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  #1  
Old December 6th, 2010, 01:18 AM
deannalynn deannalynn is offline
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My dog can't close his mouth

Hi there,

My 1.5 year old american bulldog cross was healthy and normal until last saturday when he seemed to have eaten something that made him lethargic and wobbly. I immediatly thought he ate something poisonous so I took him to the vet to induce vomiting. There were lots of plants and grass in his stomach, so we thought perhaps he ate a toxic plant. They put him on fluids for a few hours and we took him home. He seemed to be feeling better when about three days later we noticed that he was a bit lethargic, his mouth was hanging open a little bit and he had difficulty chewing and swallowing his food. He was also drinking excessively. We took him back to the vet and they kept him for almost 3 days. With x-rays they ruled out any bone or tissue abnormalities. A blood test revealed high white blood cell count so they put him on antibiotics. Yesterday he had his energy and appetite back but still could not close his mouth. Since he seemed healthy and more comfortable, the doctor sent him home with us without a diagnosis (we cannot afford a bunch of tests to rule out all the possibilities at this point). He advised us to watch him closely for five days and if he stays the same or gets worse the vet will refer us to a specialist to test for neurological problems. We still don't know if he was poisoned, nor do we know if the first incident and the jaw issue are linked. He seems happy and energetic, but he still can't close his mouth and has difficulty chewing and swallowing. I hope he shows improvement in the next five days. Has anyone experienced anything like this with a dog before? Any insight is appreciated!

Last edited by deannalynn; December 6th, 2010 at 01:20 AM. Reason: spelling error
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  #2  
Old December 6th, 2010, 01:31 AM
rg_girlca rg_girlca is offline
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Hi Deannalyn;

I was just wondering if you had your dogs teeth checked because I had a cat that couldn't close her mouth. It was like her jaw was locked and had trouble eating her dry food and swallowing. I put her on wet food after that. Apparently it was to do with her teeth. The vet said he had never seen anything like it before. She had surgery done and the vet said that when they were able to open her mouth, two of her back teeth fell out. She was fine after that. From the sounds of it though, I don't think this is the same as what your dog has, but it is a thought.

I am sending you prayers and positive thoughts that your bulldog has a full and speedy recovery.
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Old December 6th, 2010, 01:55 AM
deannalynn deannalynn is offline
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When the vet sedated him for xrays he also examined the mouth and top portion of this throat and he said everything looked normal
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Old December 6th, 2010, 02:03 AM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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My dog had this, most likely either lyme-vaccine associated or from actual lyme. We have a dog on the GSD board that is having jaw problems, just tested positive for Lyme. Another GSD on a different board, had something lodged in the jaw, and a fungal infection. It could also be Masticatory Myositis (sp?), rarely tetanus.

With the high WBC, certainly sounds infections. I would make sure I used an antibiotic that worked for something like lyme and tetanus.
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Old December 6th, 2010, 11:56 AM
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Rgeurts Rgeurts is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxaLisa View Post
It could also be Masticatory Myositis (sp?), rarely tetanus.
That's a definite possibility. Here's a link:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6308965_can...-symptoms.html

There's often other symptoms which can accompany it such as vomiting water/food directly after eating/drinking, but not always. The trouble swallowing and slack jaw are the 2 most prominent symptoms. Another is the wasting of muscle in the jaw and around the eyes (they have a sunken look). One of the vets we saw thought our puppy had it and wanted to do a muscle biopsy on his skull to confirm. Thankfully, we waited for the specialist to get back to us before we allowed anything to be done. His turned out to be muscle damage from prednisone use (pred head). I don't know that the white cell count would be raised, but I could be wrong


Good luck
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Old December 6th, 2010, 01:19 PM
deannalynn deannalynn is offline
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The vet did not mention masticory myositis. Perhaps he ruled it out already? The weird thing is that the only symptom my dog has is an open mouth and difficulty chewing and swallowing. Otherwise he looks normal and he's happy and energetic. So strange!
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  #7  
Old December 6th, 2010, 01:31 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgeurts View Post
That's a definite possibility. Here's a link:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6308965_can...-symptoms.html

There's often other symptoms which can accompany it such as vomiting water/food directly after eating/drinking, but not always. The trouble swallowing and slack jaw are the 2 most prominent symptoms. Another is the wasting of muscle in the jaw and around the eyes (they have a sunken look). One of the vets we saw thought our puppy had it and wanted to do a muscle biopsy on his skull to confirm. Thankfully, we waited for the specialist to get back to us before we allowed anything to be done. His turned out to be muscle damage from prednisone use (pred head). I don't know that the white cell count would be raised, but I could be wrong


Good luck
I thought of this immediately. We had one in rescue. The outcome was not good but is not the norm.

Please bring this up with your vet. It can be missed as this condition is not a common one.
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Old June 13th, 2012, 07:16 PM
hotdok hotdok is offline
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Exclamation hydrating drop jaw

Our dog cannot drink due to his trigeminal neuritis, his jaw does not close etc. The condition may last 6+ weeks.

Any suggestions how to get water in him?

We are trying yello blocks and a turkey baster.
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