Does anyone have any experience of chronic rhinitis in dogs or any helpful trips to treat it?
At the beginning of September we noticed that our six year old newfoundland had a runny nose, just from one nostril after about two days we noticed a little blood in the discharge. We took him to the vet who prescribed antibiotics and it seemed to clear up.
Early in October it started up again. We took him back to the vet and they prescribed more antibiotics but also arranged to have him in a few days later to sedate him and probe up his nose as well as x ray him. It turned out that 'probing his nose' meant digging around with forceps which meant that his nose bled for over a week and they decided not to x ray him as he was too big for the table. After two weeks they had a result from the sample they had taken and prescribed different antibiotics. Within a few days of starting them the discharge changed from being clear to a thick green sludge.
We went back to the vet who referred him to a veterinary hospital about 50 miles away. They admitted him and sedated him but called us to authorise a more extensive rhinoscopy and told us 50% of the bones in his nose had been destroyed by the disease. They took samples and x rays and so ruled out a tumour. After four weeks they confirmed it was not a fungal infection and prescribed more antibiotics. After two weeks there was no change so they prescribed loxicom. There is now a constant discharge from both nostrils. He doesn't seem happy and is constantly snorting up discharge and blood.
We just don't know where to turn, the vets have told us they may not be able to cure this. Does anyone have any experience or advice. We are absolutely desperate to resolve this for our boy and reaching the limit of our insurance policy.