Tuna And Nola's Trip To The Animal Hospital

[Sorcha]

This is a follow-up to the previous thread http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=235052.

 

Tuna, who prefers to ride in the trunk (with the back seat down, of course!).

 

Nola's pathetic "worried" look (in the examination room).

 

 

Well, I now have more questions than answers and $300 less in the bank. With Nola, the vet did a cytology with fine needle aspiration and the results were the lump is fatty (and it's 5 cm). Vet said it does not need to be surgically removed for medical reasons, unless I want it removed. she said to keep an eye on it to see if it grows any larger, if that happens then it will need to be re-evaluated to see if it should be removed. So, I need to consult with my regular vet who told me it does need to be removed at the size it is. For now, surgery is on hold so the bloodwork was not done. With Tuna, two chest radiographs were taken and both were clear. Their scale has her weight as being 45 lbs. All the while Tuna is panting (it's very raspy). I showed the vet a video of her coughing at night, and the vet listened to her chest. I asked if it could be her airway and she said the only way to know is an oral exam where she would be put her under anethesia and a scope would go down her throat, I don't like that idea because Tuna does not do well under anethesia and the vet also mentioned having to manipulate her neck which is a problem because Tuna has disc issues. So, I need to consult with my regular vet who felt pretty sure she could have some sort of cancer. In the meantime, the animal hopital vet put her on 5 days of Prednisone 20 mg once a day and Doxycycline 100 mg per day (one tablet split in half twice a day) and told me to let her know on Thursday if her coughing stops and if she's eating better. The thing is, it's not that she does not want to eat, it's that she starts eating and coughs up her food so I imagine she feels like she can't breathe when she eats so it scares her and she stops eating.

 

Can you see the lump sticking out on her neck, below the collar?

 

Tuna, panting away as usual.

[Batmom]

What is Tuna eating? Might be worth feeding her only liquefied food, no chunks, and see how she does on that. You can also soak kibble overnight in a LOT of water in the fridge; it'll be totally soft by morning; warm it up a little and feed. When B was ill, he could have only liquefied food; I got a cheap blender and mostly homecooked for him. There are also some brands of canned that are chunkless, such as Evo original.

 

Don't see how your vet could say she has cancer with no evidence of same -- that's weird. Sounds more like laryngeal paralysis.

 

Re the lipoma: We removed a large one from our whippet. It had started infiltrating the muscle so it was a good idea to remove it but it's not like they suddenly turn into cancer or anything like that.

[Remolacha]

I assume Tuna has been checked for heart problems? I ask because a lot of her symptoms sound like Sugar's and she was on several differnt heart meds.

[Sorcha]

What is Tuna eating? Might be worth feeding her only liquefied food, no chunks, and see how she does on that. You can also soak kibble overnight in a LOT of water in the fridge; it'll be totally soft by morning; warm it up a little and feed. When B was ill, he could have only liquefied food; I got a cheap blender and mostly homecooked for him. There are also some brands of canned that are chunkless, such as Evo original.

 

Don't see how your vet could say she has cancer with no evidence of same -- that's weird. Sounds more like laryngeal paralysis.

 

Re the lipoma: We removed a large one from our whippet. It had started infiltrating the muscle so it was a good idea to remove it but it's not like they suddenly turn into cancer or anything like that.

 

Tuna eats Pro Plan senior dry food, saturated in water until it's mush, topped with whatever tasty thing I have on hand to spread on the top to entice her to eat (baby food, Lactaid milk, Ragu plain sauce, etc.) but most times she licks off the topping and leaves the food because when she swallows the food she starts coughing it up, like she can't breathe when she eats. I have tried mixing in the tasty stuff, but she won't bother to eat her way through it. She never finishes so in the fridge it goes overnight and then I freshen it up in the morning and try again. Also, the animal hospital vet did also suggest laryngeal paralysis as a possibility (sorry, I left that out because I did not jot it down) but that she would have to be put under anethesia to diagnose it.

 

I assume Tuna has been checked for heart problems? I ask because a lot of her symptoms sound like Sugar's and she was on several differnt heart meds.

 

She's had her heart listened to, and both vets said it sounds fine.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Sorcha

[Batmom]

Another possibility is that she has some megaesophagus going on. Might be worth feeding her from a bowl held in your hands and keeping her head *up* to see if that helps with the coughing.

[Sorcha]

Another possibility is that she has some megaesophagus going on. Might be worth feeding her from a bowl held in your hands and keeping her head *up* to see if that helps with the coughing.

 

She eats from her bowl atop a raised feeder but I am willing to try this to see if it makes any difference.

[ahicks51]

Would it be unreasonable to have Dr. Cuoto weigh in?

