by: Anonymous

My pom is 9 years old, and he coughs too. He has a collapsed trachea, which is common in the small breeds. The muscles around the trachea weakens, and then the trachea collapses which causes coughing and difficulty breathing. I try to monitor when my dog drinks water because if he gulps too much too fast, he coughs. I also keep a small fan on him because that really helps to keep him cool. The summer heat makes it worse. Also, I was told that if the dog is overweight, that can affect it too. Hope this helps, and please don’t give that baby NyQuil. I think that was bad advice.

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by: Rita Rail

My Pomeranian female Crystal began coughing two weeks ago. I gave her hairball medication for three days and it seemed to help. Her hair has grown long but she will be getting groomed to-morrow. She bites on her feet and swallows hair. The coughing began to subside but then came the wheezing, this frightened me so much, I thought she would lose her breath and die. This occurred mostly in the morning. Crystal has gained a pound. Her trachea is normal but by gaining weight, she has fattened some of the tissue around her throat and this is causing her coughing and wheezing. I advised this happened only in the morning and I have been massaging her throat. Dr. Reed said that the position she is assuming while asleep could ensure that the fatty tissue is pressing on her throat and this is causing her problems also. I have been for one week now putting Crystal on a diet, massaging her throat after she eats, making sure she drinks water, although I have to put it in my hand and dribble it down her throat. During the onset of this problem, she was not eating very much and she

has a very large appetite. I am happy to advise that she is back to normal and trying to coax me into giving her more food. She will get a piece of apple or orange. PS Cat hairball medicine is fine for dogs because they do ingest hair, the same dosage applies as for the felines. Take care. RR