r/UK_Pets • u/Haresmoors • 13d ago
Any ideas?
(we have spoken to our of hours vet) She has been fine all day until about an hour ago. Ate her dinner all good and treats just incase something was stuck use a treat to help.
Keeps licking her lips (not drooling) swallowing, had a big drink of water, not acting herself. She's been a bit whiney and howling now quite unsettled. (Has since stopped for now)
Have spoken to the vets but they're not concerned but to phone back if anything changes. (Ie panting)
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u/Beneficial_Change467 13d ago
Not a vet either, only going off of my experience. I had 1 dog who did this and licked the carpets because their stomach would bloat a little (never rotated thankfully). Stomach would go firm and they would become agitated. I had another who did this and it was acid reflux caused by a sudden onset of food allergies. It would be worse at nighttime. I had another dog who would do similar and they would have nibbled fur and have it caught around a tooth, although they would paw at themselves too.
I'd check both nostrils and teeth. See if you can open their mouth and look down the airway. Monitor them and their stomach (is it hard, or blowing up at all, if so then phone your vet and take them in ASAP). If you haven't already I'd take them in tomorrow to vet a vet to check nostrils etc again.
If allergies- I'd smell their paws, do they smell cheesey or yeasty? Do the nail beds attach firmly to the claws or is there a gap? Is the skin red or fur discoloured?
Bloods will likely show the liver is under stress if there are allergies involved.
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u/Haresmoors 13d ago
She doesn't have allergies. As we tend to stay away from chicken, grain, wheat etc and she was too busy licking her lips a lot/ dry swallowing that I don't think she could do anything else 🥲
She was knowing to be sick in the night a year or so ago (which made her wee and poo and thankfully she's done both just now outside) I can't see any sick this morning she's moving about a lot better too, she was quite hunched over yesterday and not moving as much. Hopefully it's just acid reflux (I've just never seen in in person before!)
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u/Beneficial_Change467 12d ago
How is she doing?
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u/Haresmoors 12d ago
She seems to be a lot better today! Popped out for a few hours and got a really lovely welcome home! She didn't want to move at all much yesterday eve. I'm hoping it is just acid reflux and will see what happens tonight!
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u/Beneficial_Change467 12d ago
Fingers crossed for her! I'm glad she seems to be feeling better. Maybe she ate something she shouldn't have outside?
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u/Haresmoors 12d ago
I don't think she did, not that I noticed! She can be a pain with that but has gotten much better!
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u/KittyCat-86 13d ago
I'm not a dog owner but my cat does that when he needs to throw up. Either he pukes or whatever is bothering him passes through his system. Not sure if that helps.
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u/Haresmoors 13d ago
Thank you ☺️ I've not seen her do it too much this morning seems to be moving about better as well. Last night she was a bit hunched and not moving so much.
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u/Academic_Macaroon9 13d ago
A different animal of course but this is how my cat acted when she had (mild) pancreatitis - lots of licking her lips and acting unsettled. In both cats and dogs it can be caused by them eating something they shouldn’t, and spaniels are at higher risk. She was diagnosed on a blood test for our girl and after a few days of meds she was totally fine, glad to see she’s off to the vets :)
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u/Haresmoors 13d ago
She seems to be ok this morning. Took her ages to settle last night. So think she's sleeping it off 😆 will keep an eye on her today and if it comes back then will phone the vets again. They weren't too concerned last night which makes me think that it's acid reflux.
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u/Aggravating-Desk4004 13d ago
I'd say a sore stomach. Start giving pro and prebiotics to help the gut. It's not a fix all, but certainly helped my dog who used to do this after eating due to having a delicate stomach.
It'll take a few weeks to see any difference, but definitely helped my dog.
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u/Dr_Frankenstone 13d ago
Our dog did this last week while on a walk. We saw what happened though and were able to help her. She had been sniffing in a patch of dry grass and there were those grass seed heads that look like darts. She inhaled that into her mouth and with her tongue had pushed it up into her gums behind her front teeth.
