I Cant Take Much More...

So, background is since the age of 3 Flynn has been having what I call his 'funny turns', so they have been happening for 2.5 years. In that time he's had about 7 of them.

I took him to the vets earlier this year with my concerns. The vet checked his heart, listened to my detailed descriptions and said it didnt sound like it was CDM or epilepsy (the latter being of some concern since it is an issue in GWP's and it's in Flynn's lines). He said they wouldnt be able to tell unless I managed to take him in whilst it was happening.

Anyway, it's happened twice in the space of a few weeks. My own personal view is that he is getting overheated but due to internal factors rather than external. If it was hot weather and he was running about like a loon then I could understand them and take measures to control the situation. However, it appears to happen completely randomly and all but one of these episodes have been during the colder months.
Some days he can run and run for 3 hours at a time and nothing happens, and then some days he can do very little and it happens, there seems to be no rhyme or reason.

Today for example we'd had a short, sedate stroll by the river followed by some training in the park. I was in the middle of doing a recall with an emergency stop. I looked at Flynn and he was sat with his head bobbing every which way. I called him to me and he could barely run because he was staggering like he was drunk. His eyes go vacant looking and he hunches his back and clenches his paws and staggers about. However, he is completely aware of everything that is going off and doesnt appear to think anything is wrong.

I bundled all the dogs in the car and rushed to the vets (as much as I could in rush hour traffic) only to find the damn thing closed. But I will make him an appointment.

It's gotten to the point that i'm unbelievably anxious when I take him out. I watch his every move looking for the tell tale signs and i'm convincing myself of things which arent happening. I darent take him far, we've all but abandoned the lovely walks we used to do simply because i'm scared of him having one of these funny turns when we are out. When I do take him out i'm in a constant state of panic and anxiety and just cant enjoy a walk anymore. I'm even worse when i'm alone with the dogs.

I've bought him Dorwest Keepers Mix because it says it helps overheating but he's just such a hyper dog and gets so worked up about things that I think his body kind of reaches boiling point. I try and keep him calm but it's such a difficult thing to do. I know this sounds bad but the thought of having him PTS has crossed my mind because i'm finding it so stressful and dont know how much more I can take.

The fact that I dont yet know 100% what is wrong with him is bothering me and also the thought that if it is overheating, how am I going to control it considering his nature? I kow there are owners out there who's dogs have serious issues that they have to worry about and mine sounds lame but I do have a question for those people...

If you have a dog with a condition that is random, how do you deal with life with them? I was walking along telling myself not to worry about something that isnt even happening, worry about it when it does happen but then it went and happened! The more I have to deal with it, the worse it's getting for me.

I know another trip to the vets is something I have to do but does anybody have any advice about controlling overheating? Everything I have read relates to overheating due to temp or hard physical activity, and thats not what happens in my case.

Sorry for the rant, and i'm not normally an emotional person but I just feel like crying, my nerves are shattered

Oh poor you - and him
No advice, I have no ideas but just wanted to add my support and send good vibes

Why can't your dog have an EEG?

Nicholas Dodman reckons that there are a lot of dogs which have "partial seizures" which can present as something else.

Bran had random seizures. Most were minor - he`d shake a bit or fall over. We`d keep him quiet for a bit. Ocasionally he`d have a Grand Mal. Because they were not regular or frequent there wasn`t a lot we could do. And he wasn`t a young dog so we took it easy with him anyway.
Has your dog been referred to a specialist? TBH I would suspect it is more than overheating or low blood sugar.
If your vet doesn`t know what to do, change vets?

I'm not a vet but my first thought would be some kind of small seizure? Do the episodes seem to be increasing in frequency?

My vet just said to bring him back if I wasnt happy and it continued. The Pet Blood Bank also refused to take blood from him because of their concerns and said my vet should have done more and that I should go back. TBH, I kind of forgot about it until it happened a few weeks ago, and then today. He's booked in tomorrow anyway to see the vet.

The fact that it happens unpredictably is what worries me the most. If I could say that when X, Y and Z happens, he has a 'funny turn' then I could control it. I make detailed notes every time it happens ranging from what the weather is like to what he's had to eat that day and I cant see any pattern at all, apart from the fact it only happens when we are on a walk.

I did used to suspect it was low blood sugar Claire so I always made sure he had a snack before we walked, and i'd take a snack with me on longer walks, but it made no difference.

It seems the more it happens, the worse the symptoms are and the longer it takes for him to overcome them. When he first had them he just used to wobble his head about, look vacant and be a bit wobby on his back legs, he'd be ok again within a couple of mins. Now he can barely stand, he literally hunches almost double and clenches his paws and it takes a few mins for him to recover.

Not really, but they seem to be getting worse. Here are the dates:

May 2010
November 2010
January 2011
16th December 2011
24th December 2011
June 2012
October 2012

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...tial_focal.htm

Also google Dodman.

I agree that it does sound like some kind of seizure, especially as you say that epilepsy is in Flynn's lines. But it does not sound to me like full blown epilepsy, more like some form of partial seizure as SB said.

I think the first thing is to have a full blood work-up to rule out any thyroid problems, low blood sugar, cholesterol levels etc before you start panicking.

Also, for your vet to say that he would not be able to tell unless you managed to take him in whilst it was happening sounds like complete and utter nonsense to me.

My Vet has never seen Pereg during either a Grand Mal, a Partial, a Focal, a Myoclonic, or just a Petit Mal-type seizure. Or during her terrible post-ictal behaviour following a Grand Mal. He did not need to witness any of the episodes himself to know that she is epileptic. But believe me, she is.

(((HUGS)))

Thanks for the link SB, the descriptions on that page certainly seem to fit what happens to Flynn.

Because of epilepsy in his lines, I did do some Googling but most didnt seem to fit what happened so I put that out of my mind and looked for other explanations.