The Travails of Rod

[Cudedog]

* This post doesn't have too much to do with Women, or with RV's, but since a lot of the members here have fur babies, I thought it might be appropriate to post Rod's story. From time to time us fur baby "Moms" run into health issues with our "kids". My story perhaps illustrates that veterinarians don't always know the full story, don't have all of the answers or are just in too much of a hurry to really listen to you (and is it just me, or are vets more and more acting like M.D.s - they keep one hand on the door knob while they are talking to you?).

Sometimes we need to use our own intuition, and everything we know about our own dogs, in order to help them.

This story is still a bit open-ended, but I continue to hope for the best. I have a really good photo of Rod that I can't find at the moment. When I do, I will post it here with an edit.

Your further thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Thank you.

Anne
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Where to begin?  Well, first off, the outlook looks a lot brighter than it did two weeks ago for my sweet Rod dog, so I am writing about what may (or may not) have affected this change.

Background:

My Rod has been quite ill for several months. Late July/early August my Rod (my 13-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier) began to have the sneezes (as I write this it is mid-December, so this has been going on for quite a long time).  He has had episodes of this sneezing thing his entire life, but they have usually resolved in a week or two. 

Not uncommon for him - as a baby puppy he had difficulty swallowing and nursing.  He would nurse for a bit, then milk would come out of his nose as he began to choke, and would stop nursing.  Of course, the other pups would then push him aside from the milk bar. By the time he would be interested again, the milk bar would be empty and closed.  Quite soon he was unable to "latch on" so was not getting enough (any?) nutrition (in about a week's time he was only about 1/3 the size of the other pups). 

At this point I began to feed him with an eyedropper, which worked fairly well.  At three weeks of age I was able to start him on solid food, and at this point the problem of milk-out-the-nose was basically over.

This new episode started fairly gradually, but didn't resolve as it had in the past, and slowly got worse.  This was complicated by the fact that he has developed (another) mast-cell tumor on his thigh that needed (still needs) to be removed, and I couldn't see putting him through surgery when he was having breathing issues (because of the mucous discharge from his nose).  As things went along he would have (sorry if this is too graphic) two long strings of yellow snot hanging from each nostril a good part of the time, and he would sneeze sneeze sneeze.
 
To make a very long story short (I'll leave out the part about the do-nothing $$"antibiotics"$$ that had 'made in Mumbai, India' stamped on the package that was one of the courses), after seeing three different veterinarians, who prescribed six courses of three different antibiotics the problem was basically unchanged.

The third and final vet consulted I took Rod to on a day when he was feeling especially ill - by this time he had lung congestion as well as nasal congestion - and when this third vet walked up to Rod on the table to examine him, Rod did one of those snorting reverse-sneeze things that dogs (and people) do when they are snuffling back snot - this vet literally jumped back about three feet and loudly exclaimed "He growled at me!!" 

Geez. I said nothing, partly because I was near tears and partly because I had a good grip on Rod and partly because I could not see that it would do any good whatsoever to argue when this guy already had his mind made up about my dog.

This guy stood on the other side of the room (about ten feet away!) as he "examined" Rod (no stethescope to listen to his lungs, no attempt to look in his nose, no taking of Rods temp, not much of anything - but, of course, "$125 please.  We only accept cash, no checks").  He recommended a rhinoscopy, which I may yet do, and more antibiotics as a "final try".
 
Three days after visiting this vet Rod came down with what I believe to be Kennel Cough (three days is about the incubation period for this malady) which is roughly equivalent to whooping cough in humans.  I'm guessing that he acquired  the Kennel Cough at vet #3 because he had not been around any other dogs or vet offices for about six weeks prior to that. Kennel Cough is not especially treatable, and just needs to run it's course.

At this point, what with the constant unremitting snot and the loud honking cough I thought Rod might be a goner.  I called U. C. Davis (foremost veterinary teaching hospital in the United States) and made an appointment.  To just walk in the door at this place cost an arm and a leg, and that was just to walk in the door.  To have any kind of diagnostic work and tests done would be "extra": like not just an arm and a leg, but probably the entire torso too.  His coughing (really loud persistent honking) was keeping me awake at night.

