My dog is frantic, licking lips, and acting strange. Is he sick?

Any abrupt change in behavior without a known cause should be investigated by your vet as soon as possible. Sometimes this is the only sign we get of a medical condition. The behavior could be due to feeling ill, being in pain or may be because of a developing neurological condition. Your vet will do an exam, labwork and possibly some diagnostic imaging, x-rays or ultrasound to determine the cause for your pet's change in behavior and, based on the results, will be better able to advise you on treatment options.

These sound like neurological symptoms but the symptoms are quite general, you will need to take him to the vet in order to have him checked and have a blood test done to start with, hopefully this will reveal something that can help with the diagnosis.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Neldon. I am happy to hear that you have scheduled an appointment with his veterinarian. Pain is the number one reason for an abrupt change in behavior. The doctor will carefully examine his back, joints, mouth and ears to look for any source of pain. In the meantime, keep him quiet and be careful around him. Do not leave him unsupervised with children. Do not give any over-the-counter pain medications as these can be toxic to dogs. I hope this information helps and he is feeling better soon!

This is most suspicious of a drug, medication, or poison ingestion. It would be good to have a look around the house and see if there is any possibility that he got into prescription medication, or illicit drugs. Certain plants, wild mushrooms and household chemicals (i.e. antifreeze) can also cause toxicity like this. Considering his current signs, it's best to take him to a vet as soon as possible. They can help identify the cause of this and ensure he doesn't have life-threatening complications. If you happen to identify something he could have ingested, then it's best to inform the vet, so he can get the necessary treatment as soon as possible. I hope that helps and Odin gets better soon.

He may have picked up something like a toad or insect that tastes bad and gotten a toxin in his mouth causing the behavior you are describing. Make sure he’s drinking water as that will rinse out the mouth. If he won’t drink that try chicken broth. If he continues not to eat then I’m concerned and recommend a veterinary exam. Most likely if it was from something that irritated his mouth he should improve in another day or so. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Sky.

It sounds like Tato may have an underlying illness causing him distress, especially if he is acting out of sorts, has had behavior changes, and also had a lot of tick bites in recent days that can cause illnesses such as lyme disease, tick fevers, and more. Since these symptoms have been ongoing for two days without improvement, it would be best to bring Tato into your vet ASAP for a full exam, bloodwork, neuro exams, and additional testing as needed.

Hi there! I'm so sorry to hear about Mud Bud's troubles. Sometimes older dogs can actually acquire dementia over time. This could be the cause of Mud Bud licking everything. There is also a condition called, Pica, where animals will ingest odd things, due to vitamin or mineral deficiencies. I always recommend evaluating yearly lab work in elderly animals (7+ years old) to insure that they don't have any health issues that may cause this. I also think that sometimes if dogs lose vision at all to any degree, which can happen in older dogs, they may start to lick things more often for sensory purposes. I think it is best to have Mud Bud evaluated by his veterinarian. They can get some samples for lab work and give him a full physical exam, and make sure that he doesn't have any pressing health issues. From there, they can make recommendations for his behavior. I hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck!