Why did my dog die?

[Uhrpunkin]

My dog passed suddenly early Monday morning. He was a shep/huskey mix, 135 lbs, and 8 1/2 years old. We played with him outside late Sunday evening and he was fine and acting normal. It was a warm night so he stayed outside and I woke up around 2am as he was panting and running past our bedroom window. This wasn't unusual for him to do on other nights he has been out so I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. When I went out to feed him around 7:30 am he was laying in the yard where he usually lays in the Sun and he didn't respond to his name. Right then I knew something was wrong. The ground was disturbed beneath his head and legs. About 15ft away was a diareaha which is unusual as he always went in the same spot on the other side of the house. The vet seemed to think it may have been twisted stomach but he didn't have any bloating. Any ideas?

[katie7401]

I just lot Katie my poodle of 9 years. she was outside for 4 hrs , early hrs of morning. when we found her she was lethargic and breathing fast. the vet told us to put warm blankets . within 1 hr she died in our arms. autopsy was done Vet says it was not  hypothermia as she was warm and there were no other signs. The autopsy showed 1 lung to be completely congested. What was the cause of death ? Any suggestion?

[katie7401]

I just lot Katie my poodle of 9 years. she was outside for 4 hrs , early hrs of morning. when we found her she was lethargic and breathing fast. the vet told us to put warm blankets . within 1 hr she died in our arms. autopsy was done Vet says it was not  hypothermia as she was warm and there were no other signs. The autopsy showed 1 lung to be completely collapsed. What was the cause of death ? Any suggestion?

[ela136]

Hi
My dog beagle who was 15 died yesterday. She had skin problem fungus from fleas. Shampooed her with keratolux and antibiotics. Yesterday, went on a walk, was walking fine, and when came back she did not breath well and was coughing. I patted her back and the coughing went away, and was calm, I put her on the couch, and went to the kitchen to get water, when I came back she was not breathing. I tried to give her CPR and breaths, drove really fast to the vet, but it was to late.
Why do you think she died?
Thank you,
Ela

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I am so sorry about your dog!

With out a postmortum, toxicology screen, and other diagnostics such as X-Ray I can only give an opinion.  If it is not too late, maybe your vet could perform these services.

Anyhow, your dog was an extra-large breed dog and at 12 years of age he was at the end of his life span, which could mean he simply died of old age.

When a body expires, the nervous system no longer controls the sphincters in the body, so the anal sphincter can release the contents of the colon.  The contents of his colon may have come out as diarrhea simply because it was expelled before the colon had time to absorb the excess water.  Under normal circumstances, once the colon has absorbed the excess water, the stool will come out in the usual sausage shape.

Torsion of the stomach could of course be possible, as could heart failure, kidney failure, or, cancer anywhere in the body.  Something could have been brewing for awhile without you or your vet realizing it.  And even with the most sophisticated diagnostics it may not have been possible to find any problem in advance.