4163. The old Spitz has a very itchy nose AND urinary stones. What to do?

 

ITCHY NOSE AND URINARY STONES IN AN OLD SPITZ
Veterinary Educational Stories by Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
17 Aug 2022

On 21 Jul 2022, the owner wanted a review of her dog's health. Her male neutered 9-year-old Spitz dog had blood in the stools 3 months ago. Today, she brought in another stool sample. It was normal when examined by the Veterinary Laboratory.

The dog had two abnormal incidental findings:
1. The hair loss at the tip of his nose. This was an abnormal but treatable with medication and skin wash for 14 days and to prevent nose digging on the grass areas. The dog's nose tip grew hairs after 21 days.

2. The abdomen at the bladder/rectal area had a small 3-cm globular lump in that area. The dog reacted in discomfort when I palpated this lump. Was it a bladder stone or intestinal tumour causing this reaction during palpation?

X-rays showed no large radio-dense urinary stones in the bladder or elsewhere in the urinary tract. Urine tests showed calcium oxalate crystals and alkaline urine. The dog was put on a therapeutic diet, Hill's u/d.

On 11 Aug 2022, a UROHYDROPROPULSION procedure was done by me. The dog's bladder was catheterised and irrigated with saline to suck out any small bladder stones which would not be visible on the -rays. This time, the dog's urine was positive for bilirubin 2+. Bilirubin in the dog's urine in small amounts is normal, but this was 2+. I advised another urine analysis 3 months later. In these 3 months, the dog will eat the therapeutic diet to prevent any calcium oxalate urinary stones.

MORE UPDATES AT:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/07/4163-old-spitz-has-itchy-nose-what-to-do.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DR SING'S TIPS FOR DOG OWNERS
24 Jul 2022

ITCHY NOSE IN A DOG.
Hair loss around the tip of the dog's nose is usually due to itchiness. It is best to consult your vet before the whole area becomes badly infected and smelly.

You can see that the hairs around a nose tip in a normal dog is present in full.

For appointments at Toa Payoh Vets,
+65 6254-3326, 9668-6468, 9664-0404
www.toapayohvets.com

More information about this itchy nose dog at:

 

 

 

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VIDEO SCRIPT  17 JULY 2022

The old Spitz has a very itchy nose. What to do?

HOOK will be nose wart

On 14 Jul 2022, the owner wanted a review of her dog's health. Her dog had blood in the stools 3 months ago. She brought the stool sample.   I noted that the hair loss at the tip of her nose. This was an abnormal incidental finding. 

The owner's main concern was to have her dog's stools analysed for abnormalities.

I had taken images of the affected nose area for record (SHOW TWO IMAGES as well as video hook).

A very small wart of 5 mm diameter was present but could be overlooked unless I reviewed the image close-up.


What is the cause of this hair loss?

"I think this hair loss has been present for over one year," the owner could not recall exactly.

BKTP text flashed as subtitles 

MIDDLE

"Did he put his nose under the bed or furniture?" I asked the gentleman. "No," he replied. 
"Did he rub his nose onto the grass?" This male dog would only pee outdoors.
"He will urine mark 10-20 times a day," the man said. "He does rub his nose onto the grass patch when he goes downstairs."

"Why does he do that?" I asked. "Is it a vice or bad habit? Or is his nose itchy?"

The owner had no answer.

1. define VICE.
A vice in people or dogs is a bad habit. 

For example, I had an intern who would click her pen when we were discussing her case study. She did not do it on purpose. I would consider this a vice. 

This dog could have discovered that digging his nose onto the grass every time he urine-marked 10-20 times a day had gained him some attention. He was home alone when the young couple work. Over the year, the nose tip became traumatised. Bacterial infection caused itchiness. More nose tip rubbing cause hair loss.   

2.  define NOSE WART.
A wart is a skin growth, usually caused by a virus and present in older dogs.

 This was a small wart of less than 5 mm across on the left side of the nose tip I saw on review of the image. It was missed during a visual examination as it was really tiny.  

Could this tiny wart cause nose itchiness? This is possible as the nose area in the dog is very sensitive. The wart could have tickled the nerves in this area. The dog had to rub or paw his nose to relieve the nuisance of irritating sensation. People will scratch their skin till it bleeds so as to relieve the itch. Dogs do that too.
    

I asked the owner to monitor its growth. If it grows bigger, I advise removal. 

CONCLUSION

I prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for a month. A skin wash to clear the bacteria and fungi on the skin surface. The owner would prevent his dog rubbing his nose on the soil.

3 days later, I phoned. The dog no longer felt the urge to relieve his nose itch by rubbing it on the soil. It will take around 1-2 months to know whether the dog no longer has itchy nose or needs to have his left nose wart excised by me. 

This was an interesting case in that the skin wart was present. Hence, I could not say for sure that the hair loss and itchiness in the tip of the nose was due to the vice.

 

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The 9-year-old Spitz has a very itchy nose in Jul 2022. What to do? 
Be Kind To Pets Veterinary Video sponsored by Toa Payoh Vets.

On 18 Mar 2022, the young lady owner consulted me as her dog had passed some blood in the stools. The stools were soft and brownish. Laboratory analysis reported no red or white blood cells, ova, cysts or parasites detected. The dog did not pass blood anymore. But the blood test showed low platelet count at 141 x10^9/L (normal is 200-500). She did not come for another blood test review one month later.  

On 14 Jul 2022, the owner wanted a review of her dog's health. Physical examination revealed the hair loss at the tip of her nose. A wart was present. What is the cause of this hair loss?

"I think this hair loss has been present for over one year," the owner could not recall exactly. In my first examination of him in Mar 2022, I did not raise this issue as the owner was more concerned about the presence of blood in his stools.  

This time on 14 Jul, I raised this matter of abnormal hair loss on the bridge of the nose.
 
"Did he put his nose under the bed or furniture?" I asked the gentleman. "No," he replied. 
"Did he rub his nose onto the grass?" This male dog would only pee outdoors.
"He will urine mark 10-20 times a day," the man said. "He does rub his nose onto the grass patch when he goes downstairs."

"Why does he do that?" I asked. "Is it a vice or bad habit? Or is his nose itchy?"

The owner had no answer.

There was a small wart of less than 5 mm across on the left side of the nose tip. Could this tiny wart cause nose itchiness? This is possible as the nose area in the dog is very sensitive.

I asked the owner to monitor its growth. If it grows bigger, I advise removal. 

I put the dog on anti-inflammatory medication for a month. A skin wash to clear the bacteria and fungi on the skin surface. The owner would prevent his dog rubbing his nose on the soil.

3 days later, I phoned. The dog no longer felt the urge to relieve his nose itch by rubbing it on the soil. It will take around 1-2 months to know whether the dog no longer has itchy nose or needs to have his left nose wart excised by me.    

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/07/4163-old-spitz-has-itchy-nose-what-to-do.html