sudden chin death...any ideas?

Re: sudden chin death...any ideas?

chanel clydesdale — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:49:58 GMT

They said it oculd have been a congentital thing that may have been there from birth so i suppose i should be greatful really that it didn't happen sooner x

Re: sudden chin death...any ideas?

Saskia Quinn — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:48:17 GMT

aw, I'm sorry to hear that Chanel, but as you say, you have now got closure.#

Wondering how it happened though, if there had been no trauma beforehand?

Re: sudden chin death...any ideas?

A Little TLC — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:01:29 GMT

Re: sudden chin death...any ideas?

Rachel Jayne — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:00:19 GMT

So sorry for your loss I love chinnies....

Have heard about them getting heart trouble.

Re: sudden chin death...any ideas?

chanel clydesdale — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:37:47 GMT

I finally got my answer today, according to the vet school it turned out to be a diaphragmatic hernia and his stomach had slipped through and his stomach was a little bloated which was the probable cause of it. It's strange as he never showed any signs of breathing difficulty of tiredness ever he was always so bright but at least i finally got an answer.

Thanks for your suggestions x

Re: sudden chin death...any ideas?

albatross — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:59:48 GMT

So sorry to hear about the sad loss of your little chinny.

I have seen it several times and know of others too.

Chins being prey animals hide any symptoms until near the end, so you don't often get much notice of severe ailments.

The main cause of sudden death is enlarged heart. The last three chins who died in this fashion had that problem (one of mine and two belonging to friends).
Other causes are liver failure (fatty liver deposits), strokes, and gastric torsion/(bloat, or problems caused by poor nutrition.

However a lot of sudden deaths don't show up anyything unusual during the PM.

When he had his dentals did they xray for root elongation? This could have affected his eating and therefore the amount he was absorbing although this would have shown up in weight loss first.

I hope they find an answer for you.
We've been breeding show and pet chins for 18 years and have owned them for over 19 years (our first is still alive at over 19 1/2 years old!), and it doesn't get any easier when our much loved ones pass away.