Panting And Shivering

[AndysMom]

We had a dog returned to us after 8 years in a home. They were getting a divorce and neither one of them could take her. Can you imagine? She's 12.5 now and looking for a home! For now, though, she's here with Mike and I and our three dogs. So, here I am with THREE dogs over 12.

 

Known as "Charm", this little darling is just as sweet as she can be. When the adopters surrendered her last week, she spent the night at our vet and got checked out. Our vet, who is VERY grey savvy, tells us she's in good health, though she needs to get her teeth cleaned soon. IMHO, she's very thin. She has an excellent appetite and is keenly interested in food. I'm hoping that she'll put on a few pounds soon as her hips, spine and ribs are quite prominent.

 

Charm is settling in here pretty well . . . maybe too well. She's bonded very closely with Mike, who's home most of the time. She's happy, bouncy and enjoys running in the yard with the other dogs. Nothing to make me think she's in pain.

 

The only problem I've noticed with her is that she pants a lot. Not all the time, but, for instance, for the first hour or two that I was home this evening, she panted almost non-stop. Yesterday, we were home most of the day and she was pacing and panting most of the afternoon. This evening, she was glued to my hip the whole time I was cooking dinner and cleaning up.

 

She has free access to water. I let her out three times the first hour I was home this evening (they were only alone about 2 hours this afternoon). Right now, she's laying on the floor, resting; but not panting a bit, so it's not a constant thing.

 

In addition to the panting, she has a tendency to shiver. I don't believe she's cold. It's about 70 degrees in here. Sometimes when you pet her you can feel her trembling.

 

There's also a lot of flatulence, presumably coming from Miss "Charm". I have been giving her acidolphus capsules, which seem to help significantly. This, I suspect, may also be stress. She's on the same food as in her former home (they delivered her with about 20 pounds of Iams kibble, her blanket, a homemade crate, one stuffie, a can of Iams and a half box of Iams biscuits.) She has been sneaking samples of our dogs' food, so that may attribute to the gas clouds.

 

What's your opinion? Do you think the panting and the shivering are just signs of stress? Are there any medical conditions you can think of which might cause the panting and shivering other than stress?

 

OBVIOUSLY, we're going to take her back to the vet for another check-up but I'm asking for sage advice from my friends on Greytalk to help prepare us for the next visit.

 

Lois

[Chicocat]

Poor little girl. Eight years in a home is a long time and she well may be confused and a bit scared. Since panting and shivering can also be a sign of pain, it's a good idea to have her checked.

 

Give her an extra hug from me tonite.

[greylyn]

For about two weeks before Otis' dental appointment, he was panting heavily, especially in the mornings. After he had the bad teeth removed, no more panting! So maybe something does hurt her; it may be that she needs more than just a cleaning when she has her dental.

[robinw]

my first thought was that she could be in pain, also.

[Remolacha]

Sugar's panting turned out to be from an enlarged heart. Since your girl is over 12 and your vet is grey-savvy, might be worth checking out. Hoping it is just stress and she will settle soon!

[Greytlady94]

Poor baby, she has got to be so confused and stressed. Pain can cause both panting and shivering, but stress can too. When she is laying down try covering her with something light, maybe that will give her some comfort.

ETA....Having a complete physical and bloodwork would be good, and then the dental if all is ok.

Edited December 4, 2007 by Greytlady94

[Guest Tenderhearts]

I do agree that it's best to have her checked for any potential cause of pain.

 

I will say that Randy was extremely nervous when we first brought him home, and panted a LOT the first night.

 

For the next several days, the panting did decrease, was more or less in spurts where he would get extra nervous. I don't recall any shivering, but when we do take him to the vet's, he gets so nervous once he's outside of the home that he shakes like a leaf.

[silverfish]

I'd mention it to the vet next time she goes, and get the dental done as soon as is reasonable, but the chances are that after eight years in a home she's stressed, poor soul.

 

The other possibility is that she isn't very fit, and the bouncing around in the yard with your other dogs is making her sore. She just isn't used to it. At twelve and a half, she probably led a very sedentary life as an only dog.

