Sorry to hear it = My friends English bulldog had this very problem, they did surgery and it was not successful. Be sure not to overwork your dog and be careful in the heat. Good Luck

My mother's little bischon had this condition as she got older. She just lived with it, and from what I understand it's not that uncommon. It was only symptomatic on occasion, when she'd go into coughing spasms. Otherwise her routine was quite normal. It had no large impact on her health or life span.

Yes. This is quite common in certain breeds, especially with poorly bred animals like puppy mill rescues, backyard bred, etc. It's really not a big deal.

A lot of things can set it off and when it collapses, the dog will usually freak out and then it gets worse with their stress. I've found that calming the dog down is instrumental in getting the problem under control and the trachea back to normal. I'd work on a calming protocol so you can have it in place for when your dog's trachea collapses. Massaging and a soothing, calm voice usually helps. The dog will soon learn the drill, their trachea collapses and they'll run to you for comfort and it can quickly be controlled. Then reinforce the calm behavior following the recovery as it might help them stay calmer in the future.

Most cases of collapsing trachea are fairly well controlled with cough suppressants. Animals that are overweight, or particularly obese, are predisposed to developing serious problems secondary to collapsing trachea so it can be a big deal in those dogs (I work emergency and we see a number come in blue and barely breathing- some do not survive). Sedation can help, and most cough suppressants turn out to be sedative anyway. These dogs can get a bit worse with age as the trachea weakens further. Less exercise, avoid overheating (particularly for black dogs and overweight ones), and use medications as needed. Most will be manageable.

Sorry, I meant in healthy weight animals. Obesity carries a lot of problems and increases the severity of already existing or developing problems.

I wonder if those over weight dogs also suffer from OSA. I wouldn't be surprised.