Unwell or foreign body?

Kelsey

Kelsey

I really don’t know what to think, so I’m looking for ideas and truthfully support as I’m spiralling a bit here. Sorry, it’s turned into a novel!

7 days ago I was walking Hugo and he always has his nose glued to the ground, and when he lifted his head at one point I noticed blood coming from his left nostril. I assumed he poked himself with a stick but I don’t know this for sure. This is the second time he’s gotten a bloody nose on a walk. First time was two months ago and it was his right nostril, but that time it was obvious he had some foreign bodies up the nose as he sneezed continuously until it cleared, the bleeding stopped a couple minutes after that. This time there was no sneezing or debris in his nostrils, but same thing, bleeding stopped within a few minutes. All was fine until 4 days later…

So 4 days later in the evening my friend came over and this caused huge excitement which is when I first noticed he was snorty and sneezy, but that was it, back to normal after he settled down. Now each day since Saturday (3 days ago) he’s gotten more snorty and sneezy to the point every time he sniffs something deeply he snorts, and huffs out his nose, or sneezes. Lots of watery clear discharge coming out his nose. But otherwise still very excitable and playful. So I’ve been thinking a bit of a head cold maybe or seasonal allergies possibly.

I took him to the vet today though as I have been getting worried. They couldn’t see up his nose as he’s very wiggly! But she doesn’t think it’s a cold, she thinks he has something lodged up there. So anti inflammatories were given and I’m to give Benadryl (need to pick up tomorrow) as well and then follow up in a week. Her hope is that what ever it is comes out on it’s own. If he gets worse or no improvement then she suggested to do a scope or a CT scan. But I honestly don’t think I can’t wait a week… my PTSD with Axel is quite severe and my biggest regret was not getting his CT scan the first couple days of his limp…

Here’s a video to kinda show what he sounds like right now.. also note on his bed the wet drips, that’s all from his nose.

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Hugo sneezy

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Jennifer

Jennifer

Oh gosh Kelsey. As you know I completely sympathise with your worry and PTSD I’d be the same. We need to put our logical heads on which is much easier when it’s not your dog so I’ll try. The vet is obviously not overly concerned or they’d have investigated up Hugo’s nose sooner. It is most likely a seed or dust that’s got stuck. I would say as long as the discharge coming out is clear then chances are there’s no infection. If anything changes straight back to the vet obviously. Presumably they’d have to knock Hugo out for a CT scan etc and logical head on if that can be avoided it would be better for Hugo however if it will make you feel better maybe give the meds a couple of days to work, although I’m not sure how Benadryl will help with a foreign body I guess it’s incase it’s allergies, then ask for the scan. Does Hugo always role about when he gets out of his crate like that or is he rubbing his nose ? Is he pawing at his nose at all ? I’ve probably not helped at all sorry :hug:
 
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Kelsey

Kelsey

Selina27 said:
This is understandable Kelsey, must make it harder for you to take the wait and see approach.

I think from what you say, and from looking at the video, I would be wanting to have the scan does sooner too. Can you phone and have a discussion with the vet you saw? Is it the same one who knew Axel?
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I can, and I definitely will call in the morning to even just pre book something for a couple days from now. It’s not our usual vet no, it’s one of his associates, she was lovely though which helped calm me at the time, but of course now home after work and seeing him very snorty has me spiraling
 
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Kelsey

Kelsey

Jennifer said:
Oh gosh Kelsey. As you know I completely sympathise with your worry and PTSD I’d be the same. We need to put our logical heads on which is much easier when it’s not your dog so I’ll try. The vet is obviously not overly concerned or they’d have investigated up Hugo’s nose sooner. It is most likely a seed or dust that’s got stuck. I would say as long as the discharge coming out is clear then chances are there’s no infection. If anything changes straight back to the vet obviously. Presumably they’d have to knock Hugo out for a CT scan etc and logical head on if that can be avoided it would be better for Hugo however if it will make you feel better maybe give the meds a couple of days to work, although I’m not sure how Benadryl will help with a foreign body I guess it’s incase it’s allergies, then ask for the scan. Does Hugo always role about when he gets out of his crate like that or is he rubbing his nose ? Is he pawing at his nose at all ? I’ve probably not helped at all sorry :hug:
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Thank you, your logical approach did help some, so thank you. He’s only 7 months old so I need to stop going to worst case scenario (the C word) so quickly, but gosh is it hard not to. To show just how crazy I am, I even asked the vet if it is something lodged, can it travel to his brain and kill him? 🤦🏼‍♀️ I remember reading something about dogs with porcupine quills, that they keep embedding further and can migrate and can be very dangerous so it’s very important to remove them all. Funny enough, I didn’t ask about tumours, because it wasn’t really on my mind until tonight after doing a Google dive. Which I know not to do, I work in healthcare and I know this, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t 🙃

