Fainting, any help please.

[monty'smum]

I suppose this is on behalf of my sister, but ultimately it concerns me too, so any advice will be greatly recieved.
We had a great shock yesterday. Monty and Sophie were out for our usual morning walk. We had gone about two miles, the dogs were off the lead so they had probally done about double this. I noticed that Sophie was walking funny, events happened so suddenly that I didn't even have time to mention this to my sister. Sophie suddenly keeled over and as she was at the top of a banking, rolled over and over about 4 times till she came to a stop at the bottom. She was totally still, Monty was with her and was nudging her but there was no response. I raced down the banking shouting her name and just before I reached her she came round. She got up and walked slowly towards me but looked very dazed. A few minutes later she seemed more like her normal self. My sister was distraught and so I tried to calm the situation down and by the time we got Sophie home , she was fine again.
That afternoon, my sister took Sophie out again and the same thing happened. She took her to their vet who thought that Sophie was fainting rather than having fits. He tested her heart and my sister said he said nothing for a couple of minutes then said " well it's not too bad". Obviously I'ts not too good either. He said he was getting fast beats and slow beats and therefore wanted to do an ECG. She's booked in for Thursday.
I just wondered if any one else has experience of this?
Also I know its selfish of me to think this way, but do you think I should get Monty checked out. He has has already had two big operations and there was no mention of any heart problems at the time. They are siblings though.

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

Oh No

What you have described could very well be a heart issue. Boxer Cardiomypothy (sp?) is a huge problem in our breed and one of the reasons why all breeders should heart test their Boxers before breeding. There is also SAS which would cause the same symptoms. My next thought would be a brain tumor though the rapid heart beats would certainly not point in that direction.

You are in the UK. Do you have Cardiologists near you? I would suggest an immediate visit to such a specialist and get both kids checked out. Yes, you have a right to be worried about the brother since many heart conditions are hereditary. Also, I am not very familiar with how breeding is conducted in the UK, but can you call the breeder and ask them about any heart testing they did on the parents?

Good luck!!

 

[monty'smum]

Christina. Thank you for your reply.
Could you please tell me what SAS stands for.
I also want to get in touch with our breeder, but my sister wants to wait till she gets the results of the ECG.

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

SAS means Sub-Aortic Stenosis which is a form of Aortic Stenosis. Usually means a valve problem but here is a website with some info. It is geared towards humans but it is the same condition as in dogs, I believe:

http://www.cardiologychannel.com/aorticstenosis/

Waiting for the results is good, but please contact the breeder regardless of the results. A good breeder NEEDS to know if any of their get is affected in such a condition.

I hope the results are favorable

 

[monty'smum]

I just thought I'd post an update on Sophie.
She had the ECG yesterday. The details were sent by computer to a cardiologist who then sent back the results. It seems the tests were clear and they can't find anything wrong. The vet says if they are still worried he can arrange some x-rays. She hasn't had any further episodes since the first two. Today she was racing arround like mad for an hour with Monty as usual. It's cost my sister just short of a £100- for the vets fee so far and as the results are clear she's loathe to have to spend more. Monty also still shows no signs of what happened to Sophie so I too don't want to have to spend money I haven't got if its unecessary.
I just wondered what any of you think?. Should I leave it for a while and we keep a good eye on them. We have contacted the breeder but she too has not had any problems like this brought back to her. She kept one of the male pups and he is also fine.

 

[Pierpoint]

I don't really want to write this as I know it will worry you but I'm guessing you're looking for all the information you can find. One of our boxers was doing the same thing. Seemed she was fine and then one day she started walking funny and keeled over and was out for only a minute or two. Then she was fine until it happened again a day or two later, etc, etc until she died. Turned out she had a tumor on her heart and she passed away about a month after the first episode. I don't know if age affected it - she was 8 years old. Perhaps yours is younger and I'm hoping not too serious.

I'm sorry this is happening and can only hope it's not too serious. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[monty'smum]

Pierpoint, thanks for your reply.
I'm so sorry for your loss, these siblings are only nearly two so like any disease they just seem very young. I do need to know all the information though, good or bad. I would think that with a tumour it may not show up on an ECG, perhaps though it might on an x-ray. All I can do is show my sister this and see what she wants to do.
I f any one else has had any problems same or similar, good or bad, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[BXR MOM]

Had she eaten anything that day.? My brother's Viszla fainted once while they were out hunting The vet said it was becasue he had been doing so much running, his blood sugar had dropped. He now carries a food with him when he hunts to make sue the dog eats. I am sure they had gone more than two miles, but maybe with the run and if she hadn't eaten this is what could have happened to Sophie. Hope it doesn't happen again.

 

[monty'smum]

Anne. this was certainly a possibility that I thought of.
Sophie is very finiky about food, she will only really eat about every two days. My sister is always bringing her left overs for Monty (who cannot be filled). The other thing is that the temperature has increased here greatly over the last few days although we try to make sure they go out earlier than usual.
I don't know if these could be factors. She is certainly a wild little madam constantly on the go.

 

[Albie]

I can sympathize with your worries. We have been trying to figure out our 15 mo. old Lacy's heart problem for several months now. She has had three similar "fainting" episodes. They have all happened after she raced around the yard like a "mad dog"! She spent a day at the vet (chest x-ray, EKG, bloodwork). All of this was inconclusive. Then she went to a cardiologist. We found out she has two leaky valves in her heart, but the cardiologist did not think this was the cause of her problem. Both our vets have said to "just watch her". It's kind of hard to do, because I'm scared something is going to happen. But, for now, that's what we're doing.

If you find out anything further (or have any insight into our problem), I'd like to know.