It's all happening at once here, I swear I need to divorce my (wonderful) hubby and marry a vet instead. :( But I'll stick to just one problem for this post, as it is the one we don't know what it is. (And most of the others are cats anyway!)

Simba is a 3 year old Golden. It's always been hard to keep weight on him, he eats two or even three times as much as the other dogs yet he is always skinny. Minor problem, not at all uncommon in Goldens and they tend to grow out of it.

In September my husband called me one day shouting "Simba has lost the use of his legs". I ran downstairs, looked into the kitchen, Simba was laying down, I calleld him -and he jumped up. Normal. I gave hubby a funny look and didn't believe him.

On the 12th of October Simba collapsed. His legs just didn't  work. It was not like an epileptic seizure, in particular due to the fact that his mind was clear, he knew everything that was going on and tried to do as told if spoken to. I had to lift him up, and when he got to his legs he staggered about like drunk. Started vomiting, then panted for hours and was very tired. This episode lasted about half an hour. We called the vet but it was out of hours and the one on call we got hold of just dismissed it as "It's a Golden, they all have epilepsy, nothing to worry about!" :rolleyes: and so it was the following week he was seen by our normal vet.

The vet found nothing wrong. He said to look at and examine he'd say Simba was a perfectly healthy dog -but the one thing he could agree on was that if Simba was eating as much as we said, he should be very overweight indeed and not be as lean as he is although he didn't think too thin.

We tested for everything under the sun that could be checked with blood and urine, and EVERYTHING came up as normal. No liver problems, no kidney problems, no anaemia, no diabetes etc etc. Checked for liver shunt and haemolytic anaemia. Nothing.

Next my vet went on holiday and we agreed we'd leave further investigation until he came back so not to have to change vets. During this time Simba improved more and more. After the 12th of October episode (and the one before that obviously DID happen, but idiot me did not believe hubby) he was very, very depressed for a long time and dind't want to do anything but rest. In the past week or so only he has become his usual self again -happy and playful and full of fun.Looked great. We even decided (in consultation with the vet, of course!) to leave further tests a while as we have to take another dog in for x-rays for possible OCD and it was to be a lot of expense at once, and Simba was so well again.

This morning he collapsed again. Same thing. Legs didn't work, all wobbly, tried to walk but couldn't. Totally clear in the head, then started vomiting over and over again. I managed to film some of it with my mobile so I can show the vet.

Obviously we'll be back to the vet and we now have to consider what else we can test for. My worry is cancer. Does anybody recognise any of these symptoms at all? Have any idea of what it could be? My vet really is baffled.

No sorry but do hope you get to the bottom of it poor boy :(

Lucy
xx

Oh

So sorry to hear about your boy Goldmali, do hope you get to the bottom of this soon.

Seeing as how your vet is running out of ideas, would it be worth getting referred for a second opinion elsewhere or maybe consulting a homeopathic vet if you believe in them?

Yes I'd definitely accept referral but once my own vet has done all he feels he can -I do trust him a lot. :) Homeopathic, yes and have dne in the past with other dogs, main thing first though is to find out what is going on.

I know he's young for it but could it be vestibular syndrome? The old bitch I had with vestibular syndrome didn't vomit and her episodes (x3) lasted 24 - 48 hours. Still, a close look at Simba's ears and maybe a trip to a veterinary neurologist might be worthwhile.

Hope you get it sorted. :)

Had he had any bouts of diarrhoea at all, or just the sickness.

No no diarrhoea at all.

Just looked up vestibular syndrome. The two things that don't fit is there has been no nystagmus and it seems this is something that disappeas over a period of time, yet this has now happened 3 times within a space of 2 months. Still, it is most defintely worth mentioning to the vet -thanks!

So sorry you are having more to worry about :(  You might ask your vet if there are any known cancer markers they can looked for in blood samples from dogs, as they do in humans?  I know, even in humans, they are only used as a guide but it may go some way to excluding that worry.

Will ask that Isabel. See, I KNEW people here could come up with ideas -because everything is worth asking about and looking into. :)

Well totally off the wall here but those symptoms sound like what my mother has experienced when she has a TIA (transient ischemic attack). Not only does she flop over and lose control of her body but she's not right for some time afterwards.

I wonder if it would be worth contacting a specialist teaching hospital like the RVC.

Big hugs to Simba. Poor guy :-(

This website might help if you want to browse through just about every disease imaginable.

This sounds like it could be Addison's Disease. It is not common is Goldies but it has been known to crop up. Ask your vet to do an ACTH test. It's worth it if only to rule it out. Bear in mind though that the test sometimes only shows positive when the dog is seriously ill.

Thanks, I shall ask about Addison's as well, will go read about it now.

It does Lori! I couldn't find anything about if it ever is seen in dogs though when I Googled right now.

