collapsing trachea

Ooh poor Abby. she has the problem of a collapsing trachea. I have been reading some on this and evidently it happens in about 20 to 40% of very small toy breeds like chihuahuas, toy poodles, pomeranians. Abby had another attack of it today. when it happens, she gets scared and will come to me and want me to hold her. she will be shivering and making sounds from her throat sorta like grunting. It looks like she is trying to clear her throat and will move her neck out and back as she grunts, all the while shivering and looking pretty miserable. It is also very scary for me. and I feel so bad because I know that she cant breath well when this is going on and how scary that must be for her. After she had her first attack a year or so ago, I read on line about it, and learned that it is important to hold her so she feels secure and to distract her somewhat to help her fears. So today, when she came to me shivering, making those throat noises. I immediately picked her up and started trying to soothe her. I walked around holding her, petting her, and then I thought about how Amber sings to Adrianna to soothe her, so I started to sing to her while I walked around holding her. after Awhile she settled down and seemed to relax. She is fine now . I am going to check with the vet and see about medication to have on hand. I read that sometimes giving short term steriod pill treatment can help the inflamation in the throat. but other than that, doesnt sound like there is anything else that can be done besides risky surgery which is said to be a last resort. I am hoping Zoey will not develop this problem.