Help For My Dog

[pepperdog]

Took my poor little Maltese to have her teeth cleaned yesterday. She has had a horrible hacking cough that contorts her whole body ever since I brought her home, kind of like she is try to expell something. Called the vet, he said not to worry. At one this morning called an emergency vet, he said not to worry. We've been up all night with her all night and it's no better. She is able to drink a little water, very little, has had no food since day before yesterday. I am very concerned as well as very tired. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can help her?

[pepperdog]

Update on Maggie. I had to take her back to the vet at 11:30am as she started coughing worse than before. She couldn't lay down and seemed to have to sit up very straight or have me hold her in a vertical position. The vet, her regular doctor, gave her another shot and some Torbutrol tablets. He asked to bring her back to his office at 6pm. I think he is concerned.

When I got her home she drank a lot of water and ate a little. Right now she has just, for the first time, laid down for a little bit, about five minutes. She coughed a little but then seemed to settle in. The poor thing is exhausted. I never dreamed that merely having the teeth cleaned could cause all this. I may never have her teeth cleaned again!

[Feiny]

Many dogs & cats die after being put under anesthesia. I usually have my dogs teeth cleaned by a lady who uses no anesthesia. But, 6 months ago my dog had some tumors removed so I had the vet do her teeth at that time also....she was fine.

I hope your maltese is OK, I just met one sweet little maltese named Romeo the other day....he was adorable.

[SE Mom]

GOOD for you...started reading the thread and was worried til I read your report. My dogs will send puprayers for her:)

[Rightfootforward]

"Update on Maggie. I had to take her back to the vet at 11:30am as she started coughing worse than before."


What are the vets saying her condition is? Did they give it a specific name? Were her lungs x-rayed? I'm not a vet but it sounds like she may have aspirated fluid into her lungs. Treating symptomatically will likely make Maggie feel better, but the vets need to know the cause and the cure for this upset. Can't get to the latter till they know the former, that sort of thing..

You sound like a really good owner. Maggie's lucky to have you in her corner. I'll tell our Chloe to send lots of puppy prayers. She's good at that sort of thing. Hasn't lost a case yet. We only wish you and Maggie well, hope that's coming across.

[pepperdog]

Thanks for the kind words. The vets (both) have assured me that there is no fluid in her lungs. I asked my vet if there might be something caught in her airway but he said no. It seems to me that the fact that she ceases coughing when held in a vertical position would be a clue, but to what I can't guess. I've told both vets about this phenomena but got no response.

I'm thinking that perhaps the trach tube caused damage, or possibly she has anesthetic poisoning. I tried to do a search on the symptoms of anesthetic poisoning but couldn't seem to find anything. Right now she is laying down and not coughing and it's two hours until we go back to the vet. Maybe we are finally on the way to being over this. My greatest fear is that it will return when the steroid shot wears off.

[birbear]

I'm always leary of vets who insist on having dog's teeth cleaned. I hear too many stories like yours, where relatively healthy dogs have severe reactions afterwards.

It always seemed like just a way to milk more money out of the dog owner than it does anything positive for the dog. And if you give your dogs the denta sticks or whatever that help clean teeth while the dog chews on it, I'm really not seeing the advantage of putting a dog under for teeth cleaning.

Just my two cents.. and I hope your puppy gets better.

[DumpsterDiver]

It's good to hear that your dog is doing better. Since having her teeth cleaned caused so much trouble, buy yourself some toothpaste and a toothbrush designed for dogs and brush her teeth for her at home. Maybe doing that would avoid any further teeth cleaning done at the vet's.

[Dinsdale]

Dog tooth cleaning is a racket.

Get the dog a nice big beef bone every six months (I get mine a couple of cow femers, but they are big dogs). They will live out their days with clean teath.

It's much cheaper then the vet cleaning them, the dogs love it.

[MomwithHope]

Glad to hear you went to the vet. Keep us posted.

[Rightfootforward]

"Right now she is laying down and not coughing and it's two hours until we go back to the vet. Maybe we are finally on the way to being over this."


May Miss Maggie be on the road to recovery! Please keep us posted. Take care.

[pepperdog]

Took Maggie Mae for her 6pm appt with the vet. He gave her another shot of Cefazolin, her third today and her fifth shot. I am to take her back at 7:30am and then mid-day and evening for three more shots, he said that if she was doing well then he would change to pills.

Still haven't been told exactly what is wrong, but he said the Cefazolin was an strong antibiotic and that she doesn't have any fever now, I didn't know she did before, but I thought she felt a bit hot. She is still coughing if she tries to bark or if she gets excited and moves a lot.

