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13 year old dog seems to have trouble breathing...
I have a wonderful 13 year old female beagle/cocker mix-spayed. Only pet in house. Pampered.
Over the past 2 months I noticed she was gaining some weight, panting more and the breathing through her nose became noisy - almost pig like.
Vet put her on Prednisone and also said she had Kennel Cough (no sneezing or coughing) since palpating her throat elicited something. Doxycycline got rid of the Kennel Cough. Prednisone has run its course, but nasal breathing issues still exist.
I suspected Cushings (I am not a vet) or perhaps Stenotic nares (narrowing of nasal passage). Vet ran some blood and one value was 5000 instead of below 500. This blood test was run while she was on prednisone, therefore another blood test will be run in a week to test for Cushings and then further tests for Cushings via blood and injection if that blood test warrants it.
This vet practice has 29 people there and about 9 vets so I am confident of their abilities. I still am concerned about her breathing through the nose being somewhat noisy and labored.
They can take an xray of Sadie and can scope her throat looking for excess skin and such that may cause the nasal noise.
They do not have the tools to scope her nose and to do so would require me taking her to a more highly specialized animal hospital, getting a CT scan and so on. Sure this may cost me over $2k but I am trying to first rule out Cushings and other things.
There is no nasal discharge from her nose and she does not sneeze.
I assume the structure of a dogs nose has 2 passage ways like ours. So I covered one nostril with my finger and she still could breathe although a little restricted. Covered other nostril and she pulled away from me (tried a few times) and I believe this other nostril is more restricted (just like me-her father).
I know this dog has had allergies (just like me) in the past, no changes to environment except some food changes I tried as I was on RX food and vet said it was unnecessary so I switched-but I really see no pattern to this breathing issue.
Sure she drinks more water and pees more due to the prednisone and the breathing. She is more tired but also has gained more weight even b4 prednisone. But she is 13 and tires out easily. She has gained about 3-4 pounds over the past year. Her weight was about 27 and is now 31lbs.
Sounds like Cushings by Google reading but I am nt a vet and this will not be tested. Am more concerned about the pig like sounds during her inhale of breathing through her nose
She never was a dog to breathe through her mouth except to pant.
There is n loss of hair (Cushings symptom)..
So I am doing my best to try to get to the bottom of this. Next vet appt 8/29 to test for Cushings (we are waiting a week for prednisone to get out of her system completely. And if next values indicate possible Cushings, then more specific tests will be run. But not sure the Cushings would cause the noisy nasal breathing issue as opposed to an obstruction, narrowing of nasal passage, etc..
I am at a loss and need some advice....
She has been on Rimadyl for years due to arthritis.
Thanks so much for input. Apologize for the long message. Wanted a complete history.
Sincerely
Peter
Charlotte NC
Over the past 2 months I noticed she was gaining some weight, panting more and the breathing through her nose became noisy - almost pig like.
Vet put her on Prednisone and also said she had Kennel Cough (no sneezing or coughing) since palpating her throat elicited something. Doxycycline got rid of the Kennel Cough. Prednisone has run its course, but nasal breathing issues still exist.
I suspected Cushings (I am not a vet) or perhaps Stenotic nares (narrowing of nasal passage). Vet ran some blood and one value was 5000 instead of below 500. This blood test was run while she was on prednisone, therefore another blood test will be run in a week to test for Cushings and then further tests for Cushings via blood and injection if that blood test warrants it.
This vet practice has 29 people there and about 9 vets so I am confident of their abilities. I still am concerned about her breathing through the nose being somewhat noisy and labored.
They can take an xray of Sadie and can scope her throat looking for excess skin and such that may cause the nasal noise.
They do not have the tools to scope her nose and to do so would require me taking her to a more highly specialized animal hospital, getting a CT scan and so on. Sure this may cost me over $2k but I am trying to first rule out Cushings and other things.
There is no nasal discharge from her nose and she does not sneeze.
I assume the structure of a dogs nose has 2 passage ways like ours. So I covered one nostril with my finger and she still could breathe although a little restricted. Covered other nostril and she pulled away from me (tried a few times) and I believe this other nostril is more restricted (just like me-her father).
I know this dog has had allergies (just like me) in the past, no changes to environment except some food changes I tried as I was on RX food and vet said it was unnecessary so I switched-but I really see no pattern to this breathing issue.
