WoW Petopia Community

Hey guys, I have a Yorkie mix named Scuppy. She's about two now, up to date on her shots and so on. I fed her the medicine she's supposed to take monthly on the day we had it scheduled, and she took it without any problems. I fed her the second medicine in a bit of a hot dog since she's picky about canned food, the first one she was supposed to chew up on her own and she did so.

She's normally a really spazzy dog, bouncy and noisy etc., but when I let her out a few minutes ago she was acting really strange. She wandered around out back for a bit, went to the bathroom, and then came in and promptly flopped down on the floor. She usually wipes her face on the couch or comes over to get dried off if the grass is damp like it is today, but she didn't this time. I had trouble getting her to get up and walk over to me, and she didn't follow me to the bedroom as quickly as she usually does.

I thought maybe her medicine was giving her trouble because it says to take it with food and she might just be hungry, but she hasn't touched the brand new can I put down(I did what I usually do to get her to eat it - mix it up, microwave it for a second, put bits of chicken in it etc. and she flat out ignored it). I went and got some ham from the fridge to coax her into eating and she completely snuffed it. She's still standing in the hall where she was when I sat down, and she's holding her head kinda low. She'll wag her tail on occasion if I look at her but she's behaving very, very strangely. I've seen her tired, but never tired enough to skip food and lay on the floor - she usually picks her bed or the couch.

At this point it's really starting to worry me. I have no idea what's going on. :(

She might be sick. You might wanna take her to the vet ASAP cause shes so young.

Jessibelle wrote:She might be sick. You might wanna take her to the vet ASAP cause shes so young.

I second that YOU know your dogs behaviour more than anyone and if its weird to you then somethins up and she probably needs to see the vet, who knows it may be nothing but it doesnt hurt to check just in case.

She's been asleep pretty solidly ever since I posted this. She woke up, threw up and laid back down. She just got up again and started eating some kibble/drinking water, so I think the worst of it is over, but she'll definitely be heading to the vet as soon as I can schedule something. I don't think it's as bad as I was worried about, as she's moving around more. Probably just an upset tummy.

One of my dogs gets really really lethargic if I give them any sort of medicine so I make sure it is always mixed with food and it doesn't seem to affect them as strongly. I've never had a dog refuse food though so I agree with the others that a vet check might be a good idea to be safe.

Nubhorns wrote:She's been asleep pretty solidly ever since I posted this. She woke up, threw up and laid back down. She just got up again and started eating some kibble/drinking water, so I think the worst of it is over, but she'll definitely be heading to the vet as soon as I can schedule something. I don't think it's as bad as I was worried about, as she's moving around more. Probably just an upset tummy.

Some medications need to be stopped if there's vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Double check the bottle of the medicine to see if it says so. She may also have been acting lethargic because she was hungry. Small dogs can't go more than a day (sometimes less) without eating so it's VERY important that she eats and drinks. If she continues to act lethargic/doesn't eat, an emergency trip may be necessary.

As far as her upset tummy goes, stick with bland food. Boil some chicken and make some plain rice and give it to her. Easy to make and easy for her sad tummy to digest. Get well soon, Scuppy!

Unfortunately I probably won't be able to get her to the vet until next week. I've been harassing my parents about it all day but I'm just getting a 'we know'.

She's doing much better, has done a complete 180 in terms of mood. She's back to her regular old self, drinking plenty of water and eating. She won't be getting any more medication until I can talk to the vet about it, although I have a feeling it may just have been taking the medicine on an empty stomach that made her sick. Bought her a new toy and some nicer canned foods while I was out, hopefully she'll be more inclined to eat them instead of making me fancy up her regular ones.

I'll be keeping a close eye on her from now on until I can get her to the vet. I think the worst of it is over now, though.

Was the medicine an anti-viral or antibiotic by any chance?

There is a theory going 'round (for humans at any rate) that those sorts of meds will make you WORSE before you get better, as the bacteria/virus dies. The dead cells tend to produce toxins as they die to further weaken your immune system. The problem is, you get flooded with them right up front, then it goes away. Which leads to weakness/lethargy in people. I can imagine this would produce a similar affect in an animal

/random

Be very very careful about what you feed your dog - dogs and cats have super finicky digestion and feeding them the wrong food (many of which would seem reasonably innocent, like chocolate or soda - two things a pet should never ingest BTW) can take years off their life... or worse. Not sure about hot dogs, but I would definitely review diet with the vet - and once you have a list of "no no" foods, don't give in no matter how much your dog makes the "Puss in Boots eyes"!

The two medications she was given were a standard heartworm prevention one and something I've never really heard of before. It's a flea medication, but I assume it works akin to poisoning the fleas or something...I dunno, all I know is that it's taken orally and that was the one I had to hide to get her to take. She took the first dose of the heartworm medication when we got her shots renewed and didn't appear any worse for the wear, so I've mostly narrowed it down to the following:

The flea medicine either a)reacting with an empty stomach or b)reacting with something else. I can't know for sure until I get her to the vet and see what he has to say, but I'm willing to bet it was the lack of food beforehand. Once he gives me the go-ahead for next month I'll make sure she eats before I give it to her and we'll see how that is.

Most dog owners I know don't see anything too terrible with slipping the dog a bit of hot dog once in a while - I just hid the chewable tablet in a little bit of it, not a half of it or anything. If I give her more than a tiny segment she tends to go bury it in the house. x_x That said, though, I'll talk to the vet about that as well.

Thanks again for the advice, everyone. She's doing much, much better, back to her spazzy ol' self. :)

If you like, toss me the names of the meds, and I can do some checking with my resources.

I used to help manage a cat shelter and worked as a "vet tech" (training for it, no degree) for a puppy store, so I got the fat hookups, yo.

Vets rule (both kinds)