Collapsed Trachea Cases

...this is my 17 yr old poodle/chi mix. He is 13 lbs (he used to be 18-20 lbs) and has a grade 6 heart murmur and also heart failure. He is on vetmendin 2.5mg 2x per day and Furosemide 10mg 2x per day. He also has a collapsed trachea. He coughs mostly at night and also is on Hydromet as needed. Last night he coughed all nice but once 7 am came, he stopped and he hasn't coughed since! His resp were high last night >60 but now it's back to between 20-30. I almost took him to the ER Vet. He has no issues with eating or drinking or moving. I plan to take him to our vet on Monday. But wondering why he seems to only cough after 10 pm at night and stops by daylight? And is there anything that can help improve this? He is on a lightly cooked home cooked diet and no treats. Thank you.

Dr. Steve's Advice - peripheral circulation reaches a low ebb in the hours before and after midnight. This puts extra strain on the heart and lungs, making them more congested.

Something you can try that will likely a help a lot by helping boost overall peripheral circulation is Kan Essentials' Blood's Palace, which is often able to be found online such as at Amazon if you're in the US. It should help the collapsing trachea as well. 

A formula that can help Blood's Palace work well is Harmonize the Qi, made by the same company and sold through the same vendor. It will likewise help both trachea and heart. It even has herbs that can help remodel the heart back to a more normal shape, lessening the intensity of the murmur over time, and helping it to function more effectively. 

Lastly, there are basic heart supplements which probably all affected dogs should be one, such as CoQ10 and taurine. These are easy to find online or in stores. I'm glad you've got a real food diet in place, though. Your pup's cough would likely be much worse without it.

I would expect clear improvements from these two formulas in the first couple of weeks. Hopefully then you can all start sleeping better!

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I have a 10 year old Yorkie who was diagnosed with a severe collapsed trachea 5 years ago . She’s raw fed (a real food diet) , supplements include a joint supplement containing glucosamine/chondroiten/msm/hyaluronic acid, collagen , digestive enzymes etc .. P.E.A , and now just recently added voltrex .
She started on lomotil a couple months ago which helped for a bit . It’s been super hot here and have dealt with wildfire smoke
She had a reverse sneezing episode this morning which led me to a vet visit . X-ray shows more collapse since last one 5 years ago . 

Vet prescribed cerenia today so will see how or if that helps . Is there anything else that you can suggest to try and help  her ? Thanks for your time … here is my beautiful heart dog, Reign.

Dr. Steve's Advice -  Voltrex is antispasmodic, so like Lomotil, it should eventually help. Extreme spasticity sometimes implies circulation to the muscles is lacking. The same thing happens when people cramp up in cold water - blood flow is internalized because of the low water temperature, yet the swimmer is trying to use their muscles nonetheless. A cramp ensues.

To boost blood flow to your dog's tracheal lining, add in Blood's Palace from Kan Essentials. You can source genuine versions from Aleksandra Topic at aleks.topic1@gmail.com. It is synergistic with Voltrex, and will likely help your dog breathe easier. As the airways dilate further, the chest will not have to expand so much. Less negative pressure will be created in the airways, and the tracheal rings won't flex as much. The net result should be improved X-rays, but you shouldn't need those, since the cough should sound like it's improving.

If your dog responds, demonstrating circulatory compromise, then a real food diet should help circulation improve even further, probably resolving the reverse sneezing in the process.

Hopefully all that comes to pass. Let us know how things go!

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This is my rescue rat terrier whom I’ve had for 11 years so I’m guessing she is around 14. She has had a collapsing trachea the entire time I’ve had her and for the last many years she also sneezes a lot, smacks her head hard on the floor when she does, leaves giant wads of snot on the floor and after a bad coughing fit she also loses control of her legs, falls down a flails her legs momentarily. I’ve taken her to 3 different vets all whom just want to try antibiotics and the whole pet vet won’t see her without her complete file which is split amongst 3 vets. We tried Cerenia and that worked great for a week and then it stopped working. Plus I know it’s terrible for her liver. I can tell by her behavior and cognitive function that she doesn’t have a ton of time left so I’m just trying to improve quality of life at the end. She was on CBD for years but that had diminishing effects as well. I’ve done the Paw Healer Chinese Herbals and they don’t seem to help. I’ve researched your page and found other products you recommend for this but the person you source from says you need to consult here before ordering from them. So…. Please advise. I sincerely appreciate all that you do!!!

