Allergies?
Submitted by DiMacQ on December 9, 2011 - 1:28pmI have only had Riley since July. She is turning 4 on Christmas Day. We moved her to Houston and I don't have much history on her. What I noticed was a new rattling in her chest when she breathes.... some coughing too. This started when the weather got cool enough to take her on walks. The vet said that it was allergies, and put her on a short 5 day treatment of Prednisone to dry her up, and then allergy meds. We tried the Prednisone treatment twice, but as soon as it ends, she starts to get rattly again.
She is on a raw food diet, which has been a miracle for other issues she had. The vet believes that this is an allergy to something in the air. She was used for breeding - lots of it, and then given away to Rescue, so I don't think she was outside much at all!
Anyone have any home remedies or ideas to help her?
Thank you!
a wet, rattling sound when breathing is concerning!
Can you contact the rescue local to you and get a recommendation for a bulldog vet they work with??
I think it'd be prudent to see another vet to confirm that what she has going on is just allergies and not something more sinister. Sadly our bullies can go from a case of the sneezes to full blown pneumonia in no time...and I wouldn't want to take my chances.
Whenever Winston gets congested with allergies, and we're already following the treatment/management plan from our vet, I will sit him in the bathroom with me when I take a shower. I think he likes the warm air and I know the humidity helps "break up" the gunk he sometimes gets overnight while sleeping.
Please keep us posted!
Shannon and Winston :)
My swimming bully buddy!
I went to a vet recommended
I went to a vet recommended on here, and it was not a good experience. I have been getting recommendations and trying different vets. Good advice. I wasn't even concerned about pneumonia. YIKES!
She is my shadow so always sits outside the shower. I'll open the door and steam up the bathroom. Thank you so much!
Hello!
My bully goes through this as well. Does she have a tendency to vomit after she eats? Or regurgitate? I have read that sometimes bulldogs have issues with their esophagus(Megaesophagus) and that it can be difficult for dogs to get their food down into their stomach. When they regurgitate they can inhale little food particles giving them something called aspiration pnuemonia which could explain the wheezy, coughing. My dog does this. We have had to modify his eating so that he doesn't throw up after he eats. I elevate his food, I feed small amounts several times per day, and we don't walk or play for 30 minutes after eating.
I hope this helps
JOEYBAGOFDONUT'S MOM
No she doesn't vomit or
No she doesn't vomit or regurgitate. Her food is elevated and she eats 2 small meals a day... plus treats. The playing though... I could watch that more carefully as we play often!
2 vets recommended the soft patette surgery, but she wasn't struggling to breathe before the "allergies". The rescue recommended I not do the surgery, and I have to agree. I think the issue is the congestion and not so much her palette.
It won't be easy ignoring the play requests, but I'll do it! Thank you.
What do you consider small amounts???
My Sally still regurgitates every morning and sometimes evenings after her meals. I have tried EVERYTHING. I add a tsp of plain yogurt to her dry food, which seems to help a bit. She eats Prescription DD for allergies and is doing really good on it, very little tear stains, which is a huge improvement to what she had while eating TOTW salmon. Just wondering how much you feed?
"Still Plays In the Dirt"
chest x ray
you need to go for a chest x ray.....other wise you could lose her....i have a old girl that coughs large amounts of mucus in the am or after a walk....and she has fluid on the lungs...she is on antibotics but their is not much we can do as their are other issues.....
but when a dog has a large amt of phlem it could be a small trechea...or fluid on the lungs....simple easy way to check a x ray
If you get a chest xray
make sure they also xray the trachea.
I agree with the others though...you want to make sure she does not have pneumonia.
If it is just allergies
you can use Benadryl. Aks the vet about dosage. But make sure it's not another medical issue first. Climate changes can cause allergies to flareup. when I moved from eastern WA, dry hot climate to Seattle, damp wet I was getting sick every other month for about 2 years. Then my system adjusted and I haven't been sick for years.
We will go get an xray for
We will go get an xray for sure. Thank you. I do not want to lose this precious girl! She has had a rough enough life. I do think it is from the climate change, as I've seen dogs adjust before, but we better make sure.
Would Benadryl be a better choice than the prescription drug hydroxyzine pamoate? She was prescribed that to be used "as needed". I'm supposed to give it to her 45 minutes before our walks.
Thank you all so much for your answers. We appreciate this board and all of you.
Perscription vs Non-script
If she been perscribed something then I would stick with that unless you do find another vet and consult with them. After all they are the vet and I don;t want to be giving anyone vet advice. But for a non-script you can use Benedryl if it is truly allergies. I would consult with your vet first. Make sure you only use the original Benedryl (little pink pill) nothing with (D) in the name like Claritin-D (Pseudoephedrine) is the D and it is toxic to dogs.
stay with what the vet said but
go get a chest x ray when you can.....its always better to be safe than sorry....my vet felt one of dogs had knl cough but i wanted a x ray...guess what it was pneumonia...and it could of gotten really bad fast.....now he always does a chest,,,,,,,vets are good but some times they need just an extra nudge when it comes to bulldogs...
let us know how it goes
Thank you. I will let you
Thank you. I will let you know what the outcome of the xray is.
a thought
Has she been checked for Heartworm? Heartworm can cause exercise intolerance and produce a cough. Since she wasn't well cared for in her prior situation, she may not have been given heartworm preventatives.
The Rescue I got her from are
The Rescue I got her from are very good about checking for that and she was negative. She was just way over bred, and not much attention, but healthwise, she was OK. She has also been on Heartworm meds since they got her, and since I adopted her. So unless something went terribly wrong, I don't think that was it. Good advise though, as that is not something to mess with!
glad she was negitive
There has been an increasing number of dogs being heartworm positive, even though they have been on preventitives, especially in the southern states and the Mississippi Delta area. In fact there is a lawsuit against Merial by a fired employee that says the company knew their product wasn't fully effective and chose to do nothing about it.
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_7/features/Merial-Heart-Guard...
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_7/features/Heartworm-Preventa...
Oh my gosh!!! That is some
Oh my gosh!!! That is some scary, but very good information to have on hand. Thank you. I'm going to pass this on!