Senior sheltie has long term cough -- conflicting diagnoses

Your post exactly described my Sheltie Angel Cody. Never could figure out exactly what was causing the cough, but the kidney disease is what eventually forced us to help him cross the bridge. Pay very close attention to his kidney and liver numbers, as this disease can advance very quickly. Despite our best efforts, Cody only lasted 3 months. If caught early and with proper care, some dogs can go for years with kidney disease. Check out the Dog Aware website. It has extensive information on kidney disease and how to manage it. There is also a Yahoo Group called K9 Kidney Diet that also has a wealth of information, especially on how to prepare meals that will help to prolong his life. You must keep him eating! My thoughts and prayers are with you.
 
Treatment for cough - Echinacea

I just wanted to share what we did with our sheltie, who had a persistent hack/cough for many months and we were finally able to overcome it. Our sheltie is a senior (of unknown age as she is adopted) but for the last 3 -4 months she had been hacking/coughing. She is not overweight and does not use a leash (some of the things which can trigger a cough). She does not have heart disease and the only thing our vet could determine was that she was having soft palette issues.

Our dog's cough was getting more frequent and violent sounding so after much research and help from a naturopath, we gave her 10 drops of liquid Echinacea in 1 ounce of water 2-3 times a day. We did this for 7 - 10 days and symptoms are 90% gone! It's been one month now since we stopped the echinacea and she barely coughs.

Raw honey can also help for a short term fix (have them lick it off your finger or mix with a bit of water to make a paste) but the echinacea definitely was the best of many things we tried!
 
Revel had the same problem, almost exactly as you describe. My vet xrayed his chest and diagnosed chronic bronchitis, which is basically hardening of the little air sacs in the lungs due to age. With him, it occurred after rest and NOT exercise which I think is quite significant, His heart is functioning perfectly. He was given prednisolone and a mucolytic and now is on a maintenance dose of prednisolone - which functions in the same way as an inhaler for a person with asthma. in fact the vet did suggest he could have an inhaler (no kidding! It apparently works with a mask and can be used for dogs and cats :cool:). Although this is preferable for the side effects of the steroid, I felt that getting Revel used to using it would be too stressful for him and he would start dreading it so on balance the tablet form was the better option for him. Almost immediate improvement within days and apart from a brief occasional cough he is fine. He is a very active dog and while I had not noticed him struggling at all on walks, on the prednisolone he seemed even more active. So far there have not been any obvious side effects aside from he has become quite greedy and developed a taste for dead rabbits that he finds on our walks :ick

Hope this is helpful, it might be the same thing for your sheltie. Revel will be 15 in July.
 
tentcamp said:
Collapsing trachea, sounds just like our Sheltie that had this.
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I'm not familiar with this. Can someone shorthand a basic explanation for me? What causes a collapsed trachea (for the record, Fasb coughs once in a while but not chronic. I'm just curious).
 
Wow...so glad I found this thread! our old girl, Emily, has been doing the same cough thing!!

short course of steroids helped, but she was panting all the time and having urine accidents.

most interesting is she can bark her, sweet, pointy head off at our big, goofy an that doesn't set off a coughing attack!

I have some more things to ask our vet now!

Anne
 
New poster with old(ish) fat sheltie, lovely (not) cough

Hi everyone - long-time poster but just signed up. We have a soon-to-be 10YO blue merle, Lir. Love him to pieces. We have had close to no issues with him. Super-smart, massive coat (which he HATES to have combed/brushed/washed), not that much of a barker.

He's also overweight. Has been for most of his life. He's standard size, about 12" tall, but I have never been able to keep him below 29#. I've limited his food to close to only half a cup a day, changed to senior a few years ago, walked him, etc. Then he started 'that' cough <vet diagnosed it by hearing my description of 'sounding like he's hacking up a massive hairball'. We took the advice that 'it's something that's not that uncommon in his breed' and 'put him on a diet'.

Now as he reaches 10, he's still heavy (and we watch everything that he eats), though why I haven't bugged my vet to check his hormone levels is my fault (I'm hypothyroidic, so my weight issues are the same...), and now he has arthritis since he tends to be stiff getting up and down.

But his coughing is getting worse, in that now he also sounds like he's a bit out breath. Not all the time, just after a coughing jag. He has an appointment next week with the vet, so I'll be asking her again about the collapsed trachea (is there an actual test that is done for that?), and ask for checking his thyroid. (and his heart).

As I write this I feel like the worst pet owner ever. These are tests that I know I should have asked for as regular parts of his annual visit. We also have several cats, which in the past few years have had us running to the vet for congestive heart failure, pneumonia and cancer (the latter was our sheltie's best bud, a Golden Retriever that passed last year.), so I guess I'm more than a little gun-shy heading to the vet (my husband tends to wait in the car).

But no matter what - can anyone here have suggestions on how to get the weight off him at the same time figure out how to ease his cough?
 
blaiseshimmer said:
Hi everyone - long-time poster but just signed up. We have a soon-to-be 10YO blue merle, Lir. Love him to pieces. We have had close to no issues with him. Super-smart, massive coat (which he HATES to have combed/brushed/washed), not that much of a barker.

He's also overweight. >>>
<<<and now he has arthritis since he tends to be stiff getting up and down.>>>

But his coughing is getting worse, in that now he also sounds like he's a bit out breath. QUOTE}>>>
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blaiseshimmer said:
Welcome...glad you have decided to join us as a member. :smile2:

If you haven't had him tested for thyroid issues I would do that immediately...it is a simple blood draw and shelties are very prone to low thyroid ... one of the standard symptoms of which is uncontrollable weight.

The coughing may be heart related...congestive heart failure. This can be easily dx'd during a vet visit and greatly helped by medication...also weight loss would also make a huge difference for any heart issue. Dogs with congestive heart failure can live quality lives for a long time (many years) if the issue is addressed.

In general, collapsed trachea is not a sheltie issue...although obviously it can happen in any breed.

Over weight plays a role in arthritis as it puts way too much work/pressure on the joints...getting him down to a good weight and putting him on a supplement to help support his joints will make him far more comfortable.

I know it can seem over whelming as they age and multiple health issues crop up...and I am so sorry you lost your older Golden last year...it is never easy to get past the emotional trauma of losing a beloved dog.

Trini
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We have a sheltie who's about 9. He has had an off & on cough that almost sounded like he was clearing his throat. This past week it has gotten to sounding wheezy after he coughs & then he's fine but I was concerned. We just got back from the vet & they said he has a heart murmur that is a 3 out of 6. They did xrays & said his heart is a bit enlarged so they want to do an echo. I guess we'll do it in the next week or so. They have started him on a low dose of lasix & minocycline in case of a respiratory bacteria thing. They did bloodwork to check thyroid & everything. Keeping our fingers crossed that it is something that can be medically managed.

I hope your sheltie does ok. I've lost 1 sheltie to heart issues & it is terribly hard to feel helpless. Our Buddy is a bit overweight too. He's 28 lbs & should lose about 5 lbs or so. I hope we both get good news.
 
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