Noisy breathing. - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

Toby'shuman · 01-30-2013, 04:53 AM

Just recently Russell has started breathing very noisily and it has me worried.

So much so I am considering taking him to the vet even though he doesnt appear to be ill.
Granted he has put some weight on since his brother died, for which I have put him on a diet and despite his best efforts to get me to feed him more he is slowly loosing it. So whilst part of me thinks it may be due to him being somewhat chubbier than he used to be I find myself thinking if that were the case shouldnt it be getting better now he is returning to his slimmer self. Instead it seems to be getting more noticeable and more frequent, now it happens whenever he goes to sleep.
It doesnt sound like a snore, but instead sounds rattley almost fluidy.

He hasnt lost his apetite.
Is as keen as he ever was to go out for a walk, however, he doesnt run around as much as he did but in truth I put that down to him being a little podgier than before.
He doesnt appear to have a temperature, (though I havent checked it)
And he is bright eyed, pink gummed and seems okay except for his breathing.

Half the time when I take my dogs into the vets they just look at me as if to say, 'what on earth are you on about women, the dog is fine' and whilst this doesnt bother me, I fear taking the dogs in for 'nothing' will lead them to thinking me akin to the boy who cried 'wolf'.

It is so hard, when the dog doesnt appear to be ill and yet you know he is just not right or something is bothering you. Maybe I am being a bit panicky, having just lost his brother (his breathing sounded pretty similar at times) I am projecting my fear of what happened to him onto Russell.

I have been thinking about seeing if some eucalyptus oils burning in the room might help him. But don't want to mask the problem if I later end up having to take him to the vets. Have any of you guys tried herbal remedies to help ease a wheezy chest in your dogs?

Or would you just say, 'suck it up and take him to see the vet?' I won't be offended, I genuinley need other dog people to let me know what they think, because bless him, my hubby hasn't an inkling of what goes on in my head regards my dogs and doesnt understand the way I am with them.

But you guys do.

Darkevs · 01-30-2013, 10:52 AM

check his temperature (normal ranges from 100 to 102.5 degrees F)... do you know how to check his pulse (normal: 70 to 130 beats per minute at rest)?.........respiration ( 10 to 30 breaths per minute at rest)?.....got a stethoscope?

he needs to have someone listen to his heart and lungs.

then go from there.

Hugz.

Sam1491 · 01-30-2013, 11:03 AM

I'm with darkevs, you can do some minimal watching/testing at home and see where he rates from there.

If he's normal it still may not hurt to take him, sounding fluidy is never a good thing, and makes me worry about pneumonia or some form of chest congestion. Especially since he's a tad older is he not?
Has he been coughing at all or had a runny and/or congested nose?

Toby'shuman · 01-30-2013, 11:56 AM

Russells nose is wet, as in slightly runny, I noticed it this morning when he rubbed it on my face, yuk!
I dont have a stethoscope, (unfortunately) but I do have several thermometers so one can be earmarked for the dogs.
Thanks for the temps and respiration rates, I didnt know about that, jeese the more I come onto this site the more I realise I haven't got a bloody clue about anything.

Will let you guys know what comes of everything.

Would any of you recommend using eucalyptus in a burner or the like, to try and ease his breathing?

Darkevs · 01-30-2013, 01:08 PM

Noisy Breathing in Dogs | petMD

http://www.thedogsite.com.au/all-abo...tory-problems/

Dog Wheezing | Dog Breathing Problem

RedFawnRising · 01-30-2013, 07:44 PM

Go to the vet---oxygen ain't exactly optional.

**EmilyB** · 01-30-2013, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toby'shuman

I fear taking the dogs in for 'nothing' will lead them to thinking me akin to the boy who cried 'wolf'.

Why would you care what the hell they think?

Hope you get it figured out soon.

Toby'shuman · 01-31-2013, 03:07 AM

Appointment made for this afternoon, will let you guys know what the vet thinks.

Darkevs,

for the links and

to the rest of you for your input, sometimes I need a kick up the backside to remind me, that it doesnt matter what the world thinks, only my dog.

Darkevs · 01-31-2013, 10:55 AM

hey, you knew you were going to get the Vet to check him out.

when in doubt.............

but it is good to 'arm' yourself with some information before your appointment.

then you will understand more of what your Vet will be discussing with you.

and i think everyone should know what a dogs normal physiologic data is.

hope all goes well at the Vets.

update us when you can, please.

Hugz!

Toby'shuman · 01-31-2013, 12:01 PM

Just back, Vet seems to think it could be a virul infection despite not having a temperature. Not sure how that works but hey, I am not a Vet, so....

Blood has been drawn and a swab of his nose (not sure why she did that, remember there is a language barrier in play and whilst I can speak Spanish it becomes a bit stilted when she is throwing medical terms out at me, anyhow) both have been sent off to the labs. In the meantime she has given him some anti-biotics. (broad spectrum) I wasnt too keen on the idea of just giving him medication for a just in case scenario, (what if the bugs become immune and all that) but she said it was better to be safe than sorry.

Results may be back tomorrow or it could be Monday, (this place is sooooo slow) so if anything specific shows up I will let you know. Otherwise he is his chipper self, especially when being fed sausages though he says I can leave out the pill stuffed inside lol!

Thanks guys for letting me pick your brains.

4Dobes · 01-31-2013, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toby'shuman

Appointment made for this afternoon, will let you guys know what the vet thinks.

Darkevs,

for the links and

to the rest of you for your input, sometimes I need a kick up the backside to remind me, that it doesnt matter what the world thinks, only my dog.

You know your dog not the vet. Always trust your own instinct.

I went through the same doubt with Darcy. Early last year she started acting differently, nothing you could put your finger on but enough for me to know something wasn't right.
She stopped sitting on command, any picture we took she always preferred to lie down. We had her hips X-rayed, all normal.
She then stopped getting up to welcome you and would just lie in her bed wagging her tail and wait for you to go to her, some nights she would go off to bed by herself, during the night she couldn't get comfortable, a few days she would stay in bed and not want to come out for walks then when she did she wouldn't always jump in the back of the car etc etc etc.
basically she started acting like an old lady.

During this time I took her back to the vets nearly every fortnight. She had every test you can imagine, all came back negative.
I then noticed muscle wastage on her rear, she was tested for cushions, again results were negative.

I know my vets thought I was this hypochondriac dog owner but I never gave up.
I new my dog they didn't.

Luckily one day I saw another vet. The day before I was sure Darcy's gait had changed although it was hard to tell as she wasn't exactly lame. The new vet read through her records and actually listened to me. She agreed that although Darcy wasn't presenting any symptoms the way she tried to sit wasn't right and said she was going to refer Darcy to a neurologist to do some further tests and a MRI. She suspected early wobblers.

The neurologist did the tests and ruled out Wobblers but again couldn't find anything that stood out other than the awkward way Darcy tried to sit.
She then got the orthopaedic surgeon to look at her prior to her going down for an MRI.
He saw that she was 2/10th lame in her r/h leg but she wasn't showing any pain when manipulating it.
He rang me and said that they were going to do a cranial draw but he was only going on gut instinct.

His instinct was right and she finally got diagnosed with Degenerative Cruciate Disease.
Basically her ligaments had been fraying slowly over the year.
It was only because she also had a meniscus tear that she was showing up as 2/10th lame.

So yes I am proud to be a hypochondriac dog owner and I am so glad that I listened to my gut instinct.

Hope all goes well at the vets for you and please never let what they think put you off taking any of your dogs. After all that what they are there for.

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