What was wrong with Lizzy

[wen883]

My dog, VERY healthy, 11 yrs old, loved to run and play. She was extremely happy.  Her tailed never stopped wagging.  Had a very good appetite. Well built, no fat. I have her and another dog.  They both hung out with me as I was sewing. She started playing with her "sister". Then barked and pawed at my leg, telling me she wanted treats.  I split a can of Pedigree dog food between the two of them.  I believe she may have eaten some dry Berkly & Jenkins, no additives, no grain dog food. We had some tv time, maybe hour, hour and a half.  Everything was fine.  A little later she went upstairs.  When I went up a little later (30-45 min) and she was laying in the middle of the hall.  She doesn't lay there.  Usually she would have been in bed as soon as she went upstairs. Thought she was laying there because there was a real nice draft going, though she hadn't appear overheating all evening. She was NOT panting earlier or then.  I petting her, she appeared fine. Later, and I'm not sure how much later, I woke up to go to the bathroom.  LIzzy was no longer laying there.  She had thrown up. That was probably the second time in her whole life she had every thrown up. I called to her, she didn't come, but I thought I heard her in her favorite spot in the closet.  I went back to bed. Later, in 3/4 sleep, I kinda heard her downstairs as thought she just went down there because it was cooler.  Later I hear her come up the steps and flop down next to the bed -- which she never did before.  I thought I was going to have to really check her out in the morning and make sure she was alright. The next morning, when I opened my eyes, I found Lizzy had fallen over dead, not flopped down. She had gotten sick in the hallway - two piles of all dog food; in the closet, less dog food and lots of "water"; downstairs,  mostly water, a few pieces of food; beside her body all water. I thought maybe her stomach turned.  Friends told me her stomach wouldn't turn it would twist.  If that happened, nothing would come out either end and she would be bloated.

[tonyb286]

Yes, do keep a close eye on Dotted and on your neighbours ... who knows what caused this, but anything is possible, even though we would all hate to think anyone could do something to hurt a dog on purpose. Sadly, there are those kind of people out there in the world, as we all know.

Tony

[wen883]

Thank you for the condolences.  I hadn't had them walking that day. I have had problems with my neighbors in the past.  They didn't like this dog, but I really thought we were over anything like this.  Liz used to upset them because her and their dog would run the length of the yard together.  Their dog passed a year or so ago.  He was old and had been ill. She chases animals; squirrels, groundhogs, skunks, etc, out of the yard. Some she should "grab ahold of".  I recently put my house plants out in the yard, but I hadn't seen where any of them had been "eaten". She must have gotten ahold of something ...  I guess I'll never know.  I'll have to be sure to keep my eye on Dotted, her "sister".

Thanks again, Ginger899, and Tony899

[ginger899]

I am really very sorry about what happened. Please accept my condolences for your loss,

Could she have picked up something while on a walk that afternoon or evening? Check your yard also for any signs. I doubt if someone would throw poisoned meat over but there are some very mean people around, and these things can sometimes happen just randomly, done by stupid cruel people, or some who are angry about barking etc. Or sometimes there is a spate of dog poisonings in an area.
But you may not see any signs, by now.
Also check your yard for any plants which could possibly be very toxic for dogs to chew on.

Though old tooth injuries can cause abscesses and infection -yes -I very much doubt it would have caused a sudden acute illness like this. You would probably have seen her drooling, refusing to eat, or eating some then walking away, then trying to eat some more, or even wincing as she ate...there might have been swelling of the face. I think the symptoms would have been different.

[wen883]

She wouldn't have be able to get to any medicines either.  She did have a cracked, discolored tooth. The vet said she had chewed something wrong. The tooth was "dead" and she should be alright.  That happened 10 yrs ago. Could that tooth have gotten infected that I wouldn't have been able to tell...she didn't have off-smelling, or sweet-smelling breath - and that have been the cause?

[tonyb286]

Hi. Thanks for answering. The most common reason for poisoning, which this incident could be, is human medicines. Is anyone in the household taking any medicines - and if yes, are they in a secure place out of reach of your dogs? I am going to assume there is no sign of your dog having got human medicines ... which leaves us with an "unknown cause".

It maybe you will never find an answer, sadly. I am very sorry for your loss. I would certainly ask your vet about it and see if he has any ideas. It might also be prudent to get your other dog checked out, just to be sure, and have a blood panel test done for reassurance.

Tony

[wen883]

Thank you, yes VERY distraught.  She was my best friend.  Yes, I did mean Berkely & Jenson, a better dry dog food.  I had switched them from Apol canned food to Pedigree a few weeks ago.  They had eaten Pedigree before on one or two occasions. No I did not switch around their food. It was always Apol, now its always been Pedigree.  I split a can of food between my two girls, twice a day. The girls are house dogs with full access to a fenced in back yard when I'm not at work. They couldn't get into any cupboards or at kitchen/bathroom scraps.

[tonyb286]

Hi. I am very sorry for your loss. You must be extremely distraught finding her this way. The dog food wouldn't have done this, or it's extremely unlikely. Dogs can get sick from dog food that is extremely rich, like Pedigree brands, or from eating a brand they haven't had before. But it would be unlikely to cause such an extreme reaction.

I am wondering what you mean by Berkely & Jenkins? Do you mean Berkely & Jenson? If yes, then this is actually one of the better dry dog foods and again very unlikely to be the cause of a problem. There is also a brand of human multivitamins called a similar name, and this WOULD cause an issue. So maybe you could confirm.

Also, were these foods your dogs commonly had or were they new to their diet? And are your dogs able to get into anything else, kitchen cupboards, scraps, kitchen bin, bathroom bin, etc.? Are they strictly house dogs, unless supervised on a lead?

Tony