"Drunk" chocolate lab

danyosan

I'll set the scene.

I have a 3 year old male lab that sleeps outside (in a block built room).

This morning, when I went in to feed him, he jumped out of his bed, and proceeded to stagger all over the place, until he eventually fell over and couldnt get up. He had totally lost control of his legs.

I held him down for a few minutes, petting him and trying to calm him down as he was panicking. Eventually, after around 5 minutes I let him up, he got to his feet and was totally fine.

What was that all about?

Sharpshooter

l would take him to the vet , something similar happened to a pom l had and the vet said it was a mini stroke. Don't put it off because he seems fine now.
Let us know what happens.

golden

Sounds like your dog had a stroke or a seizure of some description. you need to bring the dog to the vet.

If it happens again put the dog in a nice quite space away from where he/she had the seizure with no lights or sounds on also make sure that there is nothing the dog can walk into when he/she is coming around. I have used rescue remedy on a fitting dog and the dog came around within seconds all I did was put a drop on the tongue. Whatever you do don't hold the tongue.

slumped

I'd say that his legs were asleep - like pins and needles in humans.

Our lab has this from time to time where he appears to limp and stagger - grand after a few minutes.

I doubt it's a stroke - but the panic merchants above might have you believe it is.

Keep an eye on him for a couple of hours and if he is his usual self then he's fine.

S

KTRIC

slumped wrote: »

I'd say that his legs were asleep - like pins and needles in humans.

Our lab has this from time to time where he appears to limp and stagger - grand after a few minutes.

I doubt it's a stroke - but the panic merchants above might have you believe it is.

Keep an eye on him for a couple of hours and if he is his usual self then he's fine.

S

I'd have to agree with slumped here. I've seen this in my cats in the past. They get up too soon (when breakfast is put in front of them) and their legs don't work.

Try getting out of bed immediately when you wake up, same effect.

Dyr

meh..if it happened to one of yer kids/missus/ma etc they'd be packed off to the doctors pronto, could be a stroke, could be epilepsy, could be nothing, could be anything. Get him checked and find out.

mary123

Hopefully it is nothing but if it was me i would get him to the vet just to put my mind at rest. Imagine it was more serious and u didnt get it checked out
Fingers crossed it was nothing major. Let us know how he goes.

arybvtcw0eolkf

slumped wrote: »

I doubt it's a stroke - but the panic merchants above might have you believe it is.

Thats totally uncalled for here on this particular forum. Your not posting in AH.

OP, bring the dog to the Vets. As someone else said, if it was a family member they'd be at the Doc's ASAP.

bigpinkelephant

slumped wrote: »

I doubt it's a stroke - but the panic merchants above might have you believe it is.

Keep an eye on him for a couple of hours and if he is his usual self then he's fine.

S

I would exchange "panic merchants" with "responsible."

A similar thing to what the OP is describing happened to my ex's dog.
He was immediately brought to the vet and x-rayed.
It turns out he has an enlarged heart and if he gets too excited or gets very active too quickly, (making his heart beat very fast) it pushes down on his trachea so he can't breathe.
This can happen at any time without warning and he needs medication for it.
Afterwards he is fine- until the next time.

Yet according to your expert diagnosis, he was his usual self within a couple of hours, so he's fine, we're just panickers :rolleyes:

slumped

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

I would exchange "panic merchants" with "responsible."

:rolleyes:

I msimply suggested that it may not be a stroke or epilepsy - I told the OP to monitor the dog and see how he gets on.

Lord knows if we all ran to the doctors every time we felt queasy then the whole system would be fecked!

Same with dogs - keep an eye on him and if he's struggling then by all means take him to a vet.

Don't panic - it's like typing the symptoms of the common cold into google - you will get some people telling you that you could have Aids - but the reality of the matter might well be very different.

OP - How is your dog now??

carwash_2006

One of the problems with illness in animals is that they cannot tell us what they are feeling. Also animals are not capable of thinking "Hmm that tingling in my arm isn't going away maybe I should pop down to the vet". A human can analyse the pain or illness they are feeling and make a decision whether they need to see a doctor.

Because animals can't tell us or decide for themselves whether they need to see a vet combined with the fact that animals are mostly programmed to hide pain or illness as best they can, it is up to us to get anything unusual checked out by a professional.

