Is my German Shepard dying - Page 3

Evening update, Suerte has a little bit of eye "snots" forming at the bottom of his eyes. He has been super mellow and not twitching or biting at the air very much. We have some New Age music playing, incense burning and a couple frineds have done some long distance Reiki.

¿Oso, como estas Andes norte? Un gusto!

be sure that you have the vet run a liver/kidney pannel. If there was some kind of toxin that he has recovered from to some degree there could still be damage to those organs that might require specialized diets.   If those are okay... then be more concerned about the neurological aspects.  Antibiotics and/or steroids might help there. 

I would get copies of the bloodwork.. and contact a vet you know from the States, or Directly contact a teaching College such as Tufts, Cornell or UCal Davis for a phone consult to review the findings... or at least explain them to you fully so that you know what you're dealing with.

Has your vet considered the possibility that your dog came in contact with a poisonious frog? The symptoms you describe are very similar to the symptoms of the poison dart frog, not sure if you have them there, I believe you do have teh HARLEQUIN FROG in your area which has the same toxins emitted from the skin. Might be a consideration.

Therese

Sunday update.

Suerte had a better night sleep and looks a slight bit more with it today. We had a homeopathic vet come this afternoon and spend time with him today. She too was dumbfounded.

His mouth twitching, etc appears to when he is fallling asleep. The vet thought maybe he is really dizzy, and when he closes his eyes, catches himself. Kind of like when one falls a sleep for a second and then jerks to wake up.

I think we can all agree it isn't epiliepsy, because when he starts the twitching, we can say his name and he snaps out of it. All vets have said this isn't painful for him. It sure is painful for us to watch.

We are still on track to get blood tests and results tomorrow.

Thanks so much for everyone's support and ideas, we will include them in the blood work tests, if possible.

Not much after posting this, the twitching has returned. We wanted to explain the cycle.

First he starts to relax, this can be happening sitting up or laying down. His head starts to nod and he starts to sway (like most dogs look when they are about to fall asleep). Then, his left eye gets pulled in to his head about a half inch. He starts doing the mouth snapping, then the convulsions in his face increase. Then we say his name or make a noise and it brings him out of it, at which point he looks confused and lost. Within a minute or so, the cycle repeats itself.

If he is moving around and alert, it is like he is almost normal, tail wagging, etc. This is only happening when he is trying to relax.

Oso, thanks for the kind words. We will do everything in our power to help our boy. If he is suffering, we will certainly address that, but he does not appear to be.

Suerte appears to be doing better today. He is sleeping at night, having less tremblors, and a has little more energy. He still loks a little lost and is skittish, but I can't say I don't blame him.

We got the blood results back and everything came back normal. We took another sample and are going to have them check for everything possible. We also have him on some homeopathic stuff, this lady we found down here seems really educated, and even speaks good English! We are cautiously optimistic.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and thoughts. 

I think he may have a form of epilepsy. What  you are seeing could be what is referred to as "chewing gum" and "snappings at flies", fairly common findings in dogs with this disease. If he doesn't improve I'd ask the vet for phenobarbitol for him. It's the drug of choice to prevent seizures in dogs with epilepsy. If he improves, then I think you'd have to look at some sort of toxin in the environment,  one he may have ingested or absorbed.

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm 

Please check out this website.  It has so much information, and from personal experience - if you email them they will ALWAYS reply.  This website has a wealth of information.   The chapter  regarding psycho motor seizures should be of particular interest.

Blitzen, the various vets don't think it is epilespsy because if he begins shaking and we call his name or clap, he stops.

StinkyK9, I will check out the site, especially the motor seizures you speak of.

Again, thanks for the input.