Dr. Steve's Advice - You can find the products I recommend for collapsing trachea through Aleksandra Topic at aleks.topic1@gmail.com. I would suggest Harmonize the Qi and Blood's Palace from Kan Essentials as places to start. 

If the snotty nose gets worse, she may need an anti-Dampness formula instead of Blood's Palace, like Three Seeds Combination. Or here is an idea: instead of using Harmonize the Qi, try Adoptrex (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Original-Adoptrex-85g-p647327433) from Gold Standard Herbs, since it helps drain Damp while possessing Harmonize the Qi as its core.

To tackle the snotty nose, also make sure your dog is eating more of a fresh food diet (e.g., home cooked), if she will accept it. The digestive support in Adoptrex will likely allow you do that. So Adoptrex +/- Blood's Palace might be the place to start.

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My 2 year old Schnoodle was seen in the ER yesterday. Diagnosis was narrow/collapsed trachea. The onset was sudden and began intermittently on Monday. Obviously became worse which prompted the ER visit. He wears a harness (never a collar), so not sure if it's genetics or what is happening. Follow up is to see an internal medicine specialist, but I can't get him in anywhere in MN until August 4th. They prescribed 10 days of Doxycycline. His breathing is labored, when he is mobile at all. Given his symptoms I'm worried about the lack of oxygen, possible new complications, and general discomfort for my little guy if we have to wait that long. Any ideas for us? My desperate pleas lead me to you. Thank you for caring about, and for, our little fur babies.

Dr. Steve's Advice - I'm so sorry to hear about your poor puppy! If after that visit to the ER yesterday, he is still completely out of breath, corticosteroids and aminophylline are better drugs to start with than doxycycline. There is an inflammatory component to almost all these cases that short term steroid use will work for. Doxy will only work if there is an infection, which there may not be.

On the herbal front, there are various possibilities. Has your little guy been prone to infections in the past? If so, then a Chinese herbal formula called Jade Wind Screen formula could be tried, and used long term if found helpful. I see the Kan version for sale on Amazon. Long term, it may lessen the need for any drugs you're using. Short term, though, to get your guy feeling better, either steroids or aminophylline should be added to the protocol, IMO

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My 17 year old dog has kidney disease. I use five leaf botanicals which have helped. Her tracheal collapse is getting worse. Tried manuka and resp-aid which haven’t helped. What can I use for the cough which are safe with the kidney disease?

Dr. Steve's Advice - start by getting a urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPC ratio) done on your dog's urine. If it is above 5 or so, use Harmonize the Qi from Kan Essentials (often available online in the US) along with Blood's Palace from the same company. You should see both issues improve.

Otherwise, if the UPC is below 3, use Rehmannia Eight from Kan Essentials together with Blood's Palace. One of those two approaches should work. 

If the cough is wet (which means it's not purely collapsing trachea), then Three Seeds Combination from Kan Essentials will help both the kidneys and the cough.

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I have a tiny Pomeranian 4 lbs she will be 5 in May. She has issues which are lower collapsed trachea and often needs coaxing to eat. She gets gently cooked meat and dr Harvey’s raw vibrance and paradigm. She’s been on this diet for 5 months. She took a reaction to white fish which was suggested to feed for gut issues. She was treated repeatedly with metronidazole her gut is much better she takes probiotics HMF powder it’s a good fit for her. The reaction to the white fish was a rash that turned into a staph infection. She was given cytapoint injection(unfortunately I cannot rewind) I have a lot of guilt I should of researched, at the time I was desperate and she was a mess. I’m using gold standard for trachea it helps and she likes it. Problem is she is a show quality Pomeranian with alopecia a little black skin as well it’s her lower chest completely bald her tail sides and big bald patches on her back. Tail and back is where the black skin is. Everything medically has been ruled out. I tried melatonin 1 mg it upset her tummy and she no longer wanted to eat or drink after 5 days I took her off. I have been told this is cosmetic I’m in Canada it gets cold and hot I would like to get her coat back if possible. She isn’t itchy and the sweetest dog, I will post a before and now picture.thank you for reading this very long post she is also spayed 

Meet Coco

Dr. Steve's Advice - I'm not sure which Gold Standard Herbs product you're using, but the history of collapsing trachea along with a Staph infection in response to a diet change makes me think of Cessorex (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Original-Cessorex-85g-p647327434). The formula can actually treat both conditions. 

