Middle Of The Night, Rudy Sick, Don't Know How To Help

[BatterseaBrindl]

Whew.

Glad he's on the mend.

[Guest k9soul]

Well since it's been 24 hours, I gave him a little bit of rice and cooked chicken. Boy he was so happy to eat. Afterwards he let his pleasure be known by playing with his de-squeaked tennis balls which now only pop. Then he laid down. After a bit though, he started swallowing again, licking his blanket, swallowing. Not the frantic stuff of last night, but enough to make me feel that he has some throat irritation from whatever nasty thing he ate yesterday. I called my vet's cell number and let him know he's improved but doing the throat thing. He agreed that may be what is going on and that it may just take a couple days to get better. And he asked me to call him tomorrow and let me know how he's doing.

 

So I guess I can try to relax. I put his muzzle on with a makeshift "guard" that prevents him from being able to lick the floor until the real one I ordered comes in. He accepts it and goes to sleep.

 

So good things are: Acting normal/happier, had a good stool, not vomiting, playful and not seeming in discomfort or pain except for his throat discomfort.

 

ETA: Can you tell the level of paranoia I have when it comes to my dogs? I suspect I'm in good company here

Edited February 17, 2013 by k9soul

[greyhead]

No paranoia that I can tell, just an appropriate level of concern! Glad he's doing better and hope it continues.

[lovinggreysslp]

I am glad Rudy is getting better. I am glad you have a vet who asks you to call on a weekend with updates. I hope you and Rudy get a good night sleep tonight.

[silverfish]

[DesiRayMom]

How's Rudy this morning? Breakfast?

[Guest k9soul]

Thanks for checking on my boy. He ate rice and pumpkin this morning. He is still doing the gulp/swallow thing at times but it seems a bit better each day. He also seems to be better for awhile after he eats. I'm taking him over to my parents' today out in the country where he will get all kinds of special babying and attention which he absolutely loves. Even in the vet's office he would go cuddle up with random people if they were close enough and enjoy pets and attention. He just loves people. Hopefully soon the swallowing thing will diminish and disappear completely. He is on an acid reflux med or now too (famotidine).

[cometdust1]

Since your boy likes to eat things, I just wanted to give you a heads up about tennis balls,especially since you said he desqueaked them.My lab mix played with tennis balls all the time but would eventually chew them up and eat the pieces.He always ended up pooping them out so I didn't worry about it until at age 12 he got ahold of one of the thicker ones sold for dogs. I knew he ate pieces but didn't know they didn't all pass through. 3 months later he became obstructed and had to have surgery to get one piece out of his intestine and one out of his stomach.Vet said that was the oldest dog she ever did a foreign body surgery on!Hope he continues to do well, sounds like your boy will be fine.

Edited February 17, 2013 by cometdust1

[Guest IrskasMom]

I was just reading all your Updates and so reliefed over his Condition. Give it another Day and he might be all himself again. The Power of Prayers from all the GTers sure helps. You are in good Company when it comes to our Dogs. We just don't take it llightley when they are sick. Lots of

Hugs to you and that handsome Rudy

[greytpups]

Glad to hear he's improving

[LaFlaca]

So glad handsome Rudy is on the mend. The gulping/swallowing thing...my Wendy got something stuck in her throat at 3 a.m. (of course) a while back. She was able to breathe but obviously in distress trying to get whatever it was out. I checked her mouth, saw nothing, then stuck two fingers into her throat. I couldn't feel anything but I guess I dislodged the obstruction enough for her to swallow it. Anyway, she did the gulp, swallow and cough thing for 2-3 days afterwards probably from her throat being irritated.

[Guest k9soul]

Thank you again everyone. He's really been doing fantastic overall.. except he still sometimes seems to get the gulping/swallowing thing going on. I've had him on cooked rice and chicken and sometimes some pumpkin puree for several days now. He shows no other symptoms at all and the gulping/swallowing can just seem to happen when he's laying down, not immediately after a meal, and it seems to not last overly long, but I'm still puzzled and a bit concerned about it.

 

I did write his foster family this evening to see if he has done this before or if it is still maybe something to do with his being sick last week. It just seems so random, he can have a whole day and not have it happen, then have it happen for 10-15 minutes when he's just been laying in his bed for awhile.

[mychip1]

Best wishes for his continued improvement.