Dog question....calling owners or vets...

[Italiahaircolor]

Last night we had a really scary incident with our young Chihuahua Diesel (age 3, pictured in my avatar).

Diesel was sleeping in his cage, when he began to scream a little. We figured he wanted out to play, so we let him...took him upstairs to our room, put him on the bed, and let him play. He was snuggling and cuddling, when out of nowhere he began screaming again frantically. He wouldn''t let us touch him, and he didn''t move at all...only tucked his head and pulled his shoulders upwards. Panicking, I placed a hand on him, and he was trembling pretty hard--but not shaking--more like shivering. The entire incident lasted about 3 minutes. We were frantic trying to figure out **how** to soothe him. The screaming subsided for a moment and Mark eventually scooped him up and took him outside, thinking he needed to go to the bathroom. He went both 1 & 2 and had no trouble doing either... When he came back inside, he still refused to walk, head tucked and should haunched. It took about 2 minutes for him to warm up, but when he did, he was his old self again...running, jumping, and playing...only very thirsty.

What could this have been? Has anyone ever seen or heard their dog act this way before? Am I making something out of nothing?

TIA

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/7/2009 10:10:15 AM
Author:Italiahaircolor
Last night we had a really scary incident with our young Chihuahua Diesel (age 3, pictured in my avatar).

Diesel was sleeping in his cage, when he began to scream a little. We figured he wanted out to play, so we let him...took him upstairs to our room, put him on the bed, and let him play. He was snuggling and cuddling, when out of nowhere he began screaming again frantically. He wouldn''t let us touch him, and he didn''t move at all...only tucked his head and pulled his shoulders upwards. Panicking, I placed a hand on him, and he was trembling pretty hard--but not shaking--more like shivering. The entire incident lasted about 3 minutes. We were frantic trying to figure out **how** to soothe him. The screaming subsided for a moment and Mark eventually scooped him up and took him outside, thinking he needed to go to the bathroom. He went both 1 & 2 and had no trouble doing either... When he came back inside, he still refused to walk, head tucked and should haunched. It took about 2 minutes for him to warm up, but when he did, he was his old self again...running, jumping, and playing...only very thirsty.

What could this have been? Has anyone ever seen or heard their dog act this way before? Am I making something out of nothing?

TIA

I would get him checked, it sounds to me like he was in pain for some reason.

 

[elrohwen]

Seizure maybe? That is the first thing that comes to mind.

 

[Haven]

I would get off of PS and take him to the vet ASAP.

We have several local emergency vets that are open 24 hours, I''d get info for those, too, in case this happens again tonight.

I hope little Diesel is okay. Big hugs and kisses for the little guy.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 2/7/2009 10:22:12 AM
Author: elrohwen
Seizure maybe? That is the first thing that comes to mind.

That''s the second thing that comes to mind the first is a bladder or intestine issue.
Take him to the the vet for a checkup asap.

 

[tlh]

Date: 2/7/2009 10:22:12 AM
Author: elrohwen
Seizure maybe? That is the first thing that comes to mind.

Ditto. I''d take him to the vet, because of his small size. Things can happen much QUICKER with smaller pets. Plus smaller dogs can ingest things that get twisted on their insides, like tinsel... there is a whole list. Better safe than sorry.

***puppy dust***

 

[AmberGretchen]

I''d think seizure or intestinal issue as well, although could be something as mild as him biting his own tongue by accident - I had a dog that reacted like that in class once and that was all it turned out to be (scared the cr*p out of all of us though...).

I agree with Haven - get him to the vet ASAP, he''s so little, and you don''t want to take any chances.

I hope he''s OK!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 2/7/2009 10:22:12 AM
Author: elrohwen
Seizure maybe? That is the first thing that comes to mind.

ditto. little dogs are known for having them. not sure that is what it was though.

 

[lyra]

I''m just sending dust and hugs. Please let us know what the vet says. Is he a mini, or regular size? Seizure, intestinal, kidney stone, bladder infection, who knows? Poor lil guy!