If your Pom handles Cessorex well, then additional Bu Gan Tang (Liver Support Formula from Kan Essentials) should help get rid of those bald black areas, if the Cessorex doesn't take care of it. 

Hopefully this helps you out!

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Good morning Dr. Steve, looking for advice..I purchased your Voltrex and Lumbrex before he went to Vet, haven't tried your products yet..I will wait for your reply.

My raw fed chemical free (flea, Tick) no vaccines of 9yrs. Just Tested Possitive for Lymes He has collapsing Trachea, IVDD Neck...Rescued 3yrs of age bite Hystory...must be sedated at Vets. Using Holistic and Natural as much as possible, I cannot give oral homeopathy unless I put pellets in water, food or bone broth.Currently for tick bites Ledum, Bor L Immune Tincture. Pulling Ticks off since November Recently in the last 2 weeks 5, 2 were Nymph deer ticks..he had the start of  a ring pattern. Exposure to lymes could have been back in November..Do I treat with Doxycycline? Vet wants to check protein in Urine test next. What is the best blood test for Lymes, should I re test in 90 days. Is there a cure for Lymes? Once you have it..you always have it. Treat symptoms..no cure. He has been nippy to touch and comb lately...a wobble to his walk. Had 2 episodes of neck paralysis (IVDD) extremely painful couldn't move. No choice..Gabapentin, Metcam, Tramadol crate rest.Spraying him 3 plus times daily essential oils, flea tick collar, ACV in food, Earth animal powder in food 2 times, raw garlic. Trachea- slippery elm, bone broth, raw honey..bad episodes tried Cerena (Vet prescribed) thank you for your help.

Dr. Steve's Advice - sorry about the delayed reply. Voltrex and Lumbrex by Gold Standard Herbs certainly seem appropriate, so I hope you eventually got around to using them. The video shows your dog probably has significant neck pain, possibly from fixations, so a chiropractic treatment might be highly advisable. Some of the aggression your dog shows at the vet might be pain induced, from them tensing up expecting the worst, which in turn aggravates their symptoms. Valerian root extract is another neck muscle relaxant you could get to help relax your dog and speed the improvements along. Voltrex will likely help a lot with the Lyme disease, the collapsing trachea, and maybe even the aggression (i.e., stress) at the vet clinic.

No problem to do a urine protein:creatinine ratio on your dog. If it is above 5, the Voltrex will likely take care of it.

Given the low albumin and calcium levels, you may want to consider a Liver Blood tonic. Lumbrex may be enough for that, but otherwise, a third formula you could add in that will also help relax the neck musculature is Liver Support Formula by Kan Essentials. This is often available online at Amazon. If you use it, dose according to the table at https://nphc.ca/using/dosage. If the UPC is indeed elevated but less than 3, the Liver Support Formula will likely correct that, too.

Lyme disease can certainly be cured, probably in most dogs, especially with Voltrex. It doesn't have to be a forever thing. Your vet can do a quantitative test for the C6 antibody. If it is dropping over time, it is because your dog has killed off the bacteria. A single positive test such as the one in the lab reports does not tell you when your dog was exposed. It could have been long ago.

As to whether you need to use doxycycline, that is up to you and your vet. My preference is to use herbs to kill off the infection, but you can use antibotics at the same time as you want and hedge your bets. The Voltrex might protect the microbiome somewhat against any ravages from the doxycycline. If, on the other hand, your dog's symptoms all resolve on the herbs, then the antibiotics would seem unnecessary

Hope that helps!

