9 year old American Cocker Spaniel

Question
QUESTION: The last 3-4 years have been spent at the vets and hundreds of dollars later, our poor spaniel is still sickly - he has allergies really bad which we have treated with all the recommended foods by the vet, along with scaly sores all over his body that we have scrubbed raw and still come back, he has been treated with all kinds of prescribed medicines and home remedies - he has enlarged heart according to his vet and a constriction in his air passages that make him sound like he has a bronchial cough.  On top of all this he has a stench odor that is unbearable even after all his special bathing that we give him and keeping his hair super short - his ears are doing very good in spite of all the other stuff going on.  I am in a crisis mode now though, his cough is very long and drawn out plus he acts like he is choking or trying to throw up - we discovered some very large cysts under his leg and near his buttock and one under his neck, which vet said were just fatty nodules.   

The vet has recommended some extremely expensive testing for his heart which we have not been able to afford and there is no guarantee he will get well.  I just want our pet to get some rest from his coughing that keeps him restless and all of us unable to sleep at night.  By the way his appetite is very good but drinks a lot of water, excessively sometimes.

Please, please I am at my wits end and need some relief, is there anything or anyone can do to help me help our beloved pet have some rest and normalcy in his elder years.  We appreciate any assistance from you or the avid viewers of this website.

Sleepless in Texas,

Angie

ANSWER: It sounds to me like you've gotten some not so good advice.

Has your dog had an ultrasound?  How did the vet diagnose his heart condition?
What shampoo was recommended?
Did your vet aspirate the cysts?
What has he been given to help the cough?
Has he seen a cardiologist?
What are you feeding and how often?
Has he had his thyroid tested?
Delores

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for responding so promptly - now to answer the questions:

1. Ultrasound - No he has not had one because we cannot afford it.  The vet just did manual exam.  He did recommend our pet see a cardiologist ( a name would be provided for us) and have an ultrasound done but he also told us the fees for this type of care would be very expensive and it was up to us to decide where to take it from there.
2.  Shampoo - Virbac Pyoben 2 to 3 times a week for 4 weeks plus vet recommended using Palmolive shampoo for the odor first, then the Virbac,
(we have used this treatment for 1 year now).
3.  Cysts, no they have not been aspirated
4.  Cough - Hycoden 5 mil.  (every 4 hrs as needed)
5.  Bronchitis - Theophylline (1 1/2 tab. every 12 hrs for 5 days only)
   has had 3 treatments of this drug on and off since last year)
6.  Lasix (for his heart) 40 mil. 1 a day
7.  Prednisone - for allergies (1 a day for 4-5 days only)
8.  Cephalexin - 500 mil.  for skin infection (did not work)
9.  Food diet - we have changed his foods many times over but especially  tried all foods without corn and all natural ingredients to include Iams
special diets for older dogs.  We have tried them all, nothing works.

So as you can see, we have tried everything the vet has recommended on and off now for what seems like years now - at the onset of all of this it seemed to work but later it just got worse and worse.  We have exhausted all of our funds and cannot afford the vet or heart specialists.  We just need to make out pet comfortable, its the humane thing to do since everything else requires money.  I wish there was a foundation that could help us.

Please do not misunderstand me, his vet is an excellent doctor and has been in his care for many years, and I am sure he has done everything he possibly can do and out pet now needs specialty care which funding is not available.  I thought perhaps someone out there would have some recommendations or suggestions for his special care needs espcially his coughing and body odor.


Thanks again,

Angie

Answer
Angie, do you mean 500 mg. of Cephalexin TWICE a day...and for how long?  It should be been 500 mg. 2x daily for a month.  If it wasn't - this is why the infection never totally healed.  Did your vet analyze skin cells to determine if it's yeast or bacteria?  (The odor tells me it's yeast..but it could be both).  If it was a yeast infection, Cephalexin was the wrong antibiotic.

An ultra sound shouldn't be expensive.  A lot of vets have an ultrasound machine in their office and do this regularly.  You could call around to vets in your area and ask if they have one and how much it would be.  As it is, you don't know what you're treating.  Is it Mitral Valve Disease or Cardiomyopathy..?

As for shampoo, I'd definitely try some Nizoral (most supermarkets & drugstores have it).
Shake bottle well - lather him up - leave on 10 minutes and rinse, rinse, rinse.  Hopefully you have a hand-held gizmo in your shower.
Take a kitchen timer with you - it "feels" like 10 minutes and it's been two minutes.
This is a favorite with Vet Dermatologists for short term use to kill off bacteria AND yeast.

The cysts are quite simple to aspirate in the vet's office and get analyzed on the spot.

I wish I could help more, but the above approach to his skin may make him more comfortable.
Delores