Help: Panting And 180 Heart Rate

[greyhead]

Shane got weird tonight. Let him out and he just stood in the rain, didn't come when called (3 times), so I got him and brought him in. He repeated this 10 minutes later when Spencer went out.

 

In the house he has been mostly standing and looking...well, like he doesn't know what to do with himself. Then he started panting, though not heavily. Checked his heart rate at 180, which DH said seemed to come down a bit when he went to lie down 10 minutes ago. Temp 101.

 

Although he's resting quietly now, he is still breathing through his mouth.

 

Granted, the house has been a little weird tonight, both DH and I having headaches and going upstairs early -- like 8:00. Totally not our routine.

 

Could it be just that, a reaction to change in routine? Could we be that lucky? Or should I be calling the ER vet?

[Tracey]

That heart rate alarms me. I'd call your vet. We have to check our boy Chase's rate regularly and his is never anywhere near that high.

[iluvgreys]

He sounds "off" and that's a high heart rate. Any chance he got into something toxic or stole food that could affect him? I'd certainly call the e-vet for advice. Hope it's nothing serious.

[greyhead]

Thanks so much for the speedy replies. Really.

 

He has substantially settled. Stuck my hand under his chest and could tell his heartbeat is MUCH slower. (pause)

Okay, just got DH to help, and his HR is down to 84. Whew! What the heck was that?!

 

We'll keep observing him for awhile. My headache is under control. (DH's isn't.) If it happens again, I'll just call the ER. Thank you SO much for your help.

 

Tracey, if you're still up, what's the story on Chase's heart rate? (I have a soft spot for him, too, cuz that was my maiden name.)

 

Mary

Edited January 9, 2010 by greyhead

[ahicks51]

Do you have electric heat, or a gas/coal/oil/wood burner? The headache makes me wonder about carbon monoxide.

[crazygang]

Do you have electric heat, or a gas/coal/oil/wood burner? The headache makes me wonder about carbon monoxide.

 

Funny I was thinking along the same lines after reading this.......

[Guest IrskasMom]

Was checking in on Shane ??? It's a bit early .Hope Shane settled in for the Night and your Headach's gone to.

 

 

Scary thou

Edited January 9, 2010 by IrskasMom

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

My first thought was a gas leak too. Happened to me once, and it was all I could do to get up the stairs and take some Advil. I got up there and opened the windows because I wanted some fresh, cool air, and that's the only reason my dogs and I didn't die (they slept with me). This was years ago, and obviously not in Florida (never heard of anyone down here with gas for anything).

[SAVED2]

My first thought was a gas leak too. Happened to me once, and it was all I could do to get up the stairs and take some Advil. I got up there and opened the windows because I wanted some fresh, cool air, and that's the only reason my dogs and I didn't die (they slept with me). This was years ago, and obviously not in Florida (never heard of anyone down here with gas for anything).

 

 

 

Sounds like carbon monoxide poison--what do you heat with ????

[greyhead]

Sorry about the delaying getting back to you! We went to the ER today and they gave him 5 days' worth of a muscle relaxer -- methocarbamol 500 mg, to be taken up to every 8 hours. They think his heart rate, which was 164 at the vet, and panting are pain manifestations. There's a little knot beside his spine, which I iced and massaged last night after consulting ER on the phone. After that his heart rate declined to 84 and we got him settled. I slept on the couch nearby, and it was 84 again first thing this morning. Then it went up to 120, the panting resumed, and I said: that's it, we're going. The vet tech on the phone last night had suggested pain as the source, and Monday is just too far away to wait for relief...for all of us!

 

He has had his Vetprofen (like Rimadyl) and his methocarbamol as of a couple hours ago and is resting more or less comfortably. Thanks so much for responding!

 

Our house is heated with natural gas. We do have a gas fireplace with a blower, but haven't used it more than 20 minutes the last two days. I get headaches frequently so that's never a big surprise. DH gets them rarely, and this one I'm suspecting as dehydration-based. He can be a pig about drinking coffee and neglects the water. We're both okay today. Our other dog, Spencer, has had no problems. But he often leaves the room with the gas fireplace shortly after we turn it on. Guess it would pay to have it checked out again.

 

So now it's supposed to be 5 days of rest for Shane and a recheck by his regular vet at that point. I swear, every day is an adventure lately for some reason! We're just glad this "adventure" is no worse than it is.

