What happened to our dog?
Discussion
Basically got home late lastnight to find the other half rather upset. She was woken up by our Retriever having what she can only describe as a "fit" He was shaking violently with lots of saliva/foam coming out of his mouth, all legs kicking out hard & he peed himself. She was stroking him until he woke up which took about 20secs from start to finish. When he woke up he was really distressed & didn't seem to respond to anything she was saying. He drank lots & lots of water & went back to sleep. He seems fine this morning but we are getting him checked out tomorrow at the vets. He has never done this before & could this be the start of "cluster fits"? or merely a one of? Any help/advice would be much appreciated.
Doesn't time fly? How is Millie? Chunky (as we call him) seems fine but we are keeping a very close eye on him.Cheers guys. he is currently chewing on a bone on our bed. We have borrowed a stairgate just incase he doesn't end up rolling down the stairs. Our neighbour has 2 Border Collies & 1 of them suffers from these "cluster" fits & perhaps 2 or 3 times a week! The symptoms sound exactly the same as what our's suffered....... Apparently nothing to serious but we will let the vet decide & take what ever action is needed. Fingers crossed!
Well not much news to be honest. His old ear infection (the vet called it cauliflower ear) has come back & he had all the blood drained out again. He also had his bum glands emptied as they were blocked. They were not concerned about his fit at the moment unless he starts having some more! I really hope it was just a one off........
bexVN said:
That is what I was expecting. The ck should clear it being heart related and vestibular. Should their be any more they'll prob take bloods then decide if meds are needed.
If if does have another one (and I really hope if doesn't!) try your best to note length of time, what he does during the fit and how quickly he recovers and how he recovers.
Lets hope you'll never need to record the above.
This is something I have told miss boobles to note if & when it happens again. If if does have another one (and I really hope if doesn't!) try your best to note length of time, what he does during the fit and how quickly he recovers and how he recovers.
Lets hope you'll never need to record the above.
She did remember exactly what he was doing during the fit & how long it lasted. I came in approx 5 mins after he had it & all he seemed to do was wonder about the house & drink LOTS of water.
bexVN said:
Drinking lots very common. A lot of energy burnt up during a seizure.
Btw apologies for incorrect words and spelling in last post, my fault for not checking my predictive text!
Thats ok, I wouldn't dream of pulling somebody up on their spelling after giving me good advice etc. Btw apologies for incorrect words and spelling in last post, my fault for not checking my predictive text!
eybic said:
Had he eaten anything different? I know one of my Dad's dogs has had seizures but generally they only occur if he has eaten something spicy, apparently dogs can't deal with spicy stuff and that's one of the things that happen.
Not as far as I am aware. I am pretty strict at giving him anything we eat....Well he had another fit lastnight at 10pm & another one thismorning at 6am. Both lasting approx 10secs & lots of violent shaking/grunting noises & peeing himself. What does seem strange is both fits cam directly after working himself up because of seeing other dogs at the front of the house because he tends to bark & run up & down the stairs a few times & generally getting worked up about it. I am wondering if this has something to do with it?
Calling the vets this morning to hopefully get some tests done on him.
Calling the vets this morning to hopefully get some tests done on him.
R300will said:
Sounds like your poor dog has been in the wars a bit! You mentioned he had a tumour earlier in the thread, do you mind if i ask what type it was and where it was found? And if it was removed/treated successfully?
Best of luck seeing the vet as well
He hasn't had the best of times to be honest but it doesn't really stop him from living life to the full & he is very happy.Best of luck seeing the vet as well
His tumour was on his side, not to far from his heart but luckily it was benign & was removed without any further issues.
His appointment is 3:15pm today & hopefully get some tests done & find out why he's having them.
R300will said:
Good please update us on what happens, Was it just a fatty lump under the skin (lipoma)?
All I remember the vet telling us was that it was a tumour & it needed removing & tested.Can't remember if the vet had called it a fatty lump or not.
Will update this once we know bit more this afternoon. Hopefully with good news.
Just got back from the vets & they are certain it's not his heart but they are wanting to do blood tests on Wednesday for liver & brain. They havn't ruled out it being some kind of anxiety attack because of the way he acts when seeing a cat or another dog. He has always been a nervous dog & he constantly nudges things with his nose as if he is distressed & this is always after he has seen something he doesn't like.
Meet Chantry (AKA Chunky Monkey) Doing his neighbourhood watch this evening.
Meet Chantry (AKA Chunky Monkey) Doing his neighbourhood watch this evening.
Edited by boobles on Monday 23 April 20:32
Thevet said:
Doubt very much any connection to heart, ears or anything else like that, you describe classic symptoms of an epileptiform fit, especially in a G retriever, difficult to prove apart from ruling everything else out. As you have seen several fits in a short period of time, it would be prudent to expect more and instigate some form of therapy. Therapy is usually based on using a drug that dulls the "areas" of the brain that set off these brainstorms, but they may have some side-effects in terms of mild sedation. If this type of therapy is set up properly, with monitoring of blood drug levels, it can be brilliantly effective with mininmal noticeable effects. You should watch how your dog responds in what will be a changing situation, maybe slowly maybe fast. Not a very cheerful reply, but it shouldn't be too worrying at the moment, see how the problem develops and how the treatment works.
Thank you for taking the time to post this.... We are obviously very concerned but at the moment, the vet isn't to concerned & they seem "upbeat" about the whole thing.
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