# Pneumonia/Bronchitis - Four Sick Dogs... Help



## Echolicious (Feb 22, 2011)

I need advice/solace fast... It started over the weekend. Echo was gagging a lot and threw up white foam. He did nothing but sleep for a day or two and wouldn't eat. I rushed him to the ER thinking it was bloat.


He was diagnosed with the following:

Fever
Gastroenteritis
Aspiration Pneumonia
I was told he wasn't contagious because it was aspiration pneumonia. He spent 24 hours being hospitalized on IV fluids. Echo came home Sunday.

I noticed one of my other dogs coughing. By the next day, three dogs were heaving and coughing terribly. Yesterday I took one of them and Echo back to my original vet (so second opinion). He diagnosed her with a bronchial infection. He went ahead to check Echo out again--he too has bronchitis and his temperature was coming back up again.

I have FOUR sick dogs now, and Echo is even worse with pneumonia to boot. All dogs were current on bordetella--so it isn't kennel cough.

15 year old hound--65 lbs
6 year old chow mix--50lbs
5 year old GSD--83lbs
17 month GSD-84lbs

The first three are on clavamox, and Echo is on Baytril and some other strong med that my vet just changed because the first antibiotic wasn't cutting it.

I have been putting them in the bathroom for steam and bought a humidifier. 

What else can I do? I am SO scared...


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Firstly, there's multiple strains of "kennel cough" so it could be kennel cough, started with a virus but went into pneumonia. Is Echo the senior? If so that could explain the pneumonia. Were they exposed to KC at all, or could they have been? Classes, boarding, etc?
Secondly, you can give them generic Mucinex with DM but not with a decongestant. DM is the cough suppressant. If you're not giving them Robitussin which can be messy, do the Mucinex or generic for it, pills.
Steam is good...keep them warm and hydrated. If they are too sick to drink, try syringing it but be careful you don't choke them.
Go back to the vet as often as necessary to make sure the antibiotics are working.


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## Echolicious (Feb 22, 2011)

msvette2u said:


> Firstly, there's multiple strains of "kennel cough" so it could be kennel cough, started with a virus but went into pneumonia. Is Echo the senior? If so that could explain the pneumonia. Were they exposed to KC at all, or could they have been? Classes, boarding, etc?
> Secondly, you can give them generic Mucinex with DM but not with a decongestant. DM is the cough suppressant. If you're not giving them Robitussin which can be messy, do the Mucinex or generic for it, pills.
> Steam is good...keep them warm and hydrated. If they are too sick to drink, try syringing it but be careful you don't choke them.
> Go back to the vet as often as necessary to make sure the antibiotics are working.


Echo is only 17 months old.. thank you...


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## sharkey19 (Sep 25, 2011)

You could also do this after they spent some time in the steam to help loosen stuff up:


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Our vet switched a foster dog we had with pneumonia to a newer quinolone type drug. If Echo is worse, bring him back in. He may need a different med.


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## Echolicious (Feb 22, 2011)

Oh yes, I have been doing coupage multiple times a day as well. Thank you. 

We did switch Echo to a stronger antibiotic yesterday--and he want's to give that a few days to see how he responds.

Do many of you have experience with this? I am so scared I am going to lose my boy.. and even my other dogs


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Echolicious said:


> Do many of you have experience with this? I am so scared I am going to lose my boy.. and even my other dogs


I've had two really sick fosters but not the point of pneumonia. Each had 106+ fever with vomiting and lethargy and an emergency trip to the vet for IV fluids and drugs. One was believed to have canine flu and the other strep zoo... each came from animal control which is just over run with germs and every dog comes out of there with a respiratory infection. The one with the flu recovered fully after about two weeks and the other took longer (and got me sick in the process). Between my fosters and others in the rescue, we've found that Baytril works best. 

Raven got a mild case of kennel cough with the first one and didn't get sick at all with the second one. I made sure to wash all bowls with hot water and soap daily and sometimes in between uses and washed all bedding frequently during recovery to just make sure everything was free of germs. 

Hope everyone starts feeling better soon!


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## sharkey19 (Sep 25, 2011)

When Dax was about 5 months old he had aspiration pneumonia. He was vomiting too though so he needed to be in the ICU on IV antibiotics since he couldn't keep down anything orally. 

