Post Punk Kitchen Forum

She's been sick for a month now. She started coughing the first week of december. A couple of the dogs at the shelter were coughing too and Tegan had just been at the shelter to play in the field. We assumed it was kennel cough. The shelter dogs had very mild symptoms and stopped coughing within a week, but Tegan didn't. When the coughing didn't improve, we took her to the vet to make sure there wasn't a secondary infection. They listened to her lungs and didn't hear any rattling or other pneumonia symptoms, so they just put her on antibiotics "just in case". When she didn't improve on doxycycline, they added baytril. She was on both for two weeks with no improvement. She didn't want to eat anything for a few weeks, and I was basically force-feeding her. Now she is eating again fine, so I thought she was getting better, but the cough still hadn't improved.

She went back to the vet yesterday and they did chest x-rays and looked at a sample of phlegm she had coughed up (in my mom's brand new car, on the way there!). Whatever they found (some long medical term I don't remember) they said that antibiotics weren't effective for it and Tegan would have to go on prednisone, which she has started. She also had a slight fever. They took blood for a full blood profile.

Today the vet called and said Tegan's bloodwork was "way off". They don't know why. She had full bloods done in October before her spay and they were normal. She has to go back and they will do another heartworm test (she was tested in Oct and has been on preventative, so I don't see how that could be it, but you never know) and also tested for lungworm, which I thought was a livestock thing. But apparently dogs can get it too. The vet is also considering severe environmental allergies.

The vet costs are $1,000 so far. Luckily I signed her up for insurance when we got her so I am going to try to claim this. It's just so frustrating not knowing what's wrong with her. I feel like I just went through dealing with a dog with an unknown illness... and that didn't end well. If anyone wants to send some "For fork's sake, Tegan, stop coughing!" thoughts our way, that would be appreciated!

Oh no Tegan! :( Get well soon! Sending you both healthy vibes!

Awe! Poor baby and poor mum! I do hope she's better soon. Miss Poppy had a bad cough for a couple of months, it was a kennel cough type thing doing the rounds here, it took her a good while to recover from it.

My dogs and I send positive thoughts and lots of tail wags to you and Tegan.

Thank you. I really hope the prednisone clears it up for good. The vet says if it turns out to be allergies, we might have to get rid of all the carpets in the house. We have wall-to-wall carpeting, so that wouldn't be fun.

poor Tegan!! :-(
i hope she gets better soon.

i have a fb friend who had a Hurricane Katrina dog and her dog had a recurrant cough through it's whole life and i think it was on prednisone for it. im not entirely sure what was actually wrong with it though..

stop coughing Tegan!

Sending you both tons of good thoughts for a quick and complete recovery. Poor Tegan!

Feel better Tegan! Hugs, RC!

One of the possibilities they said for Tegan is called eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy and there is really no cure for that and the dog usually has to be on steroids for life, which is what I'm scared of. Prednisone has nasty side effects, and when it is used long term, the side effects are worse and it can basically kill you. I'm so terrified of losing another pet. I am still grieving for Sable. Tegan was so young and healthy when we got her that I was hoping I wouldn't have to worry about any scary health issues for a really long time.

Hoping Tegan gets better real soon so you guys can just enjoy each other!!! <3 <3 <3

Has your vet considered food allergies? My lab mix gets chronic ear infections and her vet told me no chicken, no beef, no pork in her diet. Seems like dogs get allergies from anything.

Hope Tegan gets better asap. :)

Good thoughts for Teagan!!

She said it would likely be environmental... pollen, perfumes, cleaning products, carpeting, etc. Tegan is a vegan (hey, that rhymes!), so she already avoids the common animal-based allergens and the food she is eating now has no wheat, corn, or soy. We could get a blood allergy test done to find out specific environmental triggers. But you can't do allergy testing while the dog is on steroids because it won't be accurate, so if we wanted to do the testing, we'd have to wait several weeks.

Get well Tegan!

Well, her coughing has almost completely gone, but the prednisone makes her drowsy and she has to pee constantly. She basically sleeps all day and I wake her up every hour or so to put her outside to pee. She is usually a very energetic dog, but now she doesn't even want to play. And this is on the lowest possible dose. We can start weaning her off on tuesday. She's on half a tablet twice a day, so she'll switch to half a tablet once a day for a week and then half a tablet every other day for two weeks. But if she relapses and starts coughing again, she'll have to go back on it.

Aw Tegan! Hope she feels better! I was recently on steriods very briefly and the side effects were nasty. Also the withdrawals after weaning off didn't feel too good. So she may take a while to return to equlibrium even as she tapers down and stops. Feel better Tegan!

aw teagan! poor thing! i hope the weaning goes well and that she doesn't go back to coughing!

Oh, poor baby! Get well soon, Tegan.

Today the vet got some more test results back, and talked to a specialist at the lab. They said that Tegan should stay on the full dose of prednisone for two weeks after complete cessation of symptoms and then taper the dose over the course of two months. And they also confirmed that if it is chronic, she would have to stay on a low dose for the rest of her life. I'm really upset about this, because I have seen dogs who have been on pred for long periods of time, and it is not pretty. Long-term use can cause diabetes, Cushing's disease, joint disease, bloating, muscle wasting, eye disease, GI disorders... the list goes on and on. And right now, on the dose she is on (which the specialist said seemed too low, but it has stopped the symptoms, so hopefully they won't make us increase it), she it totally lethargic and not really enjoying life. I don't really know what to do. It was so weird and sudden (I have her old vet records back to when she was a puppy, and there is no note of sick visits or health problems). We are going to try to eliminate all potential allergens in the house (My dad is completely obsessed with febreze and air fresheners, so getting him to cooperate is going to be difficult). And then I guess just hope that once she is done with the 3 month course of prednisone that she never relapses and has to go on it again.

FYI, Febreeze is fatal to birds. I'm assuming it's because the stuff is Bad News, but our respiratory systems aren't sensitive enough for it to be harmful to us.

I would definitely get rid of all of that before anything else.

Oh my gosh! Do anything you can to keep her off the prednisone! That shiitake is evil. Thinking of you and Tegan!

I hate the stuff. But my dad is completely obsessed with it. Every day he sprays the carpets, sofa, and dog beds until they are soaking wet to the touch. He goes through an entire bottle a week. And he has air fresheners in every room (either the gel kind or the kind that sprays at intervals). My mom and I can't stand it. The chemical smell is overwhelming. But it is kind of an ocd thing for my dad, so getting him to give it up is going to be VERY difficult.

Oh my gosh that certainly could be bothering poor Tegan! That stuff is pure toxic chemicals :(

Instead of getting him to give up, can you get him to switch to more animal friendly sprays? I use one from the pet store (uk) that is safe for animals when still wet, it's an enzyme based thing and works very well. It really can't be healthy for any of you to live in that environment. Neutradol gel fresheners (probably not vegan though) are great at keeping dog smells down and don't aggravate my chemical sensitivities.

I have this natural orange oil spray that I absolutely love. AirSense, I think it's called. Smells like Creamsicles! And the bottle lasts a freakishly long time. I swear, my last bottle lasted me three years and I sprayed it every day in my bathroom. It was like it was tapping into some magical orange-scented airspray reservoir.

I hope Tegan gets better! This is so frustrating for you!!