Urgent!!! Dog having trouble breathing

[Avery Leatherwood]

Hi everyone,
So, i have a 9 year old rat terrier, who is getting arthritic (though that is not todays matter). Any, her nose has become all dry and crackled, which i have heard is a sign of sickness, and she has trouble breathing through her nose(especially at night) because of it getting clogged with mucus. Any advice? We have taken her to the vet multiple times, but he only ever comments about the arthritis, even when she is notably weezing. Please help! Last night (she sleeps in my bed) she woke me up as she was just about not able to breathe through her nose, and especially with her being an older dog, this is scaring me a little. Please if anyone has any experience with anything similar, all advice is welcome!

 

[JudyN]

You need to contact your vet and tell them she's having trouble breathing - they will be able to see her as an emergency if they think it's necessary.

 

[Flobo]

Definitely see a vet, maybe a different one if you're not happy with the one you've been seeing.

 

[Avery Leatherwood]

Yeah that makes sense, I'll definitely be doing that. 5houfh about the nose though, is it normal for older dogs to have a craggled nose or is that a sign of sickness? Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[JudyN]

My cat became snuffly as he got older - thinning of the nasal passages is common with age. But he was a short-nosed breed, and I wouldn't have thought this was standard for a rat terrier - plus 9 is still relatively young. It could well be something easily fixable though, so do talk to your vet again and stress 'she has trouble breathing' (say if it's worse at night, or when she's sleeping, in case it's not so evident when she's examined).

 

[Ragsysmum]

I'd see another vet as your current one doesn't seem to be listening to your concerns.

 

[Stamford]

Could you elaborate on the dry cracked nose being a Sof the dog could be ill. My dogs nose has become very dry too and her breathing g has become more noisy

 

[Avery Leatherwood]

Yes about 3 months ago we went on a short trip and left the dog in a kennel. When we came back the dogs nose was all dry and had turned slightly gray, along with it being a similar texture to a scab wound, though not one. We figured it was from the dust in heat of the kennel, but it hasn't changed. It has however, returned to mostly it's normal black brown color so I hope this is a sign of improvement. Also, dry mucus covers covers a lot of the front and sides of the dogs nose and has to be pulled off constantly to prevent the dog from scratching her face. Also most mornings the dog is only breathing on through her mouth and then tries to push air out her nose as I'd to unclog it. As she moves around this seems to subside a bit though. Lastly, as recommended, we went to see a new vet, and he gave her some allergy pills to help at night, and it seems to help a bit with her breathing. I will (if I remember...) Give an update if anything changes.