 

When Jack came to us as a bounce (nearly ten years old after many years in the same home) he appeared on the surface to be a very happy-go-lucky little dog who walked into our home and settled right down. Looking back six months later, we could see that yes, he IS a very happy-go-lucky dog - that's his nature - but he HAD been showing signs of stress. Because of his happy nature, it hadn't been obvious, but seeing the change in him six months and even a year later, yep, he was stressed.

 

Medical conditions that can cause panting and shaking include anything which causes pain, and there's a good chance that her teeth might be causing her problems. Also most heart conditions will cause panting, but not usually shivering. I'd say the shivering is stress, and maybe because you're out a lot she does this when you come home simply because you're a new factor in her life and she's uncertain of you. The velcroing is possibly another stress sign - it's you she's unsure of, because Mike is around more and she's getting to know what to expect from him.

 

I'd treat it as stress for now, until she sees the vet again and you can ask about possibly dental/heart/etc problems. And wean her onto some high calorie food to try to put weight on - I like to use puppy food - you can add it into her IAMS kibble to give her those extra calories and avoid too rapid a change.

 

 

[heartdogs]

Hombre was panting a lot until he check up last year when the vet said it was related to his heart & put him on 20mg of Benazepril a day. Now he only pants like the rest of the crew from running or barking at the stupid cat that teases wveryone outside. Hombre will be 11 in April. Good luck with her.

[Burpdog]

At 12 1/2 she is really stressed being rehomed. If the shivering and panting subsides while the situation is the same, I am thinking it's stress rather than pain, especially since she was checked out by the vet.

 

See if it (the panting and shivering) subsides as the days go by. When is her dental scheduled?

 

Have you tried a dog coat or vest? Some are freeze babies. Even a t shirt might help if she likes it. Might give her a calming effect to have something on.

[nancy14]

Poor little girl is waiting for her family to come and get her.

 

Our second greyhound was a return because his elderly owner developed cancer and had to go and live with his daughter who would not take the dog.

 

Barko was a basket case when we first got him. He panted and dripped from his tongue, shook and paced and paced and paced. Barko would not eat. You are fortunate that your little girl is at least eating.

 

It takes a lot of time and patience. (Barko finally did come around.) I feel bad that she is starting to bond with you and your husband and then will be uprouted again if and when she is adopted. She did nothing wrong and she just doesn't understand. (I don't understand either.)

 

 

[NeylasMom]

I think it sounds like stress, but would say if it doesn't subside over the next week or so, do take her back in. And I would also second the suggestion to put a coat on her. If she's thin she could very well be cold. I keep my house set at 68 and that's pretty darn cold, my dogs are definitely wearing their sweaters now.

[SAVED2]

Lost her family after 8 years , she is SCARED , she needs lots of love and lots of good food and cookies.

[AndysMom]

"Baby Girl II" is doing pretty well tonight. Thanks for all your advice!!!

 

I plugged in a DAP diffuser last night and I swear she started improving right away. It might be my imagination, but I think it is helping.

 

We're taking Charm back to the vet next week. I want to check her weight to see if she's putting on a couple pounds and also get her teeth cleaned right away, just to be on the safe side. Plus, we're sure it hasn't been done in a couple of years, at least.

 

We also put a single-weight fleece coat on her this morning. I think it might help with the shivers.

 

Will post an update soon. Thanks AGAIN!

 

Lois

[Chicocat]

Glad she is doing better.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

Glad to hear she is improving! Since the DAP diffuser did seem to help, I'd guess most of it is stress.

 

Give her a gentle hug for me, and a hug for you too!

[silverfish]

I'm glad to hear she's doing better already!

 

Let us know what the vet says when you take her back, and in the meantime, we need more pictures!!!

 

Do you know what her racing name was? Just curious.

[Guest greyhound1]

Glad she is doing better.

[AndysMom]

Update on Miss Charm (12/12/2007):

 

The news isn't good. However, the panting and shivering seem to have subsided.

 

Took Charm back to the vet today. I noticed she's been licking her "hoohoo" lately. Vet found a vaginal infection, which is the cause of that problem. Put her on antibiotics. She has lost 2 more pounds (in about 2 weeks time).

 

The vet did a full blood workup and called me about 10:30 P.M. last night with the results.

