AVH.org.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Rudy

Hi Rudy,
You wrote,
“Everywhere I look, lyssin is given after a rabies injection…..”

Some veterinarians will give this remedy as a prophylactic measure to prevent side effects to the Rabies vaccination. That is actually not the best way to practice medicine. It is safer and healthier to NOT give a vaccination, and do a Rabies titer, or write an exemption form.

You wrote,
“…so i wonder if something went wrong with the information you have given me?
We don’t have rabies in Australia, so therefor we don’t have to treat (*vaccinate*) Easy for it.”

I will explain. Even if Easy had NEVER had a Rabies vaccination, the ‘Rabies Miasm’ can be passed from mother dog to puppies, if the mother has been vaccinated. ‘Rabies Miasm’ is a term used by holistic veterinarians to describe the behavior or symptoms exhibited by a dog or cat or other animal, that does not have the disease rabies, but shows adverse ‘side effects’ from exposure to the killed vaccine, whether from a vaccination or passed from mother to puppy. Aggressive behavior, seizures, other neurologic behaviors, reverse sneezing are all suspected to arise from the rabies miasm.

You wrote,
“I must say when we lived in Belgium(europe) 4 years ago Easy needed all kinds of vaccinations so he was rabies free before importing him in Australia.”

So, with all the vaccinations he was given, he had adequate *protection* from rabies disease, but he was obviously exposed and susceptible to the rabies miasm.

In the New World repertory, by Richard Pitcairn DVM and Wendy Jensen, DVM, for ‘Hydrophobia’ (technical term for Rabies disease) there are 27 homeopathic remedies that can be used for symptoms of rabies miasm.

Hydrophobia (27) : 4CANTH., 4STRAM., 3Bell., 3Hydr-ac., 3Hyos., 3Lyss., 2acet-ac., 2cur., 2lach., 2phel., ant-c., arg-n., ars., calc., cann-i., chlol., crot-h., cupr., iod., laur., merc., phos., ran-s., sabad., sulph., ter., verat.

From the list above, you can see that Lyss (Lyssin) is just one remedy that could be used. Cantharis, Stramonium, and Belladonna, are some others.

Lyssin is the one most commonly chosen when there are NO other symptoms, as it is a remedy that is derived from the saliva of a rabid dog.

You wrote,
“If the treatment is indeed the correct one and we could replace the flixotide inhalor with lyssin, is it possible to get the lyssin and the multi vitamins from you?”

No, that would require that I have a direct patient/doctor relationship with Easy, for me to prescribe/dispense a particular treatment. There are many sources for homeopathic remedies on line, and I could certainly advise you via organic-pet-digest.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2

Hi Rudy,

Here is the rest of my response.

Here are some sources for Lyssin, and it would be ok to use a higher potency such as 30C or 200C.

And I have listed info for the Australian Homeopathic Association which may be able to help provide a source in Australia.
http://www.homeopathyoz.org/GISuppliers.asp

http://peterdobias.com/products/lyssin-200c

http://www.elixirs.com/products.cfm?productcode=S94W

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Thanks again for your reply. Finally found a homeopath who provided me with lyssin. First i found, at least i thought i found a homeopathic vet nearby, but is was a laugh. Gave me l-lyssine instead of lyssin and said this is not going to work because this is for dogs, i quote how she said it ‘this is for dogs with rabbies’. I gave her some free advice and explained her about rabies miasm 😉
Anyway i am following your advice and will give easy half a
dropper, twice a day, but it will be a pottency of 30. Is it ok for giving easy droplets in his mouth when the lyssin is premade liquid? Isn’t that made with low pottency of alcohol?

Is there something i can give Easy for the swallowing excessively after he lay down a while? Could that be muccus from his lungs as a result
of his irregular breathing? When he swallows his breath can smell very badly. He doesn’t have bad teeth.
Thank you
Rudy

Hi Rudy,
Is the liquid Lyssin a 30C potency? Some ‘pre-made’ homeopathic remedies in liquid form are LM potencies NOT X, C or M.

You are correct there is alcohol in the liquid pre-made remedies (not sure what potency you have).

If you DO have the 30C and it is in a liquid form, I suggest you add ONE drop to a ONE ounce (30ml) glass eye dropper bottle, and fill the bottle with Spring Water. Prior to each dose, ‘shake’ the bottle by hitting it against the palm of your hand 20 times. This is called succussing the remedy.

I would give Easy 1/2 eye dropperful by mouth, two times daily for three days. Then stop. Wait for one week and monitor his response, and report back to me. At that point, we will need to determine if you need to repeat one dose, or give no more doses and wait longer, or prepare a more concentrated mixture.

You wrote,
“Is there something i can give Easy for the swallowing excessively after he lay down a while? Could that be mucous from his lungs as a result
of his irregular breathing? When he swallows his breath can smell very badly. He doesn’t have bad teeth.”

If he is swallowing excessively, I would suspect this is coming from his stomach/esophagus, such as gastric reflux or mega esophagus, NOT from his lungs. If from his lungs I would expect him to be coughing. Odor from the stomach, especially from the high acid content of a dog’s stomach, can be very unpleasant. Something which might help, make him drink and eat from an elevated platform. Placing his food and water bowl on a thick book, and after he drinks or eats to hold him in an upright position for 5-10 minutes to make sure all of the water/food has gone down into his stomach, before you set him down to lay down.

I have seen some dogs tolerate being placed in a baby ‘high chair’ to eat, and remain sitting in the chair to let all of the food settle downward. You may need to be creative on this one!

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Thank you again for your reply. We did what you told us to do. It went reasonable well with Easy, but had after a while to give him his puffer before he went to sleep. We don’t hear him coughing i must say, but his breathing is short and sometimes heavy.
When we have a short walk, the first 40meters he start panting allready. We always wait till the sun sets and when its cooler to have a walk with him.

I also read that when you don’t have sufficient oxygen in your body, the heart will get weaker and bigger. Is it ok to give him a 30mg coq10 once daily. Can i use the once that i take for myself? They are oil based and are 100mg. They are from the brand puritans pride.

There is also a product on the American market called collagenex2 from http://www.askariel.com. Would that also be ok for you?

The vet that took x-rays didn’t say anything about the heart. Are the measurements ok for his size?

Carol if i have to pay you extra for this information, please let me know, so i can do the neccessary.

What treatment shall i start now for Easy. I am a bit worried now that he would have a heart problem too due to his collapsed trachea.

Thank you in advance

Rudy

Hi Rudy,

For Easy, the CoEnzyme Q-10 (30mg) one time daily would be excellent for his heart. And the ‘human’ brand would work fine.

From the photo you submitted of the x-ray, in my opinion, his heart appears enlarged. It shows an elevation of the trachea and increased sternal contact, both are indicators of cardiomegaly, (heart enlargement).

If you have Lyssin 30C, I suggest you give one dose one time per week.

The Collagenex2 supplement appears to be a good product, although I am not familiar with it, nor did it list how many mg of Glucosamine was in the product. If Easy weighs 10 lbs, he needs at least 250 mg of Glucosamine 1-2 times daily.

You wrote,
“We don’t hear him coughing i must say, but his breathing is short and sometimes heavy.
When we have a short walk, the first 40meters he start panting allready.”
Even though this is NOT holistic, you might consider giving Easy a low dose of Lasix/generic brand=furosemide. It acts like a diuretic, to remove excess fluid from the lung tissue, AND it also provides some strengthening to the heart.

See if your conventional veterinarian will prescribe a short course of it to see how Easy responds.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.