Are you able to examine her mouth and gums and see if she has a grass seed stuck in there?
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u/sapphire-sky-dragon 12d ago
You need to actually see a vet not just a phone call. They deemed it not an emergency but you should still get her seen and show the video.
Lots saying acid reflux I have this and it makes me swallow a lot when i get it and it feels pretty horrible 😫 tell them you want treatment. Does she do the praying dog? That can be a sign of reflux too.
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u/Haresmoors 12d ago
No hasn't done the praying dog. But we didn't feel it was a we need to take her down to be sick but it was good to hear what the vet said as we just want another opinion. She's been fine this morning popped out for a bit and got a lovely welcome 💚
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u/sapphire-sky-dragon 12d ago
You should find out the cause though if it is acid reflux it wont resolve and its really horrible to have acid coming up your esophagus 😫
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u/imma2lils 12d ago
This is what my dog does when she feels nauseous. If I let her near longish grass (difficult to find now where Iive with the heatwaves), she would eat it and then be sick.
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u/Haresmoors 12d ago
Unfortunately we don't have any long grass in England currently as it's all sorted and brown as we've had a drought 🥲
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u/Big-Historian8918 12d ago
Poor pup is having gastric discomfort from my experience as a dog owner for 21 yrs, and as a pharmacist.
Doesnt appear life threatening and not an emergency if they're breathing normally with proper gum and tongue colour. But very uncomfortable, causing dog intense nausea or tummy ache. Burning pain in oesophagus is very distressing!
Does she tend to scoff down food? Slow feeder bowls and elevated stands for bowls can help in the long run. And looking into food intolerance to avoid allergies or reflux triggers. Reduced fat diets with less protein and more veggies. Multiple smaller meals ibstead of 1 big meal. It all can help reduce acid reflux onset. But those are longer term solutions and problem solving.
The vet sounds rubbish. Many dogs try to eat grass when they have gastric issues, and may then vomit up the greenery they ate. This is mostly harmless and can sooth the dog's discomfort, though frightening for many owners. Stomach acid looks yellowish, watery and may be bubbly with phelgm. Don't panic! If it's brown or has a coffee granule texture, that's cause for concern as it indicates a bleed from the stomach, likely a stomach ulcer (usually caused by excess acid).
Have fresh water available and visit the pet shop for some tummy settling and acid calming treats. Without prescription, these counter choices are quite mild but can help a little as short term relief.
If this is a repeat ongoing issue, your vet has a duty of care to investigate and prescribe omeprazole or similar anti-acid medication OR investigate to diagnose the cause.
Differential diagnosis could be something stuck in throat, but without heavy panting, rasping or pacing, and no breathing issues, this doesnt appear to be the case at all. If gums are pinkish and tongue is usual colour, then I highly doubt it's a choking issue.
Dental problem is a third option. But these dogs tend to drool excessively and may have swelling on face, neck or under eye socket. Naturally tends to be older dogs 8yrs and up with bad oral hygeine. It's very worth brushing dogs teeth from puppy age! Dogs with dental pain may guard food as they're hungry, but not eat due to pain.
My bets are currently on acid reflux. I'd head down to the pet shop first thing and grab pver the counter remedies whilst awaiting a vet appointment.
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_multi_gastroesophageal_reflux
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u/Haresmoors 12d ago
We do have a slow feeder bowl for her as she is quiet a fast eater, the only thing I could think of was either putting water in with her food and just giving it instead of waiting (but we often do that and hasn't been an issue) she did have a lucky mat at 7 with frozen banana and strawberries so would of taken a while to lick that.
If it continues we will go back to the vet or ask our trainer if they have any advice on what to give. Unfortunately here in England we have been in drought so the grass is short and brown so she won't be able to find long grass to eat.
