labrador dog

A Massive Health Scare With The Dog

Tonight we had the worst health scare with Duke our dog. All started off well as I came home from work and we headed out for a family dog walk. But things took a very bad turn.

Last night it was cool and raining when we walked the dogs. Today had been a little muggy but as we headed out the sun was shining. Duke always lives his best life on his walks, especially when he gets to go off lead. Even without a ball, he will run everywhere and thoroughly enjoy himself. Tonight was no different.

Overheating dog

As we came to the field section of our walk, the girls were looking forward to going to the play park. Duke took himself to the long grass in the shade and laid down. This is not like him. He was panting heavily all fo a sudden and he didn’t want to move.

We managed to get him going a little further but it became clear he was in trouble. So, I quickly headed home to get the car.

When I got back, a friend had given Helen some bottled water to help Duke. We got him home and wrapped cold, wet towels around him.

I’m used to Duke panting when we get back from a run but this was different. He couldn’t stop and he was very hot. So, we called the vet.

A visit to the vet

The vet is about 10 minutes from us so we were there in no time at all. By the time we had got there Duke had perked up a little, this was an encouraging sign.

The vet didn’t seem overly concerned but, after checking Duke’s temperature he wanted to keep him in. His temperature was about 1-degree Celcius above normal for a dog.

They planned to get him cooled down in their air conditioned kennels and see how he went. The good thing was that Duke’s condition wasn’t so severe that anesthetization was required.

We left him at the veterinary centre and came home.

Feeling terrible

All of this was, of course, our fault. All summer we’ve been careful not to take the dogs out in high temperatures and keep them cool. One bad choice of walking conditions and allowing him to run around too much and we put him in the doggy hospital!

Of course, we felt terrible. I was so worried we’d seriously caused him harm. If the worst happened what on earth would we tell the girls? 

That drive home from the vets was not pleasant. I hoped they would call soon with good news.

Improving condition

I’d barely been home long enough to pay my overdue Sky TV bill when the phone rang. It was the vet and I could go collect Duke.

They had given him a cool bath and shower and his temperature had come right down. He was much brighter and they were happy for him to come home.

I was back at the vets in a flash. Duke did seem pleased to see us, but we could tell he was feeling very poorly. He was walking very slowly and certainly wasn’t anywhere near himself.

On getting him home the girls fussed him and he went to bed. Then came the vomit…

He’s been sick a few times and he’s got some seriously bad diarrhoea. All to be expected as his system recovers from overheating and exhaustion. Cleaning up after this is a small price to pay for allowing this to happen in the first place.

Now, as I type this, he’s wanding around from place to place before laying down for a few minutes. He’s having trouble settling, that’s for sure. But, his eyes tell me that he’s thankful we’re here as he comes to terms with how he is feeling.

Sorry Duke, buddy. We allowed you to get into a rough state and it wont’ happen again!

Also, a huge thanks to Edgemoor Vets for taking good care of him!

Thanks for reading

Dave


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2 thoughts on “A Massive Health Scare With The Dog”

  1. Oh no! I hope Duke is back on the mend and filled with love and energy for you all. The pups, like the kinder, can overheat and need liquids. Thanks for sharing! #BrillBlogPosts

  2. Thanks. He’s all better now, thankfully. It came on so quickly that it shocked us. We have avoided the heat this summer and this really caught us out.

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