Respiratory Problem With Old Dog

[Stitch]

My old girl (14) has started to make sort of choking/gurgling/snorting sounds when resting.

It sounds like we do when we have a gluggy throat or a blocked nose.

She is not a Brachycephalic breed, but has had mild issues with her soft palate over the years.

Now it is much more noticeable as she can't sleep in certain positions without making this choking noise.

It must be affecting her as she often rearranges herself into a more comfortable position and the noise is reduced or stops.

She does do a bit of sneezing too.

I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow but I wondered if anyone has had a dog with a similar problem and if it was fixable?

[sheena]

Is it reverse sneezing by any chance . If it is then I fixed my girl with a cetrizine tablet when she got it bad. With my girl, I think it is to do with pollen/dust etc in the air.

[JulesP]

As she is older I would be checking her heart and seeing if she has ascites. That can interfere with their breathing.

[persephone]

not a collapsed trachea , like Westiemum's old Mac had ?

[mita]

not a collapsed trachea , like Westiemum's old Mac had ?

I wondered the same.

[Stitch]

I don't think it's heart as she has been checked out recently.

My thinking is it's either an allergy or yes maybe the trachea although she gets a snuffly nose too.

It's sort of a combination of throat and nose....not both at the same time though.

[sheena]

I don't think it's heart as she has been checked out recently.

My thinking is it's either an allergy or yes maybe the trachea although she gets a snuffly nose too.

It's sort of a combination of throat and nose....not both at the same time though.

Could you try giving her an antihistamine before she goes to bed & see if that makes any difference?? It sounds like a bad case of reverse sneezing to me.

[Stitch]

Went to the vet this morning. He tested her breathing and said her nose was indeed blocked...suspects allergy ie. hayfever...which accounts for her doing a lot of breathing through her mouth.

Unfortunately she can't take steroids because of her elevated enzymes/pancreas so we are trying the least effective method of a antihistamine injection followed by a course of antihistamines (Iramine).

If that doesn't work he will try the non-steroid alternative.

He left it up to me whether I give her a course of antibiotics but I don't see a need for them yet as there doesn't seem to be any infection.

Vet is happy for me to use human grade antihistamines after this course if necessary and will tell me the appropriate dose of the one I decide on if I ring him which is good. As you may gather I know this vet really well. Anyone know if there is one that is better than the rest for use on dogs? I know from my own experience, and it is the same for dogs, that you can only take antihistamines for about 5 days and then they have to be stopped for a while.

[Papillon Kisses]

Hmmm... our papillon was on Loratadine (Claratyne) as prescribed by the vet. This was for the rest of his life. He had a very itchy nose and would sneeze a lot.

But as a human with wicked dust mite and grass allergies, Loratadine might as well be a sugar pill. I need the highest strength of fexofenadine and have taken that nightly for years as prescribed by an allergy specialist.

So I'm not sure where this five day thing comes from. When I've been on prednisolone (steroids) to hit allergies/eczema on the head it has been for 3 days max at a time. Are you thinking of that?

Edited September 2, 2016 by Papillon Kisses

[karen15]

I take prednisone for really bad insect bite allergies. As in when I get bitten, give it two days and the site blisters. Most recent ended up larger than 10c piece and the blisters oozed for days. Really attractive. I think after 3-5 days on prednisone you have to wean off. You can take for longer periods (my dad is on it long term), but to get off after eg 2 weeks, you half dose for a week, half that dose for a week (so 1/4 original dose) then go to every second day for a few days then every third. The Dr gives instructions :) Usually I try fexo first as I prefer to save preddies for when I really, really need them. As far as I'm aware there's no limit on how long I can use the fexo. Normally a week does the job.

[Stitch]

Yeah I can't remember the name of the syndrome, it may be along the same lines as medicamentosa which is a bit more serious but it is what happens if people use nasal decongestants for more than 3-4 days, I don't know. No PK not talking about steroidal meds.

I used to take Polaramine for hayfever and in the end they did nothing for me. Other people have told me how strong they are and I wouldn't believe them. Maybe that's the problem, you just get used to them and they don't work properly for you?

Vet says that if long term use is required then we have to keep changing the tablets.

Anyway, Allergic Rhinitis is what she has and the course of antihistamines lasts for 4 days.

[karen15]

The initial post sort of sounded like my horse under sedation. For a 16 - 16.1hh horse, he gets the sedation equivalent of a mini, without the opiate LOL At that level, I have to stop him suffocating himself by getting his tongue stuck to his soft palate. Easy enough to do. Get his head up, open his mouth, mobilise the jaw and swallow. But can't leave him unsupervised until he starts to stagger around and nibble.

[westiemum]

Good you've got a diagnosis Stitch. Mac had laryngeal paralysis (GOLPP) which was initially misdiagnosed as worsening dementia and tracheal collapse was considered as well.

In hind sight I didn't connect the dots - early signs were exercise intolerance (literally sitting down on walks), a hoarse bark and excessive panting and pacing as the paralysis progressed - later he developed hind end weakness - so different to what you are describing.

Hope the treatment works for your girl.