[sydneynicole]

Oli has a physical in 2 weeks and I will of course be discussing this with the vet. I'm mostly wondering if anyone has any ideas about this behavior. I think I know why he is doing it, but not sure why it happens so often.

Anyways, the behavior: It only ever happens when he is eating. He will seem to be doing fine and then he will suddenly sit down and lift one front paw (usually his left) and his ears will flatten out and he won't respond to calling his name. If I check on him he will kind of slink over to me and sit down. After 30 seconds or so it will pass. I have checked and he is breathing during this.

My best guess is that he swallowed something and it's causing him pain going down. He is raw fed and does eat raw meaty bones; he is a really good chewer, doesn't gulp, always takes his time. The weird behavior also doesn't only happen if he has had a bone, it has happened with tripe and ground lung before as well. So that throws me off a little.

It almost seems vaguely seizure-like however because it only happens when he is eating I'm leaning towards some kind of pain from swallowing or difficulty swallowing. He is also a very tough dog so it saddens me if he's for some reason in enough pain to make him sit there and be weird for a moment. As of now it only happens maybe 1-2 times a month - if it increases in frequency I'll certainly bring him in for a sick visit instead of waiting for his check up. I'm just interested to see if anyone has witnessed something like this before so I can bring up any ideas with the vet.

 

[parus]

Poor Oli. My first thought would be a bad tooth that's hurting him if he bites down on it wrong. That nerve pain can really knock you for a loop when triggered.

I hope it's something not too serious and easily corrected!

 

[Jen2010]

Is the food frozen? Maybe he's getting brain freeze?

Is his food dish metal? Maybe he's getting a shock from it occasionally?

 

[sydneynicole]

Poor Oli. My first thought would be a bad tooth that's hurting him if he bites down on it wrong. That nerve pain can really knock you for a loop when triggered.

I hope it's something not too serious and easily corrected!

That's a good thought! I checked his teeth and they all look okay to me, but I'll definitely ask the vet to give them a more thorough look.

Thank you!

 

[sydneynicole]

Is the food frozen? Maybe he's getting brain freeze?

Is his food dish metal? Maybe he's getting a shock from it occasionally?

This is also a good thought! Sometimes his food can be kind of cold depending on whether I had time to let things thaw for a few hours before going into the fridge the night before or if the stuff went in fully frozen. I usually try not to feed anything that is really frozen, but it could probably be cold enough for a brain freeze sometimes. I'll keep it in mind and see if I notice any correlation!

And he eats out of a plastic puzzle/maze toy or a lickimat, so probably not getting shocked, but good idea!

 

[Lillith]

Do dogs get sore throats if they have a virus like people sometimes do? It reminds me of when I have a cold or something and I'm trying to eat and the pain kind of knocks me back!

It sounds like something is getting irritated when he eats. If it is seizure like activity, I would be worried it might cause him to choke and block his airway, especially since it's happening while he's eating! Also kind of sounds like heartburn. You know how heartburn kind of feels like it's spreading through your whole chest? Perhaps he feels like that, and dogs obviously don't understand what heartburn is so he lifts a paw to "protect" his chest. Sitting would help the acid flow back down to the stomach.

 

[CodysMom11]

I am sorry Oli is having this happen. Just wondering if your veterinarian shed any light on this? I haven't heard of it before but my Cody does do some unusual things like panting a few hours after eating which I figured out was from acid reflux. Anyhow, hope Oli is feeling better.