nosebleed - Page 1

Our male 8.5 yr gs is at the vet as i type...  Last eve he had a major nosebleed - there had been minor ones before and UW vet had prescribed an oral spray 1X/wk for a mo. but discharge cont. (no bleeding yet), then his reg vet gave us a week of pills 2X daily for a week: antibio + steroids) which seemed to help but day 9 we had major nosebleed and reg vet referred to current vet who will x-ray and use fiber optic to check for tumor or foreign mattter...  That brings us to the present...  I was heartened by Melanie's experience with Reno and the replies of her re3aders and hope someone can offer any couynsel that would help. I quite literally owe my life to this service dog...

We are not prepared to part...

Aye! tis very good t' lad be gettin X-rayed. In case they still can't find what be wrong, be a good idea to get t' lad on some Vit K aye. Keep ice packs handy for t' lad's muzzle. T' ice will constrict t' blood vessels aye. Also might ask t' Vet to draw ye a few syringes of some Acepromazine aye. T' Ace is very, very safe and can be given Sub Q(under the skin) .......its a safe tranq and will calm t' lad and slow t' blood pressure way down aye. Help to stop t' nosebleed. T' Ace tabs are too slow to work and no where near as effective aye. 

 There are several possibilities as to the cause of nosebleeds, some more treatable than others. It is important that someone who is very good in this area check this out as this is absolutely not normal. Keep us posted and best wishes.

My male had a nose bleed once.  The Vet did a quick peek up his nose with the lighted scope say a little inflamation but in her eyes not enough to cause the nose bleed.  So I left him and the plan was to Xray first to look for obstructions or tumors, then she was going to call me while he was still under with what she found or didn't find.  She called and we decided that the Rhinoscope and possible sinus flush in order.  When I went to get my guy, she didn't find any tumors or pollups(sp) but on the Sinus flush she got a lot of as she said blood and gunk.  So she sent the gunk off to be cultured, but gave me a broad spectrum antibioitic to get him started on until the culture info came back.  Well he was on two different Antibioitics there was Staph and something else can't remember the name but one anitbiotic wouldn't work on both.  He was on Cephalexin for a fairly long time because 1. Staph can be a bit of a bugger to get rid of and 2. We wanted to make sure we got it and not have to know the boy out again to get a culture to check.  I hope that it is something as simple as an infection. 

Is it an older dog?  My Fero Zeuterner Himmelreich son got these after he was diagnosed with cancer.  His body no longer had any clotting factors......he went DIC and passed away! 

I sure hope this is not the case with your boy!  Prayers are with you two!

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com

Feeper:

Don't get discouraged yet, but please continue to have your dog tested until you find out what is causing the nose bleeds.  Reno sufferred horrible ear infections for the first 7 years of her life.  Ended up with Staff and psyedomones infections in both ears at 7 1/2 years old.  Finally after years of her suffering, she seemed infection free.  When she turned 8 the nose bleeds started.  One minute she would be eating out of her bowl, and the next it would be filled with blood.  Scared the daylights out of me.  First time I took her to the vet, they checked her over and said not to worry.  Then it continued so he reccomended I take her to a specialist who conducted a Rhinoscope and detected a mass.  (My vet has the pictures) . When I went to pick her up he matter of factly told me my beautiful 8 year old dog had maybe 3 to 6 months to live and if I agreed to have her operated on and radiation treatments - maybe her life could be extended to 6 to 9 months.  They did not take a biopsy and told me in order to do that they would have to put her back under and she would have to stay the night.  He told me that he was 97% sure of the type of tumor (cannot remember it at the moment), but that it was always terminal.  I was so upset, and just wanted to take her home, I told him to forget about the biopsy.  He told me that most people in my situation would euthanize the dog immediately rather than refuse treatment.   I went home and cried all over poor Reno and within a few weeks went out and bought another shepherd because I just could not imagine coming home to an empty  house.  The nose bleeds continued, and I was told eventually she would no longer be able to fall asleep as the tumor would grow and move into the other sinus cavity and since dogs cannot sleep with their mouths open, she would eventually have to be put down.

Sometimes I would come home with blood everywhere and large pieces  of blood clots all over the floor.  These episodes were horrible to watch, but she still had more good days than bad.  I would run vaporizers in the bathroom and put the decongestant in it when her breathing was bad.  This went on for about a year and then eventually the nose bleeds became less frequent and less severe and toward the last year of her life, she only had maybe 3.  My vet would call Reno the amazing miracle dog.  I never took her in for more tests, because the vets were convinced that she was terminal.  She lived just shy of her 14 birthday.  She was a great dog, but I can tell you that I lived the last 6 years of her life thinking that I could lose her at any minute.  If I had it all to do over, I would have had it biopsed and removed so she would not have had the issues she did.  She died at home quietly in her sleep.

I wish you the best and hope your dog has many healthy and happy years left with you,

Cheryl

Thanks for your kind words.  Trooper is home now.  The Xray showed a questionable shadow at the rear outside of his nasal cavity which vet said he could not see well with his device - took 7 samples for biopsy.  It was almost 6 hrs before we again saw our dog.  He was inert and needed to be aided in standing and making his way to the car but sat for the 20 min ride home and was able to stagger up stairs to the bed room and lie down.  He is very still and has not shown interest in water.  I didn't expect the sedation to be this prolonged.  There is a small amount of blood on his paw and the carpet near his nose but breathing is clear - if shallow.  All in all it has been a traumatic day for us all.  The vet supplied syringes of Acepromozine at our request and some morphine based tablets to help keep him calm.  He suggested we use harness instead of collar.  The $1200 tab went to plastic...  That I don't mind if it is part of Troopers recovery.  I don't like being sequestered in the "comfort" room while procedures of import are conducted, but I suppose the vet is better able to operate if he knows the owner is elsewhere.  I should prefer to reside on a world where my good shepherd lived many more joyous years.  I've not done much online but must say am most thankful to have the support of loving and experienced folks.  John

HEMOPHILIA.... beware...

 Feeper,

The biopsies are important and hopefully will shed some light on this as to cause. The important thing for now is just let the dog rest. The dog will drink and later eat. A harness rather than a collar if you must have the dog on leash is probably not a bad idea. But keeping the dog relatively quiet so the biopsied areas don't bleed is important too.

Sedation for something like this generally has to be a deeper sedation. Think of it as if he has a hangover. He will be fine from this in a few more hours.

Keep us posted and good luck.