[Sammyroow]

Hello everyone, I got my little sheltie puppy on October 11, 2019. She started having episodes on October 28. Her episodes include: lethargy, staggering, vomiting, and loss of appetite. She’s 3 months old now. The vets can’t find anything and referred us to a neurologist. The costs of all the exams they want us to do can be up to $5000 dollars.
She has had this episodes 4 times already and they usually last 3-4 hours maybe. She starts off with being very calm and nodding her head from left to right, loses balance, can’t walk straight, then vomits. I believe I gave her Sentinel maybe 1-3 days before this has started. I thought maybe that had something to do with it but the vet doesn’t think so, instead they want us to do one test after another. She’s already been to the vet 4 times now because of this.
The episode dates: 28 October, 7 November, 9 November, and 12 November.
Has anyone have had a puppy that acted like this before?

 

[storyist]

I'm so sorry. I've never had a dog with seizures, but try Googling dog Sentinel seizures. I didn't read enough to see if, assuming that is the cause, it will get better.

 

[Knute]

Oh my.....

Don't be too quick to state her diagnosis. Talk to the neurologist first. If you can record a video of the behavior, it may help with the diagnosis.

You will need to make some hard decisions for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis or possibly euthanization.

Where did you get the puppy? Breeder? Pet store? Friend?
If from a Breeder or Pet Store was there any sort of health guarantee or contract?

 

[Sammyroow]

I'm so sorry. I've never had a dog with seizures, but try Googling dog Sentinel seizures. I didn't read enough to see if, assuming that is the cause, it will get better.

I don’t think it’s seizures because it lasts way longer than seizures would. She doesn’t have any balance and looks very confused while nodding her head back and forth.

 

[Sammyroow]

Oh my.....

Don't be too quick to state her diagnosis. Talk to the neurologist first. If you can record a video of the behavior, it may help with the diagnosis.

You will need to make some hard decisions for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis or possibly euthanization.

Where did you get the puppy? Breeder? Pet store? Friend?
If from a Breeder or Pet Store was there any sort of health guarantee or contract?

I have videos of her on how it starts and how she walks. Three different vets have seen her during her episodes and still can’t tell me what it is. They said it also could be a liver shunt, but the symptoms don’t line up that well I believe. My mother-in-law gave us her as a home warming gift from her friend who is a sheltie breeder. She also asked her if she has seen any of her other puppies acting like this. I’m very worried and also don’t want them to keep running unnecessary tests with very high costs on her.

 

[Knute]

I suggest you make contact with the breeder. To discuss the situation. Show the breeder the videos. Perhaps they have some insight or could offer some help.

My only thoughts on the tests is to begin with the most probable to determine the diagnosis. Then work your way up to more intensive tests.

Example: When your car won't start. You could replace the engine as a treatment. But it may only be out of gas.

 

[storyist]

When they talk about this $5,000 of tests, can they tell you what you will learn and what it will mean? For instance, some years ago I had a dog that came in from outside in terrible pain with no control of her back end. I took her to an orthopedic surgeon I'd dealt with before who told me it would take $2,000 of tests to determine which of several possible problems he believed it could be. And, bless him for his honesty, also that none of those things - such as cancer of the spine and spinal stroke - could be fixed. One possibility, a ruptured disc, could be but at a cost of more than $10,000 for surgery with uncertain results.

So it's good to know not just the tests proposed and cost, but what those tests will mean.

Millie and I were lucky. She probably had a spinal stroke. Pain stopped and she recovered enough to get around in the days following the onset, but still had no control over one hind leg. After some time passed, I felt so bad - so guilty - about doing nothing, I considered all the holistic approaches, and even though I didn't really believe in it, took her to an acupuncturist. Maybe it was coincidence, I can't say, but she improved after the first session and after the third the hind leg was back under her and working, even around corners.

Just a story, but before signing up for expensive tests, I would want to know that they at least had a chance of leading to a diagnosis of something that could be fixed or at least controlled at a cost I could afford.