I don't know anything about sick dogs, and I know your dog is only young, but I found it on the net, so posted it anyway incase it helps :-)

Strokes
Strictly speaking, dogs do not suffer strokes in the same sense as humans. However, they can get a similar condition known as Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome. This tends to occur in older, large breed dogs. Typically signs are a head tilt, characteristic flicking of the eyes from side to side and being very unsteady on their feet, often falling to the same side repeatedly. Understandably they are often disorientated and confused - some dogs panic. Vomiting can also occur.

Try to keep the dog quiet and calm. You may need to give them some support to move around. The dog should be checked by a vet as there is some treatment that can help and most dogs will make a full recovery. If your dog is very distressed it should be seen by a vet as an emergency so sedation can be used to calm it.

I've a friend with a Golden, now nearly 4 years old, who suffered similar problems. 

He was always thinnish, but picky with food anyway.  Suffered a lot of diarrhoea, on and off, usually in the winter months.  His coat was quite dry, and he was occasionally sick.

After he collapsed the first time this summer (having lost a lot of weight), the vets diagnosed stomach ulcers.  They treated him for that and everything was ok for a short while, but then he collapsed again, and they ran more tests and thought it might be pancreatitis.  The third time it happened they ran more tests and came up with a diagnosis of 'allergic to beef, chicken, and rice', as well as a stomach infection.

He was put on steroids, but starting wheezing and getting tired very easily, so the owner took him off them as he felt they were doing more harm than good.  The dog is a lot better, but still not right, and his coat is starting to look fluffy, so there could be more problems ahead.  He is unable to eat any dog food other than Wafcol Potato and Salmon. 

Different to yours, I know, but if anything out of that could help...

This also sounds abit like thyroid trouble as thyroid
can cause weight loss (hyperthyroid as opposed to hypothyroid).
It can also cause changes in coat/skin condition.
Amongst lots of other things...

New research is showing that dogs suffer from strokes more often than previously thought. As one abstract puts it:

Ischaemic stroke in dogs and humans: a comparative review Authors: Garosi, L S.; McConnell, J F. Source: The Journal of Small Animal Practice, Volume 46, Number 11, 30 November 2005, pp. 521-529(9)
"Cerebrovascular accidents, also known as strokes, are one of the major causes of disability and mortality among adult humans. The increased availability of magnetic resonance imaging in veterinary medicine means they are being increasingly recognised in dogs, too. Cerebrovascular accident is defined as the sudden onset of non-progressive, focal brain dysfunction as a result of ischaemic infarction or haemorrhage. Focal ischaemic stroke is caused by interruption of the arterial blood flow to a dependent area of brain parenchyma by a thrombus or an embolus. Once the diagnosis of ischaemic stroke is confirmed, potential sources of thrombosis or embolism should be investigated and treated accordingly. Dogs with ischaemic stroke tend to recover within several weeks with supportive care only."

I can find the research Marianne, but most of it requires a subscription to the journal or pay per view for the articles. You really need a teaching facility with a library (times like this I miss working at a university).

Has your vet checked for myaesthenia gravis and Addisons disease? You didn't mention them in your list.

I was going to suggest myasthenia gravis also.

http://www.vetspecialists.co.uk/06_Animal_Welfare/Neurology_Facts/Myasthenia_Gravis.html

I'm not sure where the vomiting would fit into that though. As well as generalized weakness in the limbs, Myasthenia Gravis can cause weakness of the esophagus which can then lead to regurgitation of food that may have been sitting there for minutes, or hours. Are you sure he's actually vomiting?

Very interesting site but not giving the full picture. 

It is possible to develop myasthenia gravis in early adulthood in humans and I guess it is the same with dogs.  Typically it can go into remission after a couple of years, many more in humans, and re surface at the beginning of old age.  There are other types like the one you can be born with.  Not claiming to be an expert on this but it is one of the things they are looking at for me and my sons at the mo.  We do however have nystagmus vertical not horizontal which is difficult to see unless you lift the eye lid.

The interesting thing is that the muscles supporting the pelvis and shoulders appear to be affected first.  I have seen my son drop to the floor when his hips refused to support him (he is very slender so not weight problem) and to recover quickly but be wobbly afterwards.  It is also difficult to hold items away from or above the shoulder.  The weakness tends to diminish and full use return gradually being lost again after late adulthood.  There are also lots of muscle twitches present.  The period inbetween, which can last for years, is almost normal.

The good news is it gets better for a long time without medication.  Cant stress how important diet is though plenty of omega three and vitamin e.

Good luck with it all.

Just been looking at this site and in particular the video of an affected dog -veyr interesting. What doesn't fit is that its says it appears after or during exercise -Simba's episodes have happened when he has been resting. I.e. he has been resting or sleeping on the floor and when he tries to get up again he can't do it. And the vomiting does seem to be a big part of it. Yes he is definitely vomiting -we had 4 piles to clean up last time.