OJW Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Hi, has anyone else had anything like this happen to their dog. He's a Rotty between 9 and 10 years old. I was walking him about 1.30hrs ago and he was fine sniffing about and pulling on the lead. The he staggered a few paces to the right and went down face first. He was lying there and it looked like he's stopped breathing, although he didn't loose consciousness. I took his collar off and stroked his head while I was looking for an emergency vet number on my phones internet. Then after about 2-3mins he started to come around a bit and lifted his head. We managed to walk home very gently with his tail between his legs. I called the vet and they said that if he's managed to get up then he's not in any immediate danger. I booked him in for 4pm when they come back on duty. I've given him lots of water, he's lying down and was breathing shallow for a while but seems to be ok now. Gums are pale but tongue is normal collar and his stomach doesn't look bloated. He's also not trothing at the mouth or anything. I called the RSPCA Vet line and they said to take him to the vets sooner, I pointed out he gets very distressed at the vet so they said it's better to wait and make sure he's calm at home. I'm about to take him in but was wondering if anyone else has experienced this is because even if he's feeling weak I'm sure he won't let the vet get close enough to him to give him a proper looking over even with the mussel. Also with so many working dogs on here maybe people recognise symptoms like these that a suburban vet might not. He's a very friendly dog who's never aggressive to anyone but he HATES the vet and gets very scared/ defensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Oh my goodness I'm so sorry. Hope all goes ok at the vet's - closest I've ever seen to this is exercise induced collapse in labradors but it doesn't seem as if that's what is wrong with him. Good luck and please keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I do hope your dog will be ok and gets sorted as soon as. We will be thinking about you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codeye Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I had a spaniel do this it was caused after he saw a cat and pulled like hell on the lead it basically choked him till he collapsed through lack of oxygen he was fine 5 mins later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem1234 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) I had a similar issue with my staffordshire bull terrier....it happened 3 times in total all the times he recovered fully.... The first time I was out walking him nearing the end of the walk at night in the winter....he got slower and slower and then keeled over, I thought he was dying I stroked his head and then after a minute or so he recovered, got up and slowly and started walking again and was ok.... The other times we were indoors....he did not realise I was in house he saw me and came running up the stairs to greet me he then keeled over, again recovered in a minute or so. I took him to the Vets who gave him a once over, checked his heart etc and said he had a clean bill of health and put it down to him fainting/hyper ventilating....He lived a good few years until 15. I hope all goes well at your vets Edited May 12, 2015 by prem1234 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Heat can cause this, or low sugar levels, vestibular syndrome could be one of any of these or others. Hopefully its nothing serious as he perked up qquickly afterwards. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 This happened to me when we had GSDs. The largest did exactly the same as yours. His problem was his heart. I honestly hope yours is something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckandswing Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 One of my collies did the same. Ran herself to collapse in the heat once. Same symptoms. I dunked her in a cow trough so she would cool down. She then threw up twice and was as right as rain afterwards. She has such a dense coat and heats up rapidly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJW Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) Thank you for the well wishes. Back from the local vets. As predicted he growled too much for her to make a physical diagnosis. She's taken blood and will ring me tomorrow. My local vet said it's most likely to be some kind of heart disease and the symptoms didn't match a seizure but the RSPCA vet said on the phone it sounded most like a seizure. Local vet said dogs paddle when having a seizure and as my dog wasn't doing this he wasn't having one but RSPCA vet said they can take many forms..... He's perked up though which is good and is having a sleep. Local vet said he isn't in any immediate danger now he's back up and about. I was worried he might have had a heart attack because he looked like a human would if they were having one when he went down but she said dogs don't get cardiac arrests in the same way. It sounds a lot like the descriptions above of dogs pulling or getting over excited and choking them selves out. The thing is he's been pulling like a bull for the last 9 years and it's never happened before. It was hot for this time of year but not HOT HOT and he's never done this in the height of summer so be strange for him to react to it now. Thank you again everyone for the input. I'm really hoping its that he got tired/ choked out or something and he'll be fine. He's under strict orders to take it easy for the next few days and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the bloods come back ok and it was something random and unserious. I'll let you know what the blood work says. Edited May 12, 2015 by OJW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolkngood Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I've had similar with my GSP's. First one, then the other. Both recovered quickly and vet gave all clear. Then one day after a walk they both did it? Vet again gave them the all clear. Then one did it again and this time the vet diagnosed a stroke. No happy ending this time. Really hope your dog is given the all clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 try using a harness or muzzelbrake on him........if he is throttling himself he is not getting enuff air....dogs cool themselves by passing lots of air thro their mouth...(panting).....the weather is warmer than you think..............yesterday i had the french windows open all day and when i came in at 3.30...i checked the thermometer in the corner of the room and it was 81deg ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil w Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Same thing happened a few years ago with a labrador. He was In the house at the time, heard a thump there he was, collapsed In hall !!. He recovered In minutes "but I really thought he was going to die". He was eleven at that time but lived until he was 14 years and two months old. Still miss him and also the other Labs I have owned.Hopefully, your dog will be fine. I wish him/her all the very best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJW Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Thanks again for the well wishes. The blood results came back early and showed nothing was wrong with him on a very general level such as his kidneys or liver, anemia, blood cell problems or diabetes and that kind of thing. She said to watch him closely and that if things don't improve we will need to bring him in for xrays in the next couple of days. So result is we have no idea what caused it but he seems ok now. It's annoying they can't do more to find out. I'll probably book him in for an xray to be on the safe side even if he does appear to be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I had a Schnauzer who collapsed one day whilst out walking. I thought he'd died but he came to after a few minutes. I took him to the vets and it turned out he had a heart murmur. As time went on he kept passing out until just walking in to see him in the morning was too much excitement for him and he would collapse. He was put to sleep about 12 months after his first collapse. A heart murmur should be easy to diagnose providing they can listen to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 A spaniel we had just collected had a health check at the vets and they picked up a heart murmur on the stethoscope straight away. If the dog is making a noise though the vet won't be able to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I've seen similar. It may not be relevant to you, but in that instance I understand the dog had been (accidentally) hit on the tip of the nose by beating stick maybe 5-10 minutes before. I'm not sure why the reaction is delayed but the first reaction from one of the other beaters was has the dog been hit on the nose. Scary, but dog made a full recovery and after a few minutes was up. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 At that age it's a hard one it could be an incidental or a sign of heart problems. A mates spaniel used to do it after a diet change £600 later the vet had no idea. Put back on wagg and she lived another 7 years. Personally I would limit spending on tests unless insured and see how things go. If recurring then you have a hard choice to make but with a 10 year old dog you can spend a lot of money and end up with the same result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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