gooster Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Just wondering if anyone had any ideas what may be wrong with Charlie. He is booked in at the vets today, but just wanted ideas in my head before I go. He's always been a foodie, but recently he has been getting a lot worse. On Saturday night we were eating tea at the table and he was getting really worked up, shaking panting and really squeaking as if he was desperate to be fed. He had only just had his tea as well, so it wasn't as if he was hungry. Also, the other night I had put some toys in his bowl to attempt to slow his eating down, as he really hoovers his food, unfortunately this meant all the others finished before him and were hovering around waiting for him to finish. As charlie is possessive about his food, this led to a slight scuffle between him and Amber in which he managed to get a hole in his lip. Once we had finished cleaning him up, he then started bouncing around again like he was going to be fed again. He has also been panting a bit more than normal and maybe drinking more (but with 4 of them it's difficult to monitor!). He is fed on burns fish and rice with a bit of tuna in oil mixed in twice a day. There has been no change in his toileting and is up to date with his wormers. He is 11 now, so I am really concerned something is wrong. The only other thing I can think that has changed is that we are no longer doing flyball. His last show was in November last year. So if it's not medical related, am wondering if it is boredom related as he is used to expending lots of barky squeaky energy there Edited March 1, 2011 by gooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 I think I would be getting some bloods run to check that it isn't a medical problem. It could be all sorts of things - so I personally would want to rule out a medical problem before trying something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 I have had the same problem with my 12 year old dalmatian, since November. He has had several blood tests and urine tests but they all are clear. The norm for water consumption for his weight is about 2 litres a day. He has consumed 3 litres some days, plus he is raw fed. He hardly used to drink any water before. He also needs to wee at least every two hours, often sooner, and it is a flood. We have a flooded kitchen floor most mornings. He acts as if he is starving and had started helping himself to anything edible that he can reach. Something he has never done before. We could leave food on the worktops and he would sit and look at it, but never touch it. He even tries to take food out of your hand if it is near him. His weight hasn't changed. He is the same weight as he was in November. Last week he collapsed on the beach but a vet check an hour later revealed nothing. He gets agitated and panty when he thinks he should be getting food. We are presently awaiting lab results on yet another urine sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hope you manage to get answers Charlie has started to jump on the dining table and kitchen worktop to get food! Nothing is safe from him, he even managed to destroy child locks which were on the dog cupboard!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Off to Asda and buy a glucose curve test set around a tenner. and then move over to a non rice food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Off to Asda and buy a glucose curve test set around a tenner. and then move over to a non rice food. He has been tested for diabetes - both mellitus and insipidus. He is fed a raw diet, so no rice in sight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Just got out of the vets, it was the vet I don't really like as she has a tendency to make you feel like you are imagining things. Anyhow she listened to his chest, felt his tummy and gave him a general check. She then said everything was fine and he was in good shape. If I want to follow it up we can do a urine test and if that is ok, then do bloods. Charlie is an absolute bugger to get a urine sample from, so this could be fun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Just got out of the vets, it was the vet I don't really like as she has a tendency to make you feel like you are imagining things. Anyhow she listened to his chest, felt his tummy and gave him a general check. She then said everything was fine and he was in good shape. If I want to follow it up we can do a urine test and if that is ok, then do bloods. Charlie is an absolute bugger to get a urine sample from, so this could be fun!! I would worry about the time that this is taking. Or is the price an issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Price is no issue, he is insured and I want to find out what is wrong with him. Mentioned changing his food, and she said that as he is having no other issues with regards to his tummy, she doesn't think it is a food intolerance. She did mention bulking his food up with carrots to try and keep him fuller for longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Thyroid related? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Is his behaviour normal in other ways? just that I know dogs can develop a form of Alzheimers...and people with that can forget they have just eaten and demand a meal again? Funnily enough, our lurcher Dylan has recently started pinching stuff, he went through the rubbish bag the other week, and on Monday morning he raided the veg rack! He's not trying to take stuff from our plates when we eat, but he is getting very pushy about wanting some. I can't say it's down to his age, I don't know how old he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) I would suggest a test for Cushings along with thyroid - sounds how Smudge was (ravenously hungry, panting like she'd run miles, drinking loads and peeing more), though her fur also starting going funny too. Problem with both conditions is that you can get false negatives...... Good luck Edited to check he's not on any steroids at all? - as that can induce Cushings too Edited March 3, 2011 by Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Thanks, he's not on any meds at all. I have spoken to one of my friends who is a vet and she said they would start off with a urine sample, but make sure it's the first one of the day to see how he concentrates his wee overnight. She then said that they would try bloods to check for thyroid/liver/kidney probs. Thyroid is a a different set of tests than the general bloods. His coat hasn't really changed, he is usually clipped in the summer, so is looking quite hairy and fluffy at the moment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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