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Wow.....I am so glad all of you guys that know about Boxers showed up here when the OP needed you.
I had no idea Boxers were prone to this horrible heart problem.
Sounds like you guys are right about Levi's problem.....but I sure hope you are wrong.
dnvrsoul is right......you need to ask your vet to refer you to a canine cardiologist ASAP.
Thanks! I just hope I help Levi..I was browsing the Pet section to look at cute pics because of my sadness over my cousins dog..and clicked on this...please let us know what you find out OP
The enlarged heart and windpipe pushed up do sound very suspicious for heart disease. It seems like 15 months is awfully early for ARVC (the type of dilated cardiomyopathy that Boxers usually get). Those kids usually show symptoms from their heart beating abnormally (such as fainting) long before they go into heart failure. I'm just not convinced that the cough and the vomiting blood can be blamed on the heart.
With the heart, I do wonder if there might be another condition that he was born with at work here.
Boxers can also have something called SAS (subaortic stenosis) which usually causes a heart murmur that gets worse as they get older. He's about the right age for it to start causing problems.This one causes abnormal heart rhythms too, but would also lead to heart failure much faster. Did your vet say anything about a murmur? I don't know though, the whole throwing up blood thing has me confused. End-stage heart failure patients can cough up foam, sometimes blood-tinged. But they don't usually survive without immediate intervention.
I think my best advice would be a second opinion. I'd also get someone to do an ecg if you can to see if the heart rhythm is normal. Please be aware that it's possible for the rhythm to be normal when you do the ecg and abnormal at other times. It's just one of the limitations we have to work with. You can do a 24 hour ecg called a Holter monitor but it tends to be expensive, and not helpful if read by someone who is experienced in human medicine but not veterinary medicine. An echocardiogram would probably give you the best information, but again they can be pricey. I didn't see where you are from but some veterinary schools offer them for less money than a private specialist can because they are subsidized by the state. The university where I work does not make arrangements for payments or work with care credit but I know that others do.
Hi everyone thank you so much for all of your suggestions and wishes for Levi..i am sorry I havent posted an update, I've been busy with Levi and exams.
So I ended up getting a second opinion and they did xrays and couldnt see anything on the left side of his chest, all white, so vet knew it was covered with something she just couldnt diagnos for sure what it was so she suggested we go a specialist. We decided to go becasue although we knew it would be costly we were willing to do whatever to help Levi. So we went to Guelph to the unviersity and levi was in there for 2 nights and 3 days. They ran lots of tests and we picked him up the 3rd day and took him home for the weekend, he had improved, not coughing up blood and a little more chipper. They had him on 10 pills a day plus some liquid deworming meds. We took him back 2 days later for more xrays to be sure that the meds were helping and the vet couldnt believe the improvements. His chest had started to clear up, we could actually see his left side, over to his right! We have now had him home for two weeks and he is doing great! He is done all his medications except for prednisone, which they want him to stay on for a while becasue they feel like this is what is helping him the most...to reduce inflamation. They are still unsure of what he has, they are now leaning toward a very rare condition that no one in the world knows how to cure, lovely! They say I have a very unique dog, unfortunately, they havent said anything about him not being able to live with it..so that's a positive. We bring him back on the 23rd for another check up to make sure that he is doing even better, we hope! He seems to be back to his normal self, hardly ever coughing, happy, eating lots, playing, its great!
Thank you again for all your suggestions and all you wishes of getting better for Levi, we dont know what we would have done if we lost him, he is such a great lovey little boy! The vet said everyone loved him and he was such a good boy
Thank you so much! Ill post again!
I'm glad Levi is feeling better, and I hope your "special" boy will continue to do well! Thanks for updating us.
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