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jeffpas
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jeffpas is offline  
Location: Springfield, IL
Joined: Apr 2017
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21-04-2017, 11:36 PM

Dog is breathing strangely

Hi, first, yes my dog has an appointment to go back to a vet, but they are not able to get her in until Tuesday.
Secondly I am looking for a second vet in the morning, but none are open right now.
My dog Roo is acting fine, other than a strange breathing pattern that has been going on for several days.
It hasn't gotten any worse, but hasn't gotten any better.
I have a video link of her here:

https://vimeo.com/214251285

Now, she has several issues.
First, she has a cracked molar and the vet has prescribed her antibiotic and pain killer, which I've been giving her since her visit, about 3 days now.
The Tuesday appointment is to remove the tooth. You can see she is skinny, but her appetite has been affected by the bad tooth.
Another issue is she has had a blood test and her liver and gall bladder were slightly inflamed. This could be due to a long list of reasons according to the vet I saw, none of which are definite.

But back to the breathing. I'm looking for opinions as to what this could possibly be. She doesn't seem to be struggling to breathe or having any issues getting around, it just seems like her breaths are shorter than normal, and 'bigger'.
The vet had said her heart and lungs checked out OK, at least as far as a stethoscope and looking her over.
I'm at a complete loss. Has anybody seen anything like this before, and what did it turn out to be?
Thanks for advice!
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Azz
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22-04-2017, 12:02 AM
Pain can put an enormous stress on the body, multiplied if the dog is not eating well.

Can you get some tripe or feed some eggs or cooked chicken? Food is essential when the body is fighting these kinds of infections. You could even try to juice some carrots or make some home-made soup.
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Dr. Dennis Thomas
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22-04-2017, 01:26 AM
Your video is not much help. The background noise keeps me from hearing any breathing sounds, etc. Two things I see. One, your dog is not "open-mouth" breathing so it is not in obvious respiratory distress. The first thing a dog, cat or any animal does when reparation is compromised is open the mouth and breath in order to get more air/oxygen into the lungs. Second. There appears to be abdominal press going on. This might indicate that the lungs are compromised and he/she is having to use the diaphragm more in order to get more air. You might want to check the gums to see if they are nice and pink. One thing for sure, I highly suspect something else is going on that has yet to be determined by your vet. I have seen hundreds of dogs with fractured teeth that do not get into the shape that your dog is in. Dogs with fractured teeth get hungry if they don't eat and will swallow there food whole to avoid using the bad tooth. They will not starve themselves. Might want to get a chest film and see what is going on. I would have a hard time sedating this dog to remove a fractured tooth until I was absolutely sure there was not another problem going on. Good luck.
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jeffpas
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22-04-2017, 04:18 AM
Her gums look like this:

http://oi67.tinypic.com/2e4ixja.jpg


Sorry for the blur, its hard to hold her head still.
It looks pink to me, the part that isn't black but that seems normal.

I don't hear any wheezing of breath at all, no whimpers, nothing except the slightly bizarre way of breathing.
When you said the lungs may be compromised, what were you thinking of?

She is an older dog, 14+ years. She has incontinence, has been a bedwetter for at least a year and we have tried Incurin and Proin. IMO when on the medication her appetite drops off, so we've been avoiding that and just dealing with the urine. She was eating well again and I thought I'd try a Petsmart tablet, Essential Pet Bladder Support

https://www.petsmart.com/dog/food-an...t-5195524.html

A couple days into it her appetite dropped off again, and she got thin fast. So we dropped that.
Strange though. She'll let a bowl of dog food sit untouched, but may wolf down leftovers from a buffet.
As I said she's had a test and it was determined she had a slightly inflamed gall bladder and liver.

Dr. Dennis, your advice throws a wrench in the works, as the vet wanted another $250 for an ultrasound test as a 'next step', but we thought we would try removing the tooth first to see if it makes any difference.
The bills mount up fast....
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jeffpas
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22-04-2017, 04:46 AM
Theres another unsettling development.
Once in a long while she occasionally coughs up hack into her mouth and swallows it.
Its as if she's about to cough vomit on the floor but then she stops.
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Jackie
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22-04-2017, 06:57 AM
I would try to find a vet you can see today.
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jeffpas
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22-04-2017, 11:04 AM
I doubt that's going to happen, most vets don't take walk-ins and ours is pretty backed up to say the least, she may have to tough it out until Tuesday. :/
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jeffpas
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22-04-2017, 05:52 PM
The other vet in town is booked up until May.
It looks like I may have to hold out until Tuesday appointment.

I have another theory and want to get any opinions.
About 3-4 days ago I sprayed some dandelions in the backyard with Bayer Weed and Crabgrass Killer:

http://www.truevalue.com/assets/prod...rge/102172.jpg

Not a whole not, just a few.
Is it possible that later, the dog licked this off the weeds, or bit off and ingested some of them with weed killer on them? Would this cause the symptoms I have indicated, inflamed liver, gall bladder, odd breathing pattern?

Its been a number of days now, so I don't think rushing her to have her stomach pumped would make any difference at this point.
Again I'm guessing wildly.
She still is breathing oddly, very thin although she ate two pieces of salmon this morning and half a pack of bologna.
Say this were the case.... would something fed to her help? Milk, for instance, or something that might help?
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CaroleC
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22-04-2017, 06:10 PM
Please don't beat yourself up. I don't think this is down to anything you have done. I would let this elderly girl have whatever she fancies to keep up her strength until you get to your next available vet appointment. Your post just makes me so grateful to have a vet practice that gives 24/7 cover, and advice at the end of a phoneline.
Hang on in there Roo and Jeffpas. Please post an update.
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Dr. Dennis Thomas
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22-04-2017, 08:20 PM
Sorry to throw a wrench in works. Getting a definitive diagnosis can be difficult some times. However, I have always been reluctant to put an older dog down under anesthesia without being convinced that the procedure was going to fix the problem. If you would like to post a copy of the lab work, I would be happy to look at it. I am assuming that the vet did a good abdominal palpation, feeling for masses, etc. as well as a good listen to the chest, checked lymph nodes, etc. Wish I could help more.
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