Puppy vomited and became unresponsive.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hmmm...this is an interesting situation. It's not uncommon for a puppy to eat grass and vomit, but to then immediately have diarrhea and be limp and unresponsive is very unusual.

One possibility is that Violet could have a condition called Addison's. Addison's is not common and is even less common in puppies though. Addison's is a serious and lifelong disease but there are medications to treat it.

It's also possible that she had some sort of a seizure. Often we don't find the cause of a seizure, but it is common to have vomiting, diarrhea and then be unresponsive afterwards.

A toxin is possible, but seems unlikely. It would be very unusual for her to be affected for only 20 minutes and then be fine.

Had Violet eaten before walking? Sometimes tiny puppies can get hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which could cause an incident like this.

Similarly, some small puppies can have a condition called a liver shunt (or portosystemic shunt) that can cause them to have odd episodes like this.

Another possibility would be a serious heart condition. However, if she had this, then her vet likely would have heard a significant heart murmur on her.

At this point, if she seems like she is relatively ok, then I wouldn't rush in to emergency. Here are some criteria for whether or not you should see an emergency vet:

1. If it happens again today.
2. If you feel like she is really uncomfortable.
3. If you notice a very excessive thirst and urination (as this can be a sign of a toxin).

It probably is a good idea to have your vet do some general bloodwork and a good exam in the next week though just to see if there is anything obvious going on.

Hopefully I haven't scared you with all of these frightening possibilities. My gut instinct is that this is nothing terribly serious, but I would still be a little worried.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Dr. Marie.



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