I have not posted since friday as we had a very frightening experience of friday whih has upset us all. The vet described it as a mini fit, Barley had a mini fit, never had one before that we are aware of. I was not home at the time so did not know what fully went on and its to distressing to try and explain. had the all clear from the vet saturday morning and mostly fine since and to stop all current medication as he recently started new stuff, keep a diary if it ever happens again and bring him straight to the vet if it happens again. I know it sounds wrong but we are trying to find something wrong with him to get answers as to what/why it happened and what causes it but nothing he is fine as far as we can tell. Our 2 day holiday that as booked for this week has been canceled inase it happens again, everything has been put on hold as we do not want to leave him home along incase it happens again with no one home and he badly hurts himself. To top it of this episode has caused him to limp again, after all the hard work in getting him back up to normal exercise and building his strength up, but now it has gone back to square one of short 5 min lead walks up and down the road. He can not be put on rest again as all his muscle that we have built up will fall of again and make things worse as he will be weaker, this is upon vet advise. And he is still trying to loose weight after his prolonged period of rest over christmas he has only just started to loose a little bit every week due to his increased exercise. He is on the minimum amount of food possible which is 275g which is 1/3 of what he should be having for his ideal weight and even the vet was suprised at how little he was being fed and how he was still not loosing much weight, baring in mind he gets very little in terms of tid bits, all the things he gets are kibble for training (set 40g weight) and a few biscuits when he gets left before work /school during the week. Also his x-rays are not to be allowed for at least 2 weeks due to this episode and the risk of having a reaction to the general anesthetic and drugs This has been a real shock to us and we are still struggling to get over what happened and has made us rethink everything.
Re: Really worried So sorry to hear this, Annabelle. I know how hard it is to build up fitness and muscle in short lead walks. I nearly cried when we lost some of it after the op. the only comfort is thinking how much worse it would be if you hadn't done it. Your regime for Barley sounds spot on, I know you'll do your best for him. Sending you the warmest hopes things improve.
Re: Really worried Annabelle, I'm so sorry to hear about Barley. Hopefully it was a one off. Maybe it was due to his new medication. Good idea to keep diary, I did that last year with Meg when she collapsed. It helps the vet to understand what's going on. Wishing you and Barley warm wishes and do so hope he improves.
Re: Really worried Hi Annabelle. I'm so sorry this has happened to poor barley just as you were getting him right again. What was the new medication for? I assume the vet may think it was that to say stop all his meds. The vet is right,obviously he's a vet, you should keep going with light exercise. Although rest might be the best thing for his leg he needs to keep using the muscles. My old lab had vestibular syndrome which has very similar symptoms to a stroke but the dog makes a near full recovery after 48 hours. That was very scary when it happened as I didn't know about vestibular. He was very wobbly on his legs and had to use all his strength to stand. Once he'd recovered his legs were a lot worse than they'd been but I gave him short gentle walks and he made a really good recovery and was able to play with the other dogs again in just a few months. It maybe barley will always have a limp now or hurt his leg easily and you need to work out an exercise plan around it. When he hasn't a limp can walking cause it or is it more strenuous exercise that sets it off? Murphy had a limp on and off for years. It would flare up if he landed heavily on it jumping for a ball. He would limp if walking at a trot but normal walking didn't affect it so he could have a decent walk, with in reason but not run until it had settled. I hope barley will be alright now Jen
Re: Really worried Ah Annabelle,what a scare,I'm sorry you weren't there with him but maybe it was better that you didn't see it.I don't know anything about fits so I really hope it was a one off for him.i know there is no one who knows a dog better than you know Barley so you will be keeping him under very careful observation.let is know how he does and try not to be too upset,you take the absolute best care of him x
Re: Really worried Oh Annabelle, how awful for all of you. I hope it was a one off and that his leg improves quickly. Sending you big hugs xxx
Re: Really worried Hi Annabelle, I can imagine how frightened you must be and not to have been with Barley will further add to your upset, but there is no doubt that you will always take excellent care of Barley and what a lucky boy he is to have you in his life. Please keep us updated and I know it's easy to say don't worry but not so easy to do. Take care xxx
Re: Really worried So sorry to hear this, Annabelle, what an upset! I hope you can come to the bottom of it, it's always worse when you have a mystery hanging over you...although it seems like you have that quite a bit with Barley. :-\ Try not to fret, I know it's hard but worrying is not good for you or for him, dogs are so in tune with our emotions. One day at a time, keep doing the regime you have discussed with the vet, and hopefully you will have some answers soon.
Re: Really worried Sorry to hear this too Annabelle Hope it never happens again. I can understand you must be feeling pretty shaken up by this. I know you will look after your big boy and give him the absolute best {{{hugs}}}
Re: Really worried Sorry you've all had such a fright. I'm sure you will work out how to manage it, with the help of your vet, but I know it would be hugely stressful right now. Take care.
Re: Really worried Thank you julie Thank you lablover [quote author=Jen link=topic=5280.msg66487#msg66487 date=1396789755] What was the new medication for? I assume the vet may think it was that to say stop all his meds. It maybe barley will always have a limp now or hurt his leg easily and you need to work out an exercise plan around it. When he hasn't a limp can walking cause it or is it more strenuous exercise that sets it off? [/quote] Thank you jen. His new meds were different joint stuff and an upped dosage of piriton, she did not think that this had caused it but stopped them just incase and just to give his system a rest for a couple of days, he is starting back on them today as vet said that was ok but on lower dosages than before and slowly build him back up. Strenuous exercise has only set it off once and since then he does get any long strenuous walks, we always go at his pace and stop as and when he likes, the longest walks he has had since getting back to full walks is 45 min round the woods which was just plodding and sniffing. Thank you angela Thank you ternaya Thank you helen Thank you lisa Thank you jacqui Thank you Rachael Had to abort 2nd walk today as set of for first walk but he started limping very badly on his front leg so had to turn round and come home, even though we had only got 3 houses away. He has had 2 massage sessions already and will have a heat pack session this evening along with another massage and some brain draining exercises as he is desperate to go out for a walk but does not realise why he can't :'(
Re: Really worried Ah Annabelle,you look after him so well,he stands the best chance living with you,you must feel really disheartened though,sending best wishes Angela and Dexter xxx
Re: Really worried [quote author=Puppypal link=topic=5280.msg67274#msg67274 date=1397075765] ;D ;D ;D completely sound today ;D ;D ;D, i just hope it continues [/quote] Hurray!really happy,Annabelle,hope he's good over the weekend and you can get him out so he can have some fun x
