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)
