For the last 6 months my dog has had intermittent episodes of whining and being in distress. They seem to occur at night. He can't get comfortable; he'll try and lay down, only to jump back up again repeatedly. It comes in waves, starting with panting, then heavy panting and culminating in a high whine. Then it slowly subsides and he'll lie down for 10 to 15 minutes before it happens again. He's spent a full day at the vet under observation after one terribly bad evening, and the vet found nothing. He seems to want to go potty, but will run to his spot and then run right back. Sometimes, at the height of his pain, he'll buckle his hind legs as if he wants to drag his rump on the ground and then straighten and repeat the steps again before the pain subsides. He is 3 years old, has a reasonably stable diet of dry food with cheese. We have given him meat scraps in the past with no bones, but are going to stop this and haven't found it to coincide with the attacks. He gets rawhide bones for chewing, though occasionally he gets a real cow bone that is about 8 inches long and hollow and is purchased from the pet store. There has been no Diarrhea or vomiting although he did burp a few times after the vet recommended Pepto Bismol. He stays in a large kennel during the daytime and he jumps excitedly when we come home, often getting airborne in his vertical leap. I've wondered if that might be causing stomach problems as well and wondered if I should not allow the jumping. Hoping for any ideas that may help, the next step will be an expensive house call so the vet can witness the behavior.

I wonder if he could be starting to bloat? I had a bitch who reacted badly to soya in her food, and that made her very uncomfortable - her insides could be heard sloshing around with the gas. :( Do you feed the dry food dry or moistened? I've found wetting it with warm water can help. Or could he be intolerant of dairy products?

Hi Sylvester.
What type of dog? can you e-mail me I may have some info that will interest you.
Dawn.