Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 1/19/2008

Question
Recently my 10 year old 80 lb mixed dog has started a very strange behavior.  He has been trembling from head to toe and is unable to relax most of the day.  I noticed that when he eats it seems to trigger this shaking.  He'll stop eating and act really weird. He's the kind of dog that acts like he's staving most of the time.  He also is totally freaked out by our new toaster oven the beeps quite often.  He's runs and hides when we use it.  And he is trembling terribly.
I took him to the vet and they put him and an antiacid, antibiotics, and pain meds.  I also had blood work done and it came back normal.  I thik they are clueless.  Can you help?  Also, this behavior didn't occur when we first got the toaster oven.  I suspect there is an underlying problem and the noise and eating are aggravating it. Anything would be helpful.  I am very worried about him.

Answer
The first obvious thing to do is GET RID OF the toaster oven ASAP.  It's obviously triggering a fight/flight response and, while not the cause of the dog's suffering, it certainly isn't helping his overall situation.  The sensitivity to sound might be a clue to a physiological problem but it also might be an instantly acquired conditioned fear response obtained while he was in pain and first heard the toaster oven beeps.  This would make it a superstitious behavior.

Unfortunately, blood work does not diagnose neurological problems nor does it diagnose gastroenterological problems.  I don't know what sort of pain meds the veterinarian gave you or why your dog was put on antibiotics and antacids without tests to determine what the cause of this odd behavior might be.  The wrong pain medication could possibly worsen a stomach condition, as could an antibiotic.  Sudden and severe changes in behavior in a dog can strongly be attributed to physiological cause, first and foremost.  It is possible that the dog will require an endoscopy in order to determine if something in his esophagus or stomach is causing acid reflux or pain.  You need a much more experienced and sophisticated veterinarian than the one you are using.  I suggest you contact a veterinary college, the one closest to you and, if possible, travel to that location for more sophisticated tests.  If this is not possible, ask for a referral from that college.  Please re-post with results.