Samson is a healthy 4 year old Lab/St. Bernard/Newf. He is gagging and salavating a lot. He has not vomitted yet. He will stop gagging if I pet him. This last time, he had gas as I pet him too. He is restless and wants to go out... it is -2 and 2am right now. I don't really want him to go out at the moment. I can't sleep with the sound of him wretching and licking the floor. Is this just gas or something serious??

Why don't you want him to go out ? If he needs to, then let him go out. For whatever reason it is going to make him feel better.

Only one solultion is, take him to the vet as soon as you can. He could have a bowel obstruction going on.

Tick

Almost three hours have passed since you posted. I hope you have readjusted your thinking and taken your dog out. We train our dogs to "go outside" so they don't relieve themselves in our homes. Whether your dog had to "do his business", the first thing you need to do is get him outside to see if he actually does need to relieve himself. Take note of anything out of the ordinary, such as trying to find some grass to eat, peeing and squating multiple times, diarrhea, bloody stool. The first thing a vet will discuss with you is your dog's "toilet habits" when trying to find a reason for behavior that is out of the norm. So, watch your dog carefully. If he is still in distress, call your vet and get him in for an examination. As tickle noted, he could have a bowel obstruction, a very serious and life threatening situation.

Just as an FYI, part of dog ownership is doing things we don't normally like to do, such as walking our dogs in the wee hours of the morning when it is bitterly cold outside. Two nights ago my pitbull had an unusually large amount of gas. Although she wasn't gagging and salivating as yours did, she started to move around at 1:30 a.m. Since it was out of character for her, I dragged my tired butt out of bed and took her outside. Turned out she had a very bad case of diarrhea. She hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary so I don't know what triggered it. Last night, same situation. Gas & diarrhea. This has happened to her before so I know from past experience (and with her vet's advice) to give her a dose of Pepto Bismol. She is fine during the day. So, I will cut out the daily treat, cut down on her normal food & supplement it with some brown rice to see if that helps. If she doesn't show any improvement during the next 24 hours, I will bring her in to the vet's office.

Please always do everything you can to ensure your dog isn't uncomfortable unnessarily. I do hope it is nothing serious and he is okay.

Well it was 2 am you know that is rather difficult for most people to accommodate their dogs when needed. Then complain that they mess in the house !

I would rather not wipe up a puddle in the kitchen, at the back door, so I let my dog out in the backyard anytime she wants to go. I say to her 'now hurry and pee' and that's exactly what she does, squatting, and you can almost see the look in her face willing herself to pee quick, to get back into bed with me.


Anyway, not good to hold you bladder, not for a dog either

Tick

I did let my dog out not because he had to go, since I had been letting him out every half hour before that. We live in North Pole, Alaska where the temps drop fast and it is now -20 (that is twenty BELOW zero... it was only 2 below when I posted last night). He is not gagging and coughing now, but is very lethargic and tired. We are praying that the worst has passed and now he is just resting and healing. We will keep a close watch on him.
I am surprised at how my regards to my pup's safety at WAY freezing temps is what you replied to and not the real health issue with him being sick. He went outside for 20 minutes, would come in for 20 minutes, and then want to go back out again. He was restless and after going out and wandreing our acerage, he would feel a bit better. I stayed up with him all night doing this. I am a bit hurt that the readers on this site would think I did not want to get up and let him out to go pee. Kind of offended too. My original post stated how cold it was... not for me, but for him. I don't want him going out and not coming back because he is too sick. I will always do what is best for my dog. He is my baby.

alaskadani, here in southereastern ontario overnight it dropped to minus l5.

Dogs in our climates are pretty resistant to the weather. I am sorry you were offended because you know, we can't read between the lines and figure out that you really care for your dog. We get all kinds here, some post some devastating situation about their pets, we reply, and never hear what has happened.

I am glad you care the way you do and thanks for coming back and letting us know the situation.

Don't be hurt because we thought you didn't want to get up and let him go out to pee. Actually, I don't know what you expected us to think :).

Thankfully he is not an older dog, and just out of puppyhood. All the breeds that go into making him up are very resilient as well. Keep in mind, though, the bowel blockage I mentioned.

All the best of luck with your pup

Tick

alaskadani, I live in Northern New England. Although it wasn't -2 here, it has been in the single digits here the past two nights. My poor dog had to wait for me to put on all my outer layers AND her doggy coat (she has very short and fine hair) before I took her out to relieve herself. Since I live up a mountain in the middle of the woods, I won't allow her off leash, especially at 1:30 a.m.

I am sorry you are offended but please reread your original post. You gave us very little information and it really did read as if you didn't want to take him out. Otherwise we both wouldn't have responded as we did. Tickle and I didn't talk before each of us posted yet we both came to the same conclusion.

Regarding looking for an answer to your dog's health issue, unfortunately we can only guess as to what is going on with him. We can't examine him and we don't know what he might have eaten or if he picked up a virus somehow. I think watching him closely now is a good idea. If the lethargy continues, he doesn't want to eat, he doesn't defecate, and/or he does and it doesn't look the way it should, you really should call your vet and get Sampson in for an examination ASAP. Again, I do hope it is nothing serious and he is okay.

I have lived in Northern Canada where the temps drop to -50 on average. If my dog needs to go out at 5pm, 12am or 5 am, they go out. If he needs to go, he needs to go. Sounds like it was a blockage. Sorry if it's been mentioned, but I only have a few minutes.

Unfortunately, we can't see your dog, so we can't diagnose him, but he is on obvious discomfort, and you not allowing him to go out side was cause for concern for us. A lot of dogs are so well mannered that they will hold their retching and gagging until they can go out side. They know what the reaction is when they poop or pee in the house, they don't realize that barfing won't get the same reaction.

I hope your dog has made a turn for the better, please keep us posted.

Best of luck

Bella

Samson is doing well now. He has slept all day, gone out twice, and just ate a bit of food. He is even being a bit playful with the kids.
2AM is not a good time for anyone who is stressed and overly tired. Kids are easier most of the time since they can say where it hurts or what they did wrong. Thank you for your thoughts.

Hey thanks for keeping us posted. Sorry that you felt a bit attacked, I know how stressful it can be at times. :)

I'm a single mom of one 3 year old and two dogs. I know how awful it is having to take the dogs out at the wee hours of the morning. Specially when's that darn cold! Hope Samson pulls out of it!

Feel free to post a pic! I'd love to see his combination!