Gas Leak and it affects on my dogs

[dpricenator]

So we moved into the new spot a couple weeks back, and my wife said she had been smelling natural gas. I never smelled it, not even a whiff, so we blamed it on her heightened sense of smell, She prego, and smells odd stuff all the time. We also have not had any gas appliances in the home for 8 years, so I told her she just did not know what it smelled like. She has had a head ache for the previous week or so that just would not go away. We made sure she was plenty hydrated, and gave her the prper headache meds, but it would not go away.

Well Saturday night I am sitting at the computer, and I caught a whiff. We called the Gas CO, who was at our door within an hour. He found the leak, not in the fireplace, but in the keyvalve next to the fireplace. With the new Stone fireplace it is buried back in the wall about 12 inches, so the contractor is coming in from the outside for the fix. As soon as the Gas guy turned off our gas, he headache began subsiding, and with in a few hours she was feeling much better.

Now my two dogs are a different story. Both Small dogs, a pug and a maltese, we really lethargic. The maltese began some horrible runny poops a day or so before we shut the gas off, and then on Saturday it was relly bad, the pug also had the runs, and was vomiting also. So we set them up to sleep outside, and kept them to just water for 24 hours. I was hoping the gas was their issue, becaue that is getting fixed. Problem is they have been away from the gas since Saturday night , the pug seems fine, but the considerably smaller maltese is still poopin the squirts, and is acting sick as well.

We have given the dog a small squirt of Pepto, to help it’s belly, so we’ll see how that works. Short of an expensive vet visit, do any of you have experience dealing with this? If so , any tips or suggestions?

 

[pfm721]

That's some scary stuff. I'm no help but hopefully your pups will get better. Glad you guys only had the minor side effects you did and it wasn't more serious.

 

[itallushrt]

Don't rule out the timing of gas leak and the health of your dog as just coincidence! It's a new home so a new yard, etc. They may have found something left by the previous owners and consumed it. Remember that even common people foods, etc can be highly toxic to canines.

I'd get to the vet for at least a relatively cheap blood screening.

 

[TreeFrog Frank]

Dan, the bugman, works at the local vet clinic. Give him a PM and he can probably give you some information.

 

[dpricenator]

Don't rule out the timing of gas leak and the health of your dog as just coincidence! It's a new home so a new yard, etc. They may have found something left by the previous owners and consumed it. Remember that even common people foods, etc can be highly toxic to canines.

I'd get to the vet for at least a relatively cheap blood screening.

Yes it is a new yard, and it is 50 times the size of our last yard with hundreds of new plants. We also have gophers, and I found a gopher poison tool in the bushes, so there may be some gopher or rat poison they got into.

 

[Jfire]

Dave was the home checked for Carbon Monoxide at the time of the gas leak? Normally NG syptoms aren't that bad to people and pets in the order of CO is. And even thou his meter went off the PPm prob were on the low side of things. (a small leak compared to a actual valve being open.)

 

[Headbanger]

I would call the vet for consult at the very least, TODAY. They probably want a stool sample and blood work too. In our home dogs are like children so the cost of NOT taking them to the vet is far greater then if you spent the cash to be safe.

 

[dpricenator]

Dave was the home checked for Carbon Monoxide at the time of the gas leak? Normally NG syptoms aren't that bad to people and pets in the order of CO is. And even thou his meter went off the PPm prob were on the low side of things. (a small leak compared to a actual valve being open.)

Yeah J, definitely on the small side. Thus we were there for 2 weeks and never were super compelled to get the gas Co out there. Once we did, he checked the whole house. For both gas leaks and CO. no CO and gas in only one place. That leak will be fixed today and the gas will be back on tonight.

A report from the wife, just now said that the dogs were both acting more like themselves. But I am not sure if he's still squirting poo or not. She is goin gto see what the next poo looks like and get a sample for a vet visit tomorrow AM in case it is not better by them.

