Dog health issues.

Battle Franky

Not sure how dire this is or if it's just a passing thing. My 12 yr old lab, Harry, has been experiencing some labored breathing for the last few hours, he's drifting in and out of sleep, sometimes he's peaceful other times he shakes violently (appears to be muscle spasms of sorts)

He's not very responsive, doesn't appear to be interested in any water that I offer him. For his age, he's relatively healthy, with no prior history of respiratory problems, but he's not in the greatest shape right now. It's kinda early here right now, so I doubt I could get anyone to see him, but yeah any suggestions/advice/prior experiences would be appreciated.

taboo

I'd take him to the vet. My friend's dog, who was pretty old, started having seizures and eventually passed away within the month…

Windrays

Yeah, there should be an emergency vet somewhere in your area.

Good luck, bro! hug

Qualms

I'd take him to a vet, as soon as possible… And I'd hate to sound like the deliverer of bad news, but I feel someone has to be honest... between 12 and 14 years is the 'dangerous' parts of a Labrador's life.

I wish for the best. I love dogs, man's best friend, treat him best you can.

Battle Franky

Thanks guys/gals! Scheduled an appointment in two hours.

He's mellowed out with his breathing, appears to be more controlled. He's a bit more lively now, though still withdrawn from his usual self.

here's the big lug btw:

@Qualms:

I'd hate to sound like the deliverer of bad news, but I feel someone has to be honest… between 12 and 14 years is the 'dangerous' parts of a Labrador's life.

Oh yeah, no doubt! I'm under no illusions here, he's definitely winding down now and I've prepared myself best I can for the inevitable. Though, this was the first big scare in a long while, which sorta caught me off guard.

GearSecond

Any news, Franky?

The Vet is probably the best place for him, until you figure out what's wrong. While it does seem odd for him to be "suddenly unhealthy", it's not as if animals don't do that, going from healthy to deathly ill in a matter of hours.

Best of Luck.

King Kobra

To me it sounds like he got poisoned. It happened once to my uncle's lab. It really took her a while to go back to her normal self after getting rid of most of the poison.

Battle Franky

@GearSecond:

Any news, Franky?

Well, he's bounced back nicely in the last 24 hours. He came down with a high fever that night brought on by an inner ear infection which caused some inflammation to his lungs/windpipe, hence the labored breathing. We were worried that he had a small stroke during that time, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case.

He's on a course of antibiotics now for the infection and he's mostly back to his regular self.

Thanks for the well wishes guys!

brennen.exe

Glad things are going well. I have a German Shepard that experienced similar symptoms; his was heat stroke, stroke, and seizures. We took him to the Vet and got him on some antibiotics, but it happened again a few months later. This has all been within the past 6 months, so we just try to keep a close eye on him now.

captain usopp

my friends used to have a miniature sheltie (sp) when she got older, she would overheat and get seizures in the summer. They had to shave off her coat in the summer to keep her cool.