Sick Dog Question– help, please?!

[bewler]

I too have been reading this thread - this is such hopeful news after all of initial, heart-wrenching posts. I will keep you all in my thoughts. Looks like you have an awful lots of folks here pulling for you and Spencer!

[agilebasenji]

I'm so glad he's home. I hope things are brighter in the morning. Did the vet say what the problem was?
Of course we are all thinking very hard on Spencer's health and well being here.

[curlytails]

I have no advice to give, but I am so heartened to read of how on top of it you are. You and Spencer are in my thoughts.

[ownedbyspencer]

I wanted to thank everyone again for their concern and kindness and update you on Spencer's saga. Today has been a roller-coaster day. He was so much better this morning, then had a relapse this afternoon and is now rebounding again. We are choosing to be optimistic. We don't know for sure what was/is causing all of his problems, but he had lesions on his tongue and large, raw sores on the back of his throat, as well as an abscessed tooth that was extracted. There was no jaw, throat or lymph node swelling, but it's likely that these things are at the root of his mouth pain. We just don't know what caused them and are hoping the antibiotics will speed healing.

Spencer sends baroos and tail wags to his forum friends. You have been so nice that he might want to come live with some of you, since his own family has been so annoying. He has been poked, prodded, stuck with needles and had pipettes, eye droppers and syringes filled with food and Ensure poked down his throat for days and is pretty tired of all of us here. And thank you, Anne, for that tubing idea– we're getting good mileage out of it!

[Chealsie508]

So happy to hear Spencer has at least persevered through the weekend. It's amazing the things dogs can endure. Maybe he still needs healing time from all the sores and extraction…Oakley and I are keeping you in our prayers. Thank you for the update, I've been wondering how he has been

[tanza]

Sounds like you might have turned the corner with him… fingers crossed that is the case... and certainly a bad tooth can cause lots of problems.. Take it hour by hour... you will have set backs.. for sure, but for every set back the rebound is a promise for better days.

[Patty]

I haven't been able to read all the threads for a couple of days so this is my first reading of your posts. i do hope that Spencer has now turned the corner and is on the up side of recovery. I feel for him and you for all that you've had to endure.

I was dismayed at your vet's reaction and I hope that you'll soon find a more iunderstanding vet. I think we usually know (our Basenjis tell us) when it is time to let them go and when to keep fighting and I would have hoped that all vets would listen to us.

Hugs to Spencer.

[krunzer]

I am glad to hear that things have been progressing nicely. An abcess is a really nasty thing, humans have problems with abcesses and then if his throat is still sore from the surgery I can understand why he would still be fussy. Fingers crossed that the hardest part is over and healing is on the way!

[agilebasenji]

Thanks for checking in. I was so worried, but am relieved to hear he seems to be on the mend. I think a bit of a rollercoaster is to be expected. Hopefully you'll be doing 2 or 3 steps forward for every step back.

[Kipawa]

I'm really happy to hear about the improvements. What sturdy dogs basenjis are. That must be quite uncomfortable for him. Hopefully he is now on the mend and the antibiotics will help. Still keeping you in our thoughts though. You don't rid of Kipawa and I THAT easily!

[Terry]

So glad to hear that Spencer is doing better! Poor guy, no wonder he didn't want to eat with all that going on in his mouth and throat!

Our first Fanconi dog developed a condition called "CUPS" - I forget exactly what the acronym stands for, but essentially, she was allergic to her own plaque. She would develop frequent and painful abscesses in her mouth from the allergy, which would then reinfect her because they would become infected - it was a vicious cycle. She wound up having 12 teeth pulled and was slated for another 12 to be removed. We were seeing a doggie dentist. Might be something to find out about when Spencer feels a bit better! Apparently, cats tend to be more susceptible to CUPS than dogs - so it's probably not surprising that our 'cats in dog suits' get it also!

Terry

[ownedbyspencer]

Oh, wow, Terry, CUPS might be the answer! I had never heard of it, so I looked it up online and those lesions are exactly like what Spencer has on his tongue and down his throat. (I can't see them, but the vet took a picture with her camera while he was under anesthesia.) His lesions are very large and raw, and the minute I saw the photo, I just felt sick. No one could eat or drink with those in their mouth! Anyway, I will talk to the vet about CUPS. Spencer has not had a thorough dental cleaning in more than a year, because I have been afraid to put him under, given his advanced age and kidney problems. I do use the C.E.T. gel and doggy toothpaste, but he has been increasingly reluctant to have my hands in his mouth. His teeth were just checked in September, but they did have plaque. Thank you for sharing this! Has anyone else had experience with CUPS?

