many chihuahua owners email us with concerns related to their chihuahua puppies or dogs experiencing breathing problems, more specifically frequent gagging, coughing and chihuahua wheezing and seizures that result in gasping for air. this article may be helpful to you if your chihuahua has been affected by obstructed breathing or symptoms thereof.
chihuahuas are known to suffer from problems related to their soft palate or a collapsed trachea. it is a health concern that is characteristic of the chihuahua breed and is also commonly referred to as “reverse sneezing”.
tracheal collapse is a condition in which the trachea partially collapses or flattens out as your chihuahua is trying to breath. this leads irritation and results in the gagging, coughing and wheezing symptoms mentioned above.
the trachea airway in your chihuahua is a very sensitive area
the trachea is the airway from the larnyx to the main bronchi in the lungs. it looks somewhat similar to that of a vacuum hose and has many stiff rings with flexible tissue connecting them.
sometimes these rings are not stiff enough and are unable to hold the trachea open against the air pressure that’s created during respiration. the portion of the trachea that is not stiff is then sucked into the airway causing partial obstruction making it difficult for your chihuahua to breath.
the difference in a normal trachea vs. a collapsed trachea
factors that can lead to tracheal collapse in your chihuahua are obesity, irritants, allergies, repeated heart conditions, bacterial infections, viruses and second-hand cigarette smoke.
tracheal collapse can also be brought on by damage done from leash pulling, especially if you use a collar to walk your chihuahua. it is recommended that you switch to a trachea friendly dog harness to prevent any pushing or pulling against the trachea.
if any of these symptoms develop, take your chihuahua to the vet right away. this is an important chihuahua health concern. if they are not treated, damage can occur in the lungs, larynx, nasal passages and soft palate regions. your veterinarian will provide you with the right medications and you will be able to further prevent symptoms.
a happy and healthy chihuahua is the goal, and a sick chihuahua must be properly cared for. famous chihuahua welcomes your comments and shared experiences.
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below is a sample page from the section of tracheal collapse!
reference: tracheal collapse in dogs vetinfo4dogs.com/dtrachea.html
photo references: egyvetonline.com/animaldisplay.aspx?c=2&info=16
animalhealthcare.com/handouts/dogs/collapsing_trachea.htm
Comments 162
My dogs name is mimi, mimi has lost here mobility she’s lost here balance and falls one here side. I have taken mimi took the veteran, the tests they did, showed no infection of any kind. She’s does eat when I feed here by hand. The big question is has anyone also experience anything like this with your chihuahuas. thanks a sad but concerned owner.
My 4 1/2 year old long haired chihuahua started 3 week ago with the coughing and gagging. I did’nt know what to do , I called the vet, but I did’nt have the money.The emergency vet told me about Care Credit, I called , got it and took my dog Chi Chi to the vet the same day. The vet gave me two meds, did’nt seem to help. I return a week later they took x-rays and saw his trachea was collapsed, put him on two more meds, but nothing seems to help.It get worst at night. What else can I do.I hate to see him suffer so much.
hi everyone.. well i belive that my lil Tike.. has this problem.. i got him from one of my dads friends, and they had lil kids, ( 2, n 3) and i think that they had something to do with this becuz.. there dad said that the kids used to pick my dog up by the ears the neck the legs, watever!! it was sad.. but now sumtimes wen he eats he twiches his neck, and cries 🙁 and he kinda coughs, n sneenzez at the same time. its a werid sound.. ;/ and i am just worried cuz, i dnt have the money to take him to the vet, and i dnt want him to die!!!! or b in pain.. 🙁 so can sum1 plz help me!!!!!!!!
hey my chihuahua gotten better in the spring but after i gave my chi a Bordetella vaccination she is reverse sneezing way more than usuall,is it normal?anything i can do to help her?
Author
Hi Nancy, you may want to read this information on why chihuahua snore and make snorting sounds
Lucy, my best friend ever, makes noises that sound like a goose honking. It mostly seems to happen when she’s excited. She gets very happy when my son comes home. She starts running around, etc. Then that noise will start. Is the tracheal thing just something you have to live with?
I live in remote Northern New England. My chi has symptoms similar to the ones described above. My vet is not concerned and keeps telling me that when the weather gets colder, he should improve, but my instinct tells me I need to have him checked further. My question is…”How do I find a vet that would be familiar with Chihuahuas? As much as I love my vet, I feel I need to pursue this further. I am willing to travel to as far as Boston (or further for quality care.)