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Hi Dr. Steve

I have a 7 year old rescued male chichuahua Coco. In late August he had emergency surgery for masses on his liver. He almost passed during surgery because his blood pressure dropped. Fortunately the surgeon was able to correct his pressure and remove the tumor and some of his liver. The biopsy showed spindle cell sarcoma, which seems to be a rare cancer. He recovered well from surgery and started doxorubicin chemo every 3 weeks for 6 treatments.  He is done with chemo. Now,  he has a collapsing trachea according to a chest xray. He is coughing a lot and a corneal ulcer in one eye. He has antibiotics for eye .
I make his food Dr.Harveys Paradigm with chicken added, turkey tail mushroom and Sardines. He eats well and plays , but, the coughing annoys him.
What else can I do help him stronger and heal.Thank you very much.

Dr. Steve's Advice - thank you so much for your patience in waiting for a reply to your question. I've been a bit overwhelmed of late.

I think there is a lot you can do for Coco to help prevent tumor recurrence and stop the cough. I would suggest Natural Path's Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum); or, if your vet won't supply that, Kan Essentials Lift the Qi or Galvanex from Gold Standard Herbs. You could give Dispel Stasis in the Palace of Blood from Kan Essentials at the same time. My guess is you'll find them both on Amazon if you're in the US.

The two products together should greatly reduce airway irritation and coughing from the collapsing trachea, while also help reduce the chances of tumor recurrence, since both formulas are anti-cancer. Lastly, the products may help heal the ulcer, especially if it is due to KCS. Even if it's not, they may help.

As to the diet, it sounds fine. Make sure that the plant component is ample, making up at least 15% of what's in the dish. Hope that helps!

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Hello, Dr. Steve! Thank you so much for this group. I've been following and learning for a while. This is my 4yr old toy poodle Peyton. We recently got the diagnosis of collapsed trachea, and I'd like to know if there is anything I can do to slow it down? He is fresh fed, gets Omega 3s (Nordic naturals), Tumeric, euphrasia (for his eyes thank you for that one!), and Halscion for anxiety ( thank you again- it helps!) We also only use a harness- never a collar. His bloodwork came back perfect. He only coughs at night and after vigorous exercise. I've noticed he also has trouble swallowing sometimes... Any tips are greatly appreciated as your time allows. Again, thank you! 

Dr. Steve's Advice - since Halscion (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Halscion-p450909521) has been helping the anxiety, Voltrex by Gold Standard Herbs will likely help with the collapsing trachea and cough. Since it's worse at night, you could pair it with Blood's Palace from Kan Essentials, which you can source from Aleksandra Topic by emailing her at aleks.topic1@gmail.com. My guess is that those two additions should reduce the coughing. Please let us know how you make out! 

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Hi Dr Steve Marsden and hoping all is well.  Baby, Yorkie, 7 yrs, 6.5 lbs, male, intact,  real food diet,  no vaccines or pesticides, suspected PLE (no biopsies), budesonide and clopidogrel. Was experiencing increased respirations, coughing and shaking, so immediately took him to the ER. Vomited his lunch while they had him in the back. X-ray, ultrasound and labs. Dr said x-ray indicates it is a text book case of mild aspiration pneumonia. WBC 20K, no fever. Admitted Sat afternoon and will be discharged Mon am. He is in an oxygen cage, is being given nebulizer treatments, the antibiotics Baytril and Unasyn, and told he will be going home with an rx for Clavamox. Is this the protocol that you would use? How does the body remove food from the lung and how long does that take? His gut microbiome was a mess prior to this and now with these added antibiotics, other than continuing the  fecal transplant capsules, what else can I do to support him during and after the antibiotics? The doctor also said the x-ray indicates mild collapsing trachea. Your guidance for that?  Last, I have a previous post pending regarding a different matter. Should I resubmit?  Thank you sir! 

Dr. Steve's Advice - I can't comment on the protocol at the emergency clinic. They surely must know best, having examined your dog in person.

Regarding what to do going forward, please read the posts at #dogcollapsingtrachea for advice. It boils down to real food and some version of Minor Bupleurum (a Chinese herbal formula). The diet is needed as there is emerging evidence that AGEs in processed food are what are causing the nerve degeneration leading to the laryngeal paralysis.

