Snorri @ 7

In response to a query from Ian (Hoggett) about the health of Snorri-dog......



here's the boy! He was 7 on 3/3/05. Not only is he Kali's younger brother, he's his nephew, too (Kali's litter brother Roy did the naughty with his own Mum! - and Snorri was one of the six results!)

There are a few things not quite in his favour, though - not only is he very in-bred, his Mum was past her sell-by date, he was about her 130th puppy (or thereby). He has a small jaw defect (top jaw overshot) and he is epileptic He's also very timid

He started having fits when he was not long past 3 (It was very scary!) and they accelerated for a few months, until he had a cluster in October 2001, at 3 in the morning! We whisked him off to the vet at 4 a.m. (£100!) and his treatment started - phenobarbitone twice a day! I'm pleased to say that he hasn't had a fit in 3 years now, nothing but pleasant little doggy dreams at night, these days.

We met him one day when we went back to Kali's birthplace for a visit: the farmer told us he had six more pups, would we like to see them? (He wasn't expecting us to buy one, honest!). Of course we wanted to see them, so we followed the chap out to his mucky byre, where we saw a plastic pen full of squirmy things, in the dim light. We looked sternly at each other, and said NO!!!!!!, even when I noticed that there was one exactly like Kali, right down to the blue eyes (well, all the eyes were blue at that stage, but we could see underlying brown in all the others, it's quite noticeable when you look hard). We handled him a bit, then, regretfully, put him back in the pen. Putting him back was hard, even if he did stink to high heaven!

Five days later, we were having a glass of wine in the sun, and we both said, at the same time, "Remember that puppy?", and, in 5 minutes, I was on the phone to the farmer.

When I chose Kali as a pup, it was like an interview - "Are you good enough for one of my dogs?" (as it should be, IMO!). This time, the farmer agreed at once, because he knew how well Kali was doing. He must think we are totally mad, but, mad or not, we love the dogs! So, Snorri's future life was well set on the way it has been.

The epilepsy was quite a shock, especially as it took us a few hours to work out what it was, but, whilst it has been horrible to see, it has been pretty easily controlled (a little extra work, as every pill has to be buried in supermarket own-brand sausage and fed to him ON TIME).

I'd like to mention the kindness of Ian, who managed to find us a supply of "pill-poppers" ages after the company stopped making them - much appreciated, m8! Now, the pills go into small bits of cheap sausage (Hell, I wouldn't eat the things, but Snorri loves them, cooked or raw!).

So, here he is, sleek and healthy, perhaps he will serve as encouragement to anyone else who has an epileptic dog - epilepsy is nasty, but it's not the end of the world - treated dogs go on to have plenty of fun and an active life!

If anyone has an "epi-dog", feel free to PM me - I'm no expert on the disease, but I know what you're experiencing, and may be able to help with a bit of moral support, at least.

Snorri

brilliant pic of Snorri

aww what a beautiful beautiful boy hes so gorgeous and looks so well,ihave enjoyed reading your thread about snorri and his family and how he came about brilliant thread a pleasure to read

Great pics, of a stunning dog
best wishes

lovely story & lovely pic
i'm lucky as lubo and keira just take their tablets (garlic) and eat them

One thing I'm hoping to do is to get round the islands and collect pics of all the relatives we can find (and there are LOADS!), to put on my DW personal page - Roy, Snorri, Kali, Merlin, Jacob, Max, Spotty (all out working on farms, except for Snorri, Kali and Merlin, who think they were born for better things!). I suspect that this might take me a little while, as I'll probably have to catch them all, too! These guys are not so much fast runners as hairy Exocets!

little note: Spotty is the only bitch in the list. She's Kali's litter-sister and she takes no prisoners! Never let a child or an Orkney farmer name your dog!

Snorri


P.S. - this doggy family is HUGE - there are even relatives as far from here as Southampton! That's a long way for a wee dog to travel!

i look forward to seeing the rest of the gang

aw he looks great look forward to seeing the rest of them!

I notice that by entering the word "epilepsy" in my thread, the Google Ads which invade these pages have started to include an epilepsy remedy ad. Be aware that the Google Ad link takes you to a site about HUMAN epilepsy. While the dysfunction is effectively the same in both humans and dogs, the treatments are not necessarily the same, and the dosages are certainly not the same. If your dog is affected, SEE YOUR VET, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THE NET TO TREAT THE DOG YOURSELF. P.M. me for a few links to canine epilepsy sites, or try Google search.

CONSULT YOUR VET FIRST!!!!!!!!!

Snorri

Thank you for posting the lovely picture of one your border boys...I enjoyed reading more about snorri dog He is a good lad