General Question What could have caused this: bedtime panting and pacing

[sheshistory]

Last night, I had a somewhat disconcerting experience with Linus that has me worried.

Before I begin, Linus is fine this morning. He ate and drank normally at breakfast and is now peacefully immersed in his mid-morning nap.

But last night was a different story completely. I came home from hockey around 10:30 PM and let the dogs out and everything was normal. I gave the bullies a small snack (1/4 cup kibble) and some water, then sat down to watch some TV. I was eating carrot sticks and I gave Truman and Linus each a baby carrot - they've had them before, nothing new there. At some point after that, Linus because extremely agitated. He was pacing and panting and kept going to the door to go out. I took him outside and he'd just sit there and pant. I brought him back in and he continue to pant heavily so I thought maybe he was hot. His ears were really warm so I took a cool cloth and washed him down and sat with him in front of the fan. I fed him a few ice cubes yet he still continued to pant as if he had just been running.

I checked his gums and they were pink and normal and took his temperature and it was 101.9 - so totally normal for a dog. But he continued to be agitated, panting and pacing - completely unable to relax. So I thought perhaps he was in pain yet he was jumping on and off the couch. and walking around without any problems.

I decided to leave him out of his crate and let him sleep in front of the fan but he knocked over the baby gate and came upstairs with me and got on the bed and started to dig at my blankets on the bed and continued to be very agitated. He could not get comfortable at all yet he jumped on the bed without a problem.

I took his temp and checked his gums one more time and he was fine so I decided to give him 50 mg on Benadryl to help him relax, put him in his crate, and reassess in the morning.

This morning, he's absolutely perfect - as if nothing happened.

What could this have been? I have never seen Linus behave like this at all and I can't imagine what was wrong but I was very troubled to see him so uncomfortable and agitated.

I think I am going to make a vet appointment for Tuesday or Thursday, depending on how things go but if any one has any insights, I'd appreciate them!

 

[Davidh]

The only thing I can think of is maybe he swallowed the baby carrot whole and it don't go down all the way and it was causing him discomfort. Maybe during the night it made its way down and that's why he is fine today. I'd just watch him for a day or two and if he seems fine then I wouldn't take him to the vet.

 

[sheshistory]

The only thing I can think of is maybe he swallowed the baby carrot whole and it don't go down all the way and it was causing him discomfort. Maybe during the night it made its way down and that's why he is fine today. I'd just watch him for a day or two and if he seems fine then I wouldn't take him to the vet.

I bite the carrots in half before I feed them to the dogs (yes, I know they're abused!) but there might be something to that theory that something went down wrong because he was coughing a little bit before he got super agitated. Maybe something got stuck?

He had no diarrhea, vomiting, or any other signs of distress so if all goes well the next few days, you're right, I'll probably forgo the vet visit.

 

[kazzy220]

I'm thinking it had something to do with the carrot too ... maybe check his poop over the next few days. Maggie used to gulp hers down whole and come out the other end whole!!

 

[loveabully]

maybe he's now allergic to carrots? Or it got stuck hope everything is ok good luck

 

[sheshistory]

I don't think he's allergic to carrots. It almost seemed like a doggy panic attack. I'm not sure what would've set it off but that's the only thing I can compare it to. He still seems fine now ... I guess I'll see if it happens again tonight.

 

[RaRett]

Not to scare anyone...but read up on BLOAT - the 'can't get comfortable' and 'pacing to go out' all sound like Bloat warning signs (I just read an article today on Bloat, maybe its just on my mind) but hopefully it was just the carrot and indigestion or the likes. Please keep us advised

 

[Sherry]

me too, I'm thinking a gas bubble , they can get painful til passed ????? sure hope it doesn't happen again

 

[Vicaroo1000]

I'm just glad he's better.

Good for you to being so in tune with your pups. Not everyone is that observant.

 

[Maximus]

Sounds like a panic attack to me too, coz the carrot got stuck somewhere and he panicked coz he couldn't breathe.
I know my Maximus, and I would never feed him raw baby carrots - coz Max doesn't Chew anything, heck, he even chokes sometimes on his dry kibble, and the pieces are small. I know alot of people here feed their bullies raw foods like carrots,
but I'm stayin' clear of it all. I think there's carrots in his raw frozen diet medallions.

 

[2BullyMama]

I don't think he's allergic to carrots. It almost seemed like a doggy panic attack. I'm not sure what would've set it off but that's the only thing I can compare it to. He still seems fine now ... I guess I'll see if it happens again tonight.

How is the boy doing ... any re-occurrence?

 

[sheshistory]

Thanks everybody!

He was fine last night so it must have been just a one-time thing. I am still pretty puzzled because he was acting so bizarrely, I thought about taking him to the ER vet - and he's been totally normal since.

I guess I'll just keep an eye on things to make sure it's nothing major but Linus has a series of blood tests done every 6 months (organ function, etc.) to make sure he's in good shape and those just came back clean in the beginning of August so I'm pretty sure it was nothing. I worry more now that he's getting older.

 

[Jenni]

My Audrey has done the exact same thing I call it doggy pms lol no really, I rub her belly and kinda massage her belly because I've thought it could be gas ? Hope all turns out

 

[JeannieCO]

So glad he's ok.

I'm just going to throw this out there since you're in AZ and probably have fire ants or those other big nasty ants that bite. Any chance he could have been bite by an ant and had a reaction? One of our dogs did once and he did just that, got all aggitated and panted. We gave him a benadryl and he slept and hours later he was just fine like nothing had happened.