I am going to do as suggested on this forum, get bones--somewhere--and let the dogs chew on them. I remember I used to get the bone from round steak and our first Yorkie had great teeth for a long time. She only got dirty teeth after I could no longer find the bones. Maybe I can buy some on ebay ;-)

Thanks to everyone for caring about my little girl, my puppies are very precious to me and I appreciate those who understand my strong attachment.

[Sandy]

Sounds like she's going to be okay. Very good to hear. Tomorrow see if you can get a definitive diagnosis for us. I'm really curious to know exactly what is/was wrong.

P.S. I recommend you don't sleep through the night. You should check on her every hour or 2. Hope you have lots of coffee. :-)

[Rightfootforward]

"Still haven't been told exactly what is wrong, but he said the Cefazolin was an strong antibiotic and that she doesn't have any fever now, I didn't know she did before, but I thought she felt a bit hot. She is still coughing if she tries to bark or if she gets excited and moves a lot."

Urge you to pin down the vet for a solid diagnosis. You have every right to know what he thinks is going on.

Question. Did he run a blood test before he cleaned her teeth? Our vet insists upon that in order to be sure no underlying illness is present. Other question being, what type of anesthesia did he give her? Today most vets rely on a combination of sedation and aerrane gas -- which is much, much safer than the old-fashioned IV sedation that could sometimes overwhelm their systems.

Got curious about Cefazolon. I don't always trust medical websites so I checked more than one. According to what I read, Cefazolon is an antibiotic that's used on a wide range of infections - most commonly of the skin, urinary tract, bones, and/or the respiratory tract. All the sites reported the drug is often used to treat infections until culture results are available. Can't remember, did your vet culture Maggie? Sounds like it would have been a good idea.

Info also stated that possible side effects of the med are rare. Which is good since she's such a little girl. Negative effects include drooling, rapid breathing, rashes and excitability. Sorry, if I'm repeating what you've already been told. Just want to be sure you're up to speed.

Best to you and Maggie. Agree that it would probably be wisest for you to check on her throughout the night. Once again, take care and good luck.

[codyjacksmom]

Great to hear Maggie is doing better, she is lucky to have you. You can find good dog bones at any pet store. My Great Pyrenees goes crazy when he doesn't have a bone to chew on.

Hope the night is going well with your baby, and please give us an update later today.

[MomwithHope]

Another post is right, pin your vet down for a diagnosis. Regarding bones, our maltese gets the poops after eating bones. He gets rawhide chews which he does dismantle and eats a little but they are the digestible kind and don't give him the poops. We also give him a rope chew, they do make small ones, and I think they get his teeth cleaner than anything, because he can really bite into them. Glad your little Maggie is better. Best wishes from me and my little Yogi.

[ovrtaxt]

I'v seen greyhounds with one floppy ear and one straight, of course it's natural in greyhounds, they don't get cropped.

I say leave his ears alone, it probably looks cute!

[Diddle E. Squat]

When teeth are cleaned, they shed numerous bacteria. Anyone who takes a dog to get its teeth cleaned needs to make sure it's put on antibiotics before and after as a preventative measure. The vet will think you're nuts, but have him do it anyway. I can't tell you how many people I've heard of that took a healthy dog to have its teeth cleaned and it ended up sick. Tell the vet you want a strong broad spectrum antibiotic for your dog.

Darn, I'm getting my teeth cleaned this week, now something else to worry about. Am not a dog, but still...

[Truth29]

"Urge you to pin down the vet for a solid diagnosis."

Couldn't agree more. The following is regarding a cat,but the vet behavior applies to dogs also. My cat was diagnosed as having hyperthyroidism by our local vet and placed on a daily medication (tapazole). His appetite decreased and he was then put on an appetite stimulant as well as the tapazole. He continued to lose appetite and became listless. Took him back again with the question was the medication causing this condition - was assured that his problems were not medication was not medication caused. He stopped eating almost completely except from cured ham which the vet said was bad for him and he should not be given the only food he would still eat. Long story short: I badgered the vet for a referral to a specialist who subsequently diagnosed an adverse drug reaction, took him off the medication and said to feed him all the ham he wanted. He is much better now and we are awaiting a slot for radioiodine treatment that is the long term solution for his problem which is thyroid tumors.

Moral of the story, question the vet and get second opinions.

[gopheraj]

We had a dobie that we taped the ears just with tape all the way down. It took a while on her ears too. Just kept re-taping them.

[stinkypew]

I've been building a frame out of pipe cleaners, covering that with tape, and taping it to his ear.

It works, but there has to be something much easier. Takes me a solid hour. Been to the Great Dane Lady's site and used her method, but it's only for two ears.

What's the latest on the cough?