Sick dog

[Rileyhiker]

Have hiked hundreds of miles in the Rockies including Fourteener‘s with my dog Riley. This week in the Monarch crest era a couple hours after the hike she got terribly sick with seizures and was totally out of it. I talked to a vet who is gracious enough to visit with me on the phone and she thought it was a toxin from a plant or perhaps leftover drug etc. We were both well hydrated so I don’t really think it was altitude related, we were at about 12,200.
I managed to get some liquid into her and down to a lower elevation. After a day she was back to normal, very thankful.
Just wondering if anyone out there has ever had an experience like this with their dog and might have some information on what might’ve happened. All is good now thanks in advance for any help.
Rileyhiker.

[Jon Frohlich]

Years ago I had a similar experience with my dog Maya in Boulder. She had some sort of seizure or event and collapsed about a mile into a hike. I had to carry her down with the help of a stranger. She was a little better by the time we got to the car but I took her to the emergency vet. Liver values were nuts like she had gotten a toxin or bit by something.

Next day she was fine and nothing similar since. To this day l have zero idea. Probably a toxic plant or spider bite.

Not much help but long term your dog should be fine.

[jrs1965]

I'm sure your pup doesn't chew gum, but I had a coworker who's dog got sick in a similar fashion from chewing gum. Turns out, the "Ice" type chewing gum has some ingredient that's toxic to the liver in dogs. My coworker suspects that possibly a homeless person had tossed the gum into his backyard...

[robby40]

If it happens again consider the possibility of hypoglycemia. My bird dog as she got older would have occasional episodes of collapse and seizure on regular walks after her days in the field were over, which was diagnosed as hypoglycemia. And I sure wish I had been aware of that possibility before it was diagnosed. Take along something for her to eat to get her blood sugar up in case it is hypoglycemia and it happens again - and/or perhaps, like human endurance athletes do, be sure keep her fueled up a bit on your adventures.

[nyker]

Depending on the elevation where it occurred...maybe a rattlesnake bite?

[two lunches]

If it happens again consider the possibility of hypoglycemia. My bird dog as she got older would have occasional episodes of collapse and seizure on regular walks after her days in the field were over, which was diagnosed as hypoglycemia. And I sure wish I had been aware of that possibility before it was diagnosed. Take along something for her to eat to get her blood sugar up in case it is hypoglycemia and it happens again - and/or perhaps, like human endurance athletes do, be sure keep her fueled up a bit on your adventures.

we are a BIG fan of these-- https://noblfoods.com/collections/canine-food-bars
"One bar provides a day’s complete nutrition for a 25-pound pup. Plus, they’re scored so you can break off what you need for easy incremental feeding." my dog carries one in his pack along with a rescue harness (https://fidoprotection.com/products/fid ... og-harness), emergency blanket, and poncho.

[Tornadoman]

If it happens again consider the possibility of hypoglycemia. My bird dog as she got older would have occasional episodes of collapse and seizure on regular walks after her days in the field were over, which was diagnosed as hypoglycemia. And I sure wish I had been aware of that possibility before it was diagnosed. Take along something for her to eat to get her blood sugar up in case it is hypoglycemia and it happens again - and/or perhaps, like human endurance athletes do, be sure keep her fueled up a bit on your adventures.

we are a BIG fan of these-- https://noblfoods.com/collections/canine-food-bars
"One bar provides a day’s complete nutrition for a 25-pound pup. Plus, they’re scored so you can break off what you need for easy incremental feeding." my dog carries one in his pack along with a rescue harness (https://fidoprotection.com/products/fid ... og-harness), emergency blanket, and poncho.

Archer brings all the doggy essentials!

[12ersRule]

My coworker suspects that possibly a homeless person had tossed the gum into his backyard...

Probably bought the gum with your tax money too. What an ass.

[mtn_hound]

I had a dog years ago who would eat literally anything, and I had two similar episodes where we wound up at emergency vet. It never happened in the middle of a hike, thankfully. In one case he had seizures that sound similar to this after eating compost from my compost bin. Some of the fungi in compost can produce some relatively nasty toxins, and that was the vet's best guess. I had watched him scarf down some compost, so knew for sure what he had eaten if not the specific toxin. In that case they put him on an IV overnight with activated carbon treatment and he recovered fully. The other time it wasn't seizures but he had some fairly severe tremors after we'd been out at an outside bar/restaurant. In that case, they were almost positive he had eaten some marijuana someone threw on the ground, I definitely smelled it while we were out but didn't think anything of it until I got home and the tremors started. They didn't do any treatment, they did a full exam and said to take him home and watch him. By the next morning, all was well, so that's another thing to consider.

[Iguru]

My dog ate a discarded wad of chewing tobacco, and had a seizure that night.
She was OK the next day, so no vet visit.

[nutella262]

I'm sure your pup doesn't chew gum, but I had a coworker who's dog got sick in a similar fashion from chewing gum. Turns out, the "Ice" type chewing gum has some ingredient that's toxic to the liver in dogs. My coworker suspects that possibly a homeless person had tossed the gum into his backyard...

Veterinarian here - xylitol, which is an ingredient in most gums and many other sugar-free foods is toxic to dogs and causes an acute (very rapid) hypoglycemia. Liver = site of glucose metabolism, etc etc. Awhile back, peanut butter received a lot of attention for this - really important to check ingredient labels on human food.

OP - I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Those situations are always scary and I'm glad things seem back to normal. If your vet didn't already recommend it to you, write down everything you can remember about what happened, how your dog acted, how long it was, what you did that day, etc. That way, if it happens again, you have a starting point and can see if the episodes are similar. Also if it happens again, try to get a video of what your dog was doing. That can really help your vet better guide you on diagnoses and treatment options.

[Rileyhiker]

Thanks everyone for weighing in on Riley. Been nearly a month now and she is still fine. I appreciate the help. We’re back to low L hiking in Michigan and doing well.