My dog has muscle tremors, acting like he has something in his throat, and he is lethargic, can you help?

Question

Hello,
I took my dogs to the park, it was a brand new dog park with actual water for the dog to jump in. They had the grand opening the night before and I can imagine that there were just tons of dogs in the water. We didn't think about it at the time but our dogs don't have shots since they were from the breeder(yeah, stupid us) I have three of them that I took all the same breed and about the same size they are yorkie/ maltese mix. About 3 o'clock that afternoon, 2 hours after we got home from the park and I gave them all baths right away, my oldest dog started acting funny. He was shaking like crazy, we thought something had scared him, you know how little dogs shake when they are scared, even though my dog is small he usually never shakes when he is scared like most small dogs. But anyway, he has muscle tremors, and acting almost like he is choking but he is still breathing so I don't think he has something lodged in his throat, and he is lethargic, vomiting, and walks really slow almost like he is dizzy. and he wont eat or drink. This happened on sunday and I took him to the vet on Monday. The vet told me that he couldn;'t make a diagnosis because my dog was kind of acting normal because I had him out and he was excited but the only thing he was still had was muscle tremors. So the vet said it would be either allergies( which I don't think it is), or he could have gotten stung or bit by something, and the only way to find out what MIGHT be wrong is to do a blood test and so on. So i said I would take him home and watch him a few days and the doctor said if he gets worse of course call him. Oh yeah and then I remembered that the day before SAT. the dogs were at the groomers, also around a bunch of dogs and could be suseptible to disease. Well, I am writing you , now tuesday, and he is vomiting, and the dizzyness seems to have gotten worse because he just looks like he is staring off in to space and stands in corners and wobbles really bad and so I called the doctor this morning and he said that the only thing he can do is do those tests I mentioned above or take him to a 24 hour facility(hospital) and they can give him IV's and watch him over night. My question to you is just to get a second opinion on all of these signs and symptoms and if you have any clue what it it could be(parvo, valley fever, poison) or if you recommend that I take him to the hospital because it could be something possible fatal. Thank you for your time reading this I know it is long, I just want to give you all the details so you really think about what it could be. Again thanks and I hope to here from you soon. Alexis

Answer 1

A seizure is usually very short-lived and I don't think he would have had symptoms from a virus that quickly.

This sounds like it might be from low-blood sugar (from diabetes) - lots of exercise and excitement and not enough calories.

People (and I assume dogs also) can become very ill from drinking too much plain water -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication
On the vet's recommendation ONLY, you could try giving him a little bit of Gatorade to get his electrolytes back into balance.

He might have eaten something toxic, or the groomer might have given him something like a tranquilizer - but you would have seen that when you picked him up.

Another person on this site recently found that her dog had tetanus - after many expensive and fruitless trips to the vet. Check out the photos on this site and see if the symptoms match your dog...

"At first glance, one might think this dog couldn't stop smiling. In fact, the dog's facial muscles were contracted, thus pulling the lips back into what looks like a "sardonic grin." Excess salivation was caused by the dog's difficulty in swallowing. Note that the dog's ears are pulled back; this too is due to a spasm-like contraction of voluntary muscles. The muscle contraction is apparent along the dog's neck and back, and also in the straddle-like stance of its front and back legs, which it develops to keep from toppling over. The dog's eyes are somewhat sunken, with a result that the third eye-lid has begun to prolapse, or extend visibly over the eye.

Dog with tetanus
http://www.welbornpet.com/Presentation/Tetanus/tetanus.htm

Also, check out the website at the Cornell Vet school & good luck with the poor little dog...
http://diaglab.vet.cornell.edu/

Answer 2

Take your dog to a more reliable vet. Obviously, your vet has no damn clue what they are doing. Any responsible vet would have already made you to have the blood work and would have you leave your dog with them for further observation. Unless you have medical training for your dog, you are risking his life by trying to take care of him on your own! Treat this as an emergency just like you would for a child!

Answer 3

The dog had a seizure, have the vet check him out, it is something that only comes once in a while, but it can get worse.

Answer 4

Parvo could be a serious possibility. GET your dog to the VET!!!

Answer 5

Get him to the vet NOW!!! And if your regular vet can't or won't see him, go to a different vet. This is serious.

Answer 6

Have you thought about seizures? Read into symptoms of canine seizures. You really need to get all your dogs their shots or not have so many if you can't afford them or have time to get them.

Answer 7

you need to take your dogs to the vet

Answer 8

the possiblities are endless - and yeah you it could be something fatal. those symptoms could be parvo or could be addisons both of which could be fatal within days

Answer 9

i would call your vet or go to: www.petplace.com

hope all goes well for you dog.

Answer 10

vet immediately