The Benadryl is supposed to just help relieve him of his sneezing, she said that would help regardless if it is allergies or not. She said a CT scan is the most extreme option, to check for foreign body, but I feel a scope would be better no?

Lol that is how Hugo greets me every morning or every time I get home 😅 very normal for him for sure, just not with snorts and sneezes
 
Jennifer

Jennifer

I always go to worse case scenario with my dog too Kelsey then try and talk myself down and night time is always worse:wasntme: I’ve been thinking and googled rhinitis in dogs as Hugo obviously has irritation which could be the mucus membrane of his nose Possibly caused by a foreign body which might not even be there anymore. From what you’ve described he only has two symptoms so if it is that I would say it’s mild but the meds the vet has prescribed should help. 🤞
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Selina27 said:
I guess the idea of the meds is to reduce swelling so any foreign body can ease itself out?

I can see where you are coming from regarding the scope. I guess it's a tricky question of weighing up the greater good for Hugo. :heart:
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Yeah that’s a good point, I didn’t think about reducing inflammation to help his body ‘naturally’ push it out. Which reminds me, she said she didn’t want to give him antibiotics, as she didn’t want to mask what was happening, she wanted his body to take care of it on its own.

I really don’t want to knock him out again, after only just doing that a couple weeks ago for the stick stuck in his mouth, that was so awful to watch him afterwards, so discombobulated 🥺 but at the same time, what’s best for Hugo ultimately… which may be knocking him out again
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Jennifer said:
I always go to worse case scenario with my dog too Kelsey then try and talk myself down and night time is always worse:wasntme: I’ve been thinking and googled rhinitis in dogs as Hugo obviously has irritation which could be the mucus membrane of his nose Possibly caused by a foreign body which might not even be there anymore. From what you’ve described he only has two symptoms so if it is that I would say it’s mild but the meds the vet has prescribed should help. 🤞
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Night time is definitely the worst! Oh wow, how interesting, so it could be beneficial to let this ride out a few more days then..

Something else I just thought to add, the last couple days Hugo has almost been OCD with picking up anything outside in his area he goes to the bathroom. Normally he just goes outside quickly does his business then comes back inside. But these last few days he’s been picking up leaves, tiny twigs, little pebbles, anything he could try to eat, to the point of actually distracting him from going to the bathroom. It’s been really weird… and very much back to an 8 week old puppy kind of obsession. But the meds seem to have almost fully stopped that behaviour, still picked up a leaf tonight after doing his business but dropped it pretty quick and came back inside. But I’ll see how he is in the morning regarding that bizarre side effect. But I almost wonder if it was a pain response somehow?
 
M

M.F.

I can understand you’re worried. Snowie once sniffed up a grass seed. He was sneezing and I saw the little tufts popping out of his nostril. I then watched as he snorted it up! It all happened very quickly. And of course on Dec 31 in the late afternoon! I called the emergency vet (the only one open over the holidays) and she said the specialist who can do the scope was only in on Jan 4. So I waited and worried, and by Jan 4 he wasn’t snorting or bothered. So I guess he snorted it up and swallowed it eventually.

I think he’s snorted up a few things up his nose, he’s such an intense sniffer on his walks. Probably a few more grass seeds. I do worry, but I also think undergoing sedation unless absolutely necessary also has its risks.

I’d go with the vet’s advice and wait and see.

He is too adorable! 🥰
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

M.F. said:
I can understand you’re worried. Snowie once sniffed up a grass seed. He was sneezing and I saw the little tufts popping out of his nostril. I then watched as he snorted it up! It all happened very quickly. And of course on Dec 31 in the late afternoon! I called the emergency vet (the only one open over the holidays) and she said the specialist who can do the scope was only in on Jan 4. So I waited and worried, and by Jan 4 he wasn’t snorting or bothered. So I guess he snorted it up and swallowed it eventually.

