my dog keeps collapsing

[allenyeates 3]

Personally I would keep a pot of that squeezy honey in the motor or your bag, it is a totally natural product and is all I put in the water for my pigeons when they return from a race (sometimes several hundred miles in a day), it really does pull them round. My own dogs are given honey on a regular basis, just licked off my fingers, especially in hot weather.

[allenyeates 3]

A tin of custard works well for the car kit. You can throw it in the car and forget about it until it's needed. It contains sugars, carbs and proteins and is a great 'pick me up' for a dog. Much better than chocolate that will melt, get squashed etc. and is mainly just sugars only giving the dog a quick sugar rush and a poorly liver.

I usually just make up a bottle of sugared water for my rucksack and just squirt it in his mouth to drink.

Be very carefull with the chocolate please, had to have my wifes APB terrier put to sleep last Easter, because he was a right chocoholic and chored it when he could. Vet said the poisons built up in his body over a long while. He was not even 10 yrs old. Nearly ruined the wife, still goes on about him every day. R.I.P. Big Tony.

[lakeman 12]

My brother had the same with a Britany Spaniel years back.... She would really work well but would sometimes just collapse or appear to be 'drunk'... after several trips to the vets and £££ it turned out to be dietry.. changed her food and soaked it well, from then on she was fine.

 

Some foods just don't suit all dogs... Had it myself when some seem to do fine on a particular food and others won't do so well on it

[whin 463]

i use gator ade and its saved a few dogs from taking a wobbly , even on a hard nite and day, early on when the game is thick and its still warm some nites they run till they are done never had adog dieon mt but had one a hanckock three qaurter greyhound , blow up and well had tobe put to sleep just never had running wind ,

[skycat 6,173]

ONly one person has mentioned fitness in this thread, and I think that this has got to be one of the main issues, unless the dog has a serious undiagnosed health problem. Miles and miles of walking won't get a dog running fit: OK, so it does tone up feet, legs etc, but it doesn't raise the heart rate enough to get that muscle fit, nor does it build up stamina. THE WHOLE BODY needs to be conditioned slowly and carefully to a point where the dog is able to trot briskly beside a bike for at least 3 miles, then do a minute's gallop without being over tired before you should consider slipping the dog on game that is likely to run more than 100 metres.

 

As far as diet is concerned, a diet lacking in top quality protein (meat)and the right balance of fat and carbs plus all the essential vitamins and minerals, won't meet the hard working dog's requirements.

 

And I'm sorry if this sounds preachy, but there are so many dogs that change owners without ever having been properly conditioned in their lives that many of them are carrying undiagnosed injury and problems which show up the moment the dog is worked hard. GEtting a dog properly fit from being completely unfit takes at least 2 months of hard work for you as well as the dog, and it still won't be 'match fit' until it has had a few courses or long hard runs.

[GooseyLucy 2]

I agree on principle skycat, and it does go without saying that it's downright daft to try and run a dog hard without it being fit and well. You've provided some handy advice that may make some people think twice before taking a new dog straight out.

 

If people have taken it as granted that the dog is 100% fit and healthy then there are some good tips here.

 

I do sincerely hope you get to the bottom of this, I have seen some 100% fit and healthy race dogs keel over at the end of a sprint it's not a nice thing to witness, touch wood ( ) I have been lucky thus far.

 

Paws crossed for your dog

[runningdogloopy 0]

We have a cocker that for the first time in 4 years did this drunken thing last year on a beat day, and yes he was fit enough as i have a very strict fitness routine for all the working dogs, we changed his food for a higher protien food 32% and gave him re charge. This seemed to solve the problem. But i also had a young ESS he was 20 weeks old i got him from a dear pal of mine who trials and one day i had him out just messing about in the garden when he suddenly he froze and started to shake, salivate, and have a sort of fit, this only lasted a few seconds but then he could not see. He went straight to vets where he did recover and the vets did not know what had caused it, but a few weeks down the line i had to have him put to sleep, his co-ordination was never the same infact at the end he was a danger to himself.

[mush 204]

So Sorry to hear about your dog, wishing you ATB.

I would just like to ask what electrolytes people use, as I would like

some in my dog kit.

 

Spring

This is what i use(Recharge ) in a small bottle and squirt a bit in their mouths every now and again.

http://www.greyhoundsuperstore.co.uk/displayprods.asp?curpage=2&qid=116&qdbquery=searchprodbycat&qtitle=%3Cfont+color%3Dred%3EVetsearch%3C%2Ffont%3E

[GooseyLucy 2]

I use these from Vydex http://www.vydexanimalhealth.co.uk/Products.asp?PID=67 mixed with glucose power that can be bought from supermarkets or chemists.

[bolio 49]

I always carried a bottle of water with Betacel dissolved into it at the rate of one teaspoonful of powder per 1/2 litre. No need to add glucose as it's already in there in the correct proportion along with potassium, calcium et al, as designed to be the proper electrolyte balance for greyhounds.

[Terrie 12]

Hey Hows the the big chap the day brain? Here do you no think is shocking that i have to come on here to get a wee update on him cause u dinny think of phoning!!

 

U no fancy a wee night oot the night j & b is asking?

[Guest 2GOOD]

some dogs can die and suffer similar symptoms after a hard night ,from having a brain tumour un detected , lack of oxygen to the brain helps trigger some thing that makes them act this way ,i lost a very good dog this way .it was only because i had a postmortum ,that they found the tumour .

[brianL84 11]

Hey Hows the the big chap the day brain? Here do you no think is shocking that i have to come on here to get a wee update on him cause u dinny think of phoning!!

 

U no fancy a wee night oot the night j & b is asking?

well miby if that big dough ball john would a told u eh. got the vets first thing so as soon as a ken a will let u no ok a just hope its nothing to serious

[Terrie 12]

Fingers crossed for the big dog!! Hope every thing goes fine. what u up to the night im on the chat thing a laugh at times. Aye let me know how you get on i know its shocking eh got to read things on here cause he doent say nothing!

 

Hows wee vinny?

[chartpolski 22,755]

Sorry to hear about the dog, A, I know you will have done the best for him ! What pisses me off is people going on about tomato juice, honey, gator aid, etc;.... when a dog is in the posistion yours was; you just get to a vet, as you did !! You don't come on a web site and ask people who sit behind a computer screen for advice ! How many times have we heard "my dog has broke a toe"; "my dog is coughing up worms", etc ?? "What should I do ? " One lunatic advised a lad to put tabbaco down the dogs throat !! A dog I knew very well had the same problems as yours, after taking a massive bag of rabbits; the two guys who were there, are very experienced, but what did they do ? They went straight to a vet !! The right thing to do !!. A vet studies for 7 years to treat animals, how can anyone diagnose a dog on a web site ??

 

Best of luck, A, I know the dog will get the best !!

 

Cheers.