Unknown condition

[colewolins]

Our 9 month old mini Kevin has in the past month gone very far downhill. He is the most loving puppy. Since he was neutered about a month ago, he has changed dramatically. I do not know if this is coincidental. Since we got him I felt that very occasionally he would shake as if he was shivering for a moment or two. Then it would be over, he never fell over, lost consciousness or had any problems. After his neutering, he will not climb stairs (which is actually OK with me) and in the past month these trembling episodes have increased dramatically. He also falls over a lot (his tail is wagging the whole time) and his feet are now splayed out in the back as if he was on a ship and balancing. I don't think his sight is too keen, and I am sure that his sense of smell is poor. He doesn't seem to be in any pain but he is sleeping more and more. He bumps into walls if he runs and his legs seem to go out from under him a lot. It is so frightening an no one seems to have any idea what is wrong. Our Vet. said that she knew something is wrong with him but can't figure it out. We took him to the neurologist last week, and so far all of his titres (?) and tests have come back negative. We are only waiting for a metabolic urinalysis to see if he has a storage disease. The only positive thing I can say is that he doesn't "seem" to be in any pain, and is as sweet as ever.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? I would really appreciate some information.

Kevin is the most

[Wienergal]

Oh, my! No, I've never heard of anything like this, but it sounds just awful--and you must be worried sick! Where are you located? Are you near any large vet schools?

Also, please look up Penny's Aunt on the board and send her a private message. She works for a vet and is extremely knowledgeable; if anyone on this board can point you in the right direction, she can.

I'm so sorry! Please keep us posted!

[~8DachsieAngels~]

One of my dogs Harley's legs come out from under her when she runs we had her to the vet and he diagnosed her with Luxating patellas ... i dont know if this could be it or perhaps something like a seizure ... poor baby i hope everything gets along ok http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif keep us posted... wish i had more advice ... http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

Jen

[Owen's Mom]

Sounds like something genetic, doesn't it? Perhaps something that was passed to your baby from it's parent's lines and shows up with onset puberty. It's really strange and very sad for you.

I'll be sending out good thoughts!

Also, I cross posted your post to a general dog board (I should have OK'd that with you first, sorry) and here is the link http://216.34.232.28/club/bboard/fur/messages0313/23398.html and there are some good responses. Hope it helps!!

~~Amy~~

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by Owen's Mom (edited June 28, 2000).]</font>

[Penny's Aunt]

That condition seems very puzzling indeed. I've never heard of anything like it.

As mentioned below, I would contact several vet med schools, like the one at Davis, CA, & in CO, & Cornell in NY. It would probably be best to ask your vet for a written description of your dog's condition (in vet speak), then you can pass the info on to the people at the vet schools. I know they will respond, because friends of mine have received prompt replies. If they don't know what it might be themselves, they may know of someone who could help.

Good luck to you & your little boy.

p.s. Is he losing weight through all this? And how long has it been going on?

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by Penny's Aunt (edited June 28, 2000).]</font>

[Mickamack]

I know really know where you are located, but I can attest that the vet hosp. in Cornell NY is excellent. I went there with my Buddy. They were wonderful and very knowledgable. Any time there might be something we would need a specialist for, my vet recommends Cornell.

[Penny's Aunt]

A Search-&-Rescue person says it sounds like vaccinosis, a reaction to a vaccination. It can happen in hours or months after the vaccination. It causes an encephalitis (inflammation/swelling of the brain).

See what your vets think.

p.s. Please register or leave your e-mail address. Lots of us are on other dog boards & we might pick up some other useful information.

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by Penny's Aunt (edited June 29, 2000).]</font>

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by Penny's Aunt (edited June 29, 2000).]</font>

[Owen's Mom]

GREAT input Penny's Aunt. I didn't even think of that. Do you think she could have Titers done... or do you think they would have covered that with the general blood work?

~~Amy~~

[dutchman]

I may be able to help you out if you need any information on the Colorado State University vet teaching hospital. I live in Fort Collins and work at CSU so I can do some local searching for contacts. I could even give you the neurologist that did Aggie's surgery e-mail address. Drop me an e-mail if you need any help. The CSU vet hospital recently was ranked number two in the nation.

Tom and Frank

[Wienergal]

Colewolins, what's the latest on Kevin? Please let us know how he's doing!

[colewolins]

Thank you all so much! Every day I confess I look and hope that he's better- after all he's only 9 months old. I have been wondering if this has anything to do with having him neutered? Kevin did have the titers and they were all negative. We are only waiting for the metabolic urinalysis, because no one will make a diagnosis until some test has a result! He's on prednisone in case he does have encephalitis, as the neurologist feels it will relieve the pressure in his head. Today he was quite chipper with his tail waving in the air, and when he chased my small sons which he has not done in a while, he didn't crash into walls, and he barked too! He still jumps (onto the couch) but he can't climb (a stair).

I can't thank everyone enough for their concern! We are so touched during this anxious time. Kevin is getting the best care I can get, as we are just outside of Washington,DC I think the quality of his care is pretty good. It's just so scary when no one can figure anything out! I hope we have some good news to share soon!

[Wienergal]

Colewolins, Kevin's behavior is really encouraging! I hope the docs find an answer real soon. It doesn't seem likely that a neutering could have caused such a thing, but with surgery, you never know.

We're all pulling for you and sending the powerful <FONT COLOR="Red">DACHSIE RAYS</FONT c> your way!

[Penny's Aunt]

The only way I've heard that a surgery could cause problems is if it caused blood clots to form (from bruising?), & one of them migrated to the brain or something. I think it would cause more stroke-like conditions than your dog is showing. And it seems to me (personal opinion) that a neuter surgery would be almost the LEAST likely to cause something like this.

In fact, I had a dog that died from a clot formed from surgery. It wasn't anyone's fault, it just happened. My vet felt absolutely awful, but I was standing there watching the entire surgery (on his neck) & simply didn't see anything wrong. He was waking up well when I left for the night, & was dead the next morning.

You little boy's condition sounds much more viable, as if there's still a lot of hope for steady improvement.

Oh, another person was talking to me about vaccinosis, & she said that regular vets have a tendency to pooh-pooh its existence, but holistic vets feel very differently. That's why they suggested you talk to a holistic vet.

[SandyLynn]

Colewolins -

I just joined this board today and have been reading the posts about Kevin. How is he doing? Did you get the results of the metabolic urinalysis? Any diagnosis yet? I hope he is continuing to improve since your last post.

Re: vaccinosis: I've heard and read about this also. If that's what it is, a holistic vet trained in homeopathy can give you a remedy used to reverse this condition. It wouldn't in any way interfere with the conventional treatments Kevin is getting (although these could interfere with the homeopathic remedy - you'd have to see what the holistic vet says). Even if Kevin appears to recover completely (cross our fingers), homeopathic follow-up treatment might be a good idea in case of any hidden residual effects.

Good luck! Let us know how he's doing.