Hi, my chihuahua is 15 weeks old and after suffering from pneumonia at 10 weeks old. Has been left with this cough to the point that sometimes stretches her neck as if to bring something up but. Sometimes when she breaths I can hear like phlegm and shortly after she coughs like to clear her throat. Do you know if this could still be due to her pneumonia or could it be reverse sneezing. I would appreciate your reply. Thanks
I have 2 chugs (both age 7), a new beagle pup and a full chihuahua (age 5) about 4 lbs. While we are familiar w the reverse sneeze having experienced that with the chugs and the chi, after our chugs and chi had vaccinations back in March at a roaming low cost vaccination service, we noticed the chi was not feeling well and doing the reverse sneeze as well as a terrible honking cough. The cough became more and more, he wasn’t sleeping, his eyes were weak – just a general malaise to his usual health and behavior. My son works at an animal hosp so on Easter morning, the vet on call saw JoJo and said he had a collapsed trachea from the nasal vaccination saying it could be a one time thing or something that could always bother him. Other than that, he is terribly healthy. She put him on tramadol for a few days to relax all those muscles and his trach and now he randomly has a quick episode – maybe 3 since Easter but lasted a few hrs and only one time did we need to medicate him again w the tramadol. It is very scary though when they have this cough but a good doc can diagnose and treat.
Hi, I have a 14 year old chihuahua diagnosed with collapsed trachea and partially collapsed lung almost 2 years ago.
This year, 2010, she gave me quite a scare when she screamed, not cried, in the middle of the night. I picked her up from my bed and soothed her, thinking she was having a nightmare. She did this at least 3 more times, always at night while she was asleep.
Last Wednesday evening, while she was dozing in bed, I saw her her neck stretch out, tilting her back until it curved like a banana, then let out this blood curdling scream. I immediately picked her up and tried to calm her down then put her in bed again. Then 5 minutes later, she did the same nightmarish scream again.
Has this ever happened to any of your pet chihuahuas? I mentioned this to the Vet and he thinks my pet is having a stroke.
Your input will be much appreciated.
Kristy
I just lost my 10 year old Chihuahua Chico 2 days ago…It’s the most heartbreaking thing I have ever gone through…He had been doing that reverse sneeze for years..My vet said it’s almost like a post nasal drip..I brought him in about 2 months ago because he appeared to be choking and gagging..come to find out he had congestive heart failure..a partial collapsed lung ..a heart murmur..and an enlarged heart..I also brought him to a specialist..and he did an ecocardiogram..I have spent alot of money trying to keep him alive and comfortable…I would have spent my whole lifes savings if he could have lived a quality life…It’s been devistating…He was the love of my life…I found him passed away under my bed…We were just at the vet 2 days prior to his death..he told me that he didn’t see this coming..He seemed to be doing much better..that was not the case… So everyone please give your chihuahuas some extra love in honor of Chico…
My 14 week old chi has been having problems breathing for a while now. We tried antibiotics hoping it was some respiratory infection but no avail. I got an xray this morning and there is fluid on his heart. Doc referred us to a specialist and said it was likely there is a birth defect. He is super tiny( and doc said this is common. Is it? What can I do?
you love your dog you will think of a way to the vet, meantime go to a feed store and ask for pain medicine or antibiotic for your dog. ask a vet as to how much to give your dog.
Hi my poor little chihuahua has been gagging nonstop for the past hour and i’m getting worried!!! He does wear a collar but I took it off of him and he’s still gagging and i’m getting really scared! I don’t have the money to take him to the vet. What do I do???
Thank you for sharing some great info. My chihuahua has the same problem. I thought she just had a hairball stuck in her throat. I always walked her with a collar because she escaped from a harness(she’s a wild one). Now I will have to train her to get used to a harness for her walks. Thanks again!
Thanks :o)
She Has Stopped Her Shaking & Has Become More Comfortable… I Guess It Was Because She Was Uncertain & Stressed Due 2 A New Home.
BTW… Ur Website Is Great!!! (^_^)
Author
you should read our chihuahua health fact called why do chihuahua puppies shiver
I Just Bought A 12 Week Old Toy Blue Chi. The Problem W/ Her Is That She Constantly Shakes. When She Eats, She’s Unable 2 B Still. When I Pick Her Up 2 Hold Her… It’s Like Tremors She Has. When She Walks, She Shakes. She Can Run When She Wants 2 & Play W/ My Min Pin But Why All The Shaking? I Live In Mississippi & i Read Up On How They Can Get Cold But Outside In The Heat, She Still Shakes & She Wears A Sweater Inside & A Shirt Outside. She’s A Short Haired BTW. She’s On My Sleeping On My Lap Right Now & She’s Calm Until I Move, She’ll Start Shaking… So, My ? Is… Will She Grow Out Of The Shaking/Tremors????
Oxygen drops in your dogs water increases the oxygen in your dogs blood. The lack of oxygen leads to the enlarged heart.
Try any type of oxygen drops. I use Dyanmo 2 for myself and my little boy.
Make sure you use a harness NOT a collar, this will make the problem much worse. Chihuahuas, by nature, should never have a collar, as it is too much work on their neck. Please make sure that their teeth are brushed on a regular basis, to prevent heart disease, as this is a consequence of the collapsed trachea.
