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Old February 1st, 2014, 08:03 PM
Cariboo2 Cariboo2 is offline
Frenchy's mom
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Lone Butte, BC
Posts: 9
Older dog not giving up so why should I?

I just came back from a visit to the local vet. I took Frenchy in because he's had nasal discharge for over a month and I was hoping the vet would at least try an antibiotic to see if it would help. She looked at his past records (we just moved here so they were from his previous vet) and gave him a quick examination and pretty much said he's a hopeless case. Frenchy is part Australian heeler, part border collie and part wolf. At his heaviest he was 97 lbs (we had to put him on a diet!), his ideal weight is about 85 lbs., and he's currently 77 lbs. He's 11 years and 7 months old.

Frenchy has discharge from his right nostril, which I suspect is from an infection due to something lodged in there because he's always thrusting his nose into the horses' hay. It started with a few drops of blood one day in December, then there was clear discharge, then it became more snotty. He usually sneezes several times when he first goes outside. We used to try wiping his nose, but it became rather tender so he doesn't want us to touch it. He'll put it in the snow to clean it now and then.

But he has other issues. He seems skinny (you can feel his backbone) and the left side of his head is kind of caved in (trigeminal nerve damage?), plus his third eyelid is showing on that side, Three years ago the previous vet did a geriatric blood panel and his liver enzymes were through the roof (today's vet said she'd never seen them so high), but that was three years ago, he's been on milk thistle ever since, and he's still with us and not in any noticeable discomfort except for a snotty right nostril.

So ... he still enjoys his meals and trots around the barnyard with his tail wagging, so I'm trying to keep him as comfortable and happy as possible until I sense that he would rather be set free. We're trying him on a week of antibiotics to see if that will clear up the infection. Has anyone had luck with homeopathic remedies for a nasal/sinus infection?

Or has anyone had a dog with discharge from a single nostril that cleared up on its own? I can't figure out why grass or hay up the nose wouldn't disintegrate over time with all those white cells working away at it and eventually be expelled from the nose. We don't want him under a general anesthetic, so there aren't any options for a better diagnosis, plus the nearest clinic with a scope is over 2 hours drive away.
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