My senior dog threw up and couldn't get up. Should I be worried?

At her age, we definitely want to take changes like this seriously. If she's eating and drinking, breathing 10-30 breaths per minute while resting, able to get up and move around, and has normal pink gums, it doesn't sound like an emergency, but I would recommend a vet visit in the next few days if she doesn't go back to normal.

Poor Chika sounds very ill! If she has been throwing up for the past three days, doesn't want to walk, and is very lethargic, she needs to see a vet right away. She could have a foreign body, severe GI illness, pancreatitis, or even cancer (which is unfortunately common in older dogs). The vet can do a physical exam, routine blood tests, a urinalysis, and possibly x-rays to diagnose what is causing her symptoms and can treat accordingly. Please take her into an ER vet now.

It sounds as Pelu is suffering from a gastrointestinal condition, possibly an infection. it could also be due to ingestion of a foreign body material. i would recommend taking her to the vet the first chance you get, she will need to be checked first, if the vet thinks it's a simple gastrointestinal infection she will need an anti vomiting injection, antibiotics and a special food for a few days in order to get better. if the vet thinks it is more serious she will need a blood test and possibly an ultrasound in order to find out what is wrong.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question. Poor girl. It could be the meloxicam is no longer enough for her pain, and she may need an additional pain medication or an increase in dosage. She does sound painful to me. Rest her as much as possible tonight, and then take her into the vet first thing in the morning. I hope this helps!

I am very concerned about your dog's condition and highly recommend a veterinary visit. There are a few general categories that fit with what your dog is showing at home. One would be weakness due to a nerve problem in the back end. This can happen if a disc has moved out of place in the spine and is pressing on the spinal cord. This can cause dogs to have trouble walking and placing their feet in an appropriate way. Some have the appearance of walking on their toes. Otherwise they are able to place weight on the back legs but stagger or sway when walking. This can be an emergency situation if the disc slips more into the spinal cord and causes paralysis. Another type of weakness that causes trouble getting up is if there is a lack of proper blood circulation. The lower level of blood in the body causes them to be lethargic due to the decreased oxygen circulating throughout the body. In an older dog, the most common cause of this is with a tumor or mass on the spleen that has ruptured. The spleen holds a large amount of blood and if it has a rupture, the blood leaks out into the abdomen. In addition to the lethargy, we often see pale gums and a pot belly appearance due to the pooling blood. An x-ray or ultrasound would help determine if this is occurring. These are the two most common reasons for such a dramatic change in her appearance. There is also the chance of her eating something she shouldn't. The best thing for her would be to have an exam as soon as you are able to determine what is causing her signs. The vet may recommend bloodwork or an x-ray. Unfortunately. older large breed dogs can lose nerve function in their back legs due to age changes. There is little we can do to help this aside from keeping them comfortable. Due to how sudden the signs showed up, this is less likely, as it is often a more gradual change.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am concerned that she is not getting up and not eating. She may be dehydrated from the vomiting and the shivering may not be due to her being cold but may be due to her not feeling well. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would start by having her blood tested and abdominal x-rays taken to help determine what the cause of these symptoms could be. I hope this helps and that Sophie gets better soon! Please feel free to contact me with any further questions / concerns you may have.

Hi there. If it's been a week since her vaccinations, it's unlikely that her current vomiting issues would be related to this - most vaccine reactions or side effects are seen within the first 24-48 hours. There are many different things that could cause vomiting in an older dog like this, so it's hard to say what might be wrong without being able to examine her and run some tests. Because of this, I would recommend taking her to the vet tomorrow for an exam. He/she can do blood work and x-rays if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what kind of treatment is needed.