Chance and I went for a 2mi run on Saturday morning. We got back, I let him have a bit to drink, crated him up and had a shower. Put the baby down for a nap.

About 30 minutes after I crated him, he started coughing, at the rate of about one time per minute. I was hearing this from the other side of the house through the door and was initially thinking... what has he gotten into? I come out, he's still coughing and seems distressed - panting a bit. I bring him into the kitchen and I sit down - he drinks a bit of water, paces, coughs and gags a little bit, paces more, a little whimper and the hair on the back of my neck starts to go up. Then he started doing something REALLY weird - he started going around the periphery of the kitchen - pacing - but stopping to eat bits of dust bunnies. I hadn't swept yet, don't judge. There was absolutely positively NO food on the floor, Duke had the kitchen while we're gone and he wouldn't leave a solitary cheerio if there had been one.

Chance kept on licking up dust bunnies and stuff, I was trying to distract him and get him over for an ear rub to see if I could settle him down and listen to his guts, but that resulted in him trying to lick dust around the gate near the chair while laying on the floor submissively because I was trying to put my head on his chest. Didn't recall weird compulsive eating as a bloat trigger but Dr. Google told me that eating small sticks and rocks was a sign of bloat.... so I panicked.

No bloat. Just lots of gas in his lower GI tract. So embarrassed. I am pretty sure the vet gave me a break on the emergency fee but I'm pretty sure he thought that I'm one of 'those' people. I'm not! REALLY I'M NOT!

Please share your shame. I'm not the only one?

Back when I was in college studying prevet, I got a call from my girlfriend, who was in a panic. I rushed to their house, to discover that their toy Chi, Tiny had swallowed a stitching needle. It was pretty obvious where the needle had gone, as there was a long thread hanging fromn Tiny's mouth. I pulled on it and looked down Tiny's throat, but could not dislodge it, so off to Dr. Griffith's we went.

I was expecting xrays and some sort of plan to extract the needle. However, Doc used a light to peer down Tiny's throat, put the light down, and yanked the thread. Needle and all came straight out.

I was embarassed when he told me that I could have done that at home. I tried to explain that I was afraid that Tiny may have swallowed the needle head first and I didn't want to risk hurting him, but Doc said that dog's usually swallow needles point first?! I didn't even know that dogs frequently swallow sewing needles!

At least he didn't charge us.

Dog with runny diarrhea, and a missing sock .....


Turned out to be that the dog had found his way into a bag of kibble. The missing sock was found later under the bed.


This wasn't at my house, so I can't fill in what I am sure was some pretty good drama.

I had a dog not get bitten by a snake, well there was a snake and there was a dog so...anyhoo and there was a fast car with a good looking but crazy fellow inside it screaming cryptic things about a snake as perplexed people scattered from this path and a bemused traffic cop petting a rather healthy looking dog peeing on his tyre and a vet team urgently called in from an annual much coveted golf tournament, my vet likes, correction, loves golf.

...just lots of gas

Reminds me of cruciferous vegetable night in BBT

I would have zeroed in on the bogey man that is bloat too, also very cheered to see it's not just my house with dust bunnies, I just take my glasses off then I can't see them

Thanks guys, I feel a lot better now.

My vote is never to second-guess yourself or feel embarrassed about a bloat scare.

JMO: It's never overreaction.

Just because nothing is found at the moment that you enter the clinic does not mean in anyway that it was "nothing".

Never overlook intuition regarding animal health. Usually if the client thinks there is a problem, they are correct.

"ADR" is a symptom, written on charts, or used to be. Aint Doing Right.

Kristin,

I've had two similar-ish events with Vigo (GSD, age 4). Both times, he exhibited some odd lick lipping and vomiting. I gave him a product called "bloat buster", which is liquid simethicone and some other stuff.

Both times x-rays showed his intestines full of gas pockets. The events were about 6 months apart.

We made some dietary changes and he seems less gassy overall.

I have to say, having lost a dog to bloat, I'll gladly rush him to the vet and pay a couple hundred bucks to know he is ok. Love my boy!

If something really seems wrong, it often is. Better a false alarm than putting off something serious!