I think he’s snorted up a few things up his nose, he’s such an intense sniffer on his walks. Probably a few more grass seeds. I do worry, but I also think undergoing sedation unless absolutely necessary also has its risks.

I’d go with the vet’s advice and wait and see.

He is too adorable! 🥰
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Was Snowie snorty for a few days then? And that’s exactly how Hugo is, a very intense sniffer. He would rather sniff a bush for several minutes then chase a ball. He puts the brakes on to sniff constantly.
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Jelinga said:
If there is the slightest sign of improvement I would carry on as the vet advised. If he is getting worse, then I would definitely have a scope as soon as possible to see if there is a foreign object and to remove it. A friend's cat had a blade of grass stuck you her nose and the scope solved the problem.
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That’s a big reason I want to just do the scope, to get the suffering over with so we can get back to normal walks and he can be comfortable again, other reasons obviously for peace of mind sooner than later. But as mentioned before, it’s not good to put them under unless necessary so I’m trying so hard to be patient.

Then of course maybe it is just allergies or a head cold and then nothing would be found. Google tells me dog colds can last 7-10 days. But the vet did say we don’t typically get that where we live.
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Hugo is very much the same today, still lively and playful though! I spoke with the vet, she called me right before going in for surgery for a couple hours, because she didn’t want me worrying, so kind. And right away she said ‘were you researching online all night?’ Yes, yes I was up until 2am researching and worrying 🤣

Anyways she made me feel much better that the chance of it being a tumour would be incredibly rare and that this is most likely just one of those things his body will sort out but that if I am absolutely terrified then she has no problem going ahead with further investigations, but that she doesn’t deem it necessary. So I will continue to monitor and see how he does. I just gave him his first dose of Benadryl, and then gave him a yummy fish skin stick, sweet boy 💙
 
M

M.F.

Kelsey said:
Was Snowie snorty for a few days then? And that’s exactly how Hugo is, a very intense sniffer. He would rather sniff a bush for several minutes then chase a ball. He puts the brakes on to sniff constantly.
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I really can’t remember. He definitely blew his nose like a trumpet for a few moments while it was tickling his nose. And then he carried on as normal. On the other occasions that he’s sniffed up something, he’s done the same—trumpeting like something else! I can’t recall it lasting very long, as in days. I’ve just learned to accept that his intense sniffing will occasionally lead to sniffing up dust or something. Grass seed season scares me, but unfortunately I can’t prevent it short of keeping him home all the time.

He’s never had a bloody nose from sniffing up something. So I understand why you’d be worried. But it sounds like the vet is confident in her assessment. You won’t believe the number of times I’ve asked the vet: Are you sure it’s not cancer? Snowie is 12 years old, so you can imagine the number of times!! 😆
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

M.F. said:
I really can’t remember. He definitely blew his nose like a trumpet for a few moments while it was tickling his nose. And then he carried on as normal. On the other occasions that he’s sniffed up something, he’s done the same—trumpeting like something else! I can’t recall it lasting very long, as in days. I’ve just learned to accept that his intense sniffing will occasionally lead to sniffing up dust or something. Grass seed season scares me, but unfortunately I can’t prevent it short of keeping him home all the time.

He’s never had a bloody nose from sniffing up something. So I understand why you’d be worried. But it sounds like the vet is confident in her assessment. You won’t believe the number of times I’ve asked the vet: Are you sure it’s not cancer? Snowie is 12 years old, so you can imagine the number of times!! 😆
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Ahhh ok, Axel had done the same. One time he sneezed so hard a gob of boogies and spear grass flew out his nose on to the floor. That had been there for under a day… so this is driving me crazy it’s taking so long. Unless of course it’s like what @Jennifer read up, and it has come out but it’s just irritated in there still. Time will tell!

It helps knowing I’m not alone on being so worried of cancer. The one time I wasn’t worried was of course the time it was, so I have an even higher panic level now, didn’t realize that was possible 🥲

Evidence he’s still a happy boy ❤

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