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Please help, my dog is acting strange, anyone know what could be wrong?

I have a 5 year old neutered male bernese mountain dog. About an hour ago, he came in from outside and was just standing in my kitchen, which is very unusual for him. He has a weird, hunched over posture, then sat reluctantly. As my parents were making dinner he showed no interest in food, while usually he is quite the begger. He then lied down, and when he went to get up he appeared to be in a lot of pain. He walked over to the door, so my mom let him out. He just stood on the porch in the same hunched over posture. Following basic dog first aid I took his respiration rate, and it was 50+ breaths a minute. I could barely find a pulse, and could not hold it long enough to take a accurate reading. I don't have a thermometer, so I can't take his temperature. Gums/eyes look normal. He is not himself at all, he rarely stands for any extended period of time, especially not in this hunched over posture. He won't even respond to his name. My mom is on the phone trying to locate an emergency
vet. In the meantime, does anyone have an ideas of what is wrong?

Thanks to anyone who reads and responds.
He's on the way to the vet now. I did a CRT test on his gums, his capillary refill time was longer than 2 seconds, so he's probably in shock. My mom just called me from the car and said he was gagging as if he was attempting to throw up, but couldn't.
So im pretty sure he has bloat =[

Public Comments

1. Look around the yard for signs of something that he might have ate that is blocking his digestive system. I have seen dogs that ate balls, or big wads of string and even a "femenine hygene product" His not wanting to eat and showing signs of pain mean something is certainly wrong. Could be blocked which requires immediate treatment.

2. It could totally be gas. My dog gets that at times and we've sworn she's having a seizure. They get weird and breathe really heavily and look generally really uncomfortable.

3. Oh wow, he could have injured himself while outside playing, maybe he stepped in a hole and twisted something, or slipped a disc. Or he may be too hot. Bring him back inside until your mom finds that emergency vet. I would like an update after you get back from the vet

4. well try to put a treat or some meat and put it into his food if he does not eat still then call the vet
pursuade him to lay down with a treat

5. My stomach just dropped.

It sounds like classic signs of bloat. Bloat when the stomach twists around, cutting off the circulation to the stomach and spleen. The blood loss causes the tissue to die. It is unfortunatly very common in large, deep-chested dogs. It is without a doubt one of the most critical emergencies in pets.

Signs generally include complete loss of appetite (will not eat anything, will not drink) gagging (doesn't always happen), abdomen appears bloated, and sounds hollow (gas in the stomach has no where to go). Extreme pain, will not lie on stomach, hunched posture, shock (gums will appear pale).

Your vet should have an emergency contact.

ETA: UGHH - I am soo sorry! I've got my fingers crossed for you guys! At least you got a jump on it. Please, please drop me an email if I can help at all, or if you've got any questions. Good luck!