 

[itallushrt]

A report from the wife, just now said that the dogs were both acting more like themselves.

That is encouraging news. We are all hoping for the best Dave.

 

[hdroadglide]

pugs rule!!!!! hope it all turns out good dp!

 

[danthebugman]

Working in the veterinary medicine field, I would tell you have them checked out by your vet. Better safe than sorry. If it turns out to be nothing great, if not it's best to catch it early. We have literally had people bring their animals in knocking on death's door and then find out that the dog has been (insert issue here) for the last week or longer in some cases. It is much easier and often less costly if caught early. That said...the diarrhea may or may not be related to the gas. Stress can cause diarrhea and moving is definitely a very stressful time. I would usually discourage owners from giving Pepto as it contains Acetaminophen which can be dangerous to dogs. If the doc does give the okay it's usually only as a single dose so I wouldn't continue dosing them. One thing you can try is a little canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, but canned pumpkin. It has worked wonders for a few clients that have had to deal with chronic diarrhea in their dogs. Hope all works out well.

Dan

 

[Jfire]

Dan what about small amounts of cooked white rice? My pup (3lbs) had runs a few weeks ago and the vet said half pup food and half cooked white rice. It made him solid again in less then a day.

 

[danthebugman]

Dan what about small amounts of cooked white rice? My pup (3lbs) had runs a few weeks ago and the vet said half pup food and half cooked white rice. It made him solid again in less then a day.

Could work as well. We often recommend stuff like that for dogs that have had issues with their stomachs/intestines as it's easy on the system.

Dan

 

[theribdoctor]

When my dog was sick, white rice and plain boiled chicken was what was recommended. Good luck with the dogs dave.

 

[FireDoc83]

Dave was the home checked for Carbon Monoxide at the time of the gas leak? Normally NG syptoms aren't that bad to people and pets in the order of CO is. And even thou his meter went off the PPm prob were on the low side of things. (a small leak compared to a actual valve being open.)

Just a little more addition to Justins. A couple days ago we went on a CO call to an elderly residence. Once we walked in we detected CO at 28ppm and a combustible gas. After gas comp got on the scene we searched the attic. The attic was reading 600+ppm and explosive levels of a combustible gas. We started searching the neighboring units and realized one of the units left their car running in the garage (by accident) for 5 hours... The ppm in the house were at 130 and they were feeling fine. Readings in the garage were 1170ppm, and above the upper explosive limit UEL for combustible gas and a temp in access of 110 degrees. To end everything car was turned off, garage door opened houses all vented and everything was good...

So to put into perspective a human can deal with 35ppm for 8 hours a day, everyday and not be affected but once you go outside then your levels begin to drop due to fresh air. But everyone deals with it differently. The thing about CO is the affinity to blood is greater... (4 oxygen molecules to 1 blood cell = 200 CO molecules to 1 blood cell) therefor you get a headache because you become hypoxic (low oxygen levels)

FYI... CO is the incomplete combustion (ie leaving a stove burner on, campfire, etc). CO is buoyant in the air meaning it does not rise or fall. That's why you can place a CO detector anywhere in the house. Now natural gas is also odorless, but they add Mercaptan (which smells like rotten eggs) so people can detect it themselves. Gas is lighter than air so it would rise. Natural gas can make you sick but the symptoms I am not 100%, my strength is more CO...

If you have any questions feel free to PM me... The gas company will fix all your problems, just replace your detector so you don't get any false reading from here on out. I hope everyone continues to get better.

 

[dpricenator]

Thanks for all the info guys.

The contractor i worked for a few years back, cam by this AM and has everything but the Stucco fixed on the outside of the house. Total was just under $600, which is fine because it just comes out of the rent.

The dogs just both got baths, and seem to be feeling better. The wife is cooking up some rice, and chicken right now for them. So hopefully they are on the upside of whatever happened. If they stop poopin, we'll chalk it up to the gas leak, if not, we'lll go to the vet.