[Zoopie]

I told a friend I would ask for advice. Maybe someone has ideas on what happened or tips on how to handle it.

Duncan is an awesome mellow dog. Nordic mutt, about 1 year old, very loving and easy going. Well taken care of, he has a lot of attention, he is socialized and he gets plenty of exercise.

Last weekend, something happened. He was sleeping in his living room. All of the sudden, he got up, walked to a room, barked, slammed himself into walls (to a point where he hurt his leg) and peed all over the place. He has done it another 2 times since.

He seems overly more anxious since. He won't stay long in the room where he injured himself.

Nothing particular happened the first day it happened, to their knowledge.

She says he doesn't seem there when he does it. Won't respond, even if they clap in their hands or talk to him. Her theory is a bad nightmare and sleepwalking. We don't even know if it's possible.

I told her I'd ask for opinions. I mentioned you guys would most likely tell me to check for thyroid issues first. There are not vet around though. The yearly vet visit is end of May or beginning of June. They love their dog though, so I assume they'd be willing to bring him down to civilization if this keeps going on or if a few tricks doesn't work.

Here's the beast:

Major thanks in advance for anyone with a theory or advice.

 

[unconditional]

Go to see a vet immediately. That's not normal at all.

 

[Tofu_pup]

Seizure...?

 

[doxiemommy]

I agree. A vet, as soon as possible.

 

[Willowy]

Can they get a human nurse to draw blood, and then mail it to the vet (or Hemopet)? That might be a good first step if it's possible.

 

[Zoopie]

Yeah I went to see him during lunch. I did tell them I'd really rule out physical causes first, since it's so sudden and intense. He has done it again this morning. They left him alone for 15 minutes and he had pooped and peed all over the place. He seems okay in between those episodes, but still a big cause of worry.

They seemed to not be able to drive him down right away. I told them to at least consider it they reassure him, make sure he's not too stressed out or anything and it keeps going on.

Their plan was to exhaust him this afternoon to check if it was behavioral, but I told them I wouldn't do it since my impulse and instinct is to think it's a physical cause.

And we used to have a nurse who LOVED dogs. That was extremely convenient. The two working here right now? I highly doubt they'd do it.

 

[Shell]

I thought seizure immediately by the description of it. Loss of major motor skills and not responding to clapping/noise and involuntary urination.

Can you CALL a vet, carefully describe the symptoms (video them if it happens again!) and ask for advice? I don't know much about anti-seizure meds (other than they are relatively cheap and can work well; one friend has a 6 yr old Boxer on seizure meds) but they might be something the vet could prescribe over the phone if that's what the vet thinks the issue is.

 

[Zoopie]

I thought seizure immediately by the description of it. Loss of major motor skills and not responding to clapping/noise and involuntary urination.

Can you CALL a vet, carefully describe the symptoms (video them if it happens again!) and ask for advice? I don't know much about anti-seizure meds (other than they are relatively cheap and can work well; one friend has a 6 yr old Boxer on seizure meds) but they might be something the vet could prescribe over the phone if that's what the vet thinks the issue is.

Yeah, I've managed to contact the nice vet who often helps me out with my dog over the phone or email. We're currently in the "asking questions" phase, but she doesn't like the sound of it either. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Roloni]

You described exactly what happened to my Lab a few years ago.
Its probably a seizure..and thats not good. Get to the vet...now

 

[bonesygirl]

My old shih tzu did something similar before he died. It started with him screaming in his sleep -I don't know if there is a better word to describe it, but it literally sounded like someone was being murdered in our house. Then it progressed to him getting up out of a dead sleep and running, usually into a wall/bookcase. Once he ran into something, he would wake up, and be disoriented for 5 or so minutes afterwards.

My vet was researching it, then it was discovered while I was out of town that he was dying from cancer. It was only a matter of months from the start of the strange behaviour to the cancer diagnosis.

 

[HollowHeaven]

My first thought as seizure as well.
Makes me very thankful I've never had to go through anything like this :\

 

[Zoopie]

You described exactly what happened to my Lab a few years ago.
Its probably a seizure..and thats not good. Get to the vet...now

Had it been my dog, I would have taken the long road to the closest vet right after the first incident. Sadly, this is not my call. I'm waiting for the official word from my fav vet who gives me advice usually, hoping it'll make them decide to drive the awesome dog down to civilization.