 

[CharmyPoo]

It sounds like a seizure to me as well. Please go to the vet and let us know how everything goes. All the best.

 

[missjaxon]

My little Havanese puppy suffers from seizures and this sounds a lot like what happens when she has them. I would definitely take him to the vet to rule out any other more serious conditions. If it was a seizure, from what our vet told us and from living with it for a few years now, it isn''t incredibly serious. Ours little Haven has one every few months and we can get her calmed down at home with an injection of valium (in the rectum). It can be really scary and we did a lot of blood tests when she started having them to rule out everything else.

 

[mia1181]

Oh sending lots of dust that everything is okay. Get him to the vet ASAP!

 

[Steel]

 

[HappyAnniversary]

My little chihuahua has a seizure about once a month. Vet does not recommend meds yet. She doesn''t make much noise, (panting) but does tremble, legs get stiff, body contorts, sometimes the head tucks downward. . I wrap her in a towel and hold her, making sure towel doesn''t get near her eyes cos I don''t think she would blink to protect them. I think she feels more secure bundled up. When her little tongue starts licking I know it is almost over. If she is startled awake, or a strange, large man is talking near her, etc might start a seizure, but they also just happen.

After one of the first incidents I took her to an animal hospital right after. They took her blood sugar thinking it might be hypoglycemia, but it was normal. Her Initial seizures were smaller and more confined to back legs, now they are all over and pretty major.

Anyway, even though she has seizures, she''s a wonderful little dog, happy and loving and fine 99% of the time.

It is kind of weird, but people have taped their dogs having seizures and put them on You Tube. Then other people post how mean that is, but you could get an idea of how some dogs act during a seizure.

But of course, see you vet. Good luck! Your little one looks so cute.

 

[E B]

Date: 2/7/2009 10:22:12 AM
Author: elrohwen
Seizure maybe? That is the first thing that comes to mind.

This was my first thought as well. Keep us posted on poor little Diesel!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Date: 2/7/2009 10:23:53 AM
Author: Haven
I would get off of PS and take him to the vet ASAP.

We have several local emergency vets that are open 24 hours, I''d get info for those, too, in case this happens again tonight.

I hope little Diesel is okay. Big hugs and kisses for the little guy.

I wasn''t on PS when it happened...I should have been more clear...it happened Friday night.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Thank you everyone for weighing in. My vet does believe he suffered a small seizure. We''ve laid low since Friday, basically keeping him within reach at all times to monitor him.

So far, he hasn''t had a repeat...and for that we''re very thankful.

Diesel has had all sorts of issues since we first adopted him....so I suppose this too will become just part of his character...

It was just scary...thank you all, again.

 

[musey]

Glad to hear he''s doing okay now!

Our dog does similar things when he has gas

we took him to the emergency vet once when he was young, and paid about $300 to be told that he was just a bit gassy

he''s such a wuss.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Hope he stays fine! Poor baby, sending prayers and dust for him.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Sorry Italia. I hope Diesel does better and doesn''t suffer another seizure. I can only imagine how scary that was (we have a Chihuahua too), and my heart goes out to you (and lots of healthy vibes going his way!).

 

[lyra]

Lots of Chihuahuas have seizures, so this is good that you caught it and talked to the vet. Now you have a good idea of what you're dealing with, and how to proceed in the future. It's always better to know. You can do meds early if that's what's needed down the line. I've read that Chi's with seizure problems can be treated with medicine as long as it's caught early and monitored. Obviously he doesn't need meds right now, and may not, but you are prepared.

Hope Diesel is just fine! I was waiting and waiting to hear. I don't know if we're going to go through this too, or not. Some of it is genetic, and sometimes it can be hypoglycemia, and rarely, epilepsy. Thanks for sharing your story and alerting us to the process! Sending Diesel lots of hugs and kisses!!!

