# Pneumonia/tracheal collapse



## kchen95 (Jan 6, 2016)

Hi all, my 3-year-old Toy Poodle, Vontae, is recovering from bacterial Pneumonia, and I want to reach out for advice.

It felt like a sudden situation; he went from extremely playful one day/night with some intermittent coughing/gagging, to honkering and shivering, reluctant to even walk five minutes to the vet the next morning. He ended up staying at the clinic for fluids and antibiotics for 3 days, but was well enough to come home at night every day during those 3 days. He resumed eating about 2 hours after being given his first antibiotic shot and put on IV for fluid, and was eating a full amount by the first evening when he came home - in fact, he actually ended up gaining weight during those 3 days, since I was trying to make sure he ate and drank as much as possible to fight the infection. He came home for good after 3 days, and has continued to recover well while on oral antibiotics for one week (we're now day 2 into the week). His energy level is almost back to normal - although on doctor's orders, I'm refraining from exercising him rigorously during this week - and his coughing/gagging has reduced but isn't completely gone (rise in activity level tends to trigger it). 

I'm curious - what could have triggered this pneumonia? His doctor, whom I trust, said it's not uncommon for perfectly healthy dogs to catch pneumonia when the weather suddenly changes (a severe cold front hit Taipei, where we live, during the few days that Vontae started showing pneumonia symptoms). But I also read that adult dogs often get pneumonia as a secondary reaction to a pre-existing abnormality? The one "abnormality" that I suspected was tracheal collapse; I suspected it a while back because Vontae, once in a while (I would estimate about 3 times a week), would make a dry cough sound. This cough, which tends to be a one-time thing when it occurred (except when he caught pneumonia this time), also was triggered sometimes when I brushed his teeth and wasn't gentle enough with the toothbrush, and also when he drank water too fast after hard exercise. When I described these symptoms to his doctor about six months ago, he and I both suspected tracheal collapse but x-rays and finger test rejected this. At that point, we took a wait and see approach, since the dry cough/gagging wasn't frequent and it didn't seem to negatively affect his life (he's a very vigorous hiker, swimmer and frisbee catcher). But, now that he's caught pneumonia seemingly out of the blue, I'm wondering if there is something more to his pre-condition that we could've overlooked?

I will have a more extensive discussion with Vontae's doctor about this after he fully recovers, but given what I've described, any thoughts to what might be going on? 

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long description!

Kevin


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

A couple of thoughts - the coughing sound you describe could simply be reverse sneezing, which is often caused by drinking cold water, etc. There are several videos online if you search, which may help you to decide. There have recently been outbreaks of canine influenza - as it is a fairly new disease dogs do not have any natural immunity, and in its most severe form it has the same symptoms as pneumonia, although these can also be due to a secondary infection, hence the response to antibiotics: https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/FAQs/Pages/Control-of-Canine-Influenza-in-Dogs.aspx

So tracheal collapse may be part of the cause, and I would certainly protect his throat, but you may want to consider these other possibilities too.


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## kchen95 (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks FJM. I don't think it's reverse sneezing. I looked at online videos and Vontae's dry coughs sound more like tracheal collapse - but again, he's been X-rayed as well as "fingered" on the throat for tracheal collapse and nothing came about. Maybe there's some sort of milder form of tracheal irritation that's not quite a tracheal collapse, but is enough to cause irritation once in a while?

Thanks also for the info on canine influenza. I suppose it could be that. Just wanna make sure I'm not missing anything pre-existing conditions that may cause pneumonia (or anything else) to recur.

Kevin


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

My pomeranian just had a xray done because I was worried about him due to these coughing fits. After the xray you can see the tracheal narrowing near his neck. The doctor gave me some pills to manage it along with antibiotics. He said to think of it like bronchitis. If it isn't treated it could lead to upper respiratory infection like what you are experiencing. I think you are doing all the right things. If it isn't evident from the xray, it could be irritation or allergies? Whatever it is, taking the antibiotic is a good step.


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## kchen95 (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks for the replies! I'm happy to report that Vontae has fully recovered. We now suspect that it may be brief inhalation of smoke that triggered the pneumonia. We were out playing at the usual open field last Wednesday and I noticed that there was a strong smell of smoke in the air. I didn't think anything of it and continued to play with Vontae for about 1 hour, but according to his vet, even brief exposure to smoke like this could cause enough irritation to trigger the pneumonia.

Kevin


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

kchen95 said:


> Thanks for the replies! I'm happy to report that Vontae has fully recovered. We now suspect that it may be brief inhalation of smoke that triggered the pneumonia. We were out playing at the usual open field last Wednesday and I noticed that there was a strong smell of smoke in the air. I didn't think anything of it and continued to play with Vontae for about 1 hour, but according to his vet, even brief exposure to smoke like this could cause enough irritation to trigger the pneumonia.
> 
> Kevin


Good to hear that Vontae has recovered.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Soooo glad Vontae is back to his 'normal' self! You take such good care of him!


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