Light cough

[jlaack]

A few days ago Magnus started a light and very occassional cough. It doesn't sound like the typical kennel cough and will happen maybe 4 times in a row than a couple times much, much later. Anyhow he has never had a cough like this. I took him to the vet and he appears perfectly healthy. Of course just like a car making a weird noise he didn't cough at the vets offices. We did a CBC an no signs of infection at this time though we did bring him in on day 2. I have been taking his temperature since and that is normal as is his eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, energy, etc. He had a full blood panel done in May (part of the annual workup we elect to do) and that was normal.

The vet looked pretty far down his throat, in his nostrils and I had previously checked his mouth carefully. The chances that he got into something are very slight.

About two weeks ago he had a very mild yeast infection in his ear that we treated but he has been off the treatment since last week and his ears are fine.

Any thoughts? Oh and he does NOT have the Bordatella vaccine though the dogs he has direct contact with do except for Harley who only has contact with Magnus.

[twomanydogs]

I have no idea if your area is infected but...Last year my dane boy had a slight cough,then a fever. He had blastomycosis. He was tested for it but the results came back negative(not uncommon).It was misdiagnosed as puemonia.

Just something you may want to check. OR Dept Of Health would have any statistics.
Probably online.

[Sharon Marples]

I would not worry about him not having the bordetella vaccine, we never vacciniate any of our puppies or dogs with that.

If it continues, or gets worse, I would have a cardiologist check him out. There could be fluid building up around his heart, or going into his lungs. Certainly nothing to get all worried about at this point, but possibly a heart check in the future would be good. And it needs to be a cardiologist, your regular vet is not trained to detect the types of murmurs that can advise you of other problems.

If you need to find a cardiologist in your area, here is a list of them. The one you would want to go to is Gary Wood. He is excellent, and normally does heart clinics at the January Portland shows each year. We have had him do echos on several of our dogs in the past.

http://www.gdhfa.org/BoardCertifiedCardiologists.htm

Hopefully it is just due to some allergy or a slight cold. Keep us posted.

[jlaack]

Thanks for the info! I need to update my profile--will do so after I post. We moved to Madison WI and yes Blasto also exists here. I am a little familiar with it... When my senior was dx with Osteo and we were trying to find a surgeon for a limb spare the oncologist at UWMadison asked if we tested for Blasto... Interestingly Blasto doesn't exist in OR. I will keep that on the radar since my younger pup is originally from WI and we have been here since June. We have also taken several trips throughout the summer to a lake in northern Wi.

If the Blasto titer came back negative how did you finally get the DX? Currently his temp is normal. I am taking plan on taking it daily till the cough is gone or we have an answer.

Sharon I hear you on the B. vaccine. I know several people who administer it regularly and their dogs still get kennel cough it has many more shortcommings than other vaccines. We mostly titer our dogs for the major diseases.

UW Madison has a cardiology dept so I can get a referral there. Do you think we should do so now or only if things worsen or additional symptoms appear? Right now he is quite normal except for the cough. We describe him as our "energizer bunny" and that hasn't changed.

We actually moved back to Madison because the house we are living in had a significant mold problem that was causing all of us to cough and not feel the best. We did the titer testing for most of the molds he was exposed to and it came back neg. I keep wondering if it could be related. The only further testing we could do to firmly rule out the mold is to scope his lungs and sinuses, or perform exploratory surgery in these areas both of which I am really, really hestitant to do....

For now I have an herbal immune boosting supplement. I think I might give him a weeks worth.

If you have any other thoughts from my reply let me know.

[Sharon Marples]

Originally Posted by jlaack

Sharon I hear you on the B. vaccine. I know several people who administer it regularly and their dogs still get kennel cough it has many more shortcommings than other vaccines. We mostly titer our dogs for the major diseases.

UW Madison has a cardiology dept so I can get a referral there. Do you think we should do so now or only if things worsen or additional symptoms appear? Right now he is quite normal except for the cough. We describe him as our "energizer bunny" and that hasn't changed.

We actually moved back to Madison because the house we are living in had a significant mold problem that was causing all of us to cough and not feel the best. We did the titer testing for most of the molds he was exposed to and it came back neg. I keep wondering if it could be related. The only further testing we could do to firmly rule out the mold is to scope his lungs and sinuses, or perform exploratory surgery in these areas both of which I am really, really hestitant to do....

For now I have an herbal immune boosting supplement. I think I might give him a weeks worth.