 

[iwannaprettyone]

I''m sorry you had to go thru this Italia- My bestfriends weiny dog has seizures (generally petite mal), only every once in while. The vet said if they are more frequent then 4 times a week and become grand mal seizures then a daily medication could be administered.

Good luck to you!

 

[Heather9410]

Hello, I am a veterinary technician and It does not sound like a seizire. Usually those don''t last as long and your pups posture doesn''t match up with how a seizire dog acts like. Usually they urinate and defecate on themselves, drool and you will notice their pupils change. Ones that last that long most likely would have had risidual effects (like a head tilt or only walking in one direction, ect) i would be more concerned about hypoglycemia (not enough sugar). Those tiny guys can have little attacks if they are lacking sugar. When was her last meal before the incident? Was she breathing in very very heavy as if trying to get air? If she was then that could be something else too. It never hurts to run bloodwork and make sure that all her levels are normal. She is young but that doens''t mean nothing can be wrong.

 

[Heather9410]

Also because these litte guys don''t realize they are little and jump on the couch and bed they can be prone to spinal injury. If he pinched a neve or disc jumping off something that would definitly make him have momentary spasms. If you don''t want to bring him in for an exam I would definitly do some strict rest (no playing or jumping and yes I know thats almost impossible). He is much to small to give him any home meds so def don''t give any asprin or anything like that. It might make sense because when he went potty he could have strained himself a little and felt pain again. Remember to be calm, don''t panick and just sooth him by talking to him or else he will know you are worked up and become scared himself prolonging his episode.

 

[Kelli]

Poor puppy. I''d be scared too, and probably take him to the vet. I''m glad he hasn''t had a repeat attack though.

 

[BooBearsMom]

Oh, poor little Diesel. Glad to hear he hasn''t had another one. Give him hugs and kisses from BooBearsMom.

 

[packrat]

Poor little guy! I just wanted to say that we have a Cavalier King Charles named Chicken, and she used to do that-seemingly for no reason just start screeching. We just figured she had some sort of mental issue, until one day I looked out in the yard and she wouldn''t move-we called the vet and he checked her out. Turns out she had an intestinal blockage. We tried using mineral oil to help her poop it out, but the vet ended up doing surgery..and we got a baggie to take home full of all the stuff she''d chewed up and couldn''t digest. Turns out Chicken was a massive chewer..tie cords for patio furniture, hard pieces of plastic and shingle nails. Just something to check out!

 

[bee*]

Date: 2/8/2009 1:14:53 PM
Author: Heather9410
Also because these litte guys don''t realize they are little and jump on the couch and bed they can be prone to spinal injury. If he pinched a neve or disc jumping off something that would definitly make him have momentary spasms. If you don''t want to bring him in for an exam I would definitly do some strict rest (no playing or jumping and yes I know thats almost impossible).

I was thinking the same. It sounds like a trapped nerve or something similar. From the signs that you posted, it really doesn''t sound like a fit to me.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/9/2009 12:00:33 PM
Author: bee*

Date: 2/8/2009 1:14:53 PM
Author: Heather9410
Also because these litte guys don't realize they are little and jump on the couch and bed they can be prone to spinal injury. If he pinched a neve or disc jumping off something that would definitly make him have momentary spasms. If you don't want to bring him in for an exam I would definitly do some strict rest (no playing or jumping and yes I know thats almost impossible).

I was thinking the same. It sounds like a trapped nerve or something similar. From the signs that you posted, it really doesn't sound like a fit to me.

My thoughts too, it sounded as if he was more in pain than having a seizure.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and kind words. According to my vets tests and such, there is no blockage...and if there was a pinched nerve at some point, we''ll maybe never know. At this point, however, my vet seems pretty convinced that it was a seizure, and we''ve been keeping a close eye on him.

Again, thank you...I do appreciate you all taking your time to weigh in, but I think that I have to trust the vet--he''s never steered us wrong before, and has cared for all of my animals since I was a little girl as our family vet.