My poor Rod was feeling very ill indeed.

As the time of the appointment approached the coughing/hacking seemed marginally better (and he was still on antibiotics for the snot issue in any case), I knew from my web research that Kennel Cough would generally run it's course in four to six weeks or so (if it didn't turn into pneumonia), I didn't have a torso to spare, so I canceled the appointment. The cough continued to improve. After about another two weeks, the cough is 95% gone. But the snot-nose persists.

I had mentioned to all three vets that Rod's nasal discharge (sounds better than snot, doesn't it?) was yellow with brownish "bits" floating (?) in it (yuck, I know). None of the three vets paid any attention whatsoever to this information.

During this time I had also noticed that Rod would sometimes choke a bit when eating his kibble (I assumed this was due to the inflamation in his nasal passages and probably throat as well) so I softened the kibble with water, which seemed to help with the choking. I had also noticed that the discharge (sounds better than snot!) had a bit of a nasty smell (why wouldn't it?).

Anyway. . . a few days ago when I opened a new bag of dog food (which was fresh and smelly) it suddenly struck me that the dog food had much the same smell as the nasal discharge Rod was having.

This was an "aha!" moment (God, almost five months of this! Why did this take me so long to figure this out?): There must be something in the commercial kibble that he has been reacting to all of this time.

I immediately put him back on my home made dog food (this was not new - I had done the home-made dog food thing for many years, which is probably the reason my Cude dog made it to within a few months of her 17th birthday) which consists of a (cooked) oatmeal and sometimes rice base with added ground meat (ground meat is just a tiny bit more per pound than the 'high quality' kibble I had been feeding), added raw egg, added cottage cheese, added chopped banana or apple, with a dash of fresh whole spinach leaves (sounds weird, but my dogs love this, do well on it, and gobble it down) and with 1/2 tablet of human glucosamine chondroitin to top it off (none of my dogs - even nearly 17 year old Cuda - have been bothered by arthritis, knock wood).

Within two days the nasal secretions suddenly were down by about 80 - 90%, Rod was feeling 100% better, and was (again) vocalizing all the time (I didn't realize that he had stopped, poor boy).

Aside: Staffordshire Bull Terriers are a very "vocal" breed. They bark, they "argle" (sounds like growling, but isn't), they moan, they groan, they squeak, they make sounds like a baby crying, they make all kinds of different and strange noises (one time one of my son's friends had a sleep over at my house. I found out a long time later that this boy was terrified the whole night by the eerie noises that he heard all night - he thought my house was haunted! It isn't - at least not that I know of - it was just Rod).

I mean, if your average dog runs into the room and barks - loudly! - at you, you might think of climbing up onto the nearest chair. Not with Staffords - they are merely "talking" to you, and trying to communicate, to tell you something (trust me on this - I have owned Staffordshire Bull Terriers for about 25 years and know the breed well).

Mostly what they are saying is something like "How are you today I love you I would like some of what you are having please thank you very much". Couple this noise-making with a very squat, muscular, big-headed (think miniature pit bull) body and people that don't know the breed will generally just pack up and head for the hills when the noise starts.

Please see vet #3, above.

Anyway, secretions down 80 - 90%, but still there. Then last night Rod had another sneezing episode, and sneezed out a bit of chopped spinach (chopped by Rod, not by me). Another "aha!" moment.

I'm thinking that he must be having a tiny bit of trouble swallowing - which goes back to his puppy days - and, with his head down to his bowl when he swallows (with his head down, he is swallowing "upward") a tiny bit isn't swallowed but rather "falls" to the back of his throat and "down" into his nose, to be sneezed out later.

This morning I elevated his bowl so that it is at about the level of his head, so that it is a "straight shot" to his tummy (his head is not down, so he doesn't have to swallow "upward") after this morning's feeding, there was NO sneezing, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. However, I admit that the jury is still out.

Is all of the above just wishful thinking BS on my part? Maybe. Probably. But sometimes it can be the simple things that work the best. I am hoping (fervently!) to have this old boy with me for a few more years, please God. He still needs surgery to remove the tumor, so that is another hurdle.