Sure she drinks more water and pees more due to the prednisone and the breathing. She is more tired but also has gained more weight even b4 prednisone. But she is 13 and tires out easily. She has gained about 3-4 pounds over the past year. Her weight was about 27 and is now 31lbs.
Sounds like Cushings by Google reading but I am nt a vet and this will not be tested. Am more concerned about the pig like sounds during her inhale of breathing through her nose
She never was a dog to breathe through her mouth except to pant.
There is n loss of hair (Cushings symptom)..
So I am doing my best to try to get to the bottom of this. Next vet appt 8/29 to test for Cushings (we are waiting a week for prednisone to get out of her system completely. And if next values indicate possible Cushings, then more specific tests will be run. But not sure the Cushings would cause the noisy nasal breathing issue as opposed to an obstruction, narrowing of nasal passage, etc..
I am at a loss and need some advice....
She has been on Rimadyl for years due to arthritis.
Thanks so much for input. Apologize for the long message. Wanted a complete history.
Sincerely
Peter
Charlotte NC
My dog has been diagnosed with Cushings Disease now for 2 years. He's a basset/cocker or lab mix that found me at the pound back in November 1995.
When he was around 6 or 7 years old, he started getting "pussules" on his skin that would pop and matt his hair. Then his hair would fall out with a scab looking crustation on the end of the follicals. The vet told me that he had allergies and sent me to a specialist. I spent $500 for the skin panel test. I discovered he's not allergic to humans or cats, but he's allergic to ragweed.
Everytime he had these skin episodes I'd take him to the vet for antibiotics and shots of steroid (around $300 a visit). Everytime, the vet told me it was allergies. His hair was falling out so bad he looked like a cancer patient going through chemo and he had dark spots on his skin. The only thing blood tests revealed was that he has hypothyroidism, so he started taking medication to regular his TSH.
He would also drink and drink and drink and drink - he would drink so much water he would urinate while drinking! I would come home to floods in the kitchen at the water bowl and spend an hour or more mopping up the urine off the tile and sanitizing.
One Friday night around 9pm in Jan 2007 (of course when the vets are closed except the puppy emergency rooms) - my dog went out to pee and it was pure blood. Unsure of what was going on - I rushed him to the emergency room.
The vet working that night discovered he had around 30 bladder stones. It wasn't life threatening, but I wanted him to be on the mend by Monday when I had to go back to work so I opted for him to have surgery.
The next day, the shift change came about and the vet that came on duty happened to be an internest. She called me with a status of my little guy and she mentioned she thought he might have cushings disease. The sides of his belly were sticking out, his skin condition, and his water consumption were dead give aways for her.
When I took him back to his "regular vet" I told him what she said. They tested his ACTH and found it positive for Cushings. The vet said they tested his liver enzymes in the past which came out normal, that's why he never thought it was Cushings. I think he just didn't have any experience with Cushings and misdiagnosed my dog for many many years.
As a result of all those steroid injections and antibiotics from previous skin infections - he now has a heart murmur.
I've changed vets and the new vet did an ultrasound on his belly to find out if the problem was in his brain "petuitary gland" or his belly "adrenal gland". Most common is in the brain. My guy - it's adrenal. Both of his adrenal glands are large with tumor. They suspect that worse case senario - the tumor grows so large that it ruptures his vena cava - a very large vein that runs close to the adrenal glands.
Other findings are that he has "nodes" on his liver and his kidneys aren't functioning properly. He has difficulty with stiffness in his hind legs and sometimes takes a few seconds to get up.
He's been taking trilostaine now for 2 years and is responding very well. His dose fluctuates as he gets his blood tested every 3 months. For instance, he was on 100 mg of trilostaine. The vet was concerned he was going to the other end of the hormone spectrum and he was showing signs of "Addison's Disease", so she reduced his dose to 70 mg. Now he's drinking more and I'm starting to have the problem with frequent urination (a few times on the tile again). I'm thinking we should have done around 80mg or 90mg.
He's 14 years old next month. He has his "puppy" like moments with destroying squeeky toys and chewing his rawhide bones and running around like a mad dog, but the majority of his time is spent sleeping like an old dog.
I'd like to think I've done everything I can for him to make him comfortable. It's not been an easy road, but I'd rather know I did all I could for him. If he should happen to need surgery for more bladder stones or something major happens, I will be able to have him put to sleep guilt free.
Hope this information helps.
