Suddenly Henry Is Pacing And Panting

[Booker_Aye]

Henry, a 4 year old male tuxedo hound, who was bred for show and was never raced (or shown, either, I suspect) has been with me since the spring of 2013. I would classify him as a rather high strung dog for a greyhound, but certainly not as neurotic as some I have loved. But today, my dogwalker called me to say that Henry was pacing and panting, and would not settle; he didn't want to go for his walk (very odd) and was being more than usually destructive (paper tearing, nothing more.)

 

I have a puppycam set up in the playroom, which is where the three hounds usually hang out, and I can see that while Fred and Kimba are relaxing, Henry is still pacing and panting.

 

The only thing I do know is that Henry and Fred have not been getting on very well lately, and yesterday, on the cam, I observed Fred bullying Henry off the couch, which Fred promptly took over. Fred does this by just standing silently next to Henry on the couch, and he stares and stares until Henry gets up and moves. When they are in the backyard together, Fred chases Henry back to the deck. It has taken a while for Fred to decide that he is not going to tolerate Henry's puppyish boisterishness, but he has certainly made that decision now. Fred, who is extremely gentle and affectionate, and whose face is the greyhound equivalent of Eeyore's with a personality to match, has turned into an Anti-Henry tank.

 

Kimba is the longest with me of the group of three; she came in the summer of 2012; Fred came on October 29, 2012, I think; they were both well settled before Henry came in April 2013. Because he never raced, he doesn't understand the manners expected of a retired racing greyhound, and I think Fred feels very critical of Henry's ignorance of what is the right way for a greyhound to behave.

 

I am thinking that Henry might benefit from a calming regime, but I will take him to the vet tomorrow to rule out anything physical. Any ideas of what I should be looking for?

 

Thanks!

[greyhead]

This sounds like a physical problem, the panting and pacing, the inability to settle. It could even be something as bad as bloat, which would require immediate attention. I think you should be posting in H&M.

[Guest k9soul]

I agree it sounds like it could be a medical issue. When Rudy had a really upset stomach he was pacing and tearing at the carpet and even grabbed one of my books and was tearing at the pages. He would go outside (I have a dog door) and tear up and eat grass until he was gagging. I was so alarmed I ran him right to the vet. He actually seemed to settle and be acting more normal by the time we were at the vet. In his case after an x-ray and exam it was felt he had gastritis and that he was probably having pain and cramping. He was given a couple injections to help pain and nausea and some medication and I watched him like a hawk overnight. He got through it okay.

Edited October 11, 2013 by k9soul

[a_daerr]

Definitely rule out bloat first. Panting and restlessness should not be ignored, especially in AKC hounds where bloat is much more prevalent.

 

If you're sure it's not bloat or some underlying pain or medical problem, I'd muzzle everybody as a precautionary measure. I don't tolerate bullying among dogs... although I do understand and sympathize that AKC greys are almost a different breed. Everything you wrote about your Henry sounds very similar to my Truman- a little neurotic, puppyish, bouncy, no manners. Those are all reasons why we've done extensive obedience with Truman (for our own sanity and our other dog's).

[racindog]

Sounds physical to me as well. I too would be concerned with bloat/GDV. That is what happened to my beloved Slim. They couldn't save him-he coded twice after the surgery and went into DIC. I will point out also that his abdomen did NOT appear bloated. Initial symptom was slight hind end wobbling/unsteadiness.

[Booker_Aye]

Oh, boy. Here I am in Manhattan and with a pile of work on my desk, and there is Henry, 2 hours away by the fastest route home, and what should I do? I guess I will start by looking at him a bit more on the puppy cam, and maybe a call to my vet is in order.

 

Edited to Add: I am on my way home and Henry will see the vet as quickly as I can get him there. Hopefully it's nothing, but if it is bloat, Henry heeds help. Thank you all SO very much!

Edited October 11, 2013 by Booker_Aye

[macoduck]

Gas-X may help but check with the vet first.

[Guest k9soul]

Hoping all will be well with Henry at the vet.

[Charlies_Dad]

Hope all is okay with Henry.

[aomagrat]

I pray Henry will be OK.

[greyhead]

Hoping for a good update.

[Booker_Aye]

Henry is physically fine. The vet gave him a thorough physical exam, and did some blood work and a stool sample check that we'll know about tomorrow. Assuming nothing is found, the most probable cause for his panic attack could be the funny weather we have had, or his battle for position with Fred, or separation anxiety suddenly taking a very virulent turn.

 

The vet suggested a pheromone collar and some DAP diffusers, which I ordered from Amazon, although I don't think that will be much help. We'll see. I will keep a close eye on Fred and Henry, and they may get muzzled at least for a few days. Alone training is hard when you can only do it intensely on weekends but you still have to leave every weekday, which causes backsliding...

 

I also think energetic Henry needs a good walk in the morning to take the edge off before I leave for work. So I will try to get up earlier for that.

 

But physically, he's great!

[Guest k9soul]

I've been wondering about Henry. So glad he checked out okay at the vet. I know it must be frustrating to not have a clear answer though for what was going on with him. I hope you can get to the bottom of it.

[seeh2o]

I'm glad he's fine physically, no bloat! That walk in the morning before you leave might help him a lot.

[Time4ANap]

Glad that he's okay. Are you leaving some noise on, like a radio or TV as a distraction? Might help if there's something outside happening that causes him to be upset. Could be anything from a loud truck to a mower running, etc. You never know what little things will cause anxiety, but blocking out noise from outside can't hurt.