Whenever a general anaesthetic is involved, whether for a CT scan or MRI you can count on a bill of at least 1000 francs. Our dog had more than one test on that day so I will have to work out the costs for you and post later.
Ultrasound is less expensive as it done without anaesthetic. Not sure if that is an option for your dog. How old is he?
My dog is deaf too actually - but from birth and it's down to breeding.
One of our dogs recently had an MRI at the Tierspital in Aarau. The doctor who works there also has his own practice in Niederglatt in Zurich where he performs ultrasound. The latter is done without sedation, at least that was the case with both of our dogs who where there. The ultrasound cost was around chf 300. Dr. Gardelle speaks excellent English.
Depending on your dog, and how calm they are, you may be able to do an Xray without sedation. They only need to be still for a very short time.
Has your dog had a full blood panel done? The dog needs to fast before this (water okay but no food after dinner until the next morning). A blood screening can reveal quite a lot, such as an infection. The cost will vary depending on whether your vet can do this in house or must send the blood to a lab for analysis but a ball part figure is chf 160. Some specific blood tests can only be one at a Tierspital or lab and have a separate cost.
Until you have a diagnosis you really don't know what you are dealing with. How is your dog's appetite? Has your vet checked his teeth? Does your dog have any facial swelling? Personally I think the MRI / CT option is a bit premature. Mucous and sneezing have causes other than cancer though combined with weight loss that is worrying. Other tests, certainly the blood panel and Xray would be in order, as well as analysis of urine and feces. Has your dog had any of these?
My experience is that veterinarians vary greatly in their treatment approach. I have also found that the age of your pet will also be a factor in how the doctor might approach problems.
I hope you get some answers, as I feel that knowing is better than guessing. Fingers crossed that your suspicion is wrong.
I have not dealt with nasal cancers in my own dogs but have with a dog in the rescue with which I volunteer - this was a lymphoma of the nasal cavity, the 'best' kind. (This was in Germany, so those prices are likely not relevant.) After radiation the dog has been in remission for 21 months now, and is doing well.
(And an FYI - I have experience of radiation with my own dog for another cancer. The treatment in dogs is - hand on heart - easily tolerated. My guy was in no pain, had no side effects.)
First step is a referral from your vet. A specialist in imaging is needed, and if the results show cancer, a discussion with a veterinary oncologist is recommended. I don't know your area, but there are two outstanding animal oncology centers in the ZH area, at the Tierspital (Uni ZH, http://www.tierspital.uzh.ch/Kleinti...Onkologie.html ) and the Animal Oncologie and Imaging Center in Hünenberg, ZG ( http://www.aoicenter.ch ). Hopefully your vet will know of someone nearer to you - maybe UniBE?
To add to Mrs D's wise words, I second the recommendation to pursue diagnosis. It is better to make decisions when one has all the facts - and awful to try to do so when you are guessing. Talk to your vet, discuss what needs to be done, what the prodecure will be, talk about possible risks vs. the benefits of the knowledge gained.
Keeping our thumbs pressed and paws crossed for your dog, and wishing you all the best.
I spoke to my vet in the UK who was really good and sent me his weight chart for the vet here and gave me her thoughts. She agreed that we need to take it a step at a time but is obviously very concerned about him - he has lost almost a 3rd of his already svelte body weight in a very short space of time. I went along to the vet here with my own questions plus with the the thoughts of my own vet - it's much easier to discuss in depth in English obviously! The vet gave him a through physical exam and while she couldnt say for sure there was no very obvious signs of a large tumour in his nose as he's fairly symmetrical but he does have the nose thing (which may be something else) and his eye isn't quite right either. His lymph nodes are very up on both sides but that could be from fighting some infection. His tummy clearly isn't right as although his appetite isn't vastly reduced his food passes straight through him either undigested or as diarrhoea and you can hear it working overtime from across the room. A very good friend of mine is an oncologist (human) and she has been really helpful in understanding and debunking a few things. I asked for bloods to be done right away as the vet initially wanted to try an antibiotic to see if it helped the upset tummy issue and nose - we have only seen blood once but he sneezes so violently and in fits to the point he has hurt himself banging is face on the floor - I had to lift him up him today to stop him smashing his teeth in the ground The bloods were done while we waited and showed very high white blood cells as we thought and also very low red blood cells. He's low on HB and his liver function is a concern. So we came away with a bunch of meds for those things after injections of antibiotics and vitamins. He is going back on weds to review and they will think about an X-ray at that point. He will definitely not keep still! He is a anxious thing I think due to being deaf maybe and he was very distressed being examined and having blood taken - it had me in tears as it's the first time we've had anything like this and I cant talk to him to reassure him i just have to try to get him to look at me while they are restraining him.
