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Briefly, I'm in a rural area with lousy vets, so 99% of the time I'm stuck doing my own research and diagnoses with my animals.
This is about my 13 year old beagle mix.
He was just fine until around 2am one night, when he was pacing weirdly and panting a lot. I took him outside, thinking he might need to pee, but he wouldn't leave the deck. That alone is weird, he usually runs out and it's a fight to get him back in!
Overnight, he threw up. I didn't see anything weird in it, mostly just the previous night's dinner.
He refused breakfast that day and wouldn't go outside. I was pretty nervous, but at around 10pm he went out, came back quickly, and then ate dinner!
That night and the next day, he seemed pretty much normal. Maybe a TAD wimpier than usual? It's hard to quantify.
The next morning my girlfriend got up about 2 hours before me. She said he was acting normal, and at one point was barking out the window, but then at around 11am he lay in the hallway and was panting hard again. That's when I got up; not only did he refuse breakfast and refuse to go outside, but I saw that he was stumbling and falling over. Very bad signs!
By around 3pm he wanted to go outside, but I had to carry him. When I sat him down on the lawn he more or less collapsed, then after a few minutes he stood up and tried to walk around to find a spot to go. He was stumbling and falling everywhere, pooping while walking. I was holding his hips, but he kept stumbling on his front legs, too. Eventually he collapsed again, and I sat outside with him (thinking he was going to die) until around 9pm. At that point it was dark so I carried him back inside.
He would drink water, but not eat.
Eventually I had to go to bed, so I blocked up all of my stairways and moved all of my furniture to leave him in the living room (the safest area for him). I honestly thought he would pass overnight.
This morning he was still with me, though; laying down but alert. I saw that he had pooped near the back door (so he was wanting to go outside at some point) and had thrown up just a little (yellow foam), so he had moved around some overnight.
I offered him breakfast, but he refused. He did drink water, though.
After breakfast I carried him outside. This time he stood up and walked around the yard, stumbling a little but not falling over or anything. He peed, then lay down in the grass so I brought him back in.
We sat in my home office for a few hours, and I gave him water every time he would take it. Later in the afternoon my girlfriend started to go outside and I was in the hallway, then Bane came walking up! I let him follow her to the stairs, then I picked him up and carried him outside.
Again, he walked around with a little stumbling, but never falling over. He peed, then walked around some more to poop. At this point he hadn't eaten in days so I was surprised there was anything left; it wasn't really poop, and it wasn't really water, but it was still more like diarrhea than poop. No blood or anything.
He walked a little more then stood and watched for awhile, then lay down in the grass. So I carried him back inside.
He refused dinner again, but I microwaved a sweet potato and mashed it with milk to see if he would eat it. Not only did he eat it, but he wolfed it down with gusto! I waited about 30 minutes and made him another one; he ate about half of it then stopped.
So now I'm kind of stuck on the diagnosis. I was sure that his organs were shutting down (old age, cancer, or heart failure), but drinking water kinda threw me off. And now he seems to have improved a little and voluntarily eating sweet potatoes (but refusing the regular food that he usually loves, refused my breakfast salmon that he usually loves, and refusing cracker treats).
Is it possible that he ate something poisonous?
Potential variables:
cicadas
ants / termites
spiders
rabbit pellets
snake (poop or bite, although I really just have black snakes)
lizards
muscadines (I haven't seen them yet and they're not in season, but unripened ones are possible)
acorns (same deal)
Or am I just being optimistic and this is less of a rebound and more of a minor rally?
This is about my 13 year old beagle mix.
He was just fine until around 2am one night, when he was pacing weirdly and panting a lot. I took him outside, thinking he might need to pee, but he wouldn't leave the deck. That alone is weird, he usually runs out and it's a fight to get him back in!
Overnight, he threw up. I didn't see anything weird in it, mostly just the previous night's dinner.
He refused breakfast that day and wouldn't go outside. I was pretty nervous, but at around 10pm he went out, came back quickly, and then ate dinner!
That night and the next day, he seemed pretty much normal. Maybe a TAD wimpier than usual? It's hard to quantify.
The next morning my girlfriend got up about 2 hours before me. She said he was acting normal, and at one point was barking out the window, but then at around 11am he lay in the hallway and was panting hard again. That's when I got up; not only did he refuse breakfast and refuse to go outside, but I saw that he was stumbling and falling over. Very bad signs!
By around 3pm he wanted to go outside, but I had to carry him. When I sat him down on the lawn he more or less collapsed, then after a few minutes he stood up and tried to walk around to find a spot to go. He was stumbling and falling everywhere, pooping while walking. I was holding his hips, but he kept stumbling on his front legs, too. Eventually he collapsed again, and I sat outside with him (thinking he was going to die) until around 9pm. At that point it was dark so I carried him back inside.
He would drink water, but not eat.
Eventually I had to go to bed, so I blocked up all of my stairways and moved all of my furniture to leave him in the living room (the safest area for him). I honestly thought he would pass overnight.
This morning he was still with me, though; laying down but alert. I saw that he had pooped near the back door (so he was wanting to go outside at some point) and had thrown up just a little (yellow foam), so he had moved around some overnight.
I offered him breakfast, but he refused. He did drink water, though.
After breakfast I carried him outside. This time he stood up and walked around the yard, stumbling a little but not falling over or anything. He peed, then lay down in the grass so I brought him back in.
We sat in my home office for a few hours, and I gave him water every time he would take it. Later in the afternoon my girlfriend started to go outside and I was in the hallway, then Bane came walking up! I let him follow her to the stairs, then I picked him up and carried him outside.
Again, he walked around with a little stumbling, but never falling over. He peed, then walked around some more to poop. At this point he hadn't eaten in days so I was surprised there was anything left; it wasn't really poop, and it wasn't really water, but it was still more like diarrhea than poop. No blood or anything.
He walked a little more then stood and watched for awhile, then lay down in the grass. So I carried him back inside.
He refused dinner again, but I microwaved a sweet potato and mashed it with milk to see if he would eat it. Not only did he eat it, but he wolfed it down with gusto! I waited about 30 minutes and made him another one; he ate about half of it then stopped.
So now I'm kind of stuck on the diagnosis. I was sure that his organs were shutting down (old age, cancer, or heart failure), but drinking water kinda threw me off. And now he seems to have improved a little and voluntarily eating sweet potatoes (but refusing the regular food that he usually loves, refused my breakfast salmon that he usually loves, and refusing cracker treats).
Is it possible that he ate something poisonous?
Potential variables:
cicadas
ants / termites
spiders
rabbit pellets
snake (poop or bite, although I really just have black snakes)
lizards
muscadines (I haven't seen them yet and they're not in season, but unripened ones are possible)
acorns (same deal)
Or am I just being optimistic and this is less of a rebound and more of a minor rally?
