Have just taken Moose to see Uncle Stewart the vets as she has a few problems :rolleyes:

She firstly has very sore and smelly ears so she has been given antibiotic drops and some ear cleaner.

She also has been bum shuffling so asked for her anal glands to be squeezed. That was done but nothing came out? She has been slightly constipated so does anybody recon that may be the cause ?

She has also had some blood tests done as she keeps having funny fits when we are out on walks. She gets herself into a hyper state and then keels over, and goes totally rigid. She come round soon after and seems to be slightly disorientated but is fine once she has sniffed Dudley's bottom, I suppose a way of reassurance.

This seems to be happening more and more and can happen at any stage of the walk. It can be triggered by seeing another dog or a human or even if we have been walking with friends and then she will have one at the end of the walk when we part company.

The vet is a bit puzzled as it doesn't fit with epilepsy or a heart related problem but he has taken some blood and will see what that shows. If not then he is thinking about having a brain scan done.

When we were away she had a fit in the sea and I had to dive in and pick her up as she went right under. Not a nice thing to happen :(

She seems fine in herself and is eating and drinking ok and is a daft as ever :)

Any ideas ?

Thanks

Lucy
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HI Lucy,

Sorry to hear that moose isn't well, I've had an idea that may help, if you read the thread

here

http://tinyurl.com/dv3ud

you may find some answers :)

You may also find this site interesting http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/behaviorandthyroid.htm

Hope this helps
Dill

Hi Dill

Thanks for that !

I have had a lot of talks with John about it but it seems to be getting slightly worse so hence the blood tests. The article Gillian had the link to was interesting about excercise induced Hyperthermia is very interesting as well as the Malignant Hyperthermia. It sounds very much like like as Moose is a very full on Lab when she is out and never knows when to stop :rolleyes:

I will send this link to my vet and see what he thinks.

I do hope we get to the bottom of it as it does seem to be getting worse and dread if one time she didn't come round :(

Lucy
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Hi Lucy,

Sorry about Moose :(  Hope it's something easily sorted.  My old girl began having minor fits at 5 - they often weren't even noticeable to me and her best buddy would come and prod me with his nose or go and stand over her to draw my attention.  Sometimes she would just stop when out for a run, hold up a paw (which would be rigid) for a few seconds or up to a minute and that was it - fit over.  Other times she would just become uncoordinated and then I'd lay her down, she'd be rigid for a minute or so and a bit woozy (sp?) and again seem more or less Ok immediately, if a bit tired.

She was prone to these things to happen through over excitement, stress or thunder storms.  She never worsened or needed medication and lived happily and healthily until into her 15th year - it's not always a dreadful thing so I hope, at worst, that's the case with Moose too.

{{{hugs}}} 'n stuff, Teri ;) 

Well blimey just had a phonecall from the vet and all the blood test result are fine and show nothing :) Now that is what I call quick service :)

He has suggested we put her on medication for a month or so to see if the fits stop but not sure if this is the right way to go?

I will find out tomorrow a bit more and have a further chat with him about it.

Lucy
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Fingers, toes and paws crossed here Lucy ;)

luv Teri x

Hi Lucy I have to say that it sounds a lot like what Hook used to do. If he got over excited and especially if he was barking as he ran around, he came over all faint. Often I could stop him and keep him still for a few minutes, he was just wobbly and looking very puzzled. Occaisionally he would actually faint and after what seemed like an age but was probably about a minute he would come round and still be a bit wobbly but recover.

Having spoken to the vet and other lab owners (for some reason especially chockies) It appears that the heart is just not getting gnough oxygen to the brain and they do faint. I was told nothing to worry about and as he has got older and less 'enthusiastic' it has gone away. 

Hope this helps

Has Hook stopped now then ? How old is he again ?

The problem with Moose seems to be getting worse rather than better which is what I am concerned about :)

Lucy
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Hook will be nine in a couple of weeks ( so just starting to slow down a bit :D )and I guess that the last time he had one was before we got Truffle which was 2 1/2 years ago.

I would certainly carry on with the checks at the vet. But dont forget that her pack structure has recently changed, which must be stressful for her and may be enough to make things like this worse?

If she dosent go rigid at any point it is a faint rather than a fit, or at least that is what my vet said.

She does go rigid as she seizes up and then just drops onto her side. At first is is although she is prancing with her front legs then they all stick out and down she goes.

Yes that is a thing to consider with loosing Min. She hasn't really shown any sign of loss compared to Dudley who has ben noticable different and more clingy and loving which she used to show more to Min so perhaps this is her way of coping or not as the case maybe :)

They are as bad as worrying about children sometimes :rolleyes:

Oh well I am off to pick up a new phone so will go and have a chat with our vet :)

Lucy
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Dear me Lucy these things never come along in ones do they! At least all but the smallest baby can indicate what is wrong, dogs just have that way of looking at you as thought they expect you to be able to help, that breaks my heart.

In view of the added stresses at that moment it may be worth trying something like a DAP defuser? At least this should reduce/eliminate stress as a cause.  

I might try and give her some Serene-UM as this worked well on Min when I needed to clip her claws as she used to go loopy ! 

Lucy
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Yep that should do the trick and at least rule it out.

Hook has tickly toes too. He is realy good about anything except having his paws touched :D