I would say in this case if the dog is back to itself it may not be urgent to bring the dog to the vet today, but I would get them in to get heart, lungs etc checked in the next few days. Plus, without examining the dog none of us are in a position to say for sure. OP if you are anyway concerned then go in asap, or at the very least ring your vet and get their opinion.

golden

slumped wrote: »

I'd say that his legs were asleep - like pins and needles in humans.

Our lab has this from time to time where he appears to limp and stagger - grand after a few minutes.

I doubt it's a stroke - but the panic merchants above might have you believe it is.

Keep an eye on him for a couple of hours and if he is his usual self then he's fine.

S

I take offence that you call me a "panic merchant". Any responsible owner would care and would not like to see their dog in distress.

BTW where did I say AIDS?

sorella

There is a middle course here; we live in a remote rural area where a vet is hard to reach.

And for many years,we were on an offshore island.

In these circumstances, we learn skills and intuition, as we do for our own health.

Also a few bad experiences with vets makes us wary; as in major wrong assessments which were potentially more dangerous than the reason for the visit which had involved a long drive and much stress for the animal.

As with drs, we have learned to know when to seek professional help as a matter of urgency - and when to wait a wee while and see what happens.

and to check on the internet - and to ask caring folk as those here.

A veritable treasure trove of caring and knowledge.

It does not mean we care less byany manner of means.

Hoping that this is expressed in terms that are acceptable to all here

danyosan

Hi guys, thanks for the advice.

I rang the vets yesterday to ask for advice, and they said to monitor him, not to panic just yet. He was fine for the rest of the day.

But, first thing this morning, the same thing happened. He leaps out of bed fine, then around 10 seconds later his legs go again, then a few minutes later his fine again.

From reading around the internet, one possible reason could be an inner ear infection, causing an imbalance in the ears, and thus dizzyness. His ears were very red inside and warm to the touch, so I've gotten him ear drops that he has had in the past, and I'm going to see how he gets on.

As for the people that mentioned strokes, I know the symptoms to look for in people, and I'd presume they would be similar in a dog, and I couldnt see any of these in him, his eyes seemed focused the whole time, so hopefully thats not what has happened.

beth-lou

I would imagine that if he had a stroke his balance would be off all the time and not just when he stands up. I'd do as the vet says and see if he improves. If not then head to the vet. Hope he gets better soon.

Sigma Force

As said animals cannot say what's wrong with them so it's best to go to the vets, if it turns out to be nothing then fine it's always better to look like an overprotective owner than it is to risk the animals health.

If it's an ear infection they can become very painful.

At the end of the day a health issue other than something simple like flea and worm treatments etc should really be taken up with the vets the only way to get a good answer is to have a vet examine the dog.

Fingers crossed it's only something minor, probably is better to be safe than sorry though.

Rashers

If I found my dog in the condition the OP found his I'd become a "panic merchant" too.

Years ago my parents owned a German Shepherd which behaved in a similar manner one morning. Vet consulted and he'd had a mini stroke of some kind. But don't worry.... he lived on to a good age, but my point is... don't assume it's something simple. An inner ear infection seems to fit the bill.

I'd ask the vet to give him a complete checkup if I were you.

Where any illness is concerned always err on the side of caution.

danyosan

Rashers wrote: »

If I found my dog in the condition the OP found his I'd become a "panic merchant" too.

Years ago my parents owned a German Shepherd which behaved in a similar manner one morning. Vet consulted and he'd had a mini stroke of some kind. But don't worry.... he lived on to a good age, but my point is... don't assume it's something simple. An inner ear infection seems to fit the bill.

I'd ask the vet to give him a complete checkup if I were you.

Where any illness is concerned always err on the side of caution.

Another thing I forgot to add, that backs up the ear infection theory, is he is constantly shaking his head at the moment.
I really hope it doesnt happen again tmrw morning, its very distressing seeing it happen.

BlackCat2008

Op I am a panic merchant because I am not a vet nor do I have any medical back round.

Just throwing a few things in that might help.

Try sleeping in his kennel for a night with just your coat and a t-shirt under neat and see how quick you can move in the morning with out falling over, the temperature has drop alot :eek::eek::eek: just because he has a fur coat doesn't mean he's getting the protection from the cold you might thing he is. Try bringing him in for a night or to and see how he is in the mornings.

If I thing one of mine is running a temperature I will put my finger in their ear or on their tongue and if it quite hot then I'm running to the vets, it hard to tell if their core temperature in high or low with out a tomomitor(bad spelling) but I hate to say I haven't been wrong yet, it's worked so far. Your dog may have an infection in the ear that requires antibiotic's I'm not always in favour of these incase they pick up something worse and the body has become use to them but if my dog fell over twice I'd consider running to a vet.

