Tags
flea dermatitis, hair loss, honest kitchen, kennel cough, skin and coat supplements, skin rash, tracheal collapse, vet
A health update is called for, as we’ve had a titch of trouble recently.
Last Wednesday, I brought Bowpi in to the vet. She’d been cough-wheezing for a while. It’d reportedly started in November, when I was still in Taiwan. I certainly noticed it when I came back — a sporadic, whuffing sound that came on when she was balled up, either getting into or just emerging from sleep. RJ figured it was due to the unusually dry winter we’ve been having in California, and as it seemed to come and go, we just kept monitoring her.
The cough suddenly got louder and more frequent over one rainy weekend, so I had her in ASAP. Basically, she was whuffing and chuffing in several, continuous, uncontrolled rounds, and doing a lot of this in addition:
… yet, she wasn’t coughing frequently enough that I could count on her to demonstrate her symptoms to the vet. So I took video. Even on the day that I brought her in, the rain had cleared up, and she hadn’t coughed for over 12 hours. And Bowdu, as you can see, has been his usual, doofy self, so it didn’t seem to be a highly contagious condition.
Based on the video, manual palpation, my description of the symptoms, and Bowpi’s overall age and stature, the vet’s diagnosis was partial tracheal collapse, aggravated by a secondary infection of kennel cough. She spared me the X-rays for a more precise diagnosis, since she was pretty sure that was what was going on, and her condition wasn’t severe. She was able to recreate the coughing sound in the examination room by pressing on Bowpi’s trachea, and noted that the condition was not in the esophagus, so there was some process of elimination going into the diagnosis too.
So we were sent off with a round of Doxycycline for the cough, and a harness for Bowpi is already on the way. I definitely feel some guilt, wondering if this all could have been prevented if I had just been walking Bowpi on a harness to begin with. Like pretty much every Basenji I’ve ever walked, she’s always been a puller, jerking with great determination (for such a small dog!) towards the object of her scrutiny. This is much less of a problem when she’s off leash, as the vast majority of our daytime walks tend to be.
Obviously, I can’t always walk her off leash, so I’m doing what I can to minimize the harm that’s already been done. Like the doc predicted, her cough cleared right up after a week of medication, and her chuffing has subsided to very occasional, and minor disruptions. Neither her energy levels nor appetite has been affected, and otherwise she remains in great shape, so we carry on, and will follow up by phone in a couple months.
I am transparent about pet finances on this blog, and since veterinary fees can be one of the most inscrutable costs, I present the itemized bill:
- Office call,
$56$50.40 (minus 10% student discount - Doxycycline (strength: 25 mg/mL), 28 mL, $30
- TOTAL: $80.40
Meanwhile, Bowdu was off his flea medication schedule for over two weeks, as I’d forgotten about it in February’s flurry. This is atypical of me, and poor Bowdu is the one that had to suffer for it.
Due to what I think were some flea or bug bites, Bowdu got really itchy in a couple spots on his chest, resulting in the loss of large swathes of fur. I didn’t actually see any bugs, though I saw the bite areas, and I didn’t find anything on Bowpi, whose short fur is usually quick to reveal any such problems. However, knowing that Bowdu does react pretty intensely to bug bites, and given the intensity of the fur loss (most of it came right out within about a two day window), my first response was to get both dogs back on Comfortis, ASAP.
This does coincide with a seasonal fur blow, which is already pretty intense in its own right. Since a few years ago (with the diagnosis of canine hypothyroidism), I’ve noted that Bowdu does tend to lose his fur in big, bald patches when he’s shedding. Pictures from February 2011 for comparison:
Pretty much always the same areas around the neck, chest, and belly, but never his back.
This is clearly the worst Bowdu has had it in years, with raw red skin and hyperpigmentation and everything.
I gave him a bath with some medicated shampoo to try and ease the itch and speed along the shedding process. I think it was actually a little too intense and offset his skin oils, because he’s felt greasier since the bath. I’ll give him another week or so, and try again again with a gentle shampoo.
