Ask the vet for a referral to a specialist.........

Get a CBC. Having lost a dog to thrombocytopenia (low platelets), I would want to know that her blood is able to clot. The pink color doesn't mean the blood is old, it just means there is not a lot and it is diluted with other secretions. Our girl had a pink nasal discharge during her last day. Good luck with her, I hope it is nothing serious.

annz, a specialist would be at least 3 hours away. i want her seen NOW.

PL, she had a complete blood panel done when all of this first began. i don't recall exact numbers but i believe her clotting time was only increased by about 1 minute or so. i'm sorry about your dog...was it a sudden thing with her and did you have to have her put down?

Definitely get an MRI or a CAT Scan.
What you are describing sounds like something may be growing in the nasal area. I wouldn't wait. It could be a lot of things.

Maybe it's just a bad nasal/sinus infection, but you need to find out... I do know from experience that IF a dog gets a nasty infection in the nasal area, it takes a long time with many Antibiotics to clear up.
My dog had an infected/cracked tooth, which gave her some CLEAR discharge from the nose. She would sneeze when she tried to play with a toy. Her nasal area was infected etc. Once the tooth was removed she was fine. She had an MRI done. They removed the tooth right then. The irony is that her teeth were pearly white, so the teeth were not suspect. I wanted an MRI of the head, anyway. I described my dog's behavior the night before the MRI, how I gave her a Greenie to chew and she was restless during the night, pacing, as though she was in pain...THAT gave the MRI vet the hint to pay attention to the teeth during the MRI.

My vet wanted to do all kinds of little tests(nasal flush etc), but I insisted on an MRI to quickly find the problem. I'm glad I did, because, although expensive, we ALL were relieved quickly.

Regular xrays are not the best tool to find a growth in the nose. Good luck. Please tell us how you make out.

Nina, if your girl had good CBC results originally, why did they give her Vitamin K? I know it helps clotting, but usually only is needed if there is a defect in clotting (such as comes from ingestion of rat poison). If it was my dog, and there was even a slight irregularity the first time (as you say her clotting time was slightly increased), I would want to know it had not progressed.

In fact, that is exactly what happened with our girl. She first had a very slightly low platelet reading in January. We ran a bunch of tests and she seemed to be fine. When she "crashed" in April, the first thing I asked for was a CBC (and a Lyme disease test). Sure enough, her platelets had plummeted.

Thank you for the condolences. When we determined in April (a year ago) that her platelets were so low, we tried some treatments but she only lasted three days. We did have her put to sleep, but I am certain she would have died that day regardless. She began bleeding internally.

I may be overreacting because of my experience, but I now know how serious bleeding can be. I really hope your girl just has an infection and I do agree with others that if you can get an MRI or CT that would be a good idea.

Good luck to both of you.

dabunch, i will ask about an MRI. if we decide that is the best option, i will have to take her to the university of illinois, 3 hours away. it will be a major undertaking what with 2 other dogs and 3 horses at home and me being alone. i will have to make arrangements for my other critters to be cared for because it would likely be an overnight trip. i have no idea what something like that costs, i suspect it would be upward of $2,000 at the very least. i keep a separate emergency fund for my animals so cost wouldn't be a problem.

PL, the blood work was done AFTER the initial nose bleed. my regular vet was closed, it was after hours, so i took her to the e.r. where they determined she may have inhaled something or had some sort of injury although i can't imagine what that could have been because it happened the first time when i arrived home from work and i know (because i have a petcam) that all she did all day was SLEEP!

i am really hoping this is just an infection that is not responding to the clavamox rather than something else like a tumor. i will let you know what we find out today. thank you for your thoughts, everybody. it always helps to bounce stuff off of other pet owners. :)

dr. B noticed the same swelling on the "bridge" of her nose that i had noticed yesterday. he also noticed how her breathing seems "labored" but not all the time.

he put a tiny catheter up her nose and flushed it to get a sample. she sneezed and gave him a bloody sample for the slide which he will send off to the University of Illinois for cytology. we should know something within a couple of days.

since the antibiotic she has been taking has been ineffective, he thinks there are 2 possibilities. 1-a fungal infection or 2-a cancerous tumor. if this slide comes back inconclusive, i will see about scheduling my little girl for an MRI.

maggie was really my husband's dog. she has never been the same since he died 19 months ago. she was so devoted to him, spent every waking moment (and sleeping moment, for that matter) near his recliner or in his lap or with her head on his pillow while he slept, the entire time he was ill. she rarely left his side. i find it so ironic that the first symptom of gary's cancer was repeated bloody noses. *sigh*

good thoughts and prayers for my girl much appreciated.

nina

I'm so sorry. Waiting for results can be pure agony. Wishing you get good news very soon.

what is that plant that can cause bloody nose? Foxtail? I'm sure if it's common in your area the vet would know.

I hope you get good news.

yes, kim, foxtail can be a cause but a foreign body has pretty much been ruled out.

you would think i'd be used to waiting for test results, i did it countless times when my husband was ill but i just have ZERO patience for this. guess i don't have a choice.

the best scenario would be a fungal infection that can be treated. cancer would, obviously, be the worst outcome.

Ninapearl , old friend .. who has been through a lot...I am saying prayers.

thank you, lisa. i should gets results from cytology today or tomorrow. losing maggie is unthinkable. she is one of my connections to gary. she was so devoted to him, really she was his dog although the times i would come home and find him asleep with her curled up in his lap always got the response..."how the heck did she get up here??" he loved her with a passion although he would never come right out and say it. ;)

There's a 7 yo dog in my house right now who had severe bloody noses beginning in February. They were so hard to manage that his owners returned him after two years. (I foster with my volunteer group.) He had a rhinoscopy preceeded by an x-ray so vet can see anything obvious, tested for Von Willebrands and a dozen other things. All came back clear. When he was returned, we did full tick panel thru NCSU, CBC just to see if anything off there. Everything is fine/negative. He has been in my house for 6 weeks now and has not bled since the day he was returned. There were a few pinkish drops the day he returned and that was it. Things seem to have resolved on their own and we've done every test. He does have Rhinitis which is mild most of the time - sneezes and snorts. I hope everything comes back negative for Maggie too, and that she is feeling better soon.

wow, cynthia! maggie has had only one bleed that i would call severe. she's had a couple of other instances of 2 or 3 drops of blood and also the pinkish discharge that you describe. i'm hoping for test results today from cytology.