German Shepherd with persistent breathing problems after inhaling a grass awn- looking for similar experiences
Hi everyone,
I have a 2-year-old German Shepherd who has always been completely healthy and has never had any respiratory problems.
In June, he inhaled a grass awn (foxtail/grass seed) and had to undergo a rhinoscopy to remove it. Since then, his breathing has never returned to normal.
Even when resting, he breathes noticeably faster than normal and seems to put some effort into breathing. It becomes particularly noticeable after physical activity or during his usual daily play.
He has been under veterinary care since the beginning. After the rhinoscopy, blood tests were done and parasites and bacterial infections were ruled out. He also received oral medication, including corticosteroids, but there was no significant improvement.
He has been using a Ventolin (salbutamol) inhaler since July. He has had three chest X-rays, and all of them have shown obstructed/poorly aerated lungs. There has only been a small improvement between the X-rays.
Despite all of this, he is otherwise completely himself: happy, energetic, eating normally and still interested in playing and exercising.
At this point, our vet is recommending a CT scan followed by bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to investigate what is going on.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their dog after inhaling a grass awn/foxtail?
Does a CT followed by bronchoscopy and BAL sound like the appropriate next step in this situation? I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through something similar, especially with a German Shepherd.
Thank you!
PS.: English is not my first language, so I used a translation platform.