Meanwhile, he’s been getting generic diphenhydramine (Benadryl) about twice a day, with breakfast and before bedtime. He’s got his skin and coat supplements: the usual fish oil and vitamin E, and additional Honest Kitchen Sparkle (which is being discontinued due to “regulatory challenges combined with low sales” — time to formulate our own herbal blend!). His itching seems to be under control, he just looks and feels rough, and is a bit cranky about being touched in certain ways.
At least he’s not too self-conscious about showing off his precious, slightly bald tummy.
I’m sorry to read that your dogs are having allergy problems, amongst everthing else. I mainly wanted to comment though because your dogs and I take a lot of the same medications…which I find funny. I too take a generic form of Benadryl and Doxycycline. Here where I live pollen levels are at an all time high making my walks with my Shibas near unbearable sometimes. (Not that I would ever tell them that!)
As long as you’re not taking Comfortis, too. 😉 And I suspect your Doxycycline doesn’t taste like chicken gravy… Sorry to hear about the pollen.
Awww! Poor Boops! The video was a teensy bit distressing (for me, clearly she isn’t too upset about it, Bowpi seems to not be distressed, other than coughy.) as I expected more a snuffly snore sort of sound which Pud has been doing a LOT of since it’s been crazy allergy-time. The dust before the rain and the pollen explosion after it has been nuts for everyone in our household.
So is tracheal collapse only caused by collar style? This is not something I’ve heard of before. Is it common and/or treatable?
It has so VERY ITCHY so I sympathise with Du. I have somehow gotten bitten by bugs (I haven’t left the house!!) myself. If it was after the first rain we may have had some mosquito outbreak? I’ve heard the eggs can rehydrate & hatch. (This is pure speculation as fleas are more probable & what I heard was years ago and most likely wrong).
And (with people) the more controlling and medicated or treatment related washes are the oilier skin gets. It’s a weird thing, they tell you that you want to “dry” oily or itchy skin but that always makes things worse by stripping the moisture barrier and natural protecting oils of our hair/skin and creating more problems. I always go for gentle gentle gentle. I know with a dog (especially an itchy poop roller!) it’s not always relatable or practical. I just try and point this kinda thing out when I can as the cosmetics (and pet) industry has really sold a lot of damaging ideas to people that affects our skin & health.
In any case, I hope everyone starts to feel better! I can’t wait to see ‘Pi’s new accessory. ^__^
I have to do a bit more research on it, but basically I understand that some small breed dogs are genetically predisposed to weakened tracheal cartilage, so they can collapse as they age, especially with the use of certain types of collars, etc. Yorkies are apparently prone to it. And I don’t think it’s considered a “breed problem” in Basenjis, but I’ve heard of it happening to others before. So it was on my mind, and I wasn’t too surprised…
It’s not a reversible condition, but it’s not degenerative, so I just have to switch up her gear. Doc said it was very mild, and like I said, it’s pretty sporadic coughing, but it probably does make her a little more susceptible to things like throat infections and irritations. Like it could’ve just been an allergic response to pollen as well, but might as well treat it with antibiotics just in case.
And with Bowdu, it’s been so long that I’ve had to tackle his dermal issues with a bathing regimen, I forgot just how I used to do it. Non-medicated shampoo probably would’ve been just fine (he’s got a large bottle of Earth Bath that I still use as his main shampoo), I just went a little too aggressively to tackle the itch. Can’t rush a good cure, I guess.
Also, I know it’s possible for mosquitoes to appear here, but it’s really generally such a low-risk issue, it’s one of the last buggers I’d think of when I think of things that could bite the Bows. Especially Bowdu, with his thick fur. They usually satiate themselves on me before they ever need to feed on the dogs. =P Flea bites would be consistent with the area that was affected though — legs, chest, armpit and underside areas.
Poor Bows! I am glad both are easily remedied, though.
Here’s hoping! Bowpi already sounds way better, and Bowdu’s tummy will hopefully look quite different next month.
Poor babies.
I would happily have purchased Sparkle, but couldn’t get it here. Silas is not keen on supplements, though, so he might not have taken it anyway.
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