The most popular med is hydrocodone. I took mine to a specialist yesterday and got an echo. If a vet tells you “not to worry about it”, i would worry. Sorry, but money or no, you should be giving him/her meds. THere is a surgery but that is last resort. Hydrocodone is like cough medicine, but you need to take him/her to the vet, and not give Robitussin. That is just a quick fix. Many will need an antibiotic for any types of bacterial infections.
I have a 1 and 1/2 year old female chihuahua mix and she seems to do the same kind of coughing that you are talking about. This happens even when there is nothing that is done. Most of the time, it happens when we are at my mother-in-law’s house outside. She doesn’t even do anything and this happens. I know you say to take them to the vet. But, I talked with my mom and her dog does the same and the vet told her not to worry about it. I don’t have a lot of money and am not able to take her to the vet right now. But, I want to know if I should be concerned.
Thanks!
A few more words of advice. If you have to keep your pet on pain medicine for any length of time, make sure to get a stool softener to give them so they will be able to discharge without no straining to extreme. Also, once your chihuahua starts coughing, pick them up while they are coughing, with one hand under their rear, and as they cough, if you feel a bulge pop out, each time they cough, then your pet has a hernia that can be or eventually may impede them urinating, and if this isn’t taken care of, you pet will know what some of the worse pain ever they could ever suffer, and the operation costs about $2400.00, and they will need pain medicine before and after the operation for a while. I was truly blessed to find a vet to do the operation for around $400.00 . ENJOY YOUR PET.
My chihuahua: PEPPER, is almost 18 years old. He also coughs from time to time, and sometimes these spurts are on a consistent rhythm. I don’t know if he has an enlarged heart or not, and he was operated on a while back for a hernia that was pressing against his kidney release tube, and he would try to urinate but when trying, the hernia would press against that tube, and he would have problems getting released. He was operated on for that months ago, and thanks be to God he can urinate really good now, but the coughing, that continues from time to time, especially so after he drinks water it seems. Had it not been for the pain medicine I had here at the house to help him through those months of pain, before I was able to get the money for his operation, the poor little fellow could not have made it, and it made me hate life that I was even born into the world to see him have to suffer, so I brought him to a number of vets, and each one gave him (outlaw medicine). The strongest being: torbugesic, which one vet online, scolds other vets for giving, because it does not last long, so I kept him on Oxycontin, till I was able to get him the operation. I first went online, to find out that dogs can take all the pain medicine that we as humans take, except anything with tylenol (acetaminophen) , in it. I can’t take tylenol, so the oxycodone that I have to take for my illness, I was able to shave a small amount off of a tablet twice daily, and mix it with sugared water, and take an eye dropper and give it to him. I told the vet about this, and he had no problem at all with it. Had I not had this medicine, he would have suffered unbearable pain and misery, and may have died from high blood pressure, brought on by extreme pain. GETTING BACK TO THE COUGH. When Pepper starts to cough to much, I give him some oxycodone mixed with sugar water, and he seems to quit coughing altogether, and rest, and enjoy sleep. Believe me, all that coughing does pain them very much. If we as humans coughed that much, it would be like pulling bobwire out of your throat, so they need pain medicine for all that coughing, it helps them greatly. So if any of you out there have even hydrocodone cough medicine, such as tussinex, your chihuahua can take that too, but be very careful to only give them one drop, like a tear drop portion after you shake up the bottle, but make sure it does not have any tylenol in it, and if any of you have cancer, or back problems, and have oxycodone prescribed to you, you can shave a small, and I mean a small amount off the tablet, and mix it in a spoon with sugar water and give it to you pet, and they will get such releif, and love you all the more for it. But if you bring your pet to a vet for his cough, chances are , you will get outlaw medicine , such as tramadol, or torbugesic, which doesn’t last long. Your dog can even be given fentanyl, or morphine, but if you are on any of these, believe me, it has to be just a little scrape off the tab for your pet. Start off small, and when you see the relief come, and the cough stop, then you will know how much of a dose they need in the future. But if your dog coughs quite alot, don’t let any person tell you that your pet isn’t suffering pain, because consistent coughing even in humans causes a lot of pain and discomfit. There are some maladies in life that drs. cannot do much for, but only give you medicines to alleviate your suffering so you will have some quality of life left for your remaining days. This is the same concerning animals, sometimes, only good pain medicine and a lot of love does all the good to your pet that can be done for them. Once again, if any of you follow any of this to help out your pet with, please make sure that the medicine does not have any tylenol in it. I hope that this will be helpful to some of you.
My chihuahua usually coughs when shes excited but recently shes been gagging and coughing more than usual . is it because of weather changing?I also cant bring her to the vet any ideas?PLEASE HELP!