My dog Tasha fell during the night and she's paralyzed from the neck down. We put her on the couch and she's panting through her mouth really fast and I'm afraid she's going to have a heart-attack. She's 15, going to be 16 on October 3rd. We talked to the vet and he said that we should give her pain-relievers twice a day. Any help would be appreciated!
2006-08-27 11:42:59 · 22 answers · asked by NONAME 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
From what you said, it sounds like the vet you checked with was trying to give you advice without actually seeing your dog? If that is true, then please help your dog & your own peace of mind, by taking the dog to another vet. I realize it is the weekend, so many vets are closed. But check your local phone book for all vet offices in your area, especially for an emergency vet hospital that provides emergency service on nights & weekends. If you can't locate an emergency vet right in your area, then speak to any answering service that answers at the numbers of other closed vet offices. Usually, a vet office that is closed on nights & weekends will have an emergency vet clinic that they recommend or refer callers to. Either this info will be on their answering machine, or it will be available through an asnwering service taking their calls. First choice would be to have the dog seen by the vet who has treated her most recently, today / tonight/ right away. Second choice if that vet cannot or will not SEE the dog, is to take her to the nearest vet emergency clinic, now / today / tonight. I have an old dog (probably 14-15) who had a back injury after a fall. I thought she had had a stroke & was permanently paralyzed, so I was prepared to put her to sleep. But when I got her to the emergency vet, he checked her out completely, & said that the condition was possibly correctable via pain relievers, anti-inflammatory meds, & a mild sedative to limit the dog's activity (because she was constantly either panting or struggling to stand up). I had to leave my precious pet at the emergency clinic for care until my regular vet office reopened on the next Monday, but then the emergency vet even provided assistance in getting the dog to my regular vet. After a couple of days, the dog was able to stand, & after a couple more days she could walk. She required extra care, meds, & a slow return to normal activities, but she is doing well now, walking around as best an elderly dog with arthritis can. She still takes some pain relief meds, for the arthritis, but she is otherwise fine, & is sitting here next to me, as I write. I HOPE there is a similar hopeful outcome for your dog. BUT, no matter what, in order to be SURE of what is happening with the dog, you MUST get her to a VET. Pain relievers alone do not correct paralysis, & your dog's extreme panting could be signs of severe pain, anxiety, or a medical condition related to the paralysis. IF, after being completely examined by a vet IN PERSON, your dog is found to have severe injuries or permanent paralysis, THEN it will probably be best to put her to sleep, & let her go in peace. BUT that is too extreme of a decision & too serious of a situation to be handled on just phone advice from a vet & input from people online. If you can't locate an emergency vet anywhere nearby, then contact the nearest animal welfare, animal rescue, or animal shelter agency, to find out who THEY use for their emergency cases. Good luck, & I hope your dog can either be helped, or go in peace. Either way, you owe it to yourself & to your dog to have her seen in person by a vet, ASAP. Take care.
2006-08-27 12:27:05 · answer #1 · answered by dare2go4it 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Is your vet able to make a house call for you to examine her??
You may want to call an emergency vet that can examine her and decide what to do! They may have alternatives or talk toyou about putting her down if she is struggling that much. Please don't wait, if her injuries are that serious she could have a stroke and that my friend is not a nice passing.
We had to put our dog down last year he was having a hard time breathing. I knwo it's hard...he was 13. If she paralyzed she may be having distress breathing because of the injury......did the vet ask you to bring her in?? Would seem weird to just give her pain relievers if she is seriously injured.
I wish you all the best of luck with your dog. I can imagine how much you guys are struggling right now!
2006-08-27 18:49:52 · answer #2 · answered by dazee052 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
take her to an animal hospital immediately - you can't diagnose her. your vet should have told you to come in so get a new vet. Dog could have broken bones and if it can no longer enjoy its life, asdly and unfortunately the right thing to do may be to put her to sleep. A paralyzed dog - if she is paralyzed is not a happy dog. She could be breathing like that from the pain or allergic to the medication - you can't give a dog normal meds dosages for humans - you have to use like 1/2 baby asprin or something from the vet - this vet is clueless - take the poor thing to the nearest 24hr animal hospital - check yellow pages
2006-08-27 18:45:09 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You need to get her to an emergency animal hospital right now you vet is a freaking idiot, there could be alot of damage that the vet can't diagnose over the phone there could also be serious complications. Pain killers ain't gonna do the trick. I would try to get her there as fast as humanly possible. Oh and I also reccomend changing vets. There could be severe damage to her legs and lower back (that's kinda obvious) this sould be a traumatizing experince for her so remain as calm as possible or else she will pick up your nervousness (is that even a word) and she'll be scared. I'll pray for you and your dog. And even if you need to put her to sleep, you have to realize that that would be the best thing instead of keeping her in pain. God bless.
2006-08-27 19:03:27 · answer #4 · answered by Amanda 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If my dog fell during the night I would rush her to an after hours vet. Especially if she is in pain, acting strange and paralyzed. I can't believe that any vet would suggest giving your paralyzed dog who could also have broken broken etc pain relievers and not even bother bringing her in to examine. He must be on crack, and are you happy with that suggestion?? Get off your computer and take her to a vet hospital.
2006-08-27 18:52:19 · answer #5 · answered by Michelle 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If a vet was told the dog was paralyzed from the neck down and was panting really hard and all he said was give her pain relievers twice a day...either you need a better vet, you didn't actually call, or you didn't want to spend the money to take the dog in.
The dog needs to be euthanized or at least taken to the vet ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No one on the computer is going to be able to help.
2006-08-27 18:50:31 · answer #6 · answered by ARE YOUR NEWFS GELLIN'? 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A similar thing just happened to me with my dog. Sometimes you have to realize that Tasha had a long life, as did my dog did, and you might want to consider putting her down. There is a point where the suffering becomes overwhelming, and you have to be the judge.
2006-08-27 18:49:24 · answer #7 · answered by cheech 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get yourself another vet. I'm guessing the pet was not already paralyzed? Get her to an animal hospital immediately. If it's a spinal injury, she needs immediate attention. There's something major going on.
2006-08-27 20:31:38 · answer #8 · answered by Voice 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
hey, really sorry to hear that.well first did you take her to the vets and did they stabilize her condition?if not. then TAKE HER BACK AND TELL THEM TO FIX HER!!!!! thats their job.are these pain realivers for humans or dogs?cuz dogs can have only some human pills.,ake sure she is nice and cool. put a fan on her, but dont keep the constant wind on her. keep the fan moving back and forth.make sure she has Pleant of water.relax her.talking to her will help her calm down also.dont let her get lonely tho.make sure there is always people around her. But you didnt say much about out the vets. make sure they did as much as they can. dont be afraid to take her back there.
2006-08-27 18:51:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
No joke, I had a poodle "Macho" you can go to memory of pets to read my tribute to him. He fell from my interior steps and stopped eating. Sorry to tell you but 6 days later he died.
A vet is imperative to see what internal damages he incurred.
I wish you the best. I love dogs.
2006-08-27 19:05:29 · answer #10 · answered by gdmantle7 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