Late night scare

[steph90]

At about 12 tonight I was watching youtube videos with my boyfriend and our dogs were in their beds relaxing. My boyfriend got up to get something from the kitchen and his dog got up and followed him, Kodi also got up and walked to the doorway, then over to where I was, laying on the bed. I was petting him (a ritual at night; he comes to say goodnight to me in my bed, and when he gets too sleepy he goes to his bed) and completely out of the blue he began gulping and panicking and ran to the door looking at me then the door FRANTICALLY. Kodi tripped over himself trying to get to the back door, literally hitting it when he got to it. I was as calm as possible trying to feel his throat and open his mouth... it almost seemed like he was choking, jutting his head outwards and swallowing hard over and over. I thought maybe he was trying not to vomit in the house because he will often go to the door when he needs to throw up. I let him out and he ran to the grass and began eating it FRANTICALLY. Still swallowing hard as if something was in his throat. I felt so completely useless and helpless.. I had no idea what to do and I couldn't tell if Kodi couldn't breathe or what was happening. I was standing over him and could absolutely not get him to stop, even if I tried to pull him away. This continued for 30 min, with the gulping becoming less apparent and the grass eating becoming less urgent. We sat outside with him until he started to become responsive to us, and he eventually came inside where I was able to finally get him to drink a little water and wag his tail. Since then he has been watching me like a hawk and seems to be having a hard time getting comfortable, but is continuously getting more calm. I have been scouring the internet, and the more I read the more I am thinking there's no way Ill sleep tonight. Person after person says their dog suffers from the same episodes, but nobody can figure out whats wrong with them. Thousands of dollars on all kinds of tests and no solid diagnosis. Some say their dogs were diagnosed with epilepsy, reflux disease, etc, but some dogs are getting worse and no meds have helped. There doesn't seem to be a trend in the breed this affects. I have ruled out every other medical condition I can think of, and it is nothing obvious (nothing different of our daily schedule, nothing in his mouth, etc.) It was exactly the same as all the unexplained experiences I'm reading about online. This has happened once before that I am aware of, about a year ago, but it was way less intense. It scared me, but it wasn't anything close to the degree of what happened tonight (both episodes were at night). I cannot describe to you the dread I felt watching that, and just having no clue at what point I should drive the 45 mins to the ER, if he would make it that long, etc. I know this is a long shot, but has anyone heard of anything like this before? Here is a forum, if you want to see what others are saying. http://forums.webmd.com/3/pet-health-ex ... /3398?pg=2
There's 5 pages on that particular forum. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I realize it is 3 am and I'm not going to get much done tonight, but I at least feel a little better after writing this out and having the chance of any info come my way...

[Stacy_R]

Wow...What a horrible scare! I hope you finally got some sleep.
I have never heard of this. I did read through the forum link you posted and it sounds like it could be anything. I am wondering if the gas that is discussed is the cause or is secondary to whatever the original issue is...
I would keep some Gas-X on hand just in case it happens again...it seems that the Gas-X does relieve some of the physical stress. Did you read through and see that they have a FB page? Maybe there is some new info over there. I would at least call my vet just to see if he/she had seen this before. Please keep us updated.

[Raven]

This has happened with both my DSs, and in just the manner you describe with each one. It's really quite dramatic-looking.

With my first DS, as it began to happen with less frequency, the vet suggested (it was only a suggestion) that as she was getting more used to us and her new life, her stomach was calming down. (?) But that hardly explained why it happened at all or continued to happen.

Thor doesn't do it as much as he used to, either.

Have no answer but know exactly how you feel, especially with a bad episode. Nothing happened to stress him out to cause a more severe reaction, nothing new to eat, nothing too much to eat...???? With that asked, I've never noticed a change to produce the reaction; things are normal--then WHAM.

I bought grass to grow indoors (we live in the snow belt capital, USA), but neither one was interested, preferring to go out and dig through snow to try to get something, anything. In summer, I ask the husband leave a long strip of grass to grow. Grass is THEE only thing they want...and like you said, they pull and tug at it frantically. Awful to watch. You're helpless.

Hope you've gotten some sleep by now....

[steph90]

Hes fine this morning... just tired and sluggish. He continued the gulping just more far apart until about four in the morning. He went about an hour without doing it and I thought it was finished, but he had another two minute episode that was not as bad and the gulps were farther apart. I didn't let him out this time, and he just would press against me and whine then go to the door and look at me. He was obviously very distressed, which scared me. He has never look at me with such a panicked expression. Sharon, are they related? That's strange that it happens to both of them. Do your dogs ever burp? Kodes burps pretty often, always has, and I just attributed it to his really deep chest. It helps to know that it has been happening to them less, and that they are fine otherwise. It really shook me up, especially because I initially thought he was suffocating. I thought maybe his throat was closing from some kind of allergic reaction... I also read a post about bloat earlier in the day and it made me realize I was not prepared for an emergency in the middle of the night. I will get the gas-x and we will go to the vet tomorrow, hopefully he can tell me what caused it or what to do if it happens again.

[Raven]

My dogs were not related; the first we lost to cancer a few years back.

I don't recall either of them having an episode that seemed to linger, as you described with Kodi.

Please post what happens at the vet's.

Don't feel rushed talking to the vet----explain in detail what happens (make notes, perhaps, while it's fresh in your mind, highlighting key points). Missing details or having a vet only half-listening might find it getting passed off as a reverse-sneeze.

[Raven]

Oh, and as for the burping, Thor burps like a merchant marine who just gulped a beer. Never had a dog burp like a human before. There's no straining or anxiety attached. Just BRRRRRRAAAAAGGGHHHTTT and life goes on.

Just recently, a couple people mentioned in a thread how their DSs actually belch, too. Definitely not a regular ol' dog burp.

[steph90]

Sorry for your loss. That is very difficult to go through.
Kodi belches in the same way you described. Hopefully I can find out if there's some relation. I will be very thorough at the vet, but I feel like it will be a hit or miss. He will either know what I'm talking about or try to run a bunch of tests and probably not figure it out. Something I thought of a few minutes ago is that I gave him comfortis last week for fleas. He doesn't get it often, but it is the only thing that can really knock out an established flea population. I think I gave it to him around 3 times the year. I hate giving him that stuff, god knows what it does to him if all his fleas are dead in an hour. The gulping almost seems as if it is involuntary and I wonder if there's a connection with the comfortis. Does thor take any oral flea meds? I'm going to do more research tonight when I get off work. I found a youtube video of a less dramatic form of what happened to Kodi. This looks more like the first time it happened, when it was much less severe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpYAC9IfZjo

[Raven]

Thor gets Sentinel (heartworm/flea) all year.

Good luck at the vet's. I think you're right, though: you won't walk away with any answers...but here's hoping !!!!

[steph90]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJvbW3yrJTk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE9wPrxgcZA

Very distressing

[steph90]

It turns out quite a few dogs suffer from these episodes, and nobody can figure out why. There have been tests and drugs given for seizures, gastrointestinal problems, allergies, etc. Kodi's vet is out of town for the holidays, so he hasn't been yet. No vet has diagnosed whatever this is, and I haven't found anything about it being life threatening. Just very scary for the dog (and dog mom). Now that I know what to expect I will handle things a little better next time. Im the meantime Im still trying to find out what is going on, because it seems that this is a chronic problem, and chances are it will happen again. If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them!

[Dutchringgirl]

Sadie does this ( no surprise there) only after she eats grain, she dosnt do it with raw or any other type of food.

It only lasts for about 30 seconds though.

I can understand your fright !!!! I hope everything settles down.