Old dog would not wake up today, non responsive to sound or touch...

[rendaivu.com]

When I went to let my dogs out today I noticed my old girl was not around. So I called her name but she didn't come. I went upstairs and found her sleeping in her bed. I called her name, clapped my hands, gently touched her and still nothing. I opened her eyes and they were rolled to the back of her head. I started to shake her harder, stomped on the floor and still nothing. I noticed she was breathing but this was so scary. Finally I said "Ally want food" and she perked up looked at me and got out of her bed as if nothing. It took a LONG time to wake her up, at least 10 minutes. Has anyone experienced this or know what might be the cause. I know she has some hearing loss but this was different from anything she has ever done.

Any thoughts?

 

[J's crew]

Sounds like she needs a Vet, ASAP.

 

[RD]

How old is she?

My old Lab wouldn't wake up for anything but the sound of dog food hitting a bowl in his last year or so. He certainly wasn't deaf, he just got less responsive to noises and sensations that had no relevance to him.

I'd get her to a vet, personally, just to make sure it's not something serious as opposed to old age.

 

[bubbatd]

^^^ agree ...for your peace of mind too . She may have just been in a deep sleep.

 

[Aussie Red]

She may have just been in a very deep sleep but just to be on the safe side that nothing more serious is wrong as the others suggested a vet check might be in your and hers best interests. Better safe then sorry.

 

[skyeboxer]

You didn't mention how old your old dog was or what breed because age can be dependent on breed (generally speaking). It does sound scary and maybe hearing loss had something to do with it but lifting her eyelids and no response is worrying.

Maybe it was simply a deep sleep but to be sure, a trip to the vet sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[Whisper]

I agree with the above. It sounds like she's acting normally right now, but to be safe and to make sure I'd take her to the vet.

 

[IliamnasQuest]

I have an old gal - she's 15 - and there are times when she is so sound asleep that I have to shake her to wake her up. It doesn't happen often but it sure scares me when it does. It may be that your girl is just that sound asleep but I agree with everyone else that a vet visit is a good idea in case it's something else.

I once had a horse that - when he got old (between 24 and 29 years) - would lay down flat on his side and be so sound asleep that I had to run up and start thumping on him to get him to wake. First time he did that I truly thought he was dead! It's really not normal for a horse (a prey animal) to be that sound asleep.

I hope your old girl is okay and just doing a typical old-age kind of thing.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

 

[LargeDogBreedz]

I would personally wait to see if it happens again, especially anytime soon. If this habit is a continuing occurence, definately visit the vet.

If you had really spend 10 minutes to wake her up, including shaking and touching her without a response or without her even opening her eyelids, I would take her to the vet immediately. That doesn't sound good at all.

 

[GlassOnion]

I'd wait as well and see if it happens again.

I'll never forget a few months after we got our lab he was large enough to jump up on my bed (my bed is relatively high up) and so he fell asleep with me. I woke up with my arm over him and felt that he wasn't breathing (he was, in retrospect, but it was very slow breathing). I shook him and he didn't respond, shook him harder and he was very groggy waking up. Scared the living crap out of me. But he was just enjoying a very deep REM sleep. I breathed my sigh of relief and went back to sleep.

He still does that every now and then but my vet told me it's nothing to worry about at his next check up after the incident.

But keep in mind that this is a young dog (5 years old now, was 7 months at the time of the incident above), so you may want to keep a close eye on yours if it's really old.