Possible neurological problem? *long, sorry*

[Rena&Chopper]

My baby Rena (est. 8-years-old) was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 2 months ago. She takes two pills a day to control it.

Now, her weird behavior-some she had before the thyroid, some are now starting. She lays down-ALOT. Also, if she walks on our hardwood or kitchen floor, she has the tendancy to fall. She does the weird head cock, like I've heard mentioned in cases of neurological problems, and if someone or one of the other dogs comes near her face, she shies away and whimpers. You can touch her all over her face/mouth/neck/chest and press hard and she won't make a peep.

Her appetite is also not so good. She'll chow down a treat as fast as you'll pass it out, but I've seen her not touch her food bowl for a day or more. It's like she waits until she can't take it anymore, than she eats. I even tried putting oatmeal (her favorite thing in the world) on her food and she'd only eat it if I fed it to her by hand. :(

Another problem, she has been turning her front paws under-when she stands, or sort of dragging them when she walks sometimes. I've seen her while she's using the bathroom and she starts turning her head around and then she'll stumble and almost fall over.

She's been to the vet and I've told them, but they don't really say much. My dog trainer said that she was exibiting neurological signs when we were at class this past Tuesday. She also mentioned that her eyes seemed to have a lot of pressure..so I don't know what is wrong. I've heard that hypothyroidism can cause neurological problems, but that's about as far as my knowledge goes.

Anyone have suggestions/ideas? I'd really appreciate it...
Thanks in advance!

 

[lafsalot]

Your trainer was right, there is a link between hypothyroidism and neurological problems. Sounds like some of the symptoms one of my dogs once exhibited. I would strongly advise you to take your dog to a vet. neurologist. Good luck and do keep me posted - Cathy

 

[Julie P.]

Magic

I am so sorry to hear about your baby’s story. My boxer started having the same symptoms after she had a mouth tumor removed and her teeth cleaned this last June 2004. With in four months, the curling of her foot, tripping, head tilting, head sensitivity, and falling down got worse. She could not hold her footing any longer when she would eat her food in the kitchen. She also lost her appetite until the vet gave us a small doze of steroids to relieve the pressure she seemed to have in her brain. She also had swelling in her eyes mostly on the left side. She lost her bladder control in the fourth month. Because of what happened to Magic, I have a new learning passion regarding learning more about neurology problems. Please keep us posted. Sincerely, Julie

 

[Lael]

If your current vet is not running any tests or moving forward to figure out what is going on, my suggestion would be to call a nuerologist and discuss with them to find out if you should make an appointment to run some tests.

Good Luck. And let us know how she's doing.

 

[noleboxer]

Nole

Julie P

Your story sounds so similar to my angel "Nole". He had a large tumor removed on his stomache and some smaller ones in other places and also his teeth clean. Although he showed some sines of dragging his back paws and was placed on a steriod he still had quality of life. Soon after his surgery he went down hill quickly. He lost all bladder control and would constantly fall over. It seemed his mind was all there but his body could not follow. There was a name fore what he had but I can not remember it now. Nole was laid to rest 12/04. Boy do I miss him, for the longest time I felt so quilty about the surgery and felt it enhanced his problems. I still think about him daily.

Betsy
Angel "Nole"
Rescue Cody