My little dog is not well – advice please?

[Mrs L]

hi 

sorry, bit of a long one … I left my 2 Cav’s with my parents today as we went out all day – I spoke to my Dad at 4 and he said Ozzie had had a funny turn around 3, making choking noises, but seemed ok now. I know that he can occasionally get the Cavvy pallet choking, so wasn’t worried, but when we picked him up at 5 he was shaking, couldn’t breathe properly, sneezing loads and making choking noises. We rung our vet and left a message and got in the car to get over to the vet. On the journey I had my husband tilt his throat to open his airway properly, and after about 15 minutes he started calming down and seemed a bit more normal … we got him home and the vet called and diagnosed it was probably a sting, so we gave him a piriton… after an hour and a bit he started sneezing again and seemed strange again – bulgy eyes, strange walking and extending his neck, so we rung the vet back (a different one now due to shift changes, although he is the owner / main man) and this time they’ve said about a throat infection (although I thought that was a sudden onset?!) and we’ve given him 1/4 paracetamol on the vets advice, and will see about taking him in tomorrow.

so really, I’m just wondering if anyone can add anything more / thoughts or advice to this? Am worried about him as he’s normally the most chipper independent dog, so you can easily tell when he’s out of sorts. The other thing is his lunch was fish and mash (see bad tummy threads!) and I was worried about a bone, but the first vet said he’d have been in trouble at the time of eating if it was that….  btw my parents didn’t see any bees, but the little sod has a habit of bluddy chasing them!!

thanks
Mrs L

[Izzie]

poor Lad,

Val is the lady to give you advice

Hope he is feeling better soon :-*

[Val]

I marvel at all these vets with ex-ray eyes that can make a diagnoses over the phone, the chances of a sting are not high, there are a few buzzers around but not many.
As he already has a soft pallet problem I would suspect he has a sore throat that a course of AB will fix I have seen Cavies walk funny when they have that viberating soft pallet attack so think that is all the walk is hope you have booked an early appointment.
If he had a fish bone caught he would gag repeatedly trying to move it.
Try a spoon of Maluka honey that should sooth his throat
Hope he is OK do let us know ((hugs to the little man))
Val

[tri 'n snatch it bonnie girl]

I just wanted to echo Val really in saying that I have probably seen less than half a dozen wasps/bees this year – it could have been just possible he layed on a sleepy one or something but really quite unlikely.

i cant really say anything about a diagnosis as i wouldnt have a clue but just from the symptoms if he were mine i think i would just pop him along to the vets to be totally sure he gets a proper look over 🙂

claire x

[Mrs L]

hi

thanks for the replies  🙂

after a very restless night, we’ve been to the vets this morning and it’s pretty inconclusive – he hasn’t got a temperature or any obvious sign of an infection. The vet wonders if a foreign body has gone up his nasal passage, but isn’t sure. They’ve given him an AB shot today, and AB tablets from tomorrow, but have said if he doesn’t clear up within 2 days they would think about putting him under to have a look down the back of his throat  🙁  he’s still really out of sorts and scared, poor little thing!

Mrs L

[kerrie and stan]

hope he is feeling better soon :-*

[xtine]

let us know how he get on  :ok: good luck

[Justine&Rafe]

Just chucking this idea out there – could it be kennel cough?

Rafe’s seemed to come on instantaneously, like he was choking on something, and trying to retch to get it out… no coughing until a few days in, more just retching and choking.

There’s a link on youtube with a vid of a dog with it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN3RpoU0qXw

but can vary with diff dogs. 

Either way, best of luck for a speedy recovery!

[Sweetypye]

The vet prescribed paracetemol?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :what:

[kizkiznobite]

my thoughts too SP

have known them to say aspirin on a 1/10 basis as an emergency but never paracetemol

[*Lassie*]

In the UK, it is mandatory that the vet uses a licensed product before considering an unlicensed one.

Paracetamol -Like aspirin, paracetamol is cheap and readily available. It appears to be less effective as a pain killer than aspirin, but vomiting is usually not a feature. Although paracetamol is classified as an NSAID, it has no anti-inflammatory effect. In the UK, paracetamol alone is unlicensed for use in dogs, but it is licensed with a combination of codeine, and is marketed as Pardale®. Care must be taken when calculating the dose, as it can be fatal if used incorrectly. In small dogs, it is very easy to give a toxic dose. For instance, one 500mg paracetamol tablet could be fatal to a Yorkshire Terrier weighing 2kg.
Paracetamol must never be given to cats.
Just found this ???

[kizkiznobite]

yep lassie…and ergo…as such…it should be given at consultation not suggested over the phone

[SuzAndTheDiva]

Dont know Justine but was thinking self same thing this morning – i know and have seen cavs doing the eyes on stalks neck still funny walk coughing thing – and attack of KC well they gonna cough…………

[Justine&Rafe]

Mrs L, if you have access to youtube, go and have a look at some of the KC vids – if any symptoms look familiar, then that might be your issue…  And if it is, don’t panic!  Look at some of the threads on here about it, treat with lots of TLC and honey and benylin. 

As far as paracetamol is concerned – vet recommended Rafe had some when he had KC if he looked unwell (but Rafe weighs in at over 6 stone so dosage not as much an issue as a little dog).  If it is licensed in combination with another drug for dogs, it’s fairly safe to say it’d be ok on its own.  But two things to consider – dog’s size and dosage, and also, do NOT use it for a prolonged period of time, no more than say a week, as long term use can lead to liver failure.  As cavs are tiny, make sure your vet gives you an exact dosage for them.

Benylin is not licensed for use in dogs and yet we readily recommend it to many people on this board.  Just because it is not lcensed does not necessarily mean it is unsafe, but it’s always good to ask first!

[Mrs L]

hi

many thanks for all your replies …  bit of a worry about the paracetomol now though – we took the vet at his word then had fun and games chopping up a 500mg (he had 1/8th) ..

anyway, update – he is absolutely fine now!!  ;D  he had one minor snorty fit Monday night which scared him again, but nothing since?! both my two have had KC so we’ve seen the symptons – this was less cough and more typical Cavvie soft pallet snorting…

my dilemma now is whether to carry on with the AB .. personally, I don’t believe that 1AB shot Monday morning and 1/2 AB tab would have had him back to normal by yesterday lunchtime, so I guess that leaves us as not knowing the cause, but I’m unsure whether to carry on with them – he has probiotics anyway at the moment, so we can get his tummy ok after the ABs, but does he really need to finish the course if it’s not an infection anyway? I’m not playing vets, I just think it wasn’t an infection if it cleared up so quickly, and I don’t like giving more drugs if not necessary?? any thoughts please?

thanks again  🙂

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