Hi all,
I registed here in hopes that I could find some help/advice on the problems my 13 year old Frissy is having. Frissy is a mixed breed doggie that is like my third child. She will be 13 on Halloween. She is a mix of polmeranian and terrier. She has pretty much always been in good health up until about 10 days ago. She used to have problems with her ears years ago, but I think it was because there was a smoker in the house then. She would sit and just dig in them, that stopped over 8 years ago- no smokers in the house. She does have a habit of chewing on one of her legs quite a bit. I know that both of these these things point to allergies. Over the years she has had some sneezing and coughing spells, but nothing that ever lasted over a day or two, or ever gotten bad enough for treatment. BUT, now this is REALLY bad! I have had her to the vet three times in the last six months. She has been treated with an antibotic (Clavamox) and both Hydrocodone and Prednisone the first two times. This last vet visit she was given Baytril and Dexamethasone. She has been on these for over a week and has had no improvement at all. She is not breathing out of her nose hardly at all! She snores terribly. She wheezes and sounds all congested. She was put to sleep and had both of her nostrils flushed out, and had a bunch of tests and x-rays done ... $600.00 worth a week ago Friday. The vets (2 of them in the practice) cannot find any evidence of a blockage or cancerous tumor, although they said that they got quite a bit of mucous and little bloods clots out of her nose when they flushed it out. This has not given her any relief at all -- if anything she has gotten worse. All of her vital organs are in great shape for a dog of her age. BUT, she CAN'T breathe!!!!!! She just sits around and pants and pants and pants, and generally looks miserable. I have tried giving her Benadryl and I've even tried using Afrin nose spray to give the poor thing some relief. The vet has suggested a specialist to actually go up in her nostrils with a scope to do further investigation. With her age I am very afraid to put her to sleep again for even more testing. While she was under for the nasal flushing, I did have her teeth cleaned so she wounldn't have to be put to sleep for that. Meanwhile, I am at a loss of what to do to help her. She is eating, but has a hard time smelling the food. Has anyone here ever gone through this? What can I do to help her? Frissy is absolutely miserable and I'm soooooooooooo worried about her. She can't even get any sleep because her nose is sooooo clogged up, she wakes up every 20 seconds to pant and pant and pant again - she is worn out! Please help!
Thanks so much!
Debbie

I know you said she has been checked out by your vet but they have done nothing to help her? is her heart okay? does she have infection on chest you really need to find another vet as she might well die if not treated now, please let us know how it goes.

Hi there!
Yes, my regular vet has treated her and she has gotten no relief. Today I went to another vet to get a second opinion. He did a complete blood workup and an EKG to check her heart. Will hear from the blood work tomorrow and then full report on heart by Wednesday a.m. She WAS breathing through her nose a little better this morning and tonight. She was having such a hard time last night that I resorted to using Afrin nose spray and regular Benadryl again. It seemed to give her SOME relief. The antibotic has done NOTHING. She has no fever and the vet took her off of it today. He also said to quit the "steriod" type medicine because it is not helping her at all either. He gave her some Theophyline to take twice a day until we get the results back from all the tests done today. She is still very lethargic. She is at least able to get some sleep at this point, as she is breathing through her nose better and not panting continuously like she has been. It will be a relief to get back these tests to see what is going on at the root of the problem. I just feel so helpless as to how to help her right now.
Thanks for posting back to my message.
Debbie

Hi i am pleased she is getting some rest now this vet sounds much better hope all is well please let me know how it goes, all the best.