 

PS: I though a normal resting HR for a greyhound was 55-65 beats/minute. Different web sites say different things. But I was a bit surprised that the ER vet didn't think 120 was high for a greyhound! Of course, we could both agree that 164 was just wrong! What IS a good heart rate for a greyhound?

Edited January 9, 2010 by greyhead

[Tracey]

 

Tracey, if you're still up, what's the story on Chase's heart rate? (I have a soft spot for him, too, cuz that was my maiden name.)

 

Mary

 

Glad to hear Shane is feeling better today! As for what you said in your last post, our vet, who sees a LOT of Greys told us their normal resting rate should be about 60-80. Another vet who works for her sometimes and has been a vet for 30 years told us a much higher rate was normal. He also told us that there was no way Chase's heart rate could be as low as we told him we'd gotten once (I think it was 40, but I can't recall now exactly) but then when he was at our vet's for some testing our regular vet recorded a resting rate for Chase even lower than that. :rolleyes:He can just be a very mellow boy.

 

Anyway, here's a couple of threads about Chase. All my updates are in the first post here: Chase and Chase

[greyhead]

Thanks, Tracey, I'll go read your posts. (I notice we can't amend our subtitles on threads with author anymore, so I guess I'll get used to doing first-post updates!)

 

Best,

Mary

[EnzaFerrari]

I'd get a carbon monoxide detector as well. Better save this sorry.

[Guest MZH]

Lyme disease messed up Tucker's heart rate and his kidneys. His rates went way up too.

 

He might also have high blood pressure and kidney problems like Tucker also had.

 

Too high a thyroid med dose can do that too. Don't know if he's taking that.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

My first thought was a gas leak too. Happened to me once, and it was all I could do to get up the stairs and take some Advil. I got up there and opened the windows because I wanted some fresh, cool air, and that's the only reason my dogs and I didn't die (they slept with me). This was years ago, and obviously not in Florida (never heard of anyone down here with gas for anything).

 

 

 

Sounds like carbon monoxide poison--what do you heat with ????

 

We have central air conditioning and our heat is almost never on, but is central/electric.

 

I don't remember what the details were of the system at the time of my near miss. It was ten years ago, and in another country! Being a native of Florida, until this week I've never used heating in my own house!

[greyhead]

Lyme disease messed up Tucker's heart rate and his kidneys. His rates went way up too.

 

He might also have high blood pressure and kidney problems like Tucker also had.

 

Too high a thyroid med dose can do that too. Don't know if he's taking that.

 

Wow, great info! His kidney numbers have been slightly wonky for a couple years now, he hasn't been checked for Lyme, and he started thyroid meds last summer. Will be sure to get some blood work done again this week!

 

He has always had a tendency to overheat easily, but it has improved hugely in the last year. He used to come in from a short summer walk and breathe really fast for up to two hours. And at play group one summer day he had to be hosed down. Does this sound like Lyme too? I was never satisfied with the that's-just-the-way-he-is, default explanation.

 

Many thanks!

[crazygang]

Glad Shane is feeling better. Look after yourselves

[greyhead]

Just to finish the story...for anyone else who may encounter this problem:

 

Had complete bloodwork done and the vet said it is "beautiful." The muscle relaxer worked its magic and he was fine after 4-5 days. (Tried halving the dosage after 2-3 days, but it was too soon.) Vet aspirated the bump beside his spine and found nothing but fat in it. She said dogs "just get them." Now we await the TBD test results that all greyhounds should probably have done anyway. But the bottom line is the vet thinks he was just being a "big baby" about some pain, which at least no one doubts he had. I have to think it was a pretty big pain though, because with his many instances of limping and spraining, he has never before complained!

 

Thanks again to everyone who held our paws!

 

(I don't seem to have an option for editing my own first post, either the body of it or the title. Do other people have this problem too?)

[GreyPoopon]

(I don't seem to have an option for editing my own first post, either the body of it or the title. Do other people have this problem too?)

 

If you're a GT Supporter, you can edit your post any time. If you're not, there's a cutoff after a certain period (30 minutes? not sure).

 

ETA: Glad he's feeling better.

Edited January 19, 2010 by GreyPoopon

[greyhead]

Yeah, my GT supporter icon is gone since The Big Switch! I'll ask Jeff about it.