Panting Pup

[MelissaC]

Hi there,

I could use some help in sorting through some issues that, Emmy, my six year old spayed female golden mix is having.

Emmy is an energetic pup who will play ball with you from morning to night. While she has an intensity to her, she will settle down when asked. Over the last year she has seemed to run hotter and need a lot more time to cool down from our play sessions. We just attributed it to her playing at level 10, and having a lot of hair. However, with COVID, and spending a lot more time with her I am seeing that there has been an escalation in her panting. So here is her history over the last year:

*One confirmed bladder infection: received simplcef and then Baytril when that did not clear the infection.
*Her Rabies vaccination in November.
*Galliprant RX on an off for pain and stiffness, recently started giving it to her more often thinking that panting was pain.
*Started snoring when she sleeps
*Refusing to eat chicken wings any longer.
*Treated for another bladder infection with Baytril within the last three months
*Had her adjusted at the chiropractor who mentioned the weight Emmy had put on, and that is was hard fat. I mentioned my concerns, so we ran blood work to see if there was an issue with her thyroid. Emmy had eaten about 3 hours before this blood draw. I'll attach blood work below.
*Emmy was still really uncomfortable, so I asked my regular vet if we could do an xray to rule out an obstruction and that scan came back clear.
*Both Vets (reg & chiro) mentioned a small mass in Emmys neck, but neither one seemed to concerned with it other that to do the blood and do the xray.


When everything came back inconclusive, I decided to keep everything exactly the same for a while. It lasted a week...
My Chiro Vet had recommended feeding cooling foods, which I did. She is fed a raw diet, so I used a Stella and Chewy's Duck Duck Goose to keep everything as consistent as possible. I rotate foods often, this is one of my rotation, and she doesn't have any issues.
She was still on galliprant.
None of this seemed to make any difference. I dropped the galliprant when her stomach started being upset in the evening/early morning, and added some Marshmallow herb thinking maybe her GI tract was inflamed from the galliprant.
There were a few other things I tried, but nothing made any difference in her panting.

Then I really dove deep into her current symptoms: panting, weight gain, bladder infection, drinks a fair amount of water-not excessive and I wondered if she could be pre-cushings. I have an Adrenal Support homeopathic combination that I have been giving her for four days now. I do think her panting has gotten better, she sleeps more soundly and doesn't wake me with her panting. Weirdly, I think her fat felt more squishy. Tonight I added Ashwagandha to see if that would help in addition to the homeopathic. I would just really appreciate any brainstorming you all might offer to help me choose a course of action.

Thanks,

Melissa and Emmy

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Missy, thanks for posting Emmy's bloodwork results. They look great!

Her normal alk phos. along with the symptoms of panting and drinking (and UTIs) makes a pre-Cushing's diagnosis unlikely.

Exactly what were her UTI symptoms? You can find possibilities like frequency, urgency, urine characteristics, etc. in your repertory.

As you learned during the vitality and balance seminar, the combination remedy is not truly homeopathic. It could potentially do more harm than good.

However, it sounds like she may have some useful symptoms. We can explore them in this thread.

Let's start with your detailed description of her UTIs, in what way she manifest being uncomfortable, and why you thought she might have an obstruction.

Thanks!

 

[MelissaC]

Whew! Glad I was heading down the wrong track

Emmy's first bladder infection symptoms were pretty mild. Before she had the infection I would see small amounts of yellow discharge on the cool pad where she sleeps off and on for a while. When I asked the vet, they said it was because all her lady parts are small and tucked up under her and that it can create heat. They suggested that I keep the area trimmed to allow air flow, and suggested I use a silver cream to prevent infection. I did not use the cream-the idea of her licking it made me uncomfortable. It wasn't until she started licking herself off and on that I really started to pay more attention. Unfortunately, one of the three of us goes outside, and all the dogs follow, often enough that we didn't noticed whether or not she was urinating each time-so frequency is a hard one to pinpoint. It wasn't until she had an accident in the house, completely out of character for her too, that smelled terrible that I took her in for an infection.

The second time was just a guess because of a similar pattern. The vet didn't test the urine.

There are only 4 other symptoms, besides this fast breathing that cause me concern. The first is her low her back. She plays ball hard meaning she is really fast, skids to stop against walls or slides in the grass to stop, and is back in a heartbeat. So her lower back is always fairly tender, and her feet get jammed which is why she sees the chiropractor.

The second is her stomach had been gurgling lately, so I have been using marshmallow herb to help ease any irritation being on the galliprant may have caused.

Third is the small lump on the underside of her neck, and she has another small lump on the left side of her rib cage. Both Chiro and Regular vet didn't think too much of them.

Final is stress. My father came down with pneumonia on 4/17, so I wasn't at home for a while-even though I did stop in-and then she came here to stay with me in May. What makes me dismiss stress as a possibility is the panting that wakes me at 3 am in the cold basement bedroom.

My sister asked if because Emmy is spayed, and six, and is so high energy, if she could be experiencing a doggy hot flash-which I just thought equated to adrenal fatigue?

Emmy is really stumping me.

I tried attaching videos, but I could not get them small enough to attach.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for your reply Missy.

You weren't on the wrong track at all regarding a pre-Cushing's syndrome. Left untreated (homeopathically) her imbalance may lead to a Cushing's diagnosis. However, at this point in her chronology, the external + internal symptoms taken together in context don't support this.

Has she had smelly urine during all of her UTIs?

Please tell us more about her gurgly stomach. Is it loud? Does it occur every day and is it before, after or during eating or drinking? Or at a certain time of the day?

It also might be helpful for you to use a Kent's or Boericke's repertory to help describe her symptoms in detail.

If you find any applicable rubrics in there, please share them here.

Kent J.T. Repertory of the Hom. M.M. - Médi-T

homeoint.org

REPERTORY - by Oscar E. BOERICKE, M.D.

homeoint.org