Chihuahuas, Miniature and Teacup Poodles, and Yorkshire Terriers are especially predisposed to the condition. When we created smaller breeds of dogs through inbreeding, we inadvertently created a tendency for them to have weak cartilage in their windpipe.Ī collapsed trachea in dogs, therefore, occurs almost exclusively in small dogs. The natural size for a dog is 40 to 50 pounds. Unfortunately for some dogs, humans have meddled with their evolution. So, what is a collapsed trachea in dogs and why do dogs’ tracheas collapse? A series of cartilaginous rings holds the trachea open when dogs breathe. This creates a tendency for a collapsed trachea in dogs.Įvolution solved this problem by adding firm structures, made of cartilage, to the trachea. When a dog breathes, air moves rapidly through the trachea, causing the pressure inside of it to go down. It is what allows jumbo jets weighing over a million pounds to climb into the sky. This reduction in pressure, called Bernoulli’s principle, can generate strong forces. Those of you who have studied physics know that when air moves, its pressure goes down. The windpipe is a tube made out of tissue membranes.
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