I’ll kinda start from the beginning with Speck’s ordeal. Remember that he just turned 16 and I’m not being overly optimistic but I am hopeful.
Speck has been on and off antibiotics for about 9 months. He had the sniffles and he would sneeze and do that reverse sneeze thing where it sounded like he was dying. Probably in December, with the vet’s permission, I began giving him a whole Benadryl in the morning and a whole one at night and that helped for a while. When I came back from MO in March, he ran out to meet me and he sneezed and this is gross but there was probably 1/4 cup of green ‘stuff’ that came out of his nose.
Back to the vet and more antibiotics. For the past 2 months, he’s been taking Cipro AND Clavamox. He will take it for 14 days and seem to be good, but within 4 or 5 days of being off it, he’s back to sneezing, wheezing and snorting.
The vet detected a heart murmur and did x-rays to see if there was any enlarging or whatever he was looking for and he said it was all very minor and should not be causing the recurring problems. While Speck was there for the x-ray, he was trying to bite so they put a muzzle on him and he was slinging his head trying to get the muzzle off and they saw lots of the green ‘stuff’ so the vet knew I wasn’t exaggerating.
Even though I wasn’t going to spend the money to get his teeth cleaned again, I went ahead and did that just in case he had a badly infected tooth that was causing the ongoing sinus issues. Nope, teeth weren’t bad.
The vet said Speck might have a tumor in the nasal area and it was causing enough restriction that infections were developing. The only way to know for sure was to take him to Dallas and it’s very expensive for an MRI and we said no . . not for a 16 year old dog.
With the heart murmur being ruled out, the teeth cleaned, we didn’t have a lot of options. When I picked Speck up Monday from the teeth cleaning and the vet said there were no problems that he found in Speck’s mouth, I was sick . . I knew that being out of options meant we didn’t have much time with Speck.
I kept trying to think if there was anything we had done that could be causing an allergic reaction. Anything we were spraying in the yard? Any rug cleaner? Laundry detergent? Candles? Food? I remembered his bed.
Speck’s New Bed
Last July, we bought Speck a nice, new bed. I knew his bones were old and probably achy (I know how I feel!) and figured a good bed would be nice.
Monday night I took the new bed away and put the old pill back for him to sleep on and by Wednesday, he was not sneezing, snorting or wheezing! He’s been off antibiotics now for 5 days but he was still sneezing when he was taking the antibiotics.
I am hopeful that I’m right and there was something in that bed that was causing an allergic reaction. The next few weeks will tell but I don’t think he sneezed once yesterday. We spent a whole lot of money and I cried a lot of tears over my sick fur baby so I am optimistic but, as I said, he’s 16 so each good day we have with him, I will be thankful!
Carolyn says
It does sound like you are on to something. Think I would trash that bed. It will probably take a few days to get that crud out of his system. Age or not allergies are miserable.
JudyL says
We have several friends who bought the same bed and have had no problems. Once Speck is gone, I’ll see how Rita does with it but I’ll know to watch for any signs of problems.
Jean says
Amazing about the bed and good for you to have caught this. So difficult when our fur kids are in serious decline. From my own experience with lots of antibiotics I know they can be very rough on the stomach. Hope he is still up to eating a normal amount.
Diann says
So glad you thought of the bed though eventually the inevitable….sigh. Glad he’s rallying. Such a cute little dog and I enjoy reading about him, Rita and especially Boots. What’s he up to? I guess he’s in the other room so much that he’s learned to quilt. The grubs were awful to look at, deathly afraid of any kind of snake, but love the animals inside and outside esp.
JudyL says
Boots is just being a cat of leisure. He loves it when I sit and knit with him . . for about an hour and then he’s ready or his space back. He’s so happy to see me and he’s also happy to see me go. I thought maybe he didn’t like my music so I stopped turning it on but he still seems to be ready to go find his place of solitude after about an hour with me. But if I stay gone a couple of hours and go back for an hour, he’s happy to see me again. I do almost all my knitting over there this time of year. It’s much easier to cool that room.
Sherrill says
WOW! That really looks like a nice comfy bed but certainly not worth it if it’s causing Speck problems. Sure hope that’s the ‘cure’ and he’ll be feeling better in no time (for a pup his age).
Kim says
I few months ago one of our dogs developed a UTI and he was put on antibiotics for 6 weeks, he’s and older guy so I know how you feel about Speck. Hope you’re onto something with removing the bed.
Carolyn says
Have you considered doing a review in that bed? What about reporting to the powers that be? It could sure save other dogs or cats misery.
JudyL says
I’m sure it’s just an allergy to something in it. Lots of people have issues with memory foam too. Chad has the bed for his Speck and they’ve had no problems. Reviews online are great so you can’t fault a company when a small percentage of dogs may be allergic. A friend bought the bed the same time we did for their dog and they’ve had no problems.
I’ve never been one to believe in limiting everyone because a few people have problems with a product.
Mary Jo says
I bought a similar bed for my dog several years ago. She developed terrible sores on her stomach that we spent many dollars and many hours of trying to push antibiotics down her throat. I finally pulled our her old bed…no more sores!
Sue Lord says
I hope Speck gets better soon. It definitely could be the bed. I have lost several dogs and it hurt me deeply. Thinking of you and speck.
Theresa says
You might give Speck some unsweetened yogurt to put back some healthy bacteria. Purina has a product called Fortiflora that we’ve had good results with.
Sharon Downey says
I think your right and there was something in that bed. My daughter used to break out something awful on her face, skin and even in her hair. It turned out she is allergic to the agent that makes soaps, toothpaste, etc foam. Since she has gone to Sensodyne and and using only certain soaps that have eliminated that substance her skin is cleared up and her teeth no longer ache. The chemical is sulfates. They are in clothes soaps and finishes for fabrics. I hope Speck is feeling much better.
obed101 says
Hey, we’ve had weirder things happen! Maybe that is the answer to the problem. With any luck, he will do better and make it to 17!
Bon says
You can always know that you have given Speck a good home and lots of love. More than the majority of pets get. Speck is one blessed doggy.
Vicky says
Penny does that reverse sneeze thing. After many dollars and a trip to a vet cardiologist, they said nothing can be done except give antibiotics when it gets really bad. They did find an enlarged aortic valve. She’s only seven. I think it’s the yard here. She’s never spent this much time walking on grass – and rolling in it and digging in it. Hope Speck get some relief now that the bed is removed.
Dottie N. says
Sounds like Speck might be allergic to something with that bed. We (animals and people) aren’t all the same when it comes to allergens (or sensitivity to allergens).
Rebecca in SoCal says
Good detective work, Judy! I’m optimistic that Speck’s quality of life is now improved.
p.s. Good thing you didn’t go for the MRI!