Is my German Shepard dying - Page 1

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum. I was wondering if any of you had any ideas about our extremely strange and sad situation.

We live in Bariloche, Argentina. My husand, myself and three dogs often go out for hikes in the forest around our house. After a great hike our 3 year old, super healthy German Shepard Suerte started to talk more than usual. He is a big talker anyway and we just thought he had extra things to say. Three days later he stopped talking all together and started to become lethargic. He stopped wanting to jump into our truck and became uninterested in people that came to our house.

That night, four days into the beginning of strange behavior, he started acting completely out of it. His pupils became very large, his ears were back, he had a far away look almost as if he was on drugs and at times would become very slack jawed with his tongue sticking limply out of his mouth, almost as if he was catatonic. This was a Sunday evening and we called our vet for an emergency appointment.

The vet found his temp to be a degree celcius (1.8 Fahrenheit). Suerte was shaking a bit (but more from being scared to be at the vet in my opinion). The doctor felt that it was maybe epilepsy. He gave him a cortisone shot to help the fever and help his shaking.

That night Suerte's health got worse. He had boughts of his eyes rolling in the back of his head and vomited four times. We took him back to the vet. X rays showed inflammation of the lungs, urine tests came back normal, we are still waiting for the blood tests. The doctor put him on an antibiotic and said to keep him rested.

That night was better with no vomiting but he started to act more strange. He wanted out in the middle of the night and would race to the grass area of our yard only to start walking in awkward circles, sometimes crashing into things.

The following day we took him to another vet to get a second opinion. His fever was gone, his pupils were back to normal and health wise things checked out. This doctor couldn't hear or see anything wrong with his lungs. He thought it was best to keep him on the antibiotic.

Now Suerte has become more skiddish and runs away from nothing, slipping in the process. He still has a far away look in his eyes at times, that looks like pure fear sometimes.Today and the latter part of yesterday his energy and strength improved but other worrisome issues arouse. His pupils started to change from full dilation to pinpoint within seconds with no change in light. This lasted for a few minutes and then he threw up. He started doing a tick like motion with his entire body. We took him back to the vet and the vet gave him another shot to help with tension and antibiotic to help with inflammation in the case of cerebral issues. Today the ticks were less frequent and his energy and strength are still good. But he was still going through periods of still being catatonic at times with his mouth limply lying out of his mouth. He continues to show fear of loud things and skittishness which is a new behavior for him. Tonight his body ticks, mouth snapping and facial siezures are getting worse.

The doctor thinks it is cerebral swelling but doesn't know why it happened.

We don't necessarily agree. We still think that this may be chemically related, a toxin maybe?

He just got done going through what looked like a facial epilepsy where the left eye was moving back into the head. It's very scary to watch.

If anyone has any thoughts please help.

Thank you.

It could be poisoning of some sort but thats only a guess.   Not knowing I would be forced to trust a vet.

It sounds like some kind of nerve poison to me, but I'm not a vet. Did he get into something? Has your vet ruled out poison? Obviously I"m guessing about poison.

Poison Mushrooms jumps out in my mind?  I'd check the walking trail.

What you are describing does in fact mean there is neurological involvement. The question is what is causing it. It could be only related to epilepsy or a brain tumor.  It could be a bacterial infection of the meninges, meningitis, or it could be caused even by a toxin or a fungal infection. Has this dog been vaccinated by the way for rabies? Though some of the typical signs are as yet not present, it is not out of the realm of possibility that he has been infected with rabies. Is there any type of fruit or berry or other plant in your area that could cause this? 

I know it may be difficult, but I would suggest taking this dog immediately to a large city where you have specialists. As a minimum, blood work should be done to rule out infection and disease carried by ticks (insects). There are a variety of treatment options, but the best would be if one knew exactly what one was treating.

The fact that your vet gave a steroid suggests he/she thinks there is also some sort of inflammation in the body. The eye movement you describe is related to either pressure in the brain from swelling or inflammation. The signs you write about today with the "tick" I presume is more seizure activity. It is really, really important to get this under control.

Again, it is really, really important you find a vet specialist who is familiar with neurological problems. What you are describing is very, very worrisome and without proper diagnosis and treatment, it may be that this dog will not do well.

Best wishes and keep us posted.

Also consider the possibility of erlichthiosis related to a tick or bug bite.  CTG may have guessed what it is. Could also be ingestion of other types of poisons or poisonous plants. Many vets would want to do a blood chemistry and cell differetial, which would include white blood count, hemoglobin and basic blood chemistries.

I know this won't be a popular piece of advice but how about putting the poor dog down so it doesn't suffer anymore? This doesn't sound very pleasant to me.

Not trying to be harsh. I just hate people who wait to long, or make a dog suffer through life because someone does not have the guts to put them down. Not saying this isyou, but it shouldbe considered.

Good luck and I hope for the best outcome.

Thanks for your responses.

He has been vaccinated for all of diseases and is current on all shots.

We had work done and blood and urine anylisis came back normal. A ultrasound showed no signs of an issue in his chest, heart, intestines or prostate.

The facial tremors and body ticks became worse during the night. He also threw up again. We are aware that putting him down may be our only option. He doesn't see, to be in pain. He is running and walking around and breathing normal but there is definitely some type of nueral issue going on.

Again thanks for any feedback.

I am so sorry to hear about your boy. It must be so distressing for you both. Is it possible it could be Canine Vestibular Disease? The symptoms of walking around in circles, loss of balance, lethargy and distant look in his eyes as well as rolling eyes, nausea and sickness seems quite indicative of Vestibular disease. Has your vet ruled this out?

Here is a link which which will give you information on the condition, symptoms and treatment involved.

http://lowchensaustralia.com/health/vestdisease.htm

Please let us know how your poor boy gets on.

I hope that it is something simple such as Peripheral Vestibular Disease which can be treated successfully.

I wish you all the best with your boy and hope that your vet is able to pinpoint what the problem is.

Kindest regards.

This sounds like a case of encephalitis to me. The symptoms you describe are very worrysome and you might fight a loosing battle. Inflammation and swelling of the brain fits all your symptoms, including the vomiting. Treatments are high doses of steroids, high doses of strong antibiotics, drugs to prevent seizures (often Dilantin) and a diuretic. Your dog can survive this. The question is, how much brain damage is done from swelling and the seizures? He might never be the same dog again, displaying akward and unpredictable behaviors, including sudden agression. Something to think about.

Besides the things already mentioned. There is a possibility of a ruptured aneyrism in the brain. Blood in or on the brain will cause a temperature and swelling, as well as an elevated white count in blood draws. Only way to rule this out is X-ray or better Computer Tomographie.

Toxins are a possibility, even tho I feel the onset for it was to slow for a neurotoxin or hallucinogen (mushroom or frogs). Maybe slow accumulation of an environmental toxin which led to brain damage over time and just now reached its treshold allowing to show symptoms.

Wish you and your dog the best.