 

Charm (who is 12-1/2) is in liver failure. I don't have my notes on the telephone conversation at hand, but her ALT (which should be something in the range of 12 to 20) is at 2000. Another level is dangerously high. We are going to put her on a couple of meds (I'm picking them up today) to see if we can bring her levels down.

 

To put it quite bluntly, we don't anticipate Charm getting better. She doesn't appear to be in pain or distress, so we don't have any plans to put her to sleep at this juncture.

 

And to make things worse, we had found a home for Charm! Now, I've got to tell the adopter the sad news that the dog is not likely to be with us for very long. The whole thing just breaks my heart.

 

Lois

[silverfish]

Oh, I'm SO sorry to hear this.

 

Try adding milk thistle for liver support - you need a good quality silymarin supplement. Your vet may be able to advise you on which to buy, but it's reputed to be very helpful and occasionally has reduced the numbers down to normal - of course this assumes there's nothing sinister like cancer at the bottom of it. Even then it might buy her a little time.

 

Here's a site with some good info - canine epileptics have to deal with the toxic side effects of phenobarbitone and are often put on silymarin by their owners to help with this.

 

Canine Epilepsy Site

 

and an extract of what they say

 

Milk thistle is widely available, at health food stores, and even some drug stores and grocery stores. The standardized extract that has been widely tested and has also been approved in Germany for liver disease and functional liver impairment contains 70 to 80 percent silymarin. Dosage recommendations are usually on each bottle, and should be discussed with an individuals medical practioner, but a general guide offered by some for an adult humans use is 420 mg. of silymarin taken in 3 divided doses daily. If there is no liver damage, and you simply want to protect your liver from damage, it is often recommended that an adult human use around 280 mg. of silymarin daily.

 

I would just add that you shouldn't buy the cheapest. Milk thistle supplements come under the banner of 'nutriceuticals' and thus are not subject to the same stringent checks on the ingredients as pharmacy drugs.

 

I'm so sorry to hear the news. I adopted Susan not knowing she already had kidney cancer and the RGT offered to take her back. No way could I let a dog that I'd adopted return to kennels for her last months purely because of a health issue. Of course, I already had her in my home when we found out, but maybe Charm's adopters will take her anyway.

 

Juat wanted to add that a filthy mouth can affect organs like the liver. It could be that once her teeth are dealt with she may possibly recover. Probably not without ongoing liver damage, but it may well give her a little more time. I would make sure she is at least put on heavy duty antibiotics for the mouth and see what happens. I can understand a vet not wanting to put her under anaesthetic with values like that, but .. personally, I'd want the teeth sorted one way or the other.

Edited December 12, 2007 by silverfish

[Guest SusanP]

Will you keep her in your home until the end now? I'm so sorry for this poor girl.

 

I'm confused--I thought your vet gave her a clean bill of health during the overnight visit before she came to your home. Is this the same vet who diagnosed her later?

[Devotion]

stress, this caused me stress just to read this. I am so thankful she is with you right now. Best of luck to Charm. I love the seniors.

 

 

sorry just read the rest of the posts about Charm's liver. I am so sorry. Please keep us posted. Again, Thank you.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Devotion

[Guest guinness_the_greyt]

Poor Charm! Im also hoping she gets to stay in your home for the duration... since she seems so happy with you and your hubby.

[celbee]

This would be questions for Dr. Bill (Feeman) or Dr. Couto/Ohio State:

 

Are there other conditions besides liver failure that can cause elevated ALT levels like this in a greyhound?

(And, wouldn't it be worth it to re-check the ALT; would hate to base her entire future on one lab value...)

 

Would there be other hepatic enzyme levels to check to get a better idea of what is going on?

 

Does she need to be on a low protein diet?

 

(Sorry. I know just enough to ask the questions, but don't know the answers!)

 

Hugs to Charm. I'm sorry to hear this news.

Louis, I hope you and Mike can keep her for now. It sounds like she has bonded with Mike.

 

Carol

[Burpdog]

Make sure she doesn't get any NSAIDs and try & find out if she has had any.

 

Milk Thistle is good as is SamE.

 

Sending prayers!