Possible head trauma to a Chihuahua

[cssellers]

I was in the kitchen earlier this evening when all of a sudden I heard a crash and a tiny squeak.  I turned around to find our Dyson vacuum cleaner had fallen over and our 14 week old, 2lb 4oz Chihuahua Squeekers on his side with his legs straight out, his mouth closed with the tip of his tongue sticking out, and his eyes fixated.  I freaked out, grabbed him and ran into our bedroom and got my husband.

After a minute or two there was no change so I called our vet and we rushed him in.  He came back to life on the way and I noticed something clear from either his nose or mouth on my arm periodically.  They took Squeekers back as soon as we got there.  About 30 minutes later they brought him out and said he had thrown up while back with them and asked us to stay for another 45 minutes for observation.

When they took us to an exam room, the vet came in and checked him over again and said everything looked good; however, she noticed his breathing is a bit labored.  As a precaution we opted to do an x-ray and a PCV blood test.  The x-ray had no visible signs of trauma or internal bleeding, and his PCV count is a fantastic 53!

The vet gave him three shots, Cerenia for vomiting, Metacam anti-inflamatory, and Buprinex which is a pain reliever with morphine, before sending us home with his x-rays and documentation on the tests ran.  She said if his breathing gets worse or concerns us, we should take him to the emergency vet.

Squeekers breathing hasn't improved or gotten worse and he's constantly drooling when he never did before.   After reading all of the posts on the internet, I'm concerned he may have head trauma, therefore I'd like to know what everyone thinks....should we take him to the emergency vet or ride it out?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions and recommendations, they are greatly appreciated!

[cssellers]

Great news, I got home this evening and Squeekers greeted me at the top of the stairs with his tail wagging and doing little jumps that he wanted me to pick him up!  

He has been eating, drinking, and playing pretty much all night.  He's even been walking around my neck and chewing on my ears like he used to!

He's no longer drooling, and I've been watching his breathing all night and it seems to be back to normal as well!  We have been very blessed, as it looks as though he's going to be just fine.

Thank you once again for your support!

[wishforanswers]

Hi, thanks for updating me! I'm glad to hear he's doing a little better. I'll cross my fingers that he continues to improve! :)

[cssellers]

I just spoke to our daughter and it sounds like Squeekers is doing well.  She said he's eating and drinking with no problem, including begging her for some of her food!  

As for the drooling, Amber said she's checked his blanket at different times and hasn't found any.  She also said his breathing looks normal to her.

I'm going to take this as a good sign, however I'm not going to count my chickens before they've hatched.  I can't wait to get home and see how he's doing first hand!  I will post again at that time.

Please keep Squeekers in your thoughts and prayers!

[cssellers]

Thank you for your concern.  Squeekers wouldn't eat for me and would only lick water off of my finger; however, he is actually our 16yr old daughter's puppy and reacts better to her.  She called after she got off of work last night to see if she could go out and when we told her what happened she rushed home and when he heard her coming up the stairs, he sat up a little and perked up.  When she came over to see him, he rolled over on his back for her to rub his belly.  (He normally doesn't do this.)  She took him in his blanket and sat on the couch talking to him and loving him up and he slept about another hour.

When he woke up, he wouldn't drink for her either, so I gave her a syringe and she was able to get him to take the water that way.  She soaked some of his food in water and was able to feed it to him since it was soft.  I'm thinking his head hurt and he knew the firmness of his kibble and the crunching noise would make it worse.

Anyhow, this morning I took him out to the bathroom and he peed for me, but has yet to poop.  I also got him to eat a small treat from my hand and drink water from a bowl.  So far he looks to be doing better, however he's not his usual playful self yet.  I'm praying that comes back soon.  Right now I'm concerned about swelling on the brain, but like I said he seems to be doing better.

As for the drooling, our daughter was sleeping so I couldn't ask.  I've got an email in to her and will post his status once I hear from her.  Thanks again for the concern and recommendation!

[wishforanswers]

I am very sorry that happened to your little guy! How is his behavior other than the drooling? Is he drinking water or eating? Is he lethargic? I worked in two vet offices and while I was there we never saw a head trauma on a dog that small. I would follow the vet's advice - if you are worried, you might want to bring him back in. If he seems to be acting normal other than the drooling, I might wait and see how he is in the morning.