Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi everyone,
I'm just wondering about your bouts with congestion. Scout's only had one other time of the snot strings, which an antibiotic cleared up right away. After a week of camping (campfire at nights), he started up with the runny nose and a bit of congestion. After a week on antibiotics, I'm not seeing much improvement. Not sure if I'm jumping the gun and it'll take longer, or if he could be resistant to the much-used antibiotic, or if this is just an advancement in the disease. He seems much better when out and about hiking than when just lying around (much like I am when sick). He doesn't sound terribly congested, just a rattle like there's snot up there.
Any thoughts?
Erica
Erica it is hard to say as it could be either. Have you tried some Robitusssen DM or what I have used is a generic store brand of a pill that is the same meds as the Robitussen DM. For Dash it has gotten mucus out for some of the others it has not. Could also be time to change antibiotics which would not hurt to try. It is hard to hear them when they get stuffed up but it seems to be the norm for many of them.
I am at a crossroads with Dash and hopefully will talk to my vet tomorrow as he is off today then Thursday leaves for a seminar and will be gone until mid July.
Dash is behaving well as he is eating well and active, sits on the bench at the dog park and steals the hearts of the other women there by giving them kisses and hanging out with them. He snuggles with me when I watch TV and follows me everywhere. He uses his monster like bump to fighten off dogs at the park that pick on Dazzle. We have had no real bleeding or mucus for quite awhile and he seems to be breathing quietly and sleeping well: However that swelling is getting huge and this morning his eye left eye is closed due to it. It hurts if I touch it so he pulls away if he sees a hand coming at him or if his park girlfriends try to smooch him back. I am trying to get it to open up and drain and have been using the neoplasene without any luck so far. I have also tried saline mixed with willards water nasal flushes before I give the neoplasene but nothing. I know that there must be some bleeding going on that is causing that swelling and don't know if we can drain it or if it will just fill back up so want to talk to my vet and see what he says.
I always thought the day would come when I would be checking things Dash loves off the list and come to that day when the list is almost empty but He may not reach that point if I can't get this swelling down. I have to be fair to him and if this becomes more painful it will not be fair. So right now our roller coaster is heading in a huge downturn and my mom may be waiting at the rides end with pancakes for Dash. Right now as long as I do not touch it he seems to be pretty pain free so I have some time to try and to make decisions but I am afraid that this time he will not win. I have always known that this day would come . Funny thing is I adopted him in July 11 yrs ago and now he may leave me in July. Prayers have helped him get through dark days when I thought the end was near before so he is accepting prayers!
Ok that is about all I can type as I have myself in tears so need to take the other two out for a walk to rebalance myself. Jan
My prayer's are with you jan and dash. Boomer also has a lump growing bigger by the hour on the right side of his upper nose and his bleeding has increased as well.he follows me around no matter which room i go into and my heart hurts for him. I had tried to reply to this topic a few times in the past week to no avail.i hope this one makes it . Thanks for all of the info and encouragement from all and maygod bless all of our babies.
i have been working out of town and will continue to do so til the end of july but i have been checking this site as i can. i hope for you that dash continues his high quality of life even as the bump gets bigger. i have prepared for the worse for tillie over the past months and she has turned around and acted not like a dog with nasal cancer - that gave me the freedom to leave her home with my spouse for six weeks. so i continue to think that our guys can hang in there, against all reality i suppose. know that we are all hoping and praying for more time for all of our brave pups.
arlene.
Erica, I second what Jan said. It could have been the campfires that caused some of the congestion, much like Dash whenever the fires were raging. If I remember correctly, the smoke and the stress cause a good bit of snot. As for us; snot is a constant way of life now. Sometimes bloody, sometimes not. We occasionally give Emmitt Clavamox when the Robitussen doesn't seem to help but, more often than not, the Robitussen helps him sleep and breath a little easier.
Jan, you know that you and Dash are in my thoughts and prayers. We have been through a lot together and I feel as if I know both of you. Although Emmitt hasn't had any swelling, it is getting harder and harder to administer the neoplasene...not so much because of pain that it causes in his nose but, I would imagine it is because of the taste (my wife put a drop on her tongue and said it was like licking a handful of black pepper). After we dose him with the neo, his breathing seems to be more labored for a day or so. I'm thinking it is because of the swelling or apoptosis the neo causes. Having said that, could the swelling be apoptosis?
I went back and looked at some of the photos in the Clinical Guide on the Buck Mountain website and some of the tumors shown in the case studies got rather large before they opened and began sloughing off. Maybe that is what is going on with Dash's swelling? After you talk with your vet, I would be curious to see if Dr. Scanlan could offer a suggestion. Maybe holding off on the neo again would help? Sedating him and draining the swelling would be ideal but, only your veterinarian would know if it were possible. How long the relief would last would be anyone's guess.
