Jade, the cocker spaniel

[angela]

Hello everyone
I had jade back to the vet again this afternoon, the vet feels that Horner’s/vestibular is on the mark and now the nystagmus of her eyes. The vet prescribed an antibiotic for her ears in case there is a middle ear infection, also a cream for her eyes, gave her a needle for the dizziness and nausea and they Gave her some fluids. Jade has been resting a bit more today whereas yesterday she was up and down all day and night. I’m hoping with each day there will be improvement. Today I’ve been feeding her small amounts by hand, or holding her bowl close to her face, I’ve also held her vet food and have gone with just the homemade stuff and no vomiting yet today. Her urine remains dark, and she hasn’t had a bm since yesterday but I’ve found putting her on a leash to go outside I’m able to provide a bit of stability for her so she doesn’t go off spinning.
She’s had such a battle these past months and was finally feeling good again . I read in libda and Sadie’s response that she had 3 relapses , is there anything I should or shouldn’t do to be preventative aside from medication?
Thanks everyone
Angela and jadie

[Sheena]

Hi again Angela

You are doing a fantastic job, you really are – doing all the right things for your lovely girl. I’m glad Jade has not been sick – it must be awful for them feeling like this – but it will gradually get easier for her.

Linda’s Sadie first relapsed because she was weaned off the prednisolone way too fast. I know she won’t mind me telling you that her vet has been really apologetic ever since. Nice, slow weaning to prevent a relapse as per these guidelines:

https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/prednisone-dose-reduction/

Other relapse causes are infections (poor Sadie again has suffered this) & this is something to be vigilant about forever, I’m afraid! Prompt treatment is necessary. I worry about this with Worzel & am straight to the vets if I think he has something.

There are 3 groups of antibiotics to be avoided if possible as they can trigger AIHA or cause a relapse:

Cephalosporines
Sulfa drugs
Penicillins

I’d be happy to check if Jade’s current antibiotic is OK if you let me know what it is. I have been given an unsuitable antibiotic for my boy by the local vets who were not aware of the risks for our special dogs, so it’s always worth checking.

Vaccinations – never again for our babies.

Hope this helps!

Keep up the amazing nursing job you are doing – Jade will slowly get better & better.

Bedtime for me – hope you have a peaceful evening with your little girl Jade

Sheena x

[Sheena]

Forgot to say it would be great if you can upload a photo of Jadie girl

[Vally]

Angela, just wanted to add I hope Jade is feeling heaps better real soon. As Sheena and Linda have said, Horners or vestibular looks shocking but really, it’s not life threatening and they do get over it. It would be great to see a photo of Jade. If you’d like to put one up, just use the Upload Your Photo. Will take about a day to show up.

Me best and wishing Jade a quick recovery
Vally & Bingo

[angela]

Good morning everyone,
Just a quick update. Jade appears to be doing the same. I think she’s found the knack to walking with her head sideways.most of the time.
Her appetite is returning and has discovered she likes mom feeding her. As far as drinking goes she’s not drinking as much as I’d like but we do have fluids here that my mother is very comfortable giving. I will definitely post a picture of little girl, just need to get someone to do it.
Sheena; the name of the antibiotic is zeniquin 50mg x 1 daily thanks everyone
Angela and jadie

[Jen]

Hi Angela, I wanted to chime in as well about Jade. I have a 9 yr old cocker spaniel that was diagnosed w AIHA 2 yrs ago this Sept. Five months after her diagnosis she too developed Horners syndrome- facial paralysis, dizziness, crazy eye movement. Unfortunately it occurred on a 2 day road trip but we suspected a middle ear infection & she was prescribed an antibiotic. It cleared up with 5 days of treatment. I remember adding water to her food to help her chew it bc she was having such difficulty eating. It also appeared on the other side of her face and resolved. She has a little sag but nothing too noticable. Like Linda, I use eye drops 2 X day in both eyes to this day. This condition can be treated. Stay positive!!! I think Cocker’s seem to have a lot of side effects from the treatment of this terrible disease ( at least my Maggie does) and remember the vets telling me this disease hits cockers hard.

Best of luck and ask away! These ladies are amazing!!!!

Jen & Mags

[Sheena]

Hi Angela

Zeniquin is fine – hoping she’ll soon be feeling less dizzy – it’s amazing how they cope actually – Sprockett kind of staggered side ways but knew where he was heading, then he did get back to normal – praying Jadie will too. I can see she’s getting spoilt rotten – just what she needs for sure.

I agree with Jen – I do think cockers seem to get these side effects too often – so unfair for such a sweet & gentle breed of doggies. Sounds like she’s improving daily though – please let us know how she’s doing as often as you can.

Love Sheena (& the gone-to-beds, where’s our biscuits????)

[angela]

Hi everybody
There’s lots of information on links to imha,/aiha in regards to immunizations, flea and tick treatment, pesticides etc..but haven’t seen much on the hereditary side of it. Is there much info on that? Is there a test that can show if a mommy or daddy dog is a carrier but not symptomatic?