Sick Golden

very possible a mild stroke..although pretty young for that..but keep you vet informed on andything new that occurs..really not enough information at this point to even guess at a diagnosis...keep your vet informed untill something cliks

Yikes...I'm sorry to hear about your sick dog...thats pretty scary!
I would have to ask, before he got sick had he been given any medications..vaccines, heartworm meds... flea preventatives or anything like that?
Could he have gotten into anything he should not have gotten into? As in any chemicals?
Has he had any change in food before he got sick?

ORIGINAL: dyan

Yikes...I'm sorry to hear about your sick dog...thats pretty scary!
I would have to ask, before he got sick had he been given any medications..vaccines, heartworm meds... flea preventatives or anything like that?
Could he have gotten into anything he should not have gotten into? As in any chemicals?
Has he had any change in food before he got sick?

Yep, now for the rest of the story.  1.5 weeks ago he ate a small amount of rat poison.  I didn't find out until the next morning so too late to throw up.  Vet put him on Vitamin K for a month.  He was absolutely fine for 8 days then I started noticing subtle differences like lethargy.  When I took him to the vet this past Thur they checked and said his blood was clotting fine, that would be 9 days post poison.  Since Friday, anything he's ate (not much) he's thrown up.

I am completely beside myself.  This is a wonderful, bright, smart service dog who appears to be slowly dying before my very eyes.

-Ron

I'm sorry to tell you that if the rat poison contained sodium fluoroacetate, your dog's prognosis may be quite poor.  This is different from the poisons containing strychnine.  Call the ASPCA Poison control center for info once you figure out what the toxin was.

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

I'm sorry to tell you that if the rat poison contained sodium fluoroacetate, your dog's prognosis may be quite poor.  This is different from the poisons containing strychnine.  Call the ASPCA Poison control center for info once you figure out what the toxin was.

It was the Dkon which is the Anti-Coagulant type.  Vitamin K was the correct perscription.

My golden mix also got into in d-con a couple of years ago.  Because of having 3 dogs, 1 cat and 3 grandkids, we only put the poison in the attic.  Well, hubby and I were getting down some of our boys' old toys from the grandkiddies and apparently knocked out a block of  that stuff and didn't know it. Honey was only the garage about 10 minutes when I saw she had thrown up, looked and knew exactly what it was--the d-con.  I called my vet to say i was bringing her in.  They gave her a couple of shots (vitamin K I do think) plus something to make her throw up more, which she did.  and he put her on the vitamin K for 50 days.  He said he had lost a couple of dogs who only stayed on it the 30 days, so he always goes 50 days.  Three days after her last pill, I had her checked and her blood was clotting just fine.  And she is as active and healhty today as can be.  As a side note, she had heartworms when we adopted her and we had to put her thru that horrid treatment.
 
Now, as others have said, it could be a little stroke.  But I want to tell you about KayCee, my 7 year old golden girl.   I lost her littermate brother on Oct. 16, 2003 to Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and liver damage brought on by his 6  month heartworm preventative injection, ProHeart6 (which was pulled from the market 10 months after his death because of the high number of reactions 7 deaths).  Well, it was like 7-8 months later I was fixing up the breakfast for the dogs (I also have an older golden male, Buck, who will be 12 in Feb.) and KayCee was on the floor watching me.  She went to get up and dumped over forward and to the left.  Her head started jerking to the left, her mouth working and I thought she was having a seizure.
 
She tried to get up and dumped forward and to the left again.  I was in a panic and starred down the hall to the bedroom to throw an old muumuu type dress over my nightshirt and get her to the vet.  She made it up and followed me, but weaved to the left and actually bumped into the hall wall, got to the bedroom door and dumped over again.
 
I got her to the car and by the time we got to the vet, only a mile away, she was a little unsteady, but doing better.  I think they were more worried about me than about KayCee as I looked so horrible standing there with that old thing thrown on over my nightshire and I think i didn't even have shoes one.  I had  longish hair that i put in a top knot at bedtime and it was coming out and straggled everywhere and of course i was crying.  i was sure i was going to lose my KayCee girl
 
 
I was able to give my vet almost a blow by blow what i had seen and he told me he  thought she had had a vertigo episode, probably from an inner ear infection.  Her ears looked fine to me, but it turns out it was an inner ear infection that couldn't be seen by just looking at her ear.  So don't rule that out either.
 
