Please pray for Booger

[Andrew]

This may be way off base, but if he is not eating also, could there be a problem with his teeth? Dental problems can cause an odd amount of symptoms. Just a suggestion.

Actually not so offbase… While the vet had him sedated for x-ray she probed all of his teeth to make sure he didn't have a bad root that was irritating the nasal passages.

are you still using that? Benadryl can be a sedative.

The first vet we went to recommended Benadryl, but we took him off after 2 days because it was making him congested and he had difficulty breathing.

If you don't mind cooking for him try:

http://www.maryshouse.us/Recipes.htm

the muttloaf. i cut the recipe in 1/2

I don't mind at all, especially if it gets him to eat. I will definitely be trying this! Thank you.

We should hear back on the results tomorrow. I'm just praying that we find something, anything, even if its not curable. I'd rather know its time to let him go so he doesn't suffer anymore than continue test after test while he continues to suffer.
Tonight he did a face plant into the floor trying to eat. Just tipped right over. Last night he had a bad nose bleed in bed. Its heartbreaking.

[dash]

sure sounds like some sort of anemia. Boy I sure hope you get a answer soon.

[bellabasenji]

I found some material about dog illnesses that you may or may not have considered discussing with the Vet.:

BACTERIAL: -Leptospirosis

FUNGAL: -Histoplasmosis -Coccidioidomycosis(Valley Fever) -Blastomycosis

RICKETTSIAL: -Canine Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis

I copied it to Word, but I can't attach it on the forums, the document is too large. I can email it to you if you want…

(Lots of love and doggie prayers are continued to be sent your way)

[tanza]

@agilebasenji:

If you don't mind cooking for him try:

http://www.maryshouse.us/Recipes.htm

the muttloaf. i cut the recipe in 1/2

Hey, I just tried the Muttloaf… and Kristii loved it

[tanza]

Also Andrew, there is stuff called "Dog Sure" that they drink or you can add to food, like the stuff for people. I have used this, it comes canned and I got it at Petsmart (or Petco, can't remember which). And there is paste in a tube that is very high calorie… when my Maggii first went into renal failure and we were trying to get her stable, that and the SubQ fluids helped her... in fact the paste was the only thing that she would eat.. you should be able to get that at Petsmart or Petco also.

[tanza]

Did you get any blood work results?

[Andrew]

Thank you for all or your prayers & thoughts so far.
First, I bought some canned food for Booger in the same brand kibble he eats. He loves it & is now getting up on his own to eat. I've been feeding half a can on top of his normal amount of kibble, and it looks like the weight might be sticking to him better.
I spoke with the doctor today, and Booger's white blood cells are elevated. She thinks its a bacterial infection, so we're trying him on a second round of antibiotics. This time we're going to run a 3 week course instead of just a week. She says it could be caused by something that is still stuck up his nose, so we may still need to see a specialist with a scope. He took his first dose of the new antibiotics tonight. I will keep y'all posted.

[imbj]

Glad to hear some good news! We're all rooting for Booger!!

[sharronhurlbut]

We all so hope this will fix your boys issues.
Hugs for keeping us informed.

[tanza]

What were his blood work values?

[tanza]

Hope that it helps.. but wouldn't the first thought to do a scope? Shouldn't the first course to screen/scope for infections like aspergillus infection?
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2102&aid=233

[agilebasenji]

Glad Kristii liked the muttloaf. i've used it for years. i like to make it with blueberries or cranberries, but have to warn people when i pass it out that "it's blueberries not mold."

Also, i just read some interesting info on giving dogs electrolytes (in Chris Zink's new book). it's NOT a good idea for dogs b/c they don't sweat like people do. Here's what she says ". . . humans loose water and electrolytes when they sweat, dogs lose mainly water vapor when they pant. If you give electrolytes to your dog, you add small charged molecules to the intestinal tract. Those molecules tend to draw water to their location. So if you give a dog electorlytes on a hot day, the water that is in the intestine will tend to stay where the electrolytes are rather than moving into the body. . .thus [possibly] contributing to dehydration. " There's more, but that's the jist of it. And of course in this case we're talking about healthy dogs that are competing.