[sweetdogs]

Also, the animal hospital vet did also suggest laryngeal paralysis as a possibility (sorry, I left that out because I did not jot it down) but that she would have to be put under anethesia to diagnose it.

It sounds like it could be LP. My old boy probably has it too & he's been taking doxepin to help with his breathing. It's an antihistamine used in dogs with behavior problems but it's also been found to be helpful with LP. It's inexpensive, non-invasive & won't hurt if it doesn't work. I have not put Faolin under to get the diagnosis, but his symptoms really seem to point to it (raspy panting, coughing/gagging, BW heart & lungs fine).

 

(I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who drags a bed in to the vets - I often get strange looks but it makes so much sense.)

[cleptogrey]

when i read your post i immediately thought of a couple of things. tuna sounds like my late welsh terrier who had l.p. we occasionally did a regime of prednisone and it helped for a while. does tuna do better in frigid air conditioning? that is a tell tale sign, dogs will l.p. thrive in the cold, the heat just is murder. i had to board willie since we could not longer take him on trips during the warm months and he loved the freezing kennels at the vet, his breathing problems cleared right up.

 

the other thing i thought of is, a friend has an old, old, old saluki- 17 years old. at 15 he sounded like l.p. but that wasn't it. it almost sounded like allergies to me since the difficulties started after feedings. i had suggested eliminating all varieties of food and starting w/ basics- either plain rice or pasta, seeing which one he did better on and then adding a new protein to it. well 2 years later he is thriving on pasta and ground turkey and breathing much better.

 

i would personally not have tuna scoped, i avoided it w/ willie and treated the symptoms and kept him cool. try these 2 easy approaches if you wish, they are low cost, not invasive and might do the trick. dogs do really well w/ less nutrients than we can imagine. one can always give them a multivitamin as a suppliment. my saluki who survived parvo lived on boiled white rice for 6 years, great coat, energy and died at 12.5 unfortunatley cancer did finally get him. no one ever believed that he was only on rice!

[Guest Greensleeves]

I agree that it definitely sounds like classic LP, particularly the "worse at night" and coughing while eating. A mild antihistimine (like Benadryl or prescription hydroxizine) is very gentle and may well help. I'm also going to second the suggestion to *hand-feed* her. It might not have any *physical* effect, but it's been my experience that poor eaters eat much better when hand fed (we hand-fed Whistler the entire last year of his life, and he gained 8 lbs! ).

 

As for the fatty tumor, our vets usually don't remove them UNLESS they're growing rapidly or they bother the dog (because of location, typically). Did the vets say it was putting pressure on her throat (affecting her breathing or swallowing) or anything? I think *I* would find something like that uncomfortable, but Ladygirl's had a golf-ball-sized lipoma on her side for years now, and doesn't seem to care at all. (I keep hoping she'll need a dental or something so we can have it removed, but her teeth stay shiny white! )

[Sorcha]

I just learned that my regular vet is on vacation for the week so I won't be able to talk with him until next Monday. I guess for now I will hang out in limbo.

 

I just got to thinking that the coughing and raspy panting really started to pick up when Tuna could no longer go downstairs to the finished basement where it's cold year 'round (ice cold when the a/c is on). Tuna cannot go up and down stairs anymore, so I have been keeping her in the second coolest room in the house (the kitchen) when I go to work. The central air conditioner at my house is on its last legs (the compressor and capacitator are shot). It struggles to keep the house at 79, which is comfortable and not warm at all, but also not ice cold (except down in the finished basement). I also leave a box fan on right in front of the a/c vent in the kitchen so the cool air circulates in the room better, and I close the the curtains (there is a bright night light left on for her). I can't leave her in my bedroom because it's the warmest room in the house and also she cannot jump up on the bed by herself anymore and if she tries and falls backwards that could be deadly.

 

Tuna is not a fan of hand feeding. I have tried it in the past with no success, I tried again tonight and she was not a happy camper and refused. The only thing she will eat from me feeding her is spaghetti.

 

...

 

As for the fatty tumor, our vets usually don't remove them UNLESS they're growing rapidly or they bother the dog (because of location, typically). Did the vets say it was putting pressure on her throat (affecting her breathing or swallowing) or anything? I think *I* would find something like that uncomfortable, but Ladygirl's had a golf-ball-sized lipoma on her side for years now, and doesn't seem to care at all. (I keep hoping she'll need a dental or something so we can have it removed, but her teeth stay shiny white! )

 

The animal hospital vet did not say anything about it putting pressure on her throat. It has grown significantly since March, and is now the size of a large plum (so I say, the animal hospital vet says it's larger than that, nearly the size of an orange). I was fully prepared to have her undergo surgery for it, but then the animal hospital vet who would be performing the surgery said it does not have to be removed. I am going to discuss it with my regular vet once he returns from vacation.