I know its really stressful, and can look really bad. I was totally panicked when I had Dax back at home and he looked like he wasn't getting better. Just do your best, keep them comfortable and fed, and keep in touch with your vet. If you feel at any point that your dog is doing a little worse, don't be afraid to contact your vet right away. 

He's young, so he should recover! Try not to stress too much (which I know is kind of stupid to say considering how I felt when my guy had it, lol).


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

_*Secondly, you can give them generic Mucinex with DM but not with a decongestant. DM is the cough suppressant. If you're not giving them Robitussin which can be messy, do the Mucinex or generic for it, pills.*_
_*Steam is good...keep them warm and hydrated. *_

I will second the Mucinex DM pills for a dog with bronchitis or pneumonia. It has helped tremendously with two dogs that I have recently. My GSD came to me from a shelter with kennel cough that was helped by the Mucinex DM and my current foster Brittany developed a bronchitis following mammary gland excision surgery. Coughing had to have hurt her especially. The Mucinex DM was a great help for her. 

The pills are quite large and I had to make large "meatballs" out of canned dog food in order to hide them inside.


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## Echolicious (Feb 22, 2011)

WVGSD said:


> _*Secondly, you can give them generic Mucinex with DM but not with a decongestant. DM is the cough suppressant. If you're not giving them Robitussin which can be messy, do the Mucinex or generic for it, pills.*_
> _*Steam is good...keep them warm and hydrated. *_
> 
> I will second the Mucinex DM pills for a dog with bronchitis or pneumonia. It has helped tremendously with two dogs that I have recently. My GSD came to me from a shelter with kennel cough that was helped by the Mucinex DM and my current foster Brittany developed a bronchitis following mammary gland excision surgery. Coughing had to have hurt her especially. The Mucinex DM was a great help for her.
> ...


 
I thought we WANTED them to cough it up though???


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I was so glad when they came out with that. Cough syrup tastes so bad and I'd end up wearing half the dose anyway. The pills, even if a dog isn't eating, can be broken in half and shoved down the throat (I wet them a bit to make them easier to go down).


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Echolicious said:


> I thought we WANTED them to cough it up though???


The other ingredient (guafinicin, SP??) will loosen the mucous. You don't want excessive coughing and the DM will quiet the excessive coughing. If they are hydrated (single most important thing) they'll still cough up the loosened mucous.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Please do not give them anything without discussing it with your vet/s. 

Is the canine flu a possibility? I cannot imagine all four dogs having some kind of weakened immune system all at once? Have all been vaccinated for distemper/parvo? And I am not asking in a "oh, that's bad way" I am just checking because adult dogs can get these diseases they just look different. 

Pneumonia Management is good info. 

Wow. I have multiple dogs and foster know many others who do as well, we bring sick dogs in all the time and our current packs are rarely effected (KW) and so when this happens like this, that is roaring through a pack, it is, to me, unusual and, like you said, scary. It may be worth it for your vet to contact your nearest vet teaching hospital and depending on their level of monitoring your local shelters and human department of health to see if there are any outbreaks of anything.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I cannot imagine that all four came down with pneumonia... I would be looking for a third opinion.. perhaps at a veterinary teaching hospital/university.

Apollo had ehrlichia and pneumonia when I got him, he was extremely sick and he recovered quickly and completely once he was on Clavamox.

Did the vet do any x-rays of your dogs' lungs? Did he/she suggest a blasto test?


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

I hope that all your babies get well soon.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

I had one foster with severe pneumonia, she was lethargic and not eating when I got her out of the shelter. She was at the vet for three days on iv fluids and antibiotics and not improving. Brought her home AMA and started hand feeding. Filled the tub with warm water and put some inhaler oils in it. Shaw started eating, hand fed, and slowly improved. She was on a combination of antibiotics and and asthma medicine ton help with the breathing.

Another foster started vomiting and suddenly crashed. He was at the er on oxygen and iv antibiotics for 5 days. Again, had feeding, with really yummy stuff. He made it, but it was touch and go. He was on oxygen for several days.

We always started with iv antibiotics for severe cases.


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## Echolicious (Feb 22, 2011)

Thank you so much everyone! My female ended up with bronchopneumonia--and now my foster has it. However, after 36 hours on baytril and chlorophenical, they were almost entirely better. Looks like everyone is finally improving.

Thank you for your help!


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## Karin (Jan 4, 2008)

So glad to hear this! What a relief!


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