Bulldog puppy with small trachea
Submitted by Vicki on May 20, 2011 - 7:58pmI have a 6 month old bulldog puppy with a small trachea, the vet said its the size of a cats. He has sounded congested since the day i brought him home. The vet said it was an upper respiratory infection but has since tried 4 different antibiotics and none have worked. He constantly has phlem in his throat and sometimes chokes on his food to the point where we have to hit his back or he will pass out. The vet told me to give him robitussin but i cannot keep him on this the rest of his life. They said at this point the only thing they can do it give him a tracheal wash in order to find the cells that are causing the infection so they can treat it. I'm just wondering if its worth putting him through all that if this is going to be a chronic thing with the small trachea anyways. I'm currently looking for a vet that specializes in bulldogs in massachusetts....if anyone knows of anyone that would be great. I just want to do what is best for him without harming him. At this point i can't even get him neutered until this respiratory thing is in check. Any help would be appreciated.
I'm sorry
The tracheal size won't really improve. It may grow a bit as the dog grows, but it won't be normal. The upper respiratory issues will be chronic. There are some things you can do to help the dog (ex: you can try to elevate the feeding bowl. Soak the food in warm water for a 1/2 hour to make it a bit easier to swallow. If your dog eats quickly, try putting something large in the bowl so he has to eat around the object). Building up the immune system can also help stave off respiratory issues turning into a major pneumonia. You'll have to watch his activity and excitement levels, also. Remember, he's basically having to breath thru a straw.
I'm sure others on here will have better suggestions. You can also do a search to see what's been previously posted on this. Good luck!
Olivia
Thanks!
We already got a bowl that forces him to eat slower and soak the food in water. I also read online about building the immune system and giving him echinacia so i'm doing that as well. Ive been using the lemon juice to cut the plemgm which seems to be helping. I just hope it doesn't get any worse for him. Thanks for the help. I'm currently looking for a vet that specializes in bulldogs.
My bully has the same issue...
Feel free to email me if you want to discuss this further. I can tell you what worked for me, etc. Sally is now 16 mos old and doing pretty good. She will always have a small traechea, but she is happy!
"Still Plays In the Dirt"
How did the vet determine your pup
has a small trachea? The problems your pup is having are also symptoms of elongated palette, stenotic nares and/or a combination of all of them.
Lynn King CPDT-KA
Hi, She determined the small
Hi,
She determined the small trachea by xray. Now they want to do a tracheal wash to id the cells so they can treat his congestion. I think this may be chronic and i don't want to put him through that. I need to find a bulldog specialist in the Boston area.
Thanks
Sally...I would love to talk to you more about it. Anything you know of that can help him i would appreciate!
Thanks
Vicki
Trach Wash
I would have to check vet records but I'm pretty sure they did a trach wash on Norbert because he started having a constant green nose discharge, antiobiotics cleared him up for a month or so and then green stuff a gain. So after several rounds of antiobiotics and several months and a new vet they did the trach wash and it did come back with several types of bacteria. Unfortuantely they also found a cancerous tumor that was growing around his larynx during their testing so the nose discharge ended up to be a minor problem in comparison, although probably all related.
Best of luck to your puppy. Small trachs are a real concern. I think a humidifier would be a great investment if you don't already have one.
vicki small trach
please give me a call 910-443-3142
small trach
my Spike has this problem. He is now going on three. When it was diagnosed, he was walking all the time close to a wall to support himself, so as not to use a lot of energy. I called his breeder, and she told me to send him back to her as his sister littler mate had to be put down, because she wouldn't survive it. I took him to a specialist who trimmed his palatte, that was a 5 months old. He did well until he started to mature, then they heavy breathing, throwing up, etc. He never had an infection though. At 9-10 months we went back in and he trimmed the palatte again, and this time the sacculaes, which are in the throat, encased like a cave, we pulled out of the "cave" because he was pulling so hard to breathe. They took them out too, along with neuter and cherry eye surgery, my poor boy, and at the time his waist was so small, the Dr told me it was becuase he was pulling so hard that it was like doind 150 situps just to breathe. Well, he is doing well now, but can't tolerate heat at all, my house is 66 degrees int he summer time, I let him go out for short periods, always have a bowl of ice water available at all times. Whenever I take him out, a/c on in the car prior to him going out and ALWAYS, Awlays carry cold water and a bowl along with a towel if I have to wet him down. When the specialist did the surgery, he told me his trach wasn't too bad either. Another thing is to not let him get too heavy, keep him on the lighter side. Hope this hleps I do know someone is MASS that can probably give you a good vet in the area.
I use Andover Animal
I use Andover Animal Hospital... I also love Slade Vet in Framingham (they don't "specialize" but Dr. Migday breeds bullmastiffs and she's wonderful!
This is the information I got fro somone who lives in MA area