Dog Community

Heat exhaustion or something else?

Posted : 4/25/2006 2:18:15 PM

Hi,
I'm just wondering if someone out there has any advice for me.
I am a professional pet sitter and dog walker in Florida, and I walk a 4 year old female Lab twice per week.

This morning when I decided to play ball with her (for only 10 minutes), she acted disoriented and dizzy afterward and jumped right in a nearby lake when I let her off leash.

I gave her plenty of water afterward and she only played fetch for maybe 10 minutes.

Well, after we walked back to her house and I cranked up the AC for her and gave her more water, I called her owner.

The owner mentioned that she forgot to mention to me that she in the past sometimes exhibited signs of heat exhaustion, (which she should have told me from the onset)!

The dog seemed fine by the time I left, (about a half hour later) bopping around, and wagging her tail like usual, not panting heavy anymore.

I'm just concerned there is more to it than just the heat.

It was only 11:00 a.m. and maybe 80 degrees out, and we only played for 10 minutes. I have two 10 year old Beagles that play outside with their ball for hours in the middle of the day and have never gotten dizzy like this.

Could it be something more? Are Labs prone to heat exhaustion, and in such a short amount of time.

Thanks for any advice,

michelle33618

calliecritturs

Posted : 4/25/2006 10:05:07 PM

Yeah that dog's got problems and the owner should be addressing it. That sounds like heart to me. It's not that hot YET here (I'm near Orlando). Good call on your part -- I'd encourage the owner to have some blood panels done and a good exam.

rredbird

Posted : 4/26/2006 10:14:56 AM

Take a look at this and see if this sounds similar to what you experienced.

[linkhttp://lifewithdogs.blogspot.com/2005/09/on-more-serious-note-eic-exercise.html]http://lifewithdogs.blogspot.com/2005/09/on-more-serious-note-eic-exercise.html[/link]

If so - maybe it will force the owners to get her to the vet.

Good luck.

amstaffy

Posted : 4/26/2006 10:26:48 AM

Welcome to the forum!

I have to agree with Callie, sounds like it could be an issue with the heart

I would suggest to the owner if they hadn't had her checked over lately to express this to the vet

Michele

Posted : 4/26/2006 12:50:59 PM

Thank you sooo much for the link! It sounds exactly like her!!!
I've been doing a lot of research on what it could be and came up with nothing.
My dog has a bad heart (enlarged) and it really didn't sound like that to me.
it sounded like something rare. I think this sounds probable.
I will pass this information to the owner ASAP!

Thanks again!!!

nigelsola

Posted : 4/26/2006 3:58:59 PM

Be careful if it is EIC. It mimics seizure symptoms, or at least it did in Sola's case....

Michele

Posted : 4/28/2006 9:24:30 AM

Yes, from what I've read about it, it definitely sounds like this dog has EIC. I haven't heard from the owner yet since I gave her the info though.
I hope I didn't scare her, but I felt this was information that I had to give her.

I feel so bad for this dog because she is only 4 years old, and has sooo much energy. She really LOVED playing ball with me!!!