If you have any other thoughts from my reply let me know.

I don't think it's necessary to run in for the heart test yet. Wait and see what he does. Since blasto is around there, I would keep an eye on him for more of those symptoms. I would also tend to want to wait before doing anything invasive on him such as the scoping, etc. since his cough is just a light one and he is still active, eating, drinking and pooping well. I do think that any herbal supplements you can give him is an excellent idea. Make sure he is also getting vit C to boost his immune system just in case something is trying to work on it.

[jlaack]

I will keep an eye on him. It's probably just a little cold. I would feel awful if I missed something. He has class next week if he is still coughing I am going to keep him home. We use a general herbal immune boosting supplement for our cancer dog. I can give it to Mags. He also gets a multivitamin with Vit C included.

I'll keep an eye out for blasto symptoms but hope it is just a cold. If anything new develops I will definitely post.

[szky]

My Buster had a light cough that the Vets dx as kennel cough for 3 months (handled by enough antibiotics to cure an elephant). Finally a 4th Vet did a X-Ray and found a problem with a lobe in his lung. Long story short, he had OS in his lung with no underlying bone tumor (a very rare condition). You might want to get a chest/lung X-ray.

[twomanydogs]

I do not want to harp on blasto but be sure and mention it to your vet. The first vet I went to was unfamilar and wasted to much time misdiagnosing him. He assured me we need not worry about Blasto.

Blasto can show up in eyes, skin, bones(limp), lungs and organs.

They found the Blasto by Asperating(sp) the lungs and spending time reading the slides.

Have you told a vet about the mold issuses?

I brought a new foster home a few months ago that had been vaccinated for kennel cough. He brought kennel cough with him anyway.

Xrays are a good idea.

I wish you the best.
Sarah

[jlaack]

Hi Szky--I am familiar with Osteo our eldest dog has it. Magnus is only 3 though...

Sarah--the vet knows about the mold issues and performed the mold titers. At this point the additional testing for mold would be conducted by scopes or surgeries.

Blasto can show up in eyes, skin, bones(limp), lungs and organs.

Considering this is aspirating the lungs the best way to try to DX?? Or just in your dogs case? Thanks for the information.

[twomanydogs]

It was the best way only because a problem was apparent in his lungs. Xrays of bones,the vet would look in the eyes and skin lesions are visable.
The blood test is not completly accurate but I just had both my dogs tested last week.
Negative test results mean nothing but a positive one is a sure thing.
I get my Rottie checked everytime he coughs,sneezes, limps...
Google Minnesota State Health Department/Blastomycosis. Lots of information.
I will look for a link and see if I can post it. Maybe in one of my posts from last year when we were going through it.

Regardless this is good information to have and share with fellow dog owners in these areas.

Hope you pup has a cold!

[jlaack]

Twomanydogs I did a little more research on Blasto. Right now the only fitting symptom is the cough. His temp is still 101.3 which is disgusting normal for him. I also checked his body over very careful from nose to tail and didn't see/feel any sores or bumps on his skin. We typically do that about once a week during the bath anyhow. No runny nose, eyes, etc.

In your opinion having dealt with the Blasto should I still proceed to investigate this as a possibility for the cough right now or wait and do so if he has more symptoms? From what I saw online the fever is almost a sure bet with Blasto...

I left a VM for the training asking if any other dogs are coughing. I probably should have done so right away. If they have a sick dog then he probably picked something up there.

[twomanydogs]

Sounds like you watch him/check him over very reguarly already.
If your problems continue and you go back to the vet I would of course mention it and have them check his eyes.
Blasto at least in my case was VERY fast moving. Cough one day fever (105) 2 days later.
Organ shut down with about a week and a half. Very Very fast. With working with a "Great Dane Lady" she and my Vet said this was common for Blasto. Your boy has no more symtoms so I would not worry so much about Blasto but I personally will always have the Vets check for it when any abnormalities occur.



Please keep us updated

[jlaack]

Thanks for the additional advice. His cough isn't getting worse either (though it isn't better either). His temp is still normal. Poor guy! You can tell he is a little tired of the daily temperature readings.

[jlaack]

So Magnus' cough went away a bit last week and now it is back. However now it only happens after he drinks water and a little water and sometimes food is coming up with the cough. Not much just 1 paper towel cleans up the mess. Any thoughts?

His temp is still normal I am still taking every day. Everything else appears fine. Do you think his liquids are just going down the wrong tube?