help. dog not acting right

[inoubliable]

Noodles is almost a year old and is acting strange. we gave him a bath this evening, and since then he doesn't want to move. he normally LOVES his baths. he seemed okay while we were giving it to him. then he went in his crate and was shivering a bit. we dried him off, of course. but he still won't come out of the crate. my husband just carried him into the living room and he's sitting here right where he left him. his brother, Hurley, is acting just fine. he's all over the house, running and jumping. Noodles just sits there. he's sort of shaking still and he was making a weird noise while breathing. sort of heavy and almost wet sounding. we're all really concerned. any ideas?? do i need to call the vet??? what could be wrong?

[Lani]

If he is acting that off, I would call an emergency vet (assuming it is after hours there) and see what they tell you. You might not need to bring him in yet, but they may be able to tell you want to look out for and at what point you should bring him in.

That is what I would do. From your description he sounds really "off"

Good luck whatever you decide.

[Nancy]

Could he have swallowed any water? if so, yes, get him to the vet immediately. Could he have gotten water in his ears? could he have gotten hurt? scared? can you get him to snap out of it? give him a treat? get him to play?

[inoubliable]

he's just laying here on the couch, shaking. it seems worse when he breathes in. i've already paged the vet. waiting for the call back.

called back. got to go. taking to the vet right now. please pray.

[Holly]

Saying a prayer for you. Keep us posted, please.

[brotymo]

kellyanne,
I will say a prayer for you...hope all is well with Noodles, please let us know

[inoubliable]

just got back from vet's office. great guy, by the way! was so wonderful with Noodles. got an x-ray. no water in the lungs. he did aspirate some water and mucous on the way there. next he was checking around to see what would be making him shake, if there was an injury. we noticed he wouldn't lower his head or move it to the right. then his right eye was rolling into the back of his head. he seemed in a lot of pain. doc gave him lasic and then i said something about not knowing too much about the dogs because they were rescues and that i only really had read about SM and MVD. he wasn't familiar with SM so we looked around on the internet and he decided that it was well worth it to look into it. by this time, Noodles was laying on the exam table and shaking still but seemed calmer. we tried to get him to stand up and when he did, his right foot was upside down! he didn't even notice!! the vet gave him some metcam (sp) for the pain that he was obviously in. he seemed to be especially sensitive in his hindquarters, but the whole sticking out his neck and not moving his head really concerned us both. so.....he sent him home with us to be babied and cuddled, and he's to go back at 8 am for the day. they'll do full blood workup and some more x-rays, and if nothing comes up we'll have him taken down to a neurologist for an MRI. apparently the documents he was reading on the web said that any stress or excitement could exacerbate the SM, and the bath time might have done it, or the swallowing of a bit of water. it is late and both dogs are up in bed with hubby, but i will be up all night looking around on the net. please everyone keep us in your prayers. and if anyone has any info for me, please share! thanks!

[brotymo]

gosh, that is frustrating, I know to not really have any answers. At least his life doesn't seem to be in jeopardy for the moment. I hope you will have more information tomorrow. I will be praying it isn't SM. could he have slipped a disk in his back or neck or have one bulging?

[inoubliable]

thanks!
the vet is going to do a full blood workup tomorrow and take some more x-rays. we're trying to rule out anything else it could be. i'll mention the slipped disk thing and see if he's checking for that. the poor thing is just laying around on the bed, doesn't want to move. i just checked out Karlin's site on SM and realized that there are some other symptoms i just hadn't thought about. lately he's been digging almost obsessively inside his crate at times. i thought he was just being silly. he hasn't really been eating with as much gusto, either. he picks and just seems to not put much effort into eating anything. the vet told me to feed him baby food, and spoon feed him if i have to. he wasn't interested just now, and the vet said that might be the case tonight because he almost looked nauseated at the office.
well, i'm off to bed. i think i got all the information i could on Karlin's site and i need to be up early with the dogs anyway for their walk. i'll post an update tomorrow as soon as i have one.

[hbmama]

Oh, you must be worried sick! Poor little Noodles seems to have something very serious going on. I am so glad you got to the vet and that he will be running tests and checking further tomorrow. We will pray for a clear diagnosis and that he is feeling better soon. Please keep us posted!