# Bloody nose



## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

Did the vet give you any reason for the nosebleeds?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Nosebleeds can be very serious. Have they done a scope to find the cause?


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## Siandvm (Jun 22, 2016)

Assuming they have done blood work to check her platelets, and perhaps plain X-rays of her skull to look for anything which looks invasive, you really are looking at referral for rhinoscopy/CT and any treatments indicated by that. Here for example, we see a fair amount of fungal disease, so there are infusions which can be done via rhinoscopy to address that (but you have to do a CT to make sure the fungus has not eaten away at the bone separating the nasal area from the brain cavity -- antifungal in there is bad!).


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Have they done blood work and an x-ray? Have they flushed out her nasal cavity? 

My pup suddenly had a few nose bleeds a few years ago, which was really scary. It turned out she had a nasal cavity full of pulverized gravel dust from the dog park. 

I know if the flush hadn't found the issue, there was a next step planned (it might have been a CT scan?). But I wouldn't sit on this - as others have said, nose bleeds can be really serious. They're not the same in dogs as in humans. As my vet said at the time (as she sent me to the ER, as it was a Sunday) there is always a reason for a nosebleed in a dog, and it's often not good. I don't mean at all to panic you, but you may want to ask your vet to refer you to a specialist.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

If it helps...

My Jacks gave me some extra white hairs last month (June) when he started having nosebleeds... initially they were random, but then they were getting to the point when whenever he was hyped up or excited, he would have a nosebleed.

And by excited - I mean everything from begging for food to rough housing with Bertie. 

Reading what it could be online scared the hell out of me.  Because a lot of it is very bad and I think something you need to consider is the age of your dog. If they find something, there's not much they do with a geriatric dog.

And even putting a dog under for CT scan could be uncomfortable and stressful.

With Jacks they found inflammation in his nose, up under his eyes. Basically nasal/orbital portion of the nasal cavity. 

Initially - we were taking this step by step.

0. Starting at our regular vet - ran full blood tests and urine tests. Then they did full chest xrays. This was primarily checking the usual places that cancer spreads to or starts at. These tests HAD to be done before we went to a specialist anyway.

1. Getting the CT scan done so we knew what we were dealing with. Head/skull xrays are inconclusive. Other option would be MRI. In some cases doing both an MRI and a CT scan is the ultimate check for everything. But CT scan doesn't use radiation + might be more helpful if soft tissue problems are in the nose. MRI is better for spotting deterioration of the bone. Both tests can be pretty expensive...

2. Biopsy if they found growth, swelling, etc. 

3 (done the same time as biopsy). Testing for fungal conditions.

4. Allergy testing - and/or assume allergies (Jacks DOES have minor allergy issues, causes teary eyes) and put him on apoquel. <= This is not a casual decision to be made with my dog, because he did have blood oddities. And from what I understand, apoquel can mess with blood marrow. 

^^^ With my dog, his entire little body was clear of cancer. They had to do cancer screen tests before the specialist would us through the expense of a CT scan. With blood noses - there's a high possibility of it being cancer. Although, since your dog has had this for 6 months, it very likely is either a benign situation or possibly something other than a typical cancer (like fungal infection). 

Jacks had inflammation in his nose which was not typical of most tumors, but they biopsied anyway. It was pretty tough for him. There was a lot of nosebleeds. It also took him about 2-3 weeks for the scan/scraping to heal. He had minor nosebleeds at home, and generally went around sounding a little bit like a pug with all the snorkling. He also needed to be at the vet hospital for a few days because of the above healing needs. 

Fungal tests took about 2-3 weeks to complete at the lab and came out perfectly clear.

We are about a month past and he has had no nosebleeds and is back to his normal self in every way. 

Actually am thrilled to say that he went from being 90# at the end of winter to about 83# right now.

i call him my "little guy", but he is a substantial dog. He has a lot of big bone. So a healthy weight for him is on the upper end of the breed standard to a smidge over... so 78-80# is OK for him at about 10 years old. 

And because of the scare - I'm really serious about bringing him out to do something extra in the obedience ring for fun. Because I do see this as a warning blow that we don't have much time left. 2-4 years expectancy beyond this is a best case scenario.

Since your dog is 12.5 - I'm sure it is even more so. And absolutely consider what needs to be done for the short term comfort of your do. If there's a fungal condition - it supposedly has a good rate of healing if it is contained to those nose. Once is spreads through the body, that is when you're out of luck.

Other thing you might want to do. Do a snapX test to ensure you are not dealing with a tick borne disease. The TBD spread by dog ticks... does cause nosebleeds. That is one of the tests that we would have done... and may still do, though it's very unlikely for my dog.

Jacks' nosebleeds - we believe... were caused by an allergy condition. He's very sensitive to mold/mildews. Certain times of the year - his weepy eyes are a bit more noted. ***They also found quite a bit of bacteria, which they thought was normal because of the location. His first nosebleed DID follow shortly after I let him swim in a mucky lake. Normally I only let them swim in clear/moving water. This was "thick" slimy water. Think what you find beneath docks... he came out with green legs.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Bone marrow. I meant.


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## Emma's momma (Jul 12, 2017)

I have decided to get a 2nd opinion because no tests have been done. Emma has no become weak and we fear the worst.


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

Oh dear. I think it is wise to get a second opinion. Please let us know how you get on at the new vets and please give her a hug from me.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Oh, no. I'm so glad you are getting another opinion. Please do let us know what happens. Sending positive thoughts to you..


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