Animals Allergies And COPD

   It's been a long couple of weeks, learning more about our pets and their allergies as well as COPD in dogs and cats.  Yes, they can suffer with this too.  

If you have allergies and COPD it's kind of like getting hit with a double whammy. While I thankfully don't have COPD myself I know many who do, including a cute little dog I know named Kali.  

The good thing with dogs is that you can often give them (with the approval of a vet) some kind of allergy medication. Some dogs are really good at taking pills, others well... lets just say you have to get a bit sneaky at hiding it in thier food.  Recently Kali's allergies have been getting worse as the pollution levels outside increase (woodstove, along with other chemicals that are being burned). She's been suffering with constant coughing, sneezing, and wheezing.  After a couple of visits with her vet she had a confirmed diagnosed of COPD and she was prescribed an inhaler.  The below is an example of what that may look like with the inhaler at one end of the spacer and the part that covers the nose and face at the other.

When your giving a puffer to a dog or cat you need to make sure their mouth and nose are fully covered.  While you can get specially designed pieces her vet was able to make a temporary one for her to try.  And yes it actually worked really well.

One of the big problems Kali had was just going outside to go to the bathroom. Whenever there was a  chemical smell and or wood smoke in the air she would come back in coughing and chocking, which this time of the year is pretty much a regular occurrence.

So what exactly is COPD?  COPD is short for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease which is a chronic inflammatory lung disease. It basically obstructs the airflow from the lungs, specifically the lower respiratory tract. 

                                     

The upper respiratory tract includes the nose, sinuses, throat and trachea and the lower tract includes the bronchioles, bronchi and alveoli. In the beginning stages the inflammation starts in the small airways (bronchi and bronchioles).  Just like in people this disease can affect anyone, it can also develop in all dogs and cats. Small breed dogs middle age or older are affected the most often while the domestic shorthair and Siamese are the most affected in cats.

With the right treatment COPD can be managed and the symptoms greatly reduced. But flare-ups can occur with things like seasonal changes and air pollution. One thing that did really seem to provide some relief was massage. After all the coughing their ribs and chests can become quit sore. For those interested I found this helpful video on youtube to help us learn how to help give Kali some relief. And yes, she really enjoyed her mini massages so much so that she would sometimes even fall a sleep. 

So, as always talk to your Doctor or Vet for the best help for yourself and for your pet.

Sources:

- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Chronic Bronchitis) in Dogs. By Krista Williams, BSc, DVM; Cheryl Yuill, DVM, MSc, CVH.    vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd-in-dogs  

- PetMD. Bronchitis, Chronic (COPD) in Cats.   petmd.com/cat/conditions/respiratory/c_ct_chronic_bronchitis

- Mayo Clinic: COPD.       mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/symptoms-causes/syc-20353679#:~:text=Chronic%20obstructive%20pulmonary%20disease%20(COPD,(sputum)%20production%20and%20wheezing.