When he was around 6 or 7 years old, he started getting "pussules" on his skin that would pop and matt his hair. Then his hair would fall out with a scab looking crustation on the end of the follicals. The vet told me that he had allergies and sent me to a specialist. I spent $500 for the skin panel test. I discovered he's not allergic to humans or cats, but he's allergic to ragweed.
Everytime he had these skin episodes I'd take him to the vet for antibiotics and shots of steroid (around $300 a visit). Everytime, the vet told me it was allergies. His hair was falling out so bad he looked like a cancer patient going through chemo and he had dark spots on his skin. The only thing blood tests revealed was that he has hypothyroidism, so he started taking medication to regular his TSH.
He would also drink and drink and drink and drink - he would drink so much water he would urinate while drinking! I would come home to floods in the kitchen at the water bowl and spend an hour or more mopping up the urine off the tile and sanitizing.
One Friday night around 9pm in Jan 2007 (of course when the vets are closed except the puppy emergency rooms) - my dog went out to pee and it was pure blood. Unsure of what was going on - I rushed him to the emergency room.
The vet working that night discovered he had around 30 bladder stones. It wasn't life threatening, but I wanted him to be on the mend by Monday when I had to go back to work so I opted for him to have surgery.
The next day, the shift change came about and the vet that came on duty happened to be an internest. She called me with a status of my little guy and she mentioned she thought he might have cushings disease. The sides of his belly were sticking out, his skin condition, and his water consumption were dead give aways for her.
When I took him back to his "regular vet" I told him what she said. They tested his ACTH and found it positive for Cushings. The vet said they tested his liver enzymes in the past which came out normal, that's why he never thought it was Cushings. I think he just didn't have any experience with Cushings and misdiagnosed my dog for many many years.
As a result of all those steroid injections and antibiotics from previous skin infections - he now has a heart murmur.
I've changed vets and the new vet did an ultrasound on his belly to find out if the problem was in his brain "petuitary gland" or his belly "adrenal gland". Most common is in the brain. My guy - it's adrenal. Both of his adrenal glands are large with tumor. They suspect that worse case senario - the tumor grows so large that it ruptures his vena cava - a very large vein that runs close to the adrenal glands.
Other findings are that he has "nodes" on his liver and his kidneys aren't functioning properly. He has difficulty with stiffness in his hind legs and sometimes takes a few seconds to get up.
He's been taking trilostaine now for 2 years and is responding very well. His dose fluctuates as he gets his blood tested every 3 months. For instance, he was on 100 mg of trilostaine. The vet was concerned he was going to the other end of the hormone spectrum and he was showing signs of "Addison's Disease", so she reduced his dose to 70 mg. Now he's drinking more and I'm starting to have the problem with frequent urination (a few times on the tile again). I'm thinking we should have done around 80mg or 90mg.
He's 14 years old next month. He has his "puppy" like moments with destroying squeeky toys and chewing his rawhide bones and running around like a mad dog, but the majority of his time is spent sleeping like an old dog.
I'd like to think I've done everything I can for him to make him comfortable. It's not been an easy road, but I'd rather know I did all I could for him. If he should happen to need surgery for more bladder stones or something major happens, I will be able to have him put to sleep guilt free.
Hope this information helps.
I was just doing some research on snorting like a pig for my 13 year old husky/chow mix. She began making the snorting noise about 3 weeks ag. She's had chronic conjuctivitis for a year, due to small tumors under her eyelid. Anyhow, I was convinced she was getting a respiratory infection from the conjunctivitis. Your dog symptoms sound exactly like hers. Anyhow, an expert told me it is likely due to polyps in the nasal passages and possibly a fluid issue, but since she isn't slowing down much and seems energetic and not gaining weight suddenly it likely isn't fluid. You should look for an otolaryngologist for dogs. (not sure if I spelled that right) I'll bet it is polyps.
Emma
Emma
Peter, Did the nasal problem get better with the pred.or worse? I don't know much about Cushings, but there are others here that do. Maybe they will respond soon. If there was no sign of Kennel cough to begin with, why do they think she got rid of it with the Doxy? Have you tried an antihistimine to see if the nasal thing gets better? Then, I believe that allergies could be ruled out. My first thoughts on this post, makes me think of heart disease & fluid retention. (Very treatable). Has that been ruled out? Good luck and keep us posted on your baby's outcome. I'll be interested in hearing. Also, hopefully, someone with info. on Cushings will post.....Karla
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