But I am hoping for the best.

Please say a prayer for my Rod, and for me.

Thanks for listening.

[etexlady]

Poor Rod. He's a lucky guy to have you as his mom. I hope he continues to improve.

[WickedLady]

Sounds to me like he could have a problem with the epiglottis not working correctly.

[Lopo]

Anne, I think it's very likely that you have identified Rod's problem! I will be waiting to hear how he's doing now that he's not sort of drowning in his food.
So often things are how they seem, but we miss the obvious, and more especially the doctors miss the obvious. Your "doctor" problem with Rod reminds me of various doctor problems my husband has had, like when 3 different wound centers recommended an extreme surgery for a wound rather than, uh, healing the wound. I found a sugar/iodine product that healed it. (Take note dog owners, if your dog has wounds that won't heal.) What really sucks is spending all that time and money seeking help from professionals who really aren't thinkers, you know?

Thanks for taking the time to write that all out. I agonized with you each step along the way and rejoiced," AH HA!!!", when you thought of the eating/drinking problem!

[BirdbyBird]

Thanks for the list of issues and responses so far.....When you started telling the puppy bit,it reminded me of stories breeders tell of the fail to thrive puppy with a partially cleft pallet....Big holes show up...but the smaller ones in the back often go undiagnosed initially. Hope the home made diet helps you narrow down your suspicions....

[VickieP]

Anne, I moved your thread to the Pet section so it can easily be found in the future. I sure hope Rod continues to improve.

Your "doctor" problem with Rod reminds me of various doctor problems my husband has had, like when 3 different wound centers recommended an extreme surgery for a wound rather than, uh, healing the wound. I found a sugar/iodine product that healed it. (Take note dog owners, if your dog has wounds that won't heal.)

Could you tell us more about the sugar/iodine product? With Ronnie being quadriplegic, healing wounds is something that we are always battling.

[Bethers]

Big hugs to you and Rod. I'm a strong believer in elevating food as a help for many dogs. And I do believe he might have had food going in the wrong passage, and hard food would cause more trouble. I hope you've got this under control and Rod can be a happy dog again.

[Lopo]

Vickie, Should I PM you rather than hijack Anne's thread? Walt's been quadriplegic for over 50 years, by the way. I know, just email me at loiskpost@aol.com, and I'll fill you in.

[VickieP]

Vickie, Should I PM you rather than hijack Anne's thread? Walt's been quadriplegic for over 50 years, by the way. I know, just email me at loiskpost@aol.com, and I'll fill you in.

Sent you an email!

[BarbaraRose]

But sometimes it can be the simple things that work the best.

Isn't that the truth! Doctors and vets seem to want to complicate everything, and sometimes the solution is so much simpler than that.

I had a nasty cough for almost 2 years and had all sorts of drugs and inhalers given to me, which caused me more problems but didn't fix the cough. I lived on cough drops! One day a supervisor recommended L-Lysine to me for a mouth sore to heal it quicker. I took that and my coughing stopped a few days later. Turns out the L-Lysine healed the irritated tissues in my throat as well, which cured my cough! Now when I get a lingering cough after a sore throat or upper respiratory infection, I just take L-Lysine for several days to get rid of it. Simple solution!

I hope your dog continues to get better! I am sure it is a relief for both of you!

[avalen]

hope Rod continues to improve and gets well enough so you can address he issue of the tumor

[Lopo]

Anne, I also wanted to mention that you might try feeding Rod raw. I decided to feed my Louie raw food, and the first time I gave him a raw chicken neck, he did a double-take and looked like he'd won the lottery. The reason I mention it for Rod is that I can clearly picture the way Louie sort of threw his head back as he ate it - so different than eating with his head down in a bowl. It was a natural gesture for him. From then on, he refused any food but raw, and liked chicken parts (and yea, it's perfectly safe to feed dogs RAW chicken bones)' lamb necks, which I hated the smell of), and beef bones with meat on them. And a plus was that his teeth stayed super clean. But keeping raw food cold while traveling was a problem, and that's when I decided I needed to drive something with a fridge in it.