What do you think? He must be sick........

leli

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but I don't know for sure. Our treeing walker coonhound, Max, is acting strangely. He was fine an hour ago. He's been out recently and both defecated and urinated. We came in and he had a short visit with George, one of the kittens we're trying to integrate into the family. Anyway, a few minutes ago, Pete noticed he was hanging his head when he walked and didn't have his ears forward.....he looked sad or the way he looks when he's just been in trouble. So, we petted him and he was shaking. He stopped when we brought him up on the couch with us.....but he's licking a bit and he's not a licker at all. And, most importantly, we've got our dinner on plates in front of us and he's not interested. Anyone who's had a hound knows that's sheer lunacy. What do you guys think?
 

ericanicole

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owww
his licking is a big sign.
watch and see if he drinks any water. if he doesnt eat or drink tonight take him to the vet in the AM ( i know its turkey day but call around).
good luck with our poochie!
 
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leli

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Originally Posted by EricaNicole

owww
his licking is a big sign.
watch and see if he drinks any water. if he doesnt eat or drink tonight take him to the vet in the AM ( i know its turkey day but call around).
good luck with our poochie!
He's stopped licking and is having a sleep. We'll keep an eye on him and reassess as the night goes on. Good news, we're in Canada, so our vet will be there in the morning if needed. Fingers crossed it isn't, though, cuz we're so beyond broke right now due to a stolen car, lost job and kitten shots and visit last week. I hope he's okay....he doesn't seem too bad and he'll be going out for his night walk in an hour or so, so we'll know more about how sick he feels when that option is presented to him......
 

kluchetta

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Do you think it's a possibility that he's sad because of the kitty? I know that I came home from something one night, and I could tell something was wrong with the puppy by the way he was acting, and asked, "OK, what happened?" and everyone looked surprised that i knew, but they had run the vacuum cleaner and he got the heck scared out of him.
 

wookie130

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The biggest indicator that a dog is suffering physically, is if he is not eating or drinking. If this keeps up through tomorrow, I'd definitely worry. However, he could be feeling a tad dejected with the new kitten entering your home...or perhaps he had a minor confrontation with George that you didn't see, and got his feelings a bit hurt by kitty. Possible sympathy-seeking? Maybe. But definitely keep your eye out on the eating and drinking thing...if that keeps up for more than 24 hours, try to make payment arrangements with a vet that will see him immediately.
 
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leli

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Sorry I didn't update you last night, but I was so tired I just went to bed. Max slept up on the couch with us for a while, then got down and had a drink. After his night walk, which was short, he ate. Today he's been his usual self. Probably he was just in a mood. If it had anything to do with the kitten (who is actually 5 months and has been around since 5 weeks, along with his sister Addie), it was probably that he was mad I put George back out of sight. He's very happy about the kittens and interested in them, he's just not allowed to be around them too long yet, because we don't want him getting TOO excited. But he is good with cats. Thanks for the advice, though. I'll keep it in mind for the next time he acts weird.
 
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leli

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I just thought I'd add...He is a shelter dog and we got him only 11 months ago, so we don't know his history. He has shaked before, when my bf had a showdown with him over getting off the couch.......he was scared and shaky, but my bf wasn't doing anything out of line at all, just commanding him to get off the couch. So, we don't know if perhaps he was abused in some way in the past. I guess it's possible something just struck him as out of whack and made him upset for a bit
 

asecretk

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He might have had a mild seizure. My hound has them every now and then. She has been like that since we got her six years ago.

Cassie shakes and licks/drools when she is coming out of one. She seems scared like something is wrong. They really seem to take a lot of energy out of her. There is nothing the vet can do as they are not severe enough for medication and she does not have them very frequent, maybe four a year.

Just something to keep in mind.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Leli

I just thought I'd add...He is a shelter dog and we got him only 11 months ago, so we don't know his history. He has shaked before, when my bf had a showdown with him over getting off the couch.......he was scared and shaky, but my bf wasn't doing anything out of line at all, just commanding him to get off the couch. So, we don't know if perhaps he was abused in some way in the past. I guess it's possible something just struck him as out of whack and made him upset for a bit
We had a hound (Ellie Mae) that we found on the side of the road abandoned and abused. She used to do what you are describing at odd times. We always knew when she did something wrong when she'd come to us reserved, lick us and shake. We didn't always find out what she did, but she thought she did something wrong (by the standards of her previous owners) and reacted to that. It actually took us a few years to break her of that habit. Hounds are smart and ours was a real actress and drama queen.

Keep an eye out for a repeat of the behavior and always look for something that he might have done wrong.
 
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leli

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I didn't see any seizure indicators. He was alert and reactive to his name and was able to come onto the couch, walk around, etc, so problems with coordination. The licking did not appear to be rhythmic in nature and there was no drooling. So, I'm thinking it's more what MomofMany said. He must have just done something he thought was wrong. I'd not be surprised if he did something minor and thought he was in for it.

When we got him from the shelter we were told he'd been turned over for behavioural issues that the previous owners considered "too goofy" and "too strong and big" to be in the house, so we were expecting some defiance, barking, running, jumping up, normal uncontrolled dog stuff. Imagine our surprise when we brought home a well behaved dog (indoors that is, leashes and walks are a whole 'nother story as it seems he was never walked and just put in a yard alone). We didn't even have to crate him when we went out! A 80lb hound living with 2 cats (kittens aren't in general population yet) in an apartment, no free space to run around (though we do walk him 4-5 times a day) and he's perfectly calm indoors. After the first few days, when we realized he was actually like that and not just waiting till comfortable to cause a ruckus, we were dumbfounded as to why anyone would have taken him to the shelter.

We'll keep an eye out for similar behaviour and if it happens again, hopefully we can try to pinpoint the cause of his stress. Thanks everyone.
 
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