And a big thanks to everyone for all the help and support. This forum has been both a saving grace and a wealth of knowledge. I feel like you all should send me a bill!

Oh, and Spencer is drinking like it's the water lapping Olympics this morning. I'm still having to feed him through a syringe, but he is definitely on the mend. A little sparkle is returning to his eyes, and his tail is up.

Pamela and Spencer

[tanza]

If you do a search you will come up with a few threads about CUPS, here is one. And I think that DebraDownSouth has a Basenji with CUPS

http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?12236-Tucker-has-ulcers

[Chealsie508]

Pamela, I am elated that spencer is drinking, you have been in my thoughts and prayers all weekend- I couldn't be happier for the two of you. I hope you find the answers to his problems, people are giving you lots of great avenues and good for you for looking into them all. Should you or spencer need anything just let us all know. Keep the updates coming

[Terry]

We were hand feeding our Kathie for several months before we lost her, so we know exactly how you are feeling with Spencer. We basically made her food very soupy/mushy and stuffed it down. She was soooo good and allowed us to do this even though we know she had to be hurting,,, I still miss her so much after all these years, my sweet girl.

[agilebasenji]

@ownedbyspencer:

Oh, and Spencer is drinking like it's the water lapping Olympics this morning. I'm still having to feed him through a syringe, but he is definitely on the mend. A little sparkle is returning to his eyes, and his tail is up.

Pamela and Spencer

I am so happy to see this. I feel like I can stop worrying about him now. The older dogs getting ill feels very personal. My dear Digital the brindlewonderkid is 15 and I always imagine these things happening to him. Please keep us informed of his upswing!

[ownedbyspencer]

The vet does not think it is CUPS, after all, but a local manifestation of acute ulcerative stomatitis. Spencer did not present with the primary symptoms– bad breath, drooling, bleeding, inflamed gums-- and he did not have any fever or swelling at all. You could only see the lesions and the mess the tooth was in with a surgery light and scope when he was under anesthesia. I knew Basenjis were stoic little dogs, but it's incredible the amount of pain they can bear without telling us the extent.

That very back tooth appears to be the cause, which is why Spencer's throat was so affected. He did have a complete dental, and his other teeth weren't so bad. The infection was severe, however. Virulent liquid had seeped onto the back of his tongue where it lay against that back tooth and appears to have caused the lesions on his tongue and throat. The antibiotics are beginning to help. So the trick is to keep the dog hydrated and nourished via syringe for the week it may take to fight the infection and heal the lesions so he can eat.

I know this is way too much information, but I wanted to pass it along, in case it might help someone else-- perhaps in the future, through the search function. This forum is such a great resource, and I had never heard of a lot of the things that have been brought up. They helped me tremendously. Our dogs tell us so much, but we can learn even more from each other. So thank you!

[ownedbyspencer]

@agilebasenji:

I am so happy to see this. I feel like I can stop worrying about him now. The older dogs getting ill feels very personal. My dear Digital the brindlewonderkid is 15 and I always imagine these things happening to him. Please keep us informed of his upswing!

I know exactly what you mean. Every time I hear of a senior getting sick, I think "oh, no!" Diggie sounds like he is in superb shape, though, and I bet he will be dogpaddling in the pool for years to come!

[ownedbyspencer]

@Terry:

We were hand feeding our Kathie for several months before we lost her, so we know exactly how you are feeling with Spencer. We basically made her food very soupy/mushy and stuffed it down. She was soooo good and allowed us to do this even though we know she had to be hurting,,, I still miss her so much after all these years, my sweet girl.

I'm so sorry about Kathie. They grab onto our hearts and don't let go. The stuffing it down is just what I'm doing. I've gotten very good at prying his mouth open, getting the food in just the right place and rubbing his throat so he will swallow. Spencer is not as accommodating as Kathie, but we're managing. The critical care food is like whipped pate– just sticky enough to avoid being spit out.

[ownedbyspencer]

@Chealsie508:

Pamela, I am elated that spencer is drinking, you have been in my thoughts and prayers all weekend- I couldn't be happier for the two of you. I hope you find the answers to his problems, people are giving you lots of great avenues and good for you for looking into them all. Should you or spencer need anything just let us all know. Keep the updates coming

Thank you, Chealsie! Has Oakley fully recovered from his gum-eating? I know he was a pretty sick boy for a while.