Up-date

Since Heidi's neck tuck, all has been well.  Although not using her trach-hole to breath in with, it is still useful though as we use it as a 'pressure relief valve' when she gets stressed....like at the vets or if she has had a particularly exciting game with her beagle BFF.  Then we pop a cotton bud in it and by opening it up she can catch her breath again.   Although she is using her normal airways, she does still struggle when excited and still gets bouts of reverse sneezing and wheezing. 

I have managed to overcome my initial panicky reactions to these little breathing upsets, which I think has helped Heidi to get over them much quicker too.  I also never leave home without a good handful of trusty cotton buds.

We are still cleaning her twice daily, and it is during cleanings that we use a bud to maintain the trach-hole.  We may still need to go back to having a flesh-tunnel one day, and don't want the hole to heal up too small, so give it a good poking and stretch twice a day.  This also keeps Heidi used to our messing about with it, so when we need to help her catch her breath its no big deal for her. 

She is however still very much a delicate puggy, who's walks are much much shorter and rarer than she or I would like, and who has had many a fun game with her beagle BFF cut short due to her breathing difficulties, but none of this seems to affect her love of life.  In fact, ignoring my strict rules about being sensible seems to be her favourite game!