borderline to go to vet or not

When do you guys decide to go to a vet?

Last night on Odin's walk, he ate a leaf and then seemed like he couldn't breath for a bit and he was licking and eating everything green in site (crass, dandylions, strubs), then he threw up on the grass after coughing a few times. No leaf though. It took me forever to find out the name of the plant, but it was a weigela. We have them all over near our building. Thank goodness they aren't poisonous.

Since then he has seemed a little more "phlegmy". He is already pretty phlegmy because he is a bulldog and they tend to have a lot of phlegm, but it just seems a little worse, and his nose seems to be a little..wetter (not the actual nose, but his nose seems to be running a little as he is snorting a little more).

He slept ok last night, and didn't snore much. He seems ok today, still a little "wet" sounding.

The only other thing that I thought could have caused a problem was that we gave him his revolution 24 hours before, so maybe this is a reaction to it? There is nothing on the package about side effects though. Their website said less than 1% of dogs have stomach upset...so it's possible it could be just from the revolution right? 1800petmeds said:

Side effects when using Revolution may include temporary hair loss, loss of appetite, drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and muscle tremors.

I'm just on the fence right now as to whether to bother with the vet. He is ok with everything else, eating, drinking, sleeping, peeing, pooping, same activity level. Should I maybe give it until tonight (24 hours) and if it's not better, then take him in?

Also, it has been really warm and the air thick here. Despite having AC..the air is still thick so maybe it's just a little congestion due to smog? I know I have been coughing more and my asthma has been acting up. It's been in the high 20's C all week. Odin likes to spend most of the day lying in front of our fan.

IMO, i'd give it 24 hours UNLESS he gets noticeably worse! Or you could call the vet and see what they think!

I think he is fine I would call the vet if it was me and see what they say. See what they tell you to do. But, I think he is okay but you are a good mommy and I undertand how you feel. One day Meater threw up and I wanted to get him to the emergency vet. LOL Justin was like lets wait a little while and see how he does. And he was fine just must have had a upset tummy! So that is a mommy for you always worried. :D

OMG I think he is dehydrated! I just did the neck skin test thing, and it was slow going back! Also, when he is licking his lips and stuff, there is this "thick" sound (you know when you are dehydrated yourself, and your saliva is all "smacky" and gross)...

He has been drinking water...what could cause the dehydration if he is still drinking water? He may have been drinking less though...and it has been hotter outside. Ususally he wants water on our short walks, and in the last two days he just turned it away, and hasn't come home and drank a ton like usual.

What can I do to make him drink more? i thought about adding some boulion to the water maybe, but all the boulion I have has onion in it. I gave him some beet juice ice cubes, but I want him to drink more. I gave him some semi-soft dog food today in his food, and he also gets water in his food (about 1/4 inch in the bottom of the bowl). He loves beets, would it be ok to feed him a whole can (that has a lot of moisture in it)?

chicken broth maybe? the low sodium kind



Eleni

All the broths and boulions on the market have onion powder so you should never use them, unless you can find one without it. Onion causes Hemolytic Anemia in dogs. All the store ones, like campbells, have onion in them when I've checked.

I could make my own. What if I made a fish broth? I have canned salmon, what if I boiled it for a bit, and strained it and let him drink that?

It's weird that your doggy would not drink if he was dehydrated...

The runny nose-- Boo's nose is nearly always dripping when it's hot. I don't know if it's normal, but he's fine despite the drips. I'd wait if the leaf wasn't poisonous, but if he's really dehydrated, bring him in. How's the stool today?

A few years ago my cat was sick and suffering from deydration. The vet put her on and IV. When I her got home, I added pedialyte to her water. It is a fluid you add to babies juice or water when they have diareaha. The vet reccomended it to me.

Stool was fine. I actually walked past where he threw up on the grass, and the leaf was in it, so he didn't ingest the leaf...

I think I found the problem. He has been "skirting" his water bowl lately. He will drink out of it, but he almost seems scared of it. So, I tried a few things.

I moved it away from the wall...didn't work.

I thought, maybe he is getting used to me pouring water for him, because on our walks, I bring a water bottle and pour the water and he drinks what comes out, not in a bowl. So, I took his water bottle, poured the water over his bowl, nothing.

So..I thought maybe he doesn't like the bowl, so I got another bowl, filled it, he sniffed, and walked away.

So....I thought, why not just pour the water from the water bottle onto the floor (desperation makes you do funny things) and guess what? He drank it. I had a very wet floor though after. So now he drinks water if I am pouring it out of a water bottle onto the floor??

During his walk he finished the water bottle (I figure 50% ends up in him, 50% on the ground). When I got home I washed his regular bowl, put ice cold water in it, and moved it to a completely different room (to the computer room) and he drank! Yay!

I don't know what this weird thing with the bowl came from. He will drink out of it if it is not in the kitchen. Maybe he just likes to drink from the bowl off a carpet instead of the floor?

Could be that or it could be that he likes to worry his mum... :D

Maybe he is just the devil incarnate and likes to drive me to do insane things!

My bf's theory is that he likes his water better than my water (he always drinks out of his bowl when BF fills it).

I do notice he isn't as phlegmy since i made him drink more water!

Looks like the bf just nominated himself for a permanent job... :D

I am so glad to hear that Odin is drinking now! :D

If I remember correctly bulldogs have lots of skin around their neck anyways try checking to see if he is dehydrated on his tummy, I think he is fine, maybe you are jumping the gun a little. As for a stuffy nose and phlegmy could be allergies to something in the air outside. You are a good mummy, to your little darling, relax take a breath. Just wait until you start having children it gets worse, mind you my kids say that I spoil Tucker more than them.

I usually call the vet for every "little" thing. My Elvis tries to eat grass all of the time. So, before he goes out, we give a leaf of raw spinach and or broccoli (we always have it on hand for the kids and the parrots) and it seems to lessen how much grass he eats. I hope your baby is ok. (I worry constantly about my pets and kids).