[reallybigtoad]

Hi Everybody.

I'm new to the board and very glad I found this site.

We've recently adopted a 5 month old male American Bulldog (Hurley) from a local shelter to give our 7 month old female AmStaff (Lucy) a friend. They both get along great so far, but we're always watching for the first sign of trouble. Lucy has been well socialized from 8 weeks and we've never had a problem around other animals so far.

Anyways, I'm a little concerned about our new boy, he seems to have a cold judging from the green snot he's blowing out his nose from time to time. He also sort of coughs up a little flem. At first we thought he was barfing, but it's more like post nasal drip or something. Is this something I should rush to the vet with or should I give him a few days to recover on his own?

What can I do to help him?

oh, one more thing, he's a little underweight from his previous owners neglect, but we feed them both a raw diet which they gobble up.

thanks,
-todd

 

[Pitchic27]

It sounds like an upper respitory infection - it's in your pups lungs you need to get it to the vet ASAP, get some antibiotics going before pneumonia sets in...today.

 

[augrad]

Yup - sounds like kennel cough. It's a virus, like the doggie flu, and it will run its course. But like pitchic said, it can turn into pneumonia, so I would take him to see your vet. They will probably give antibiotics and guifenasen (sp?) for his cough and congestion. Poor baby - I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Alf]

I was going to say the same thing. Get to the vet. We adopted from the shelter and Misty brought home kennel cough. It's best that you take both of your dogs in at the same time. It is VERY contagious. I also passed along to my neighbors not to walk their new pup through our yard as my 2 could make her sick.

Hope things get sorted soon.

 

[reallybigtoad]

Thank you very much for the quick responses. I'm bummed, but glad I know at the same time. I guess we're off to the vet.

thanks.

 

[havoc]

Hope your little one is feeling better soon.
I've had to take Philo to the vet for the same things 2x now. She is now almost 11mo, but does anyone know,
are ABs prone to getting these respiratory infections?

We haven't had any problems for a few months, so I didn't know if was just building up the immune system
or just bad luck???

 

[Pitchic27]

Let us know what the vet says, keep us updated!

 

[reallybigtoad]

Well, the vet confirmed that Hurley does indeed have Kennel Cough. He's been put on antibiotics. We'll be watching Lucy very closely for signs of the infection.

We're upping both their vitamins and veggie intake to try and boost their immune systems to fight it off.

I'll update as things progress.

-todd

 

[reallybigtoad]

Hurley's getting worse

Well, after a week of antibiotics, Hurley's back at the vet.

He's not showing any improvement and now the vet wants to keep him overnight for additional tests. By the way, we took him to our previous vet as we're not happy with the new one. It's about 30 miles away, but well worth the trip.

He's very lathargic, coughing occasionally, and last night vomited his food back up. He's on a BARF diet.

He's a rescue case, so we don't know his history, but we've become very attached in the 2 weeks since we adopted him.

What else could it be?

-todd

 

[reallybigtoad]

Update - BARF question

Vet X-Rays show a fair amount of fluid in his lungs (7 out of 10, with 10 being the worst case).

He also has what appears to be an undigested bone that could be blocking his intestines. Last nights dinner was Turkey backs, Saturday was ground beef w/ veggies, Friday night was chicken leg quarters. They will wait to see if he passes it tonight. Has this happened to others feeding BARF?

I'm getting worried.
-todd

 

[augrad]

Awww cripes, Todd. That sucks! I had a puppy whose kennel cough turned into pneumonia. She was very sick as well, but she did pull through. Poor Hurley!

Please keep us updated on his condition. We're keeping our fingers crossed for you. [-o<

 

[reallybigtoad]

Hurley can home this evening after 3 days in the vet hospital being treated for Pneumonia that developed from Kennel Cough.

He was on IV antibiotics and fluids while there and has now been prescribed Cephalexin 500mg 2X per day.

He seems a lot better now, but still not 100%.

What else can be done to help clear out the fluid in his lungs?

thanks,
-todd