German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[MikeC]

Our dogs is roughly 11 months old. About 6 weeks ago he started with the runny nose and a convulsive "hick-up" like behavior. Originally I thought it was a spastic diaphagm, like a hick-up. Then the nose snot started getting thicker and the dog was constantly snorting to clear his nose. Especially in the morning.

The vet thought there might be something in his nose and recommended that we knock him out and scope his nose from the back and the front. Nothing but snot. We put him on antibiotics for 15 days and he got markedly better. Not perfect, but very little discharge from the nose. As soon as we stopped the meds, the snot started and the discharge started getting thicker.

We then took him to another specialist who could scope the entire nasal cavity. The procedure was done, but nothing but snot was found. No foreign objects, no funguses. Biopsy's were done, but we won't get them back for a few days.

The second doctor thinks it's "Ciliary Dyskinesia". Apparently the cilia that usually move the snot out of the nasal passages don't work right and so opportunistic viruses cause the persistent sinuitis. I've done some research via the web and it seems that this is common to only a few breeds. (Doberman's and Bicon Frise)

Has anyone else been through these symptons or this desease with a GWP? I'm still holding out hope that he's been misdiagnosed.

Mike

[MikeC]

We got the biopsy report back. Nothing out of the ordinary. Interestingly enough, the dog seems to be getting better. I'm praying it is just some "infection of an unknown origin" and we can get on with life. (and quit cleaning up trails of snot!)

If the condition persists, I'm going to take him up to UC Davis to see a specialist for her opinion.

Either way, I'll keep this thread updated.