I'm glad your pup is feeling better. The lungs will clear the foreign material out in relatively short order - a week or so, I would guess

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Good morning Dr. Marsden! You have helped me with my other pup and now, I could use some helpful suggestions for my girl. This is Ellie Mae. She is a 6 year old Beabull (Beagle and English bulldog). Her medical story is so so long and starts so young, but our biggest scare right now is that she has had chronic lower airway disease for some time and now has been diagnosed with severe tracheal collpase. She has adequan injections twice a week to try to see if that can help. She is on Cerenia and benadryl for traditional medications. The doctor wants us to add flovent and Albuterol. She can be sensitive to steroids but the vet assured that these are very low dose and should be ok when inhaled through the AeroDawg chamber.
She is on a raw diet and gets the following supplements:
2 Quercetin pills per day
2 droppers of CBD Ease from CBD dog health per day
2 droppers of Breathe mushroom blend from CBD dog health per day
1 PEA pill per day (thinking of stopping as I didn't realize it was made of various animal proteins that she could be intolerant of)
Ion gut support for pets, 2 tsp per day
1 NAC pill per day
1 magnesium lactate pill per day
10 drops of Ven Jenz detox per day

I feel like it is a lot of supplements and not really doing a lot for her. The Magnesium lactate, NAC, Ven Jenz, and PEA were all suggested from a holistic vet. I had been giving quercetin before that. The CBD, mushrooms, and ion gut support were my idea as we didn't seem to be getting any where. 

Do you have any recommendations for us to help with her chronic lower airway disease and collapse trachea? If you would like to see a video of the breathing difficulties she is having, please let me know and I can attach a video at that time (we have had a vet diagnosis her with laryngeal paralysis via a scope but then an expert in that field, Dr. Bryden Stanley examined and scoped her and said that is not it and did a elongated soft palate resection, that didn't help much). 

Thank you for your time and any help you can give.

Dr. Steve's Advice - Sorry about the long delay in responding to you. If you've confirmed the diagnosis of collapsing trachea (unusual in a large breed dog) and lower airway disease, the the two formulas I'd use in unison are Harmonize the Qi by Kan Essentials; and Blood's Palace by Kan Essentials. You can often find them online at Amazon in the US.

I've talked at length about collapsing trachea. You can read other posts on the topic here: #dogcollapsingtrachea. In brief, Harmonize the Qi is a bronchodilator and reduces the stress response that causes dogs to breath all the harder during attacks, which in turn flexes the walls of the airways, which drives more coughing and bumps up the stress.

Blood's Palace helps moisten airways but doesn't make them Phlegmy. Instead it just gets the blood to flow more effectively, helping reverse lower airway disease. It also is a bronchodilator and helps to relieve stress.

I would put the two of them to work for you. If you see your dog stabilizing and improving, then you might be able to start simplifying the protocol you're using now, since the new herbs will have gone well beyond what the current protocol is doing. You'd reduce the product quantity and dose of your choosing gradually, letting the above formulas take up the slack and relieve any resurgence in symptoms that the old products may have been masking. Once your dog is improving, anything you added that you are pretty sure is contributing nothing can generally be discontinued more quickly, but I'd still go one product at a time so we don't pull the rug out from under Ellie Mae

Here's hoping this helps!

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So my Bentley will be 10 in December.  He has cancer and we have been fighting for 3 years (only done surgery for removal).  In addition to seeing his oncologist every 3 months for a checkup…he has home cooked meals.  I use Turkey Tail mushrooms, DMG, and Dispel Stasis in the Palace of Blood as supplements.  Recently Dispel Statis in the Palace of Blood appear to be changed to requiring a prescription or only able to purchase via a vet.  

Anyone have a holistic vet that does telehealth?  Or know an alternative way to get this supplement?

They also advised he has a collapsing trachea…so options to help with this also.

Thanks for any advise.

Dr. Steve's Advice - you can source Kan Essentials from Aleksandra Topic on my say-so. Please follow the instructions here in this post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1158575954706282/posts/1420037418560133/

Add in Harmonize the Qi from Kan Essentials for its anti-cancer effects and also its benefits in collapsing trachea

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