Hey everyone, I need some help and/or advise. We have a 2.5 yr old German Shepard mix which we have had for almost 2 yrs. She was a drop off from down the street and we took her in. Almost immediatly she became part of the family. Though to cut to the point she is in trouble. After we had her for a while she started to act odd, snoring, hacking, and getting out of breath real easy. We took her to the vet and they scoped out her throat (with a tube) to check out the windpipe. Now she is a 35-40 pound dog and the vet couldn't get the correct size tube down but had to yse a tube for a Yorkshire terrier sized dog or smaller! After more investigating we found that she has a collapsed windpipe. My mom took her to the animal hospital in Akron OH where they told us that our only coice was a traciomity which bypasses the traica (upper windpipe) and puts a hole in her chest which is direct to the lungs. Now this dog loves to dig and go after moles and we have ponds so that wouldn't help much either. We need help and advise because she is just getting worse. It is going to get to the point where she is going to die from lack of air. Right now she gets winded just walking around or going out. o No: Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Thad
shoot, i'm no animal doctor but it's seems that there should be an option in there somewhere that includes better breathing? but i guess you've gone to the vet and the hospital, huh? so the surgery will let her live but not breath well? maybe she can be the lazy lap dog she never knew she wanted to be......I'll say a prayer for her josh
thanks Josh, the traciomity would be too risky for her since she likes to dig and get in the ponds. You would think that they would be able to put a tube in there for support or somthing. Thank you for the prayer. PS. right now she is starting to get out of breath just laying here I starting to worry. Thad
Oh I just remembered, our vet said ththat for her to breath it is like us trying to breath through a straw! just a little info.
I'm really very sorry to hear this. I still miss my dog, who was put to sleep 8 years ago. She was definitely part of the family and was not just a pet. She lived for a long time- 17 years- but when her life consisted of not even being able to get up to answer the call of nature, you could see it in her eyes that her life was miserable and that she was confused as to why she couldn't even stand up Long story short, there was no recourse but euthanasia for her. I can't make the decision for you, but it sounds like the dog is having a very hard time just living. There's no law that says you can't call 100 vets for their opinions on what might be done though. Good luck
Are you kidding??? Give her the trac before it is too late! What did the vet say? I think I'd rather put her down than force her to go around gasping for air. :Smarty:
Is there a veterenary school near you?They often have state of the art equipment and are willing to do procedures that a local vet may not want or be able to do. Friend of mine had a lab with a brain tumour that the vet said was inoperable but the school did it and "Keno" lived to be 12. Matt
My mom had a toy poodle that had a collapsing treachia. He would cough and cough when he would just get excited. This didn't develope until he was pretty old (10-12 yrs). He lived with it for 3 years or more until he died of conjestive heart failure. I think it was more old age than the breathing that contributed to it. He was pretty old. But it does show that a dog can live with it. I hope you can find a solution so that active shepard can still do what he wants!
Your story breaks my heart......I feel so bad you, but more so for the poor dog. I would seek a second opinion, and if surgery is an option to give this poor animal a chance for a healthy life, then for God's sake do it! If I were in your position (and I have before with other dogs) I would beg, steal or borrow to do what has to be done. But for Gods sake, don't make the poor dog suffer.......have her put out of her misery if you absolutely can't save her. Have you considered having her adopted? There are websites devoted to saving animals.......just do the right thing. Our little Kayla had to be put down 2 years ago b/c she had a leaky heart valve......we tried everything we could to save her.....but she was 9 years old. Your little buddy is so young still, I hope you can save her. Just keep her away from ponds. Good luck to all of you! :TU:
There are surgical options available where they bond a rigid prosthesis around the trachea to open it back up. Maybe it would be a good idea to get an opinion from a second vet? I sure hope this comes out ok.
Thanks everyone for your advise and sympathy. I am going to try to contact the vet school in Columbus and see what they think. Maby even a couple other places. We love her dearly and she has found her way into our hearts very deeply. Buick Jones do you possibly have any more info on this procedure that you spoke of? Thad
Dan the last time that we had her to the vet for her shots he said that he didn't think that he would ever see her after the time before last! She does have a strong will to live. Of course the vet is older and not up on all the new tecnology. Thad
We have a 5 year old Lab./ Beagle mix. She's virtually our fourth child! Part of the gang, no doubts about it. Get a second opinion if you can......in a reasonable time frame. Check the prognosis then & decide. As wonderful as these animals can be for companions, I would never let our Daisy suffer needlessly. Hard act to swallow but it boils down to your own personal decision.
There are surgical options for collapsing tracheas. I worked with a board certified veterinary surgeon for 2 years and he repaired 3 or 4 of them. It was not with a tracheotomy. I would suggest contacting Ohio State univ. They have a great veterinary school and that is where the surgeon that I worked with came from. They do all sorts of neat surgeries and I am sure they could help you. I noticed in the picture you posted that your dog is wearing a collar and she appears to be out on a run. You should probably get a harness for her if you haven't already because the collar puts pressure on her trachea when she pulls. Good luck. I hope this info is somewhat helpful.
When I was a child, our dog had a bad case of heart worms. He was the second case our vet treated (the first was his mother-in-law's dog, and it didn't survive the treatment). At the time, treating a case that bad was not the norm, but he survived and lived a long life. I'm with Chris and the others on getting a second opinion. There may not be any other options, but you never know until you look. You'd be surprised what the vets can do - some clinics are as advanced as human hospitals.
Bryan and Phyllis, That is an older picture from over a year ago. We no longer have the run and chain since we had a wall put up in our back yard. She has been an indoor dog since then and we like it better with her inside. Thank you very much for the info. while i was gone my mom got the phone # for OH. ST. UN. vet . She found out that you have to have a direct reccomendation from your personal vet to get in or you have to wait for like a year. :rant: We are going to check into it. Thanks agin Thad
didn't read all of these posts but It seems to me, that just like with our cars and the shops we'll bring them to, or our dads or our buddies, not all vets know everything there is to know. You have to get a few different opinions on the situation. And definitely try to use the harness for her-any collar would sorta clamp down-but your vet probly already told you that. Supposedly the "spike" collars are the best for any dog because the spikes are equidistant, and tend to close in a circular, equalised manner. Good luck, she's a very pretty dawg
wow thats sad... well, someone told me to do the trachea surgery, and use a manual zapper to keep the dog from digging... and when you are gone, have a kennel or something with astroturff that he cant dig into! cute dog by the way!!
