Spotty's people
Super Boxer
This is Susan’s husband Keith writing this note; Susan is out of town until the weekend.
One of our boxers, Spotty, has been having some health problems recently and despite a couple of recent visits to the vet, we’re still not sure of what’s going on. So we thought we’d post this to you to find out your thoughts.
Last Friday evening (about an hour after eating) Spotty was at his usual place, sleeping on the sofa. As his sat up to leave the sofa I noticed he wasn’t looking well. His eyes looked a little “glazed”, and as he walked his steps were short and halting, and his pace slow. He laid down on the floor and I noticed his legs had begun to tremble. Within a few minutes his entire body was trembling and his breathing was shallow and had sped up, as had his pulse. His eyes were not darting about or anything, but he did look quite stressed. We arranged to get him to the local emergency vet service and there he was given a thorough physical exam. The only abnormality was his temp, which was slightly elevated (39.5C, normal is 38.5-39C). No signs of poisoning. While at the vet, he began to improve; his trembling lessened and he began to walk around, checking the place out. The vet thought it likely was something neurological (perhaps a stroke), and suggested we allow Spotty a few days to see if he would completely recover.
We took him home, where he slept most of the rest of the day away; he looked very tired. Within a couple of days he was completely back to normal! His appetite came back quickly. Throughout his down time he was able to go to the bathroom normally.
So we thought (hoped) it was a one-time thing but unfortunately it happened again, last Monday evening. It lasted a little longer and seemed a little more severe. I talked to our regular vet and arranged an appointment the following morning; allowing him the night to recover. He was given another physical and a blood test and urinalysis. Everything came back normal (blood cells and organs okay, no signs of poisoning) with the exception of a slightly elevated cholesterol level, which the vet felt wasn’t a concern on its own. The vet speculated that it could be epilepsy, as symptoms associated with seizures can range from almost nothing to the horrible “grand mal” type. He explained there is medication for epilepsy in dogs; he suggested we allow him a few days to recover.
Since then he has recovered somewhat (normal appetite, drinks usual amount of water, no bathroom problems), although his energy level is way down. He sleeps a lot and is walking at about half his normal rate (his walking motion appears normal).
However, yesterday he saw a cat across the road (cats get him excited) and he ran over to the fence barking; his bark was weak and he was definitely favoring his right front leg as he ran. I mentioned this to our vet and he seems perplexed; he suggested he see Spotty again if he doesn’t return to normal within a day or two.
Does anyone out there have any ideas, or shared similar experiences? We’re wondering if he’s had a couple of strokes. We’ll have him to the vet again soon if his current condition doesn’t improve by tomorrow.
-Keith
One of our boxers, Spotty, has been having some health problems recently and despite a couple of recent visits to the vet, we’re still not sure of what’s going on. So we thought we’d post this to you to find out your thoughts.
Last Friday evening (about an hour after eating) Spotty was at his usual place, sleeping on the sofa. As his sat up to leave the sofa I noticed he wasn’t looking well. His eyes looked a little “glazed”, and as he walked his steps were short and halting, and his pace slow. He laid down on the floor and I noticed his legs had begun to tremble. Within a few minutes his entire body was trembling and his breathing was shallow and had sped up, as had his pulse. His eyes were not darting about or anything, but he did look quite stressed. We arranged to get him to the local emergency vet service and there he was given a thorough physical exam. The only abnormality was his temp, which was slightly elevated (39.5C, normal is 38.5-39C). No signs of poisoning. While at the vet, he began to improve; his trembling lessened and he began to walk around, checking the place out. The vet thought it likely was something neurological (perhaps a stroke), and suggested we allow Spotty a few days to see if he would completely recover.
We took him home, where he slept most of the rest of the day away; he looked very tired. Within a couple of days he was completely back to normal! His appetite came back quickly. Throughout his down time he was able to go to the bathroom normally.
So we thought (hoped) it was a one-time thing but unfortunately it happened again, last Monday evening. It lasted a little longer and seemed a little more severe. I talked to our regular vet and arranged an appointment the following morning; allowing him the night to recover. He was given another physical and a blood test and urinalysis. Everything came back normal (blood cells and organs okay, no signs of poisoning) with the exception of a slightly elevated cholesterol level, which the vet felt wasn’t a concern on its own. The vet speculated that it could be epilepsy, as symptoms associated with seizures can range from almost nothing to the horrible “grand mal” type. He explained there is medication for epilepsy in dogs; he suggested we allow him a few days to recover.
Since then he has recovered somewhat (normal appetite, drinks usual amount of water, no bathroom problems), although his energy level is way down. He sleeps a lot and is walking at about half his normal rate (his walking motion appears normal).
However, yesterday he saw a cat across the road (cats get him excited) and he ran over to the fence barking; his bark was weak and he was definitely favoring his right front leg as he ran. I mentioned this to our vet and he seems perplexed; he suggested he see Spotty again if he doesn’t return to normal within a day or two.
Does anyone out there have any ideas, or shared similar experiences? We’re wondering if he’s had a couple of strokes. We’ll have him to the vet again soon if his current condition doesn’t improve by tomorrow.
-Keith
Keep us posted on all updates......
