Please help, what are the vets & hospital not seeing?

[Kneesbendarmstretchrarara]

I’ve crying non-stop for 3 days, not slept, it came on literally with a click of the fingers. No unusual walks or anything else to speak of.

Gone from loving tug o’war with squeeky toys, thinking everyone that comes to the house is here for him (& making it known!) , wanting his Kong daily, jumping on the sofa to the following:

Wobbling, unsteady, every time he tries to walk no matter how little the distance, even just from one room to the next

Right foot constantly ‘going under/back on itself’ and on 1 occasion it was stretched straight off the ground and he couldn’t flex it or put it down

Both front legs crossing over each other in attempting to walk

Collapsing, his right leg can’t hold him, his left doesn’t balance him out so he falls forward onto his face/top of his head. Terrifying to see.

Can get up onto my bed to a degree with a real struggle but needs human help to get down

Unbalanced on rear legs 50% of the time

Am beyond desperate and sad. Couldn’t go to work today as he can’t be left for his own safety. 7 year old Dalmatian with no history at all.

Vets & specialist hospital are stumped, even after £7k’s worth of investigations. Only thing showing up is significant inflammation somewhere but arthritis has been ruled out.

Only (& last) option now is MRI on brain, but in the meantime I’m wondering if there’s anything they could have missed. They’ve ultrasounded all internal organs, x-rayed his legs & neck, MRI’d his spine, taken fluids from all joints. Nothing muscular and nothing neuro related apparently.

I just need some words & a handhold. My heart is collapsing with him.

I'm sorry lass.

Stroke. Wobblers (though I don't know if only horses get that). Poisoning.

What are his muscles like (rock hard / normal / soft)?

Thankyou.

The stroke will apparently show up on a brain MRI which is the only procedure we haven’t yet completed. He was trying to eat the other day & I did say to the hospital that for a split second it occurred tomme that a stroke may be to blame.

His muscles are all good according to all the tests. He’s been pulled, pushed, twisted, anaethetised, sedated, prodded, injected, poked, the lot.

I’ve never come across poisoning before, would that be from food or a sprayed chemical in a field? Where would that come from please?

Has botulism been ruled out? This happened to a friends dog recently, it took a long time to diagnose but he is now well on the road to recovery.

Botulism hasn’t been mentioned, thankyou, I will raise that as well.

They have tested for Meningitis & parasites in brain but both came back clear.

Hi there everyone - we're moving this over to The Doghouse now at OP's request.

