kah Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Just wondering if anyone has any experience with lead poisoning in dogs? My questions - can lead poisoning in dogs be a gradual poisoning from low levels ingested over a long period of time? And can it have behavioural effects without any of the gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and diarrheoa being present? We took our dog to the vet yesterday to discuss some behavioural issues and after a general health check and questions about any recent environmental or diet changes they suggested it is probably not health related. BUT I hadn't even thought of lead poisoning until this morning. Her behaviour has gradually gone downhill over the last 3-4 years, becoming more agressive, anxious and destructive are the main things we have noticed. When I moved into an old house about 5 years ago she started scratching and chewing the front door when left at home. When we started renovating we did a lead chceck on the windows and doors and it was positive but still didn't twig that it could cause problems for our dog. I'm sorry to say that as I was pregnant we took all the precautions necessary to keep me safe but poisoning our dog didn't even cross our minds and she continued to scratch and chew the door (as well as probably walking through a fair bit of dust over the months of renovating). We moved about 10 months ago and she started doing the same thing here but progressed to eating the timber window frames aswell. I have just tested the door and frames and the test was positive. About 3 months after we moved in she collapsed but it was a hot day and she had been running around like a madman so it was just put down to heat and exhaustion. But it has happened 3 more times since then - still after running but not in hot weather. She's had her heart checked and apart from being "noisy" the vet didn't think it was the problem. I have also noticed she has muscle spasms (not frequently though) and trouble jumping onto high things (which I had assumed was just her getting older - she is 10yo) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigirl Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Just wondering if anyone has any experience with lead poisoning in dogs? My questions - can lead poisoning in dogs be a gradual poisoning from low levels ingested over a long period of time? And can it have behavioural effects without any of the gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and diarrheoa being present? We took our dog to the vet yesterday to discuss some behavioural issues and after a general health check and questions about any recent environmental or diet changes they suggested it is probably not health related. BUT I hadn't even thought of lead poisoning until this morning. Her behaviour has gradually gone downhill over the last 3-4 years, becoming more agressive, anxious and destructive are the main things we have noticed. When I moved into an old house about 5 years ago she started scratching and chewing the front door when left at home. When we started renovating we did a lead chceck on the windows and doors and it was positive but still didn't twig that it could cause problems for our dog. I'm sorry to say that as I was pregnant we took all the precautions necessary to keep me safe but poisoning our dog didn't even cross our minds and she continued to scratch and chew the door (as well as probably walking through a fair bit of dust over the months of renovating). We moved about 10 months ago and she started doing the same thing here but progressed to eating the timber window frames aswell. I have just tested the door and frames and the test was positive. About 3 months after we moved in she collapsed but it was a hot day and she had been running around like a madman so it was just put down to heat and exhaustion. But it has happened 3 more times since then - still after running but not in hot weather. She's had her heart checked and apart from being "noisy" the vet didn't think it was the problem. I have also noticed she has muscle spasms (not frequently though) and trouble jumping onto high things (which I had assumed was just her getting older - she is 10yo) Hi I live in Broken Hill, lead poisoning capital of australia! They first discovered the lead 'problem' when local dogs began dying from lead poisoning. Dogs with lead poisoning fit, and sometimes die after a fit. So when i moved here i got my soil tested, it was well within what was considered safe here (200-300mgs) but I wasnt convinced so i had a landscape guy dig out all the soil in my yard for about 1 foot down, then had new loam trucked in. What part of the country are you in? have you had your soil tested? You can get your dogs lead levels tested thru a blood test. I know children with high lead levels are slow, or sluggish and it can affect thier development. If you dog is lead affected he must be picking it up from somewhere.. are you on a route to a lead smelter? near a lead mine? Port Pirie andn Port Augusta also have high lead levels I belive, as do houses along thier regular truck routes. If you have a child under 5 yrs old here you can get the lead levels in your yard checked fro free, not sure of the cost elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 It is possible , however, if she has been annually vaccinated all her life this is also a likely cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I just googled this ... http://www.lead.org.au/lanv4n4/lanv4n4-21.html http://www.lead.org.au/fs/fst9.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 It is possible , however, if she has been annually vaccinated all her life this is also a likely cause. What evidence is there that annual vaccination is a likely cause of collapse, muscle spasm and difficulty jumping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 It is possible , however, if she has been annually vaccinated all her life this is also a likely cause. What evidence is there that annual vaccination is a likely cause of collapse, muscle spasm and difficulty jumping? One of the symptoms of Vaccinosis is encephalitis = inflamation of the brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 If this was my dog, I would have a blood test carried out. At least you would know then whether it was lead poisoning or not. Greytmate, this is just one of the sites on vaccinosis. There are plenty more. The OP might like to read some of them (if the dog has been vaccinated annually) to see if any of the symptoms match. http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/vaccinosis.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kah Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thanks for the replies. Back to the vet on friday for a blood test, will check out the vaccinosis too as she has been vaccinated annually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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