Dash has fought whatever this terrible disease has thrown at him and still keeps going. I would like to think this is one of those "healing crisis" moments that you wrote about. Dash is such an inspiration to so many of us on this forum, it's hard to think about him having a tough "go of it". Know that I am hoping and praying for the best for both of you.
I took some photos of Dash today. The first one is the right side of his face and the second one is the left. The cancer is on the left. I decided to add these photos as many of you may see this in the future or have seen it already. It is hard to look at but Dash does not seem to be in pain unless it is touched. I have been doing nasal flushes of Normal saline with Willards water added and colloidal silver added to see if we can get it to drain. I think there is probably some bleeding going on in there and for what ever reason it has been trapped in the tissue rather the draining out like it use to so the swelling has gotten larger. We did have a small amount of drainage of old bloody secretions this morning but not enough to make a difference.
If you are looking at those photos and feeling I am in denial of what lies ahead , trust me I am not. I have known from day one that this is a fatal illness. I know Dash's days are coming to an end but as long as he is still so interested in life and wanting to do things I will allow him too and plan to let him say goodbye to people that loved him and see his favorite places like the beach one last time. If we can make it through next week where I can take him down to say goodbye to my Dad. my brother and my nephews and of course Phoenix I will be happy. He has been as much a part of all their lives as he has been mine.
This morning I made pancakes for breakfast which he loves, No they are not on a cancer diet but at this point in time it no longer matters. He knew right away what I was making and stood in the kitchen to supervise with his head cocked so his good eye was on me. I would say he enjoyed every bite of his pancake and did a trick for each bite. If he could talk he would have said they were good but not as good as his Grandma's.
I just am not getting that feeling that he is ready to stop his fight yet , I have gotten that feeling with other pets in the past but Dash has this I can do it way about him and as I have said he does not appear to be suffering and actually seems to feel pretty good. I thank everyone for their comments and support and will let you know how things go.
To Boomers mom it sounds like you and I may be walking this part of the journey together. and I know that ache you are feeling in your heart as I too have it. We shall see what the next few days hand us.
Bill, yes the increased trouble breathing after the neoplasene would be because of swelling. It causes in inflammation of the cancer cells which like any inflammtory response causes swelling and in this case the inflammation causes the apoptosis (cancer cell suicide). This is what worries me as maybe there is a dead chunk of tumor blocking the drainage in Dash's case or it can just be the progression of the cancer taking the path of least resistance. If it were opened to the outside of his nose and drained it would probably never heal if it is the cancer.The situation sort of puts us up against wall or as they say a catch 22 situation. Give Emmitt a big hug from me.
Time to go do another nasal flush, Dash does not like them but he allows me to do them.He is a real trouper. Jan
Jan, My thoughts and prayers are with you and Dash. You have been a big support for me over the past couple weeks. Dash truly is an inspiration and as Bill said I also hope that this is one of those "healing crisis" moments.
All of the dogs or should I say our babies on here are truley blessed to have such caring families. Also we are all truley blessed to have them in our lives to give us the unconditional love.
Everyone take care.
I am thinking about everyone,
Sasha
Last edited by seahorsestarfish; 07-01-2009 at 03:02 PM..
I don't think this is a healing crisis as usually when they occur the animal seems to be on the brink of death and quits eating and wants to be left alone and often hides some place. If left alone it will either have a rapid turn around or get worse and possibly die. Not the case with Dash he is eating very well and is being very social. I do think he feels pretty good.
I did talk to my vet and he said yes we could try draining the swelling and offered to do it tomorrow if I wanted but after tomorrow he will be gone until the 17th so if we ran into problems he would not be the one to take care of them. I told him that Dash does not appear to be in much pain unless the area is touched and asked him for some Tramadol which I can then use if I feel he is having pain. I said we can wait until he gets back and then decide to drain it or not. The issues with draining it are if it is a solid mass it may create a wound that will never heal and if it is fluid ( which I am pretty certain is the case) It could either stay drained for awhile or it could fill back up within 24 hrs.Being I could also be looking at the possibility of putting him to sleep attempting to drain it may be worth it . For now I will continue the nasal flushes. The last one caused a productive sneeze which I was more then happyto see! Of course the bloody goo went all over me but as shriek would say better out then in.
The Best Friends magazine arrived today and had a great article about hospice care for animals. It was worth a read if you get the chance . I can not say enough good things about hospice care for humans so why not for animals?
Hello Jan,
I hope all those people who you want to see dash get too. Sometimes winning the battle and losing the war is all we get...Know that my prayer and Hogans spirit are with you and dash.
On a positive note I am going to have a pitbull sleepover for 4 days. If all goes well we will adopt him. Part of me would really like to buy another Shepherd from the same breeder I got Hogan from. But rescuing this guy from being in a crate most of the day would make me feel better.
In any case I wish all of you fighting the fight to give it your best but realize winning is not always measured by how long your buddy lived. It's How....Understand however if I could bought an extra second with Hogan I would have, unless the pain for him would not have been worth it!
I have know doubt all here know when the time is right..God bless..Rod
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
