My senior dog's respiratory issues are worsening after treatment, why?

Hi, and thanks for your question. This sign could be compatible with an upper respiratory tract inflammation/infection or possibly to a rhinitis (inflammatory, allergic, infective). A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Some dogs will have an elongated soft palate that can become inflamed, and prednisone helps reduce inflammation. Dachshunds are also more likely to develop a disease called lymphocytic-plasmacytic rhinitis that causes chronic nasal inflammation. This disease is usually diagnosed by taking biopsy samples during a rhinoscopy. In either case, the prednisone would probably not completely eliminate the disease and some kind of medication might be needed long term. I would recommend discussing treatment options with your veterinarian. I think his chest x-rays look normal for his breed.

If the respiratory signs got worse despite the treatment given, I would recommend another check up today (am) to make sure the condition has been diagnosed correctly and no other treatment need to be added. It is very important to rule out any possibility of heart disease as well.

You might ask your veterinarian if the X-rays could be reviewed by a radiologist. While the resolution that the forum pictures allow makes them a bit difficult to interpret, I am concerned that the X-rays do not appear normal, and she may have a more serious underlying condition. It may be that she has some underlying heart disease, cancer, or an infection that requires a more broad spectrum of antibiotic. I agree the blood work you've attached is unremarkable. Was a CBC performed as well? Check back with your vet about a radiology review, and a recheck exam as well. A consult with a cardiologist may be recommended, depending on the radiologist's opinion. I'm sorry I don't have better news, or a solution to offer you to try at home, but I think you need to circle back and followup with your vet on this. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can try using a humidifier for the home or in areas where she resides most frequently. Making sure the home's air filter is changed every year is also a good idea and can help decrease some of the irritating allergens in the air. Using a harness on her instead of a lead and collar around the neck can help lessen stress around airways. Lastly, making sure she is in cool moist air and limiting time spent in hotter weather can help as well. If Tia's symptoms worsen or do not improve, a veterinary visit really is best in order to obtain a diagnosis so Tia can receive the most appropriate care and treatment. Causes of breathing difficulties are many and include heart conditions, certain lung conditions such as asthma or bronchitis, as well as upper respiratory infection, collapsing tracheal disorders, or primary lung tumors. Typically chest x-rays are taken to rule out the above conditions. I hope this helps and I wish you and Tia the best!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is possible that Buddy has residual bronchitis, which sometimes will not go away in older dogs. Treatment for bronchitis is steroid therapy and cough suppressants typically. I also recommend using a humidifier in the room with Buddy as often as possible. Also, I would consider having chest x-rays taken of Buddy to help better determine what the cause of the coughing could be so that the most appropriate treatment can be recommended. There may not be infection present anymore but inflammation or another cause. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

If the antibiotic therapy helped looks like could be the correct treatment. Maybe the treatment needs a bit more time to completely resolve the problem. But if the treatment completely fail I would suggest to repeat the biopsy and collect a bigger piece of tissue if only a cytology (few cells aspirated with a needle) was performed and if and bacterial origin is still very likely I would recommend to perform a culture to grow the bacteria and select the correct antibiotic. Feel free to post again with the biopsy and culture results for more advices!