And if your guy doesn't want to eat, try boiling some rice and boneless chicken and see if he will eat that.   I know you said he was on vitamin K, but can't remember if you said he was on antibiotics or not.  if so, they could be making his tummy uneasy and he doesn't want to eat.  Bu for sure he needs to eat.
 
As the owner of 2 full and one mixed golden, I always take specail intrest in goldens.  I will keep your guy in my thoughts and will watch for updates.

I don't know anything about this sort of stuff.  But, I hope your dog will be OK.  What is his name?

ORIGINAL: ronk111

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

I'm sorry to tell you that if the rat poison contained sodium fluoroacetate, your dog's prognosis may be quite poor.  This is different from the poisons containing strychnine.  Call the ASPCA Poison control center for info once you figure out what the toxin was.

It was the Dkon which is the Anti-Coagulant type.  Vitamin K was the correct perscription.

That's good!  I hope you can get the rest of this solved.  I still worry when there's been exposure to a toxin and the dog still isn't doing well, but it sounds like you are getting support.  Don't be afraid to seek an additional opinion with a holistic vet, or the poison center, though.

My step sons dog just ate rat poison in their new rental house a week ago. We rushed her to the E vet and they induced vomiting, gave her charcoal to try and get everything to pass.  They mentioned posibility of seizures and to look for things out of the ordinary with her behavior, etc. They also sent him home with a 30 day supply of Vitamin K.

I would definately stay on top of this with the vet. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that everything is OK for your baby.  

So it seems that you know all the facts and your vet does also. 
Maybe another opinion from another vet would help .
I sure would try,,, especially if you think he is dying in front of you!
I do wish you the best of luck in getting him better. What a scary thing.

Thank you all, appreciate the support/help!  Since he was throwing up everything he ate all weekend, I 've been obviously worried.  However, he did eat a few hot dogs that I think he's kept down so far.  Also, this morning he ate a small amount of canned food.  His head is still tilting left and still wobbly. 

Where as yesterday health was about 1-1.5 of 10, this morning I'd say 2-3.  I guess that's baby steps.

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

 They gave her a couple of shots (vitamin K I do think) plus something to make her throw up more, which she did.  and he put her on the vitamin K for 50 days.  He said he had lost a couple of dogs who only stayed on it the 30 days, so he always goes 50 days.  Three days after her last pill, I had her checked and her blood was clotting just fine.  And she is as active and healhty today as can be. 

Sandra, great story.  If blood is clotting after a week or two, does that mean the poison is out of the system?  Talli's was checked last Thur and it was clotting fine.

Sandra, great story. If blood is clotting after a week or two, does that mean the poison is out of the system? Talli's was checked last Thur and it was clotting fine.

 
I really don't know.  My vet didn't check Honey's until after she had finished the Vitamin K. Three days after her last pill is when I was told to bring her in.  Perhaps the Vitamin K will cause it to clot and they won't know for sure until he is done with it.  Because we caught Honey so soon, and it was a day before you found out what your stinker-roo had done, that could make a difference.  Perhaps  your vet was just checking to make sure the Vit. k was working at that point.  I really wish I could give you a definate answer, but i really don't know and all i can do is hazard a guess or two..and they are pure guesses.  Am going to post a picture of Honey & KayCee.  Honey is the light colored one--got her name because hubby said she looked like she was made of spun honey.  So Honey is the one that ate d-con, KayCee is the one that had the inner ear infection.

I can't help thinking the head tilt could mean inner ear, or vestibular disease, especially if he was wobbly.  On the off chance that this is unrelated to the toxin consumption, check his eyes.  Are they moving in an odd way?  Dogs with vestibular syndrome may have nystagmus - eyes move rapidly back and forth or up and down.  The up and down movement is more serious, indicating central nervous system involvement, perhaps a lesion.  Vestibular syndrome usually happens in old dogs, but a lesion, or an inner ear infection, could happen in a younger dog, so worth investigating.