[TK9NY]

Long story short, Dublin has been acting off (clingy, lethargic, not his usual jumping hyper self) since Wednesday afternoon. He didn't pee or poop from (best we could tell) Wednesday before i went to work to Friday morning and was picky with his food/water. He peed and pooped (norma - no straining, no diarrhea, no blood, etcl) right before his vet visit on Friday, of course, but we went anyway and the vet found nothing wrong with him other than needing a dental.

Now today i've noticed at least three instances where he just randomly let out a soft yelp. Twice he wasn't even doing anything except walking, once was jumping into the car. He slept a lot more than usual and is very slow to get up on the couch. But the biggest puzzle is he won't eat standing up. Like... he'll drink. But when he goes to eat he kinda just stares at the food, bends down, stands up, paws the bowl, lays down and stares until i move the bowl from the slightly elevated holder to the floor so he can eat laying down.

I'm convinced maybe he pulled something, twisted something, or is in pain/discomfort but i can touch all over him and there's no tenderness. Which, i'm no vet, but i think it's odd? If he pulled a muscle or twisted something wouldn't i be able to pinpoint it? A family friend wondered if maybe it's lyme disease? Which, okay, we do hike (not in a couple of weeks and not a whole lot recently because of the heat) so i guess he could get a tick but he's also vaccinated for it and has a Seresto collar. I haven't found any on him, either, and he gets brushed weekly so i can usually spot stuff like that on him.

So... any ideas?

If he isn't back to normal by Monday i'll probably call them and see what they say. He's going to the bathroom normal now (we originally thought maybe an infection or blockage). He does eat/drink. It's just odd.

 

[FloofyPoodle]

The vet said he needed a dental, right? Maybe a tooth is infected?

 

[Dechi]

I don’t know but I would definitely go to another vet as soon as possible. This vet should have done blood tests and a urinalysys at least. If your dog really didn’t pee and poop for two days, with the other symptoms you are describing, I can’t see how any vet would not be worried and doing more.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

This reminds me very much of how my last girl was acting when she needed a tooth* pulled. She also had moments of unsteady gait, almost like she was drunk. I was sure it was neurological. But nope. She was just in extreme pain, and probably had been for quite some time. Grateful to our vet for figuring out the source of it.


*Actually ended up being almost a DOZEN teeth once she was under and the vet could investigate more thoroughly.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

(This is just my personal opinion, of course, but I'd probably also remove the flea collar until you have a diagnosis. I don't know much about that particular brand, but I've heard a lot of stories of neurological side effects related to insecticides.)

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Okay, third time's the charm! I just read back through some of our past posts, and it sounds like Dublin's had a seizure before? Was the cause ever determined? Was this before or after you started the flea meds?

I still feel his teeth could be the culprit this time, but his past neurological symptoms do complicate things a bit.

 

[TK9NY]

So, this morning he ate kibble from his bowl standing up but i had to adjust the height of the bowl so he wasn't leaning down as much. And he put his feet up on the counter to see if he could reach my breakfast. But he still hesitated to get up on the couch and had to pull himself up, almost, instead of just hopping up. Progress, but also not? He's not 100% normal but he's closer to, i guess.

Dechi - I was a bit surprised that they didn't at least offer to do more like a blood test or urine test. Maybe they would have if i didn't say he finally went to the bathroom just before the appointment?! I dunno. It doesn't help that they're doing curbside care, so i wasn't even in the exam room with them - we spoke on the phone for like maybe five minutes? Long enough for her to say she found nothing wrong except he needs a dental. I was just relieved he had finally went to the bathroom and at the time we hadn't noticed the laying down to eat thing and he hadn't shown any signs of pain/discomfort (yelping) so i thought "well, the problem was the not peeing and that's cleared up so i guess we'll just keep an eye on him like she said!"

Floofy - Maybe, but she said it wasn't urgent and could even probably wait until their deals during dental month in Feb. It didn't sound like she thought he had anything in there was the issue. He's eating the kibble fine, it's just he won't stand unless the bowl is pretty elevated.

Peggy - He had a seizure a little under a year ago, yeah. Bloodwork was normal and no other signs of neurological issues previously or since. Sometimes he stares off into space but he always responds immediately to sound and it's only when it's really quiet and he's tired. They thought maybe it was the stress of the blow dryer at work (which i'm skeptical of) or it could have been a one-off thing. His breeder had one other poodle that randomly seized during grooming but it wasn't related to Dublin so there's no genetic issue, that we know of.

I used to use Advantix but switched to the collars when i got Dublin - he has the tendency to lick my other dog and i didn't want him to lick the stuff off of her. He never went near the flea collar when she wore it and he wore one seasonally (full time) since he was a pup. No issues. I've never heard anything bad about Seresto - just the knock off brands. Since the seizure i only have him wear one when he's outside on walks, hikes, or around other dogs/people - not in the house. She doesn't wear one at all because she doesn't go in the yard anymore (no fence) and i don't take her places (health issues.) I check them regularly for fleas/ticks, instead.

If he's not improved by tomorrow, i'll call back. Maybe request bloodwork, urinalysis, and schedule the dental for sooner rather than later.

 

[fjm]

Is his neck or back stiff? I have seen similar behaviour in Sophy when her back is playing up. Try luring him with a treat to test the range of neck movement, and check hind foot placement (lift the foot, turn it gently under, check dog places foot correctly when released).

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Just checking in on Dublin. Hoping he's doing better or you're a little closer to an answer.