>>
> * Cooper just started the reverse sneezing last week and it happens
> only after
> he drinks water. The Vet told me it could be collapsed trachea (which would
> cost
> $160 for an xray that may or may not show it), but that it was most likely
> Kennel Cough. Cooper hasn't been around another dog except his brother for
> three
> months. How could it be kennel cough? My other dog doesn't have it.So she
> sold
> me some Hycodan cough syrup (a controlled substance) and Doxycycline.
> * Regarding the long lump he has on his side, her first guess was that
> it was
> from a shot. But since he's had no injections since July, she ruled that out.
> She said to just watch it and if it gets bigger, she'll take a sample --
> which
> will cost $140.
> * Regarding his seizures, she said it could be a kazillion things and
> then
> listed them all for me in her new clinical vet-eese. Luckily, since I have a
> clinical background, I was able to recognize a few of the terms she was
> throwing
> out. She said we could do an MRI which would cost upwards of $190... Also he
> has
> an open fontanelle so he could have hydrocephalus. With medication, the goal
> would be to have only one seizure per month lasting no more than five
> minutes.
> Well he's already at goal, so we'll do nothing until and unless they get
> worse.
>
>
On the reverse sneezing after drinking, this is not uncommon. If it only
happens after drinking it is not kennel cough. Kennel cough has a repetitive
whooping racking cough that is very distinctive. Maybe you can find a video on
youTube of a kennel cough so you will recognize the sound. Chihuahua's are
particularly prone to reverse sneezing and other trachea related issues because
the tracheas are so small. I would not be in any hurry to x-ray the area, even
if there was a trachea problem you don't want to get involved with a surgical
intervention unless it is life and death. Try filling the water dish up with
pebbles so he must lick up slowly rather than gulp, see if that helps.
On the lump I agree with the vet. Likely fatty tumor (harmless), cyst, etc. If
it gets bigger they can do a needle apiration biopsy to get some idea of the
nature of tissue. Not an immediate worry.
An MRI will not really give you much useful to go forward with. You are not
going to do brain surgery on a little chihuahua in any case so really what is
the point. Chihuahua's have open fontanelle more often than most other breeds
due to the unusual high domed skull shape. There could be some hydro, hydro
pups do tend to have seizures. There are other signs of hydro, google
hydrocephalus in chihuahuas and see if the other symptoms fit. We had a hydro
boy that did have seizures, lived about 14 good years so lifespan is hard to
predict. Again, not much you can do about hydro so its not really worth
spending a fortune to diagnose it. A vet not very familiar with chihuahuas
could very easily mis-diagnose the relatively common failure of full plate
fusion in this breed as hydrocephalus, happens all the time. If the fontanelle
is VERY open, it might tend to seizure as the brain will be unprotected and
subject to physical disturbance.
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