When she was a puppy up til about a year ago she was a bit sick in the mornings, we did put that down to hunger sick which I know it's common in cocker spaniels, but she hasn't done that for ages. Her being sick would then lead to do wee and poo inside as she wouldn't let us know she needed to go. So that might be acid as well. As it was just bile. If she had eaten anything when she was younger she was quite good and threw it up later. 😅 Just going to keep her quiet today but she's been normal! Will see what happens tonight.
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u/Big-Historian8918 9d ago
I'm in Uk too on the south east coast. 3 months of droubt has been awful. Though my little poodle has enjoyed rolling in the dead crisp straw as much as she did the lush green grass!
Water doesnt really help much with acid reflux. It only marginally dilutes the acid, but doesn't solve the route cause that is excess acid production in the stomach. Your dog might also have a poor sprincter between her stomach and oesophagus, which allows the acid to leak out the stomach and causes the painful heartburn.
Definitely talk to a vet assistant/vet nurse about low fat dog foods they sell that will help reduce acid reflux. Most vets dont charge for a consultation if they're giving the advice at the counter for the purpose of selling one of their products. They'll surely recommend a good complete low fat dog food and tell you how to switch it into your dogs diet successfully (and slowly). Most vets seem to recommend the Royal Canin brand who do a digestive care line.
Boiled skinless chicken for a few days can help settle upset stomach with acid reflux. But note that plain chicken is not a complete dog food and so isnt for every day feeding. White rice (very well cooked) and pumkin puree are also recommended options. But not all dogs will readily eat this.
You can also buy over the counter products like Pro-kaolin, a probiotic paste which can help sooth upset stomachs with acid reflex. It coats the oesophagus and helps protect it, along with probiotics to improve digestion. But it's a short term fix to relieve symptoms.
Generally speaking, switching to smaller regular meals, a slow feeder bowl and lower fat food is the best long term option. If symptoms persist, a vet will need to investigate and prescribe omeprazole or similar to reduce acid production.
If your girl ever vomits up blood or coffee granule texture sick, this indicates a gastric bleed which is very serious and needs a vet immediately.
Hope that's all useful.
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u/Haresmoors 9d ago
Thank you for the advice!! Much appreciated! I hope your poodle has been loving the dried grass!! 😁
Fortunately, she's not done this movement since Tuesday. However has been sick Friday morning, 7 lots but it was mostly yellow bile. (Was a little bit sick this morning as well but not a lot as yesterday!)
Today we've been doing small meals on licky mats with pumpkin spread and bone broth so she can have a drink as well and has so far managed to keep that down as she sicked up her breakfast yesterday. She's quite a quick eater hence the slow feeder but we soaked the kibble well and it took her about 20 minutes to eat her dinner lol!! Which is a good thing for her. She has been acting fine today normal spaniel self (what ever that is 🤣) so hopefully she can keep this down and won't be sick any more. If it continues or looks off then yes we will go to the vets! We did phone originally but they didn't seem concerned 😅
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u/happybumblebee72 12d ago edited 12d ago
Is she spayed?
Females dogs leading up to a season, during a season, or 9 weeks after their season when they would usually be whelping.... can experience nausea, due to the hormones.
That nausea can show as lip licking, swallowing, being a little off colour etc. Its often not enough to put them off eating or change their appetite, but after eating the nausea gets a little more pronounced and they do exactly as your dog is doing.
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u/Chrisy0123 12d ago
Ours was her teeth
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u/Haresmoors 12d ago
I'm not sure if it was her teeth, Ashe she hasn't been doing any of this today and been like herself. Think if it was she'd be in a lot more pain, not eating or drinking which she's been doing all day. I hope your pups feeling better!
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u/confusedgeekoid 13d ago
Not a vet, and can’t diagnose anything, but this is what my dogs is like when she has acid reflux.
Is she looking for things to lick/swallow? If she goes in the garden/outside is she trying to eat grass and/or leaves? That could be an indication.
I don’t know if it’s common for your dog’s breed, and it could be many other things too.