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641243 tn?1235752084

restless dog - not bloat, 3 vets gave clean bill of health

Last Monday night my 10 month old lab/greyhound mix began panting and pacing and staying quite close to me.  I took him to the ER vet, who gave him sucutaneous fluids and said to keep an eye out for a stomach twist.  Stomach xrays showed a full upper stomach.  Nothing happened, and he continued to pace without sleep for the next 7 hours before I took him to my primary physician Tuesday morning.  Primary vet said maybe he had a virus and prescribed Metronidazole.  We also found a staph infection on a scrape on his knee, seemingly unrelated.  Brought him home, had to leave town the next day so I boarded him at the vet.  After picking him up 4 days later, they said he did fine, but when I brought him home, he would not eat or drink.  Took him to a secondary vet the next day who took him off him off the antibiotic (saying it upset his tummy) and gave him a dewormer (despite a clear fecal), a pancreas powder in case there was a problem there, and a digestive powder to sprinkle on his prescribed canned wet food. Bloodwork was normal.  He did fine for 3 days until we went off the canned food, where 8 hours after his regular dinner, the same pacing and restlessness began.  Got more canned food from the vet yesterday, and this morning, 8 hours later, the pacing and restlessness began again.  

I've ruled out food allergy since this has happened with 3 differnt foods.  Could it be neurological causing the restlessness?  How do you test for that?  What are my other options here?  I'm running out of patience and money, and I KNOW something is wrong.  The thing is that when he is outside or playing with our other 2 dogs, he seemsdistracted from whatever is bothering him. None of the vets have witnessed the misery as it only seems to occur at home.
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Avatar universal
My Springer Spaniel started panting at night and was extremely restless. He had recently had a senior blood panel done and everything came out normal. I was worried that maybe he had Cushings but the tests ruled that out. Long story short--the vet expressed his anal gland (which were filled) and he has been perfect every since. He had not been scooting or giving me any signs that his glands were full. Just the night panting and restlessness.
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Avatar universal
I was reading your posts.  A friend of mine is a dog trainer and says there is a direct connection between behavior and nutrition. Google your food ingredients and educate yourself.  If your food has ethoxyquin in it it is known to cause seizures.  BHA, BHT and propylene glycol are known to cause cancer and liver and kidney problems.  I would try a different brand of food but make sure it is a Natural super premium or organic pet food without corn, wheat or soy.  My other suggestion is to try a  holistic vet, but try the high quality pet food first.  There are much higher quality pet foods than the one you mentioned in your October 6 post.
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641243 tn?1235752084
Karla, thanks SO much.  I posted an update on the other thread.
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462827 tn?1333168952
Hi Kate...How did the Neurologist appointment go?  Let me know when you can....Karla
P.S. You have responses to your other thread........
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641243 tn?1235752084
New thread posted...hopefully someone can offer any advice from similar experiences.

Thanks so much thus far! Hopefully after his neurologist appointment tomorrow we will have a safe and treatable diagnosis...I lost my first lab to cancer at the age of 3 this exact time of year last year and am not sure I can handle something that serious again.
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462827 tn?1333168952
Kate, Oh My!  I'm sure sorry about all this....Is he OK?  His bloodwork was all OK wasn't it?  I'm not really familiar with seizures and Epilepsy, but others here will be... Post this as a NEW question and your more likely to receive a new round of answers....I will be watching the thread, too.  Karla
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641243 tn?1235752084
I'm on vacation, but got a call from my friend that he had a massive seizure early this morning.  With 3 vets telling me that there's nothing serious going on, I don't know what to think.  Is this epilepsy since this odd behavior has been going on for 3 weeks leading up to this?
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641243 tn?1235752084
Also, just a note:  he used to drink a LOT of water, we called him the "fastest licker in the land" because of the way he lapped it up so quickly and now it seems he is not drinking much at all; I'm never having to refill his bowl.  Could this be because of the canned food he is eating now, as it is moist?  I have no idea how this would relate to the episodes.  I've been tossing ice cubes his way to get some water in him, which he has fun with and seems to be working, but how on earth would this tie in or is it probably yet another secondary issue?
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641243 tn?1235752084
His primary food is Eukanuba organic puppy.  I haven't tried feeding him anything before bed, although I'm sure he would not complain :)  I can't think of anything that has changed lately.  We went to another vet today who suggested I keep a journal and think of ANYTHING that could be different in his routine, so that I will do, but nothing comes to mind immediately.  The vet also suggested feeding him less before bed and giving him a Tagament with dinner to see if that helps if it is digestive.  The next time he has another "episode," I am to try and see if he will focus on me and follow basic commands that he knows easily (sit, stay, etc..).  If he cannot keep his focus, then we know to look for neurological issues.  Fingers cross that we don't have any other "episodes," but if we do that we can determine SOMETHING new from it that will lead us to a treatment or cure.

I am going to research the ingredients tomorrow, thanks for that.  I'll keep you posted!
Kate
Helpful - 0
462827 tn?1333168952
Hi- My first thought is that there has been 2 recalls on dogfood, lately. What is his primary food? Second: Have you tried feeding him a snack right before bed to see if this helps?  3rd. Has any of the night-time routine changed? Different sleeping arrangements, different bed, lights on or off that he's not use to? Anything you can think of that could upset him? 4th. I think it still could be a food allergy! In your first post, you said he's had three foods. Look at the ingredients on the label of each of these foods. Narrow down the ingredients that ARE THE SAME in the foods that made him have an episode. You can eliminate these items in his diet to see if he gets better ....Let me know......Karla
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641243 tn?1235752084
I haven't been able to really tell a difference with any of the meds.  He's had a soft stool since all of this started and it has yet to completely firm up.  For about three days after we switched to the canned vet food, he had no episodes.  The first meal back on the dry food was when another episode occurred.  I assumed a food allergy and got more canned food from the vet, but then we had another episode last night, so food allergy is out the window.  Benedryl helps him to relax and sleep.  I used that in conjunction with Pepto the other night and he did fine.  I only used Benedryl last night and he did fine too.  He eats twice a day.  Has yet to have these symptoms during the day, although it is harder to tell since he is usually distracted with our other 2 dogs and his normal active daily routine.  They usually occur around 8 hours after his last dinner meal, which leads me to believe it's the food, but since he eats breakfast in the mornings, too, I can't find any ties.  Very frustrating to see him so uncomfortable and be told he's fine :(
Helpful - 0
462827 tn?1333168952
Did he do better while on the Metronidazole or could you tell any difference? How bout the Pancreas powder or digestive enzymes; any better or not? Are you correlating these episodes with: after eating or much later after his stomach is empty? Has anyone suggested Pepsid, in case it's stomach acid? How often do you feed him?  Let me know....Karla
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