I think he's been a little better poo wise which is encouraging and his appetite has increased but to be honest it's never gone away which is bizarre given how much weight he's shed :/ I am ever the optimist but I still have an awful sense of foreboding. My boy has bad genetics. He is way too finely bred which is probably why he's been deaf from birth so I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was a cancer somewhere. If it's 'just a virus/infection' it's a belter to go from 13kg to 9.4kg in under 2 months.
We will see what the repeat bloods bring on weds - fingers crossed for some signs of improvement.
As to your screen name, with a pet, especially a dog, being skint is a foregone conclusion!
Hang in there and keep us updated.
Keeping you and your dog in our thoughts, hoping for the best.
Yes I was holding him but it took 3 of us to keep him still enough - I went at his head in the end so I could make eye contact with him but he was still very very upset....the vet said 'well he's a real cocker!'
So we went back for repeat bloods, check up and weighing before next steps. Good news is he's gained 400g His appetite has improved (although it was never that much worse) to the point he is actually scavenging...however he started to eat his and our other dogs poo :/ He was actually pooing and turning straight round to eat it..... I know this is a sign of deficiencies so we have just made sure it doesnt happen and obviously mentioned that to the vet today.
They tested his poop as he had done his 4th enormous one of the day by 10am as we were arriving and no parasites or anything there. Then they did the bloods again and his white blood cells have gone up even higher and unfortunately his red cells have gone down even lower. His potassium is also too high - not dangerously but it needs not to get much higher. I asked about pancreatic cancer and diabetes after my weekends googling and both sugars and pancreatic function are normal. As his nose continues to run thy suggested a change of antibiotic to try to get that infection out of the white blood cell picture so they can see if they are high for some other reason. I asked about leukaemia and she said until we get rid of the obvious possible infections (nose and tummy) we cant make a proper call on the high white blood cells....his nose is better but not completely fine but they continue to rise. The vet suggested we checked his adrenal glands so he's had an injection and bloods again an hour later and those tests are going to a lab. He had a vitamin injection and we have some iron and mineral supplements to try get his poop eating under control too. She gave him a small dose of the medication used with adrenal problems as while we aren't sure that's the issue it won't harm him and it's worth a punt till the results come back - if she's right (I PRAY she is) then he's already got some in his system. We await a call with results and back for repeat bloods and next steps - either a diagnosis and some treatment or we are heading down the X-ray route potentially which I am not sure I want to do....I'll have a think. While he's got better at having the bloods done he is VERY stressed when he's there which is backed up by the rate at while his blood was pumping out onto the examination table
wish us more luck ( and a premium bonds win)
Well it's not his adrenal glands unfortunately. The vet rang me with the results and asked me to go back for a change of medication today - we were moving house today.....Then the boss vet rang and said he was very concerned and that he wanted us to see if the lab that tested the adrenals would test for some autoimmune problem with the same blood. The regular vet then rang back to ay we would need more blood so we went back and I asked them to check his white/red blood cells again. The weighed him and he has lost the weight he put on but tbh I dont think he really gained 400g - more like 100g and the vet admitted he wouldn't stay still when she tried to weigh him. Today'd bloods showed a slight decrease in white cells and slight increase in red which is good but they described his blood as 'astonishing' for a dog who outwardly behaves normally other than the dramatic weight loss, nose (which is definitely improved) and loose poops. I asked the boss vet directly if he thought it might be a cancer or maybe leukaemia and he said I hope not but that we are not at that stage yet. They wanted to see him monday but said we will try wait till the bloods are back weds. If he deteriorates we go back right away - he was running round with the kids at the bus stop at lunch time like a 3 yr old dog <3 I'm just thankful he's clearly not suffering but I am worried I will find him dead of a heart attack one morning or something.
I have to say I have been amazed how (relatively) cheap it's been. They even waived the consultation today as they said you have a big enough bill already. We've had a lot of bloods, exams, bags full of pills, injections and hours of their time and we are only at 500CHF to date - not that I have it down the back of the sofa but it's been much more reasonable than expected.
TBC....