My 4 yr old yellow lab has been acting sick since I got home today and fed him. I gave him a can of food instead of his usual kibble. He pants a lot and sticks his tongue out as far as it will go and swallows quite a bit, looks distressed and desperately wants out to eat grass. This has been on again off again all evening. He passed some bad gas but his breath is fine, gums are fine, still begs treats, elimination is fine, has drank plenty of water... I can't figure what his problem is? Something stuck in his throat? I called the vet assistant and she relayed to the vet before their closing time, they thought it was just an upset tummy. Gave him some kaolin and rescue rememdy which seemed to help but now a couple hours later he's having his symptoms again. Any ideas? Hubby thinks I'm obsessing and I probably am, this dog is my baby.

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), August 31, 2001

Answers

Does your dog have a fever? My experience is that most things with dogs pass in a day or so. Our dogs were both lethargic about a week apart. The old dog (he was 1st and we thought it was old age - 12) just got better. The young girl was so pathetic, I took her to the vet. She got better instantly after 1 dose of people aspirin, and anti-biotic, but I needed a SHOT when I paid for the blood work and medication!!

-- rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), September 01, 2001.

Our black lab does that from time to time. She pants and will eat grass (or house plants if she is in the house) when her stomach is upset. After she eats the grass she will throw up she seems better after she does this. This all seems to be due to an up-set stomach. I would take her food away for a day and I would give her a few tums or antacids for her stomach. This seemed to help and she would really like the medicine. In a day she was usually better.

-- Tom S. (trdsshepard@yahoo.com), September 01, 2001.

Let him eat the grass, likely a hair ball he's trying to get rid of. My German shepherd will do this every couple of months, soon after he eats the grass he has a good puke, then he's off and running again. (Sorry if that sounds a bit crudely put, but that's the way it goes, and he's happy and healthy.)

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), September 01, 2001.

I have had similar problem with our mastiff (outside most of the time dog). Went on a couple of days, I checked gums etc. but he kept swallowing every few seconds..finally hubby opened his mouth wide and he had a small stick wedged between his teeth across the roof of his mouth. We removed it, he ate some grass, threw up (maybe nervous stomach?) and was fine. Ever though all our animals have all their shots, I often panic because Parvo is so bad here in N.Fl...these symptoms are similar. Hope pup is o.k. soon. Keep us posted.

-- sandi (msjazt@aol.com), September 01, 2001.

As rick asked, is there a fever? Should average about 101 to 102 depending on your weather there. Also, run your fingers down past the pallet and see if you can feel anything. As mentioned above, they can get things stuck in the roof of the mouth, between the teeth or just behind the tongue. I am a weenie with things like this myself and if I find nothing on gross exam my dog is off the the Vet. I'd rather pay for some bloodwork and a x ray etc. than to lose my dog! Just my take on things. Hope he is OK.

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), September 01, 2001.

Thanks for all the responses. Bubba seems to be feeling much better today, only a little of the swallowing thing this morning. I checked and checked and couldn't find a blockage. He did throw up a little of the grass he ate last night, so apparently that took care of most of it. Thanks again!

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), September 01, 2001.

You said you gave your doggie some canned food. If this is not something you usually do or if the food is something new, that could be your culprit. Some if not most dogs do not like their diet altered. When introducing new foods, go slowly. A sudden change or over-indulgence in diet will produce the symptoms you described. I also wouldn't worry too much about parvo unless your dog is under two years of age and has never been vaccinated.

-- Mary T (Mrymouse@home.com), September 02, 2001.