I know there are a lot of dog lovers/owners here, so I'm hoping someone can have some insight. My gf and I have a 9-week old min dachsund; very playful, energetic puppy. While I was working tonight she came home, played with him a while, took him out for a bit, and when they came back home he went to sleep. Problem is, he stayed asleep for quite a while. When she got him up, he was very sluggish and weak, shaking a lot and out of sorts. He could hardly stand, and she tried to get him to eat a treat; he did, but just barely and without much energy. She took him to an emergency vet here in League City and they are keeping him overnight to run some tests. I went over once I left work and it just about killed me. He saw me and tried to move near me on the table. But he was extremely weak and unstable. They had him wrapped in his blanket and he just kind of layed there. It was so freakin' sad. Really shocking to me after seeing him so full of energy since we had him. Vet says it could be a blood sugar thing, he could have got a hold of something bad outside, etc. They're doing their thing tonight I guess. Anyone have any insight? Is this familiar to any of you dog owners? Damn, man. We've had this pup for about three weeks and already I'm attached to it. I don't think I could ever be a dad...I'm feel sick worried about our puppy.
Your girlfriend did the best possible thing by taking the puppy to the clinic. You know he's in good hands, so don't worry too much about it.
It sounds similar to what happened to my cat Chief. Chief was so playful and then one day it just stopped. It came out of nowhere, one minute she was playing the next she was laying there with no energy what so ever. Even when the VET put her on some medication it was the same thing although she did seem to keep her energy up a little longer. The Vet ran all sorts of test and couldn't really come up with anything. It turned out that she had an enlarged heart and it was cutting the circulation off to the rest of her body. They said they didn't notice it before because it wasn't normal for a cat, a cat that young or just an animal that young to have it. I don't really remember so ask your Vet about it. I had to put her to sleep not long after we found out. Hopefully it is just a cold. I'm not telling you this to scare or worry you, it's just when I read your post my cat Chief is all I could think about. Chief is on the right
Yeah, Blatz that's the kind of thing I'm worried about. I have looked more into the blood sugar thing, and apparently hypoglicemia (sp) is a condition for young pups too, especially small ones. The symptoms sound exactly the same. Hopefully that's all it is, because it's treatable rather easily. It does make sense, and the min dachsund (he was like one pound, five ounces when we took him for his vet visit last week) certainly falls under the category.
What you described sounded exactly like what happened to my german shepherd. She went to sleep. Woke up the next morning and she was shaking like crazy and couldn't move much. She had had a stroke. Took her to the vet. The vet started treatment on her but she had another stroke 2 days later and died. Not trying to worry you. I'm sure that's not what happened to your dog since my dog was quite old and yours is just a puppy. But it's uncanny how similar the symptoms are. Hope your dog gets better soon.
I had something very similar happen to my dog, Coco. She was just being herself.....and laid down to take a nap. When she woke up, her skin was hot, she was flush, and she was very sluggish. She stayed that way for a while, and right before I took her to the vet, she vomited several times. After that, she snapped right out of it and was fine......running around and acting crazy like normal. Dogs get into some weird stuff outside sometimes, and it can make them feel bad. But it could be anything honestly. I hope your pup gets better.
So it looks like it was a blood sugar problem. They can't tell me if it'll be recurring, or just a thing to watch when he's young. Strange, we have food out for him all the time but he overexerted himself without eating much and his sugar levels dropped. Just have to make sure he eats more, without overeating. So we're monitoring. He's back to his old hyper self currently. We have this vitamin supplement/paste to give him - basically a sugar mixture - so we can be aware of this sort of thing. I'm also out 400 bucks. But, we got him for free, so I guess we just paid for him in the long run. Thanks for the advice/well wishes.
Great news!!! edit: *What I meant is that I'm glad they figured it out and the pup seems to be doing ok...*
Sounds like the same thing my mom's yorkshire terrier goes through sometimes. With small dogs, you have to be careful of how much energy they use. My dog will go into seizures if he plays too much and we have to give him some nutri-cal to raise his blood sugar, probably the same thing you're giving your dog.
a friends miniature dachsund almost died from a similar thing when it was a puppy. The vet eventually called it Puppy strangles or puppy snuggles or something odd like that. Took them days to figure it out and she almost died. Shes healthy and very active nowadays. Keep that name in mind in case it happens again.
Same thing happend to one of my kittens too. He was gone within 24 hours even though we took him to the emergency vet.
I ran over my beagle's leg back in the fall of 02, but luckily, it was not broken. we raced her to the vet hospital. and a few months later she was back to normal. That was a horrible feeling.
Have you thought of getting insurance for your dachshund? ...I have a miniature dachshund, and although I haven't had any significant problems so far, I know that dachshunds are highly susceptible to back problems (that could lead to paralysis).. if your dachshund develops back problems and needs surgery, therapy, etc.. it can cost thousands of dollars. I dunno if you know this already, but just in case you don't, here are some tips for taking care of your dachshund: 1. Try to prevent her from jumping (i.e., jumping onto the sofa or off the sofa) 2. Carry her up/down stairs 3. Really, really make sure she doesn't get fat (which puts stress on the back).
I'm glad it was nothing more serious. I have two dachshunds myself. I read your post to my wife because it sounds like me. It didn't take me long to get attached to the little things. I'm typically laid back and calm, but I tend to worry when they get sick. I would have been freaking out had that happened to one of my dogs. My wife and I are in the process of adopting a child. I'm going to be an absolute basket case as a dad.
my cat was that way too. unbelievably hyper. and then one day, he just seem week and didnt want to move much. the doctors didnt know what was happening. and then a week or so after that, he was back to himself. rocketman95, i have dreams of pets dying quite often too! usually its always a car accident and i witness it right infront of me and i cant do anything about it.
Glad to hear your pup is doing well now. We had to put my dog to sleep last summer. She was 15 years old. I couldn't really remember my life before that dog, she always seemed to be there. okay.....i'm making my self sad.
