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Medication Pros & Cons
(Question)
My 12-year-old male vizsla has developed a problem of coughing and then gagging. This occurs about 15 times in a 24-hour period. He’s had this problem for about nine months. I’ve had the dog to the local vet twice. X-rays and blood tests give the dog a clean bill of health. When he gags nothing comes up.
The dog also has developed skin tumors. I had the original tumors surgically removed. Now he’s developed more. What do you suggest I do?
The dog is too old to hunt and is now a retired house pet. He sleeps in his chair most of the time. He is not overweight and has a good appetite. Thank you for your time. --SO
(Answer)
Cough in old dogs is most commonly caused by an inefficient heart. As dogs age their hearts often enlarge, the muscle becomes weak and flabby and the valves fail to close completely. This leads to pooling of blood in the lungs with fluid leaking into the tissue and a resultant cough. This condition is commonly referred to as congestive hear failure. I would expect that the veterinarians who examined your dog would have picked up on this condition if it were present.
Another disease process that I would consider is chronic bronchitis. This irritation of the trachea and airways of the lung can be caused by irritation such as dry air, tobacco smoke and fumes from woodstoves. More serious conditions to rule out are lung tumors and heartworm disease.
I hope that when you had some of the skin tumors removed you had them sent in for pathology. Often in older dogs these tumors over the top line are just benign papillomas and if you know this they are not as worrisome. I would suggest you biopsy some of these and find out what they are.
(Question)
I have been a long-time subscriber to this great magazine. When we had some trouble with medication for our dog, I felt that you should know about this problem and perhaps give a heads-up to your readers.
Two weeks ago I took my golden in to the vet for a check-up so that we would be carrying a valid health certificate when we went hunting in North Dakota last weekend. At the time our dog had been shaking his head and I asked the vet to have a look. She said that there was a bit of build-up in his ears.
She put medication in his ears and told me to put some in each morning and evening. This was on a Monday afternoon and on Wednesday evening our dog was stone deaf.
My husband and I then read the note inside the medication box and it said that for sensitive dogs, hearing loss may be irreversible. I took my dog to the vet on Thursday and explained the situation. The vet then called the manufacturer. In some instances the deafness is permanent but in other cases they get some to all of their hearing back. The medication is called Mometamax.
At this time, it has been two weeks and there is no sign of auditory recognition to any sounds. I had trained him myself and he had lost only two waterfowl in 10 years. He also was a wonder at pheasant. But right now, my wonderful hunting dog is worthless. --SG
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