Hello all,

I am sitting here waiting for a all from my vet still. 

2 weeks ago, Maggie, my 7.5 corgi, had loose stool off an on. Unfortunately, the pet store was out of her normal food and it wasnt going to be in for 3 days, and they are the only ones that have it. My husband got a comparable food and we gave her that. I will forever regret that decision because I think it's what caused the issues she is having this week. 

Maggie has been on a beef/grain free diet since about 2.5 years of age since we discovered she probably has some food allergies. We finally found a food she gets excited over. It's expensive, but shs worth it. 

having loose stool concerned me, but she still seemed herself. 4th of july we went for a nice long walk, the few days before that we took her on her monthly "Adventure" (usually a beach trail) and she was her happy go lucky self. The last year I have noticed she doesn't have as much gusto, but at almost 8 years old, she should be slowing down a bit, I imagine!

She had a clean bill of health from her yearly exam in March. 

Saturday evening, after having more diarrhea than normal, I noticed her behind was very, very red. Sunday, we monitored her, didn't give her much food, and same thing. Called the emergency vet and they said we could bring her, but if she wasn't dehydrated, she can wait the night for her normal vet. I stayed up all night with her. 

Sunday, also, i noticed this odd thing. 

Sometimes, when maggie would drink water, not all the time, but some, shed cough/hack. We chalked it up to her drinking/inhaling too fast. It wasn't always consistent. However, on Sunday, when she went to drink, every time she would hack and cough up spit. I mentioned this to my vet and they did not seem concerned....I feel like it should be because maggie has not drank from her water bowl in 3 days now.

She will eat an ice cube, she'll drink little bits from my hand, but she will not touch her bowl. This is very un-like her. She is being treated for colitis, and she also has a uti, I am hoping for some reason the medications and such are making her less thirsty.

She was given fluids on Monday, and she will drink water when mixed in with her food, but again, nothing from her bowl. I've tried different bowls, changing it every 2 hrs, ice cubes in it, elevating it, etc.

They did give her a physical examination, and didn't  find her lymphnodes/throat were swollen. Her heart is fine (she's on regular heartworm preventative, etc).  She has not thrown up any food. 

I am so, so, so concerned that she has something in her trachea, and I read up on collapsed trachea and I feel like that's what it is, but it is so hard to tell because I can't tell if she's sleepy/less active because of the colitis/uti/meds, or if it's a bigger issue. Anyone know if this is something corgi's can get? I did read TC can suddenly appear as a dog gets older. 

We pride ourselves on taking care of our dog. She eats better than us for the most part, I want to do everything in my power to ensure her a long, fun and healthy life. I haven't had my normal Maggie in 5 days now and I am utterly petrified that she is going to be a sick dog from here on out. We've already spent 600.00 on her this year in office visits...we're expecting a child...to be frank I cannot afford any more expenses in the next couple weeks...just don't know what to do for her. 

Any advice/experience would be helpful.