[basenji3]

Nothing makes you feel so helpless and frustrated as seeing your friend sick and can't get to the source of it all. A hug to you and prayers for a turn for the best for booger

[renaultf1]

@agilebasenji:

Also, i just read some interesting info on giving dogs electrolytes (in Chris Zink's new book). it's NOT a good idea for dogs b/c they don't sweat like people do. Here's what she says ". . . humans loose water and electrolytes when they sweat, dogs lose mainly water vapor when they pant. If you give electrolytes to your dog, you add small charged molecules to the intestinal tract. Those molecules tend to draw water to their location. So if you give a dog electorlytes on a hot day, the water that is in the intestine will tend to stay where the electrolytes are rather than moving into the body. . .thus [possibly] contributing to dehydration. " There's more, but that's the jist of it. And of course in this case we're talking about healthy dogs that are competing.

Really interesting…but that makes sense.

[renaultf1]

@tanza:

Hope that it helps.. but wouldn't the first thought to do a scope? Shouldn't the first course to screen/scope for infections like aspergillus infection?
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2102&aid=233

I was wondering the same thing about the scope. If it isn't done and there is something up his nose and that is the source of the problem, would the infection ever stop without the scope being done to diagnose the problem (i.e. after the 3 week course, then the scope, then would more antibiotics be needed?). I don't know, I'm just curious.

Andrew, it sounds like the blood work was a good call and hopefully the little guy makes a big turn around. Definitely sounds like upping the value of his food is getting him to eat which is GREAT! Go Booger!

[nodakerdeb]

Andrew, with his sneezing, lethargy, and bloody nose I wouldn't wait three weeks to see a specialist. I would get that nose scoped asap. He may have something as simple as a unpopped popcorn stuck up there (I just say that as an example). This reminds me of a friend's daughter many years ago. She was a young child – 3 or 4 and she went through a period where she was just sickly. Her breath was horrible and she was on antibiotics off and on. She basically was turning into a failure to thrive type of kid. They were on a miitary base and seeing army docs or more likely medics. Finally, she took her to an ENT specialist thinking she would need her tonsils removed even though they weren't infected. The ENT doc found a swollen pinto bean up her nose! For some reason this kid decided to stick a bean way up her nose. Once the bean was removed she was right as rain in no time and no surgery was required. BTW, why did you name him Booger -- has he been sneezing and having nose issues since you got him? If so he may have a physical defect that has gotten worse and is harboring bacteria that may need to be fixed. Then again, maybe you named him Booger because it's a darn cute name

I can't wait until you get to the bottom of this -- Booger needs to feel like a two year old again.

[renaultf1]

@nodakerdeb:

This reminds me of a friend's daughter many years ago. She was a young child – 3 or 4 and she went through a period where she was just sickly. Her breath was horrible and she was on antibiotics off and on. She basically was turning into a failure to thrive type of kid. They were on a miitary base and seeing army docs or more likely medics. Finally, she took her to an ENT specialist thinking she would need her tonsils removed even though they weren't infected. The ENT doc found a swollen pinto bean up her nose! For some reason this kid decided to stick a bean way up her nose. Once the bean was removed she was right as rain in no time and no surgery was required.

I have to laugh at this story because I had a co-worker to whom a similar thing happened…except it was one of her earrings (a small post) that ended up her daughter's nose. Once that was discovered, the child made a miraculous recovery.

[tanza]

I did the link to Aspergillus because I know of a Basenji that had this (lvoss knows this person that had this dog also). It was something that was not easily found, but Sam (B's owner) was persistant in getting to the bottom of the problem and the B did recover

[wizard]

Glad to hear that things are progessing in a good way and that Booger is still with you.

[Andrew]

Trying to address all the questions/advice at once:

Tanza, I didn't think to ask about the blood values. I will get a copy though. The doctor just let me know that his white blood cell count was elevated and all other values were fine.

As far as the scope goes… when he was just sneezing, the doctor flushed his nasal passages with saline, did x-rays, drew samples from his lymph nodes, etc. At that point, he wasn't very sick so there wasn't a huge sense of urgency. We were trying to knock out the most obvious causes before moving on to a specialist with a scope. When we finished the first round of antibiotics, he perked up for a few days so we thought for a couple of days he was improving. Then he took a sharp turn for the worse. At this point, the poor guy's nose is swollen & sore from licking, and we want to get the infection knocked out before we subject him to any prodding around in his nose.

As far as his name, we came up with that before we got him. We were looking for a puppy, tossing names around, searching the internet for a few weeks. One evening it just popped into Andrew's head, and I thought it was a great, cute name. It suits him well. I can't imagine him with a more dignified name. He has never had nose issues until now, and the irony of his name/condition has not escaped us.

Right now, he has improved a good bit since mid-week. He's still spending the majority of his day and night sleeping, but he's getting up to eat, to go out & to greet us when we come home! Yay!