Trembling dogs. Options

[mairs]

My dogs are having a problem which may be related to running too hard and not being in good enough condition. This hasn't happened in the past, not until about a month ago. I wasn't taking them out as much because I was in and out of the hospital for a month or so, then after that I was recuperating.

Sometimes when they run they will end up trembling all over afterward, their saliva is foaming a bit, and they may whimper. Bella did this when we were in the mountains and she took off over a hill. The others stayed closer. She came running back and was trembling, whimpering, and panting faster than after a normal run. It went away as she walked and cooled off and got her breathing back to normal, but it alarmed me.

It happened a couple of times at the dog park. There is a separate very long private run, and the dogs love to run up and down the fence with dogs on the other side. They go all out. Yesterday Jack, Tonka, and Bella were running so much that all three of them started trembling. I tried to catch Jack and stop him from running. I finally got him and leashed him so I could walk him to cool him off.

This didn't happen at the lure coursing event. Neither Jack nor Tonka got that winded. I've never seen this in a dog before and was wondering if anyone might know what is going on. Are they simply running more than they are fit enough to do? Also, the elevation here is 7,000ft, but they grew up here so it shouldn't make that much of a difference I don't think.

[AugenJ]

Never saw this before. Either they're overheating or out of breath. Not much help, eh?

[Woodseve]

Hope you are feeling better after your hospital visits!

As far as the hounds..... Hmmmmmm...... I wish I could help you out, but I'm stumped.

Our LHWs are kind of like this after they run, but not the large hounds. LHWs can be kind of highstrung this way. They get all in a frazzle after chasing eachother.

[mairs]

Hmm, well..... someone in the run next to us let out about 8 Brussels Griffons who were running the fence line and squeaking. It made my guys wild and they wouldn't stop running up and down. They probably just overdid it.

[cuagusgiorrai]

Dont let them run with food in their stomachs. I bet you that they had food in them when they ran.. am I right?

[mairs]

No, no food in their stomachs. I run them early evenings before they get fed.

[cuagusgiorrai]

so how many hours previously had they been fed?

[mairs]

They have a period of eating kibble in the morning, about 8 to 10 hours before we go out. I leave kibble out during the day, but they're waiting for meat at night so they leave the kibble alone during the day. I was wondering if they have too little energy from their last meal.

When I took them lure coursing I fed them a light meal about 3 hours before they ran. They didn't have those symptoms that time.

[cuagusgiorrai]

they would still have food in their stomach.
My best advice to you is never leave food out for your dogs and feed them once a day before bedtime, unless they are puppies.
I have heard and known many dogs dieing of gastric torsion and the symtoms you describe are scarily similar, except your dogs didnt collapse.
Dogs can go days without food and be fine. They have all the energy they need.

"When I took them lure coursing I fed them a light meal about 3 hours before they ran. They didn't have those symptoms that time."
you shouldnt have done that. Its not only dangerous but it slows a dog down significantly. Your dogs would have ran better on an empty stomach.

[mairs]

I'm going to talk to my vet about it on Friday as I'm taking two of them in for their rabies boosters. I was reading that dogs who eat once a day are twice as likely to develop bloat as dogs that are fed twice a day, but it doesn't say if the dogs exercised after that one meal. My dogs never tried to retch and their stomachs didn't look or feel swollen, as I felt them all over. I checked their gums and they were not pale. I will follow your advice and take up their food during the day and not feed them at all before coursing again.

I'm about to change vets to one who treats the racing and hunting borzoi of someone I know, and who also has a greyhound herself.

[LindsaySF]

I doubt it was a food issue. They would have had other gastric symptoms.

The trembling probably just means they overdid it. I would walk them out until it stops. Teagan will sometimes do this (front legs) after a lure pole session, it usually means I pushed him a little too far.