Just a thought, and I maybe way off here but have you considered any environmental issues, anything close to your home or where he's walked etc that could be affecting him. Like I say I'm just trying to think of anything that he could be reacting to that wouldn't necessarily show up on any vet's tests. Sending lots more positive thoughts and prayers to your precious boy x
He has pretty severe environmental allergies that definitely take a lot out of him, but his issues thus far go beyond that. We’ve also lived in the same area his whole life, he’s a pretty well-traveled dog, and he’s never had any issues beyond those environmental allergies. We’re pretty sure he’s got some kind of auto-immune disease because multiple organ systems are affected but we’re not sure and it’s hard to diagnose.
Currently his symptoms are:
- generalized lymph node enlargement for no apparent reason (he was initially dx with lymphoma, but further testing disagreed). he’s also never had lymph node enlargement
- enlarged spleen with a nodule (that may have been the source of his potential bleed)
- drinking a lot of water/peeing frequently for no apparent reason (bloodwork is fine, he’s not on steroids)
- protein in his urine consistently. no idea, kidney function is fine
- possible neurologic issues (inability to express bladder, circling of unknown origin/reason). Brain/spine MRI came back perfect
- coat changes. Balding and thinning all over, also texture changes (coarse/rough). Thyroid came back fine.
- behavior changes. PICA (cat litter, carpets, dog beds, paper, anything he can put in his mouth) and random episodes of dog reactivity.
- hind-end weakness and stiffness. His joints crack when he gets up, he struggles getting up and sometimes has trouble getting into my car. but he’s not painful-acting (he’ll run and play when he has the energy) and his rehab vet can’t find anything wrong with him. I started him on gabapentin today to see if that’ll help
- weird on-and-off breathing issue, but cardio checked him out and his heart is fine except for mild mitral valve insufficiency.
- lethargy, diarrhea, nausea. generally uncontrolled by meds or food changes. diarrhea doesn’t happen consistently either
- dysbiosis/ileus. his gut doesn’t move without meds. basically food takes forever to work its way through his gut. it’s why his stomach fills with air and he bloats (but hasnt torsion-ed, i think we’re pretty lucky)
- skin/ears. Besides infection from his allergies, his skin pigment is also starting to change all over his body (vs just where the infection is). The types of ear infections he’s getting are changing too - just yeast to yeast + bacteria. Again, pretty sure he has some auto-immune disease “underneath” the environmental allergies but there’s really no way to know.