You say he is a lab, they are prone even from a young age to arthritis, which also will cause them to become wobbly and fall over, this is beat caught asap as meds will be needed to control his pain levels and a diet to help stop the deterioration of the joints.

I do hope he'll be ok, good luck.

bigpinkelephant

My cat had an ear infection in the past couple of weeks and I brought her to the vet. I hated seeing her suffering so had no hesitation in bringing her. While I was there I was discussing it with the vet and he said that if left untreated, ear infections can become very serious and can lead to permanent damage to the ear drum and permanent hearing loss.

MsFifers

Why are you so reluctant to bring your dog to the vet?

Even if you are right in thinking its an ear infection, as bigpinkelephant said, that can have very serious consequences. Not only can it leave them deaf, it can permanently affect their balance. I just know, if it was me, I wouldn't be taking chances.

Is there some reason why its difficult for you to go to the vet?

arybvtcw0eolkf

OP if getting to the Vets practice is difficult for you, THE BLUE CROSS operate an evening mobile clinic service, maybe thats a little more convenient for you?.

cowzerp

Mairt wrote: »

OP if getting to the Vets practice is difficult for you, THE BLUE CROSS operate an evening mobile clinic service, maybe thats a little more convenient for you?.

Have to agree mairt, lazy comes to mind-calling people panic merchants is stupid too, sometimes you've only got a short time before the animal could be dead, but going by slumped logic you might aswell wait and see..

arybvtcw0eolkf

cowzerp wrote: »

Have to agree mairt, lazy comes to mind-calling people panic merchants is stupid too, sometimes you've only got a short time before the animal could be dead, but going by slumped logic you might aswell wait and see..

Well acting promptly can certainly save an animals life, or save it from further pain. And even failing that it can/will save you money and further distress in the long term.

Example just this week.

Ruby developed a cough the other evening, and knowing Murphy's law would prevail I recorded her cough on my mobile phone to let the Vet see & hear her.

She had kennel cough, a anti-bio shot and and a course of pills for her and Jericho had her on the mend in less than two days. Jericho barely developed a cough.

It cost me €50- and no return visits

Although I've never been to the Blue Cross I think it operates on donations if the pet owner can not afford the full Vet fee's.

lightening

BlackCat2008 wrote: »

Try sleeping in his kennel for a night with just your coat and a t-shirt under neat and see how quick you can move in the morning with out falling over, the temperature has drop alot :eek::eek::eek: just because he has a fur coat doesn't mean he's getting the protection from the cold you might thing he is..

You can't compare a labs coat with a tshirt and a coat! Have you seen the temperature of the water these guys dive in to? They can swim in water in New Foundland that would lay you dead with hypothermia in seconds.

danyosan

MsFifers wrote: »

Why are you so reluctant to bring your dog to the vet?
Even if you are right in thinking its an ear infection, as bigpinkelephant said, that can have very serious consequences. Not only can it leave them deaf, it can permanently affect their balance. I just know, if it was me, I wouldn't be taking chances.

Is there some reason why its difficult for you to go to the vet?

What gives you that idea?

I stated in my 2nd post that I spoke to the vets and they told me what to do.

Anyway, quick update. Seems the ears were the problem, he's been grand since we started the ear drops.

Than ks for all the advice guys.

BlackCat2008

lightening wrote: »

You can't compare a labs coat with a tshirt and a coat! Have you seen the temperature of the water these guys dive in to? They can swim in water in New Foundland that would lay you dead with hypothermia in seconds.

Fare enough let him lay out there in a fake fur coat and then tell me it's warm enough !!!.

If you went to bed in the same clothes for a week and ware them all day too you'd realise the different a bit of extra heat would mean to your well being.

In the wild or even straying dogs dig dens to get the heat from the earth or find the possible warmest place to sleep, a pet outside doesn't have this luxury and has to put up with what ever their given to sleep in just because they have a fur coat doesn't mean it's warm enough for them when the weather is this bad, at the minute animals don't know weather there coming or going and alot of them haven't yet put on the extra layer of fat or grown in their winter fur, I have one thats still shedding :eek: and the cats haven't turned in to Telly tubbies yet and a wild life shelter I've been talking to recently is still getting in hedgehogs and other animals that should be hibernating. It might be OK to be in cold weather when their active but to sleep in it really is a different story.