Dog has white gums, lying still with pale tongue sticking out when I came home

fwed

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#1
Mimi is a 1 year old Minpin, she is typically very active and hyper. Yesterday I came home and her gums are completley white and her tongue is out, not in a panting sort of way, but just sticking out of her mouth, like still. Her tongue is very pale and she also had a peice of poop sticking out of her butt that was still hanging there, she was lying side ways and didnt move.

We immedietely took her to a 24 hour animal clinic where she got checked up, while we waited her gums began to return to normal color and her check up showed no abnormalities. The vet says her best possible guess is that she could have suffered a seizure (dogs have seizures?) She suggested we keep her in the hospital overnight but when we got the estimate, it was around $1100!

It looked like Mimi was returning to her normal self so we decided to keep her home and since I'm off the next 5 days I can keep an eye on her. Does anyone here know what could have been the cause of this? The doctor gave us an educated guess because she said she could not find any problems with her except for the pale gums when she first was brought in. I was just wondering what the chances are of that actually being a seizure and what could be some other possible causes? Perhaps dehydration? We usually keep plenty of water out but since she is not potty trained all the way, I do sometimes limit her water consumption right after she comes back from using the potty so the chances are less that she goes again right away.

It is morning now and she seems to be doing fine, she is jumping around, play fighting with our other dog, eating fine, so everything seems normal, just wondering what the cause might have been for that episode yesterday.
 

FoxyWench

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#2
could be a seizure (dogs can have epilepsy and any number of seivure disorders just like people)

pale gums however id usually account to 1 of 2 things
anemia...
and hypoglycemia

hypoglycemia is a definate posibility but she wouldnt have just returned to normal without some king of food/sugar going in to bring her out...

i wouldnt withhold water EVER, instead take her out more frequently untill she is housebroken...means a little more work on your part, but less of a risk to her health...
an hour without water wont do much in most cases but if there is something going on...

if its hypoglycemia itll likely be food based, how big is she and how often does she eat, what food are you feeding. (hypoglycemia affects somwhat like diabetes the blood sugar drops and it can be deadly, particularly in small dogs)

seizures themselves can be caused by anything and can be completly random...
our now 8 yr old cocker spaniel had a very random seizure this past year...never had one before that, hasnt had one since, they can be caused by low blood sugar, stress, change in envorionment, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity.

just keep a close eye on her, and personally id get her into the regular vet for a physical and blood work up, just to rule out anything that the emergency clinic might have missed.
 

Baxter'smybaby

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#3
I hadn't finished reading all of your post, and the first thing I thought was a seizure. Dehydration could bring on a seizure also.
I would make sure she has enough to drink, follow up with your vet for any other possible factors contributing to this.
 

adojrts

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#5
Or she could have been accidently poisoned, even mildly. Which could have caused a seizure and/or anemia. Have you had company in over the holidays? Is it possible that they are on meds and dropped a pill? Christmas house plants? Other toxins?
 

fwed

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#7
could be a seizure (dogs can have epilepsy and any number of seivure disorders just like people)

pale gums however id usually account to 1 of 2 things
anemia...
and hypoglycemia

hypoglycemia is a definate posibility but she wouldnt have just returned to normal without some king of food/sugar going in to bring her out...

i wouldnt withhold water EVER, instead take her out more frequently untill she is housebroken...means a little more work on your part, but less of a risk to her health...
an hour without water wont do much in most cases but if there is something going on...

if its hypoglycemia itll likely be food based, how big is she and how often does she eat, what food are you feeding. (hypoglycemia affects somwhat like diabetes the blood sugar drops and it can be deadly, particularly in small dogs)

seizures themselves can be caused by anything and can be completly random...
our now 8 yr old cocker spaniel had a very random seizure this past year...never had one before that, hasnt had one since, they can be caused by low blood sugar, stress, change in envorionment, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity.

just keep a close eye on her, and personally id get her into the regular vet for a physical and blood work up, just to rule out anything that the emergency clinic might have missed.
thanks for the reply everyone, she is about 8lbs, very small dog. I feed her beneful, about a handful twice per day.
 

Zoom

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#9
I don't mean current, I mean has she gotten any vaccines in the last week?

I've seen the above happen to a dog that had severe reactions to vaccinations.

Seizures sound like the more likely cause, assuming poison was ruled out, but it's another angle to consider.
 

fwed

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#10
I don't mean current, I mean has she gotten any vaccines in the last week?

I've seen the above happen to a dog that had severe reactions to vaccinations.

Seizures sound like the more likely cause, assuming poison was ruled out, but it's another angle to consider.
No, no vaccines in the past week, last one she had was rabies in November. She's acting fine today, playing tug o war with my other dog as we speak. HOpefully we don't see this happen again.
 

Zoom

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#11
Keep careful notes. Make mention of any "odd" behaviors, like a sudden stiffening and staring off into space, uncontrolled air licking/biting, shivering and unresponsiveness to vocal stimulation. Those are usually indicative of low-level seizures, where as behavior like you originally described more often accompanies grand mal type seizures.

Hopefully you don't see any of the above :)
 

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