Hi Debi-
Was there ever any discussion that there could have been damage to her trachea when they extubated her after the pyo surgery? If the cuff is not deflated properly when they attempt to extubate or they do not wait for a swallow reflex before they remove the trach tube it can cause some damage/inflammation to the trachea.
Also you said this was a Pom. Have radiographs been done to rule out collapsing trachea? It is very common in small breeds and will cause a cough like what you are talking about.
If none of these things have been visited at the vet I would bring them up.
As far as the frantic swallowing and gulping goes, one of my dogs started doing this maybe around a year ago. I tried a lot of suggested remedies, but so far I haven’t found anything that eliminates it completely. He will go for quite a few months before he has an episode, but its random and doesn’t seem to be triggered by anything specific. I’ve talked to a couple of doctors I work with about it and they were stumped as well.
