What happened to our dog?

[boobles]

Thevet said:

boobles said:

Thank you...


Is it possible that his fits are being caused by being "worked up" or "anxious" about something as the last 2 would suggest this.....

Certainly not trying to diagnose his condition but just trying to understand it a bit better.

Certainly possible, any sort of excitement/stress/change can exacerbate fits. Look for connections with what's going on before a fit occurs, unfortunately, it could be almost anything, some of which we are probably completely unaware of.

He was extemely worked up because of seeing another animal out the front of our house & both fits happened literally as he was runing up & down the stairs & basically going nuts.




I must add that in no way is he agressive towards any other animal, he just doesn't like seeing dogs, cats & even birds from the landing window.

Edited by boobles on Wednesday 25th April 10:54

[boobles]

Well he had his first blood test at 2pm, he was then allowed something to eat at home & more blood taken from his throat area at 5pm. We await the results & all we can do is pray it's nothing they have tested him for.

[boobles]

bexVN said:

Sounds like a bile acid stimulation test, checking liver function, can be a very helpful test.

Also checking white blood cells etc & basically trying to rule out alot of things.

[boobles]

Still no news from the vets so we are still nervously waiting for the results.

[boobles]

Just had a call from the vets who inform us that all of his organs are absolutley fine & white blood cells all perfect. The other results they are waiting on were for toxins & lung worm.... They havn't ruled out it also being anxiety..


We are over the moon that atleast it's nothing "life threatening" & we have just given him the biggest hug ever!

We will let you all know the results once we get them & from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone for the well wishes & advice! You guys/girls are great.

[boobles]

Thanks mate. It's really cheered us up.

[boobles]

ali_kat said:

Big bottle of red wine on the menu tonight!












For me that is, not Chantry.

[boobles]

Coco H said:

Glad to hear the news. We had a lab with epilepsy - he had periodic fits which looked awful to be honest. He was tired and disorientated afterwards. But he lived to 11 and was pretty healthy

It's horrible to witness as you say & we feel so helpless when he has one. Kinda hoping they find something wrong with him that can be treated with medication.

[boobles]

Turn7 said:

Some good news !

Thank you.

[boobles]

The vet has rang again today & given him the all clear completley. Everything is working as it should & he is fit & healthy. She has suggested that we keep the stair gate up so that he can't get worked up by seeing other animals out the front & they she hasn't ruled out anxiety causing the fits.

[boobles]

Well another fit lastnight at 12:30am. Exactly the same as previous ones & he was dreaming directly prior to having it. 20 days since the last one & he seems to be having them once every 20 days or so.

[boobles]

2 more fits within 24hrs on Sunday night. Going back to the vets soon for more tests.

[boobles]

They were 100% certain that it wasn't brain related or anything else too serious but like I keep saying, "something is causing this to happen"

[boobles]

Thanks for the replies guys/girls & Bex you are right & we are waiting to hear what the vet recommends next. I don't care how much things cost, I just want to rule out it being anything "life threatening".

[boobles]

mrsxllifts said:

Not sure if dogs respond the same, but humans respond much better when coming out of a fit if someone they know is with them. When coming round you are often disorientated and confused and having someone you know with you and talking to you can be very re-assuring. Although Mr XL has never rubbed behind my ears...

OP, I hope you get a positive outcome and some answers. Epileptic cats and dogs are not uncommon and are mostly treated with medication same as humans.

I agree.... He seems to come round fairly quickly knowing that we are there with him. I am dreading the day we are not there for him.

[boobles]

After speaking to the vet for half hour yesterday she has ruled out an MRI scan at this stage because he acts perfectly normal & shows no sign of anger. She said that anyone who has come to her with a dog with a brain tumour have all said the same thing... "this isn't my dog anynore" She went on to explain that he would have shown signs by now of being aggresive & completely diffrent to how we know him. She has prescribed some pills (can't remember the name) but they are supposedly safe & won't cause him any harm. He has to take two a day & this should reduce the amount of fits to maybe 2 or 3 per year. She did say that he will act strange for a couple of weeks until he is used to them. Wasn't keen on putting him on medication but she assures me that these particular tablets are fine for him.

[boobles]

Hey I appreciate everyone's help & advice on here. I think she was basing it on other factors like his brain function being normal & the fact that they are happening once a month. She didn't rule out an MRI scan altogether & perhaps I should have said that, but at the moment they don't seem to be concerned about it being brain related & this is why they suggested these tablets & see how he gets on.

[boobles]

bexVN said:

Boobles my comment was in no way a dig at you or a criticism of your vet. Sometimes I find it hard to know when I've said enough or not esp as I don't want to be going against vets who know your pets better. Too much experience is not always a good thing! Anyway I hope the meds do the trick.

I am always thankfull for you're help & advice aswell as others. I was also suprised that the vet didn't seem concerned & I am going to see how he gets on with these tablets & if the fits continue, I will see a different vet.

[boobles]

So after almost 9 weeks, chantry had another fit in the early hours. No different to previous ones apart from may have lasted slightly longer. The medication does seem to have made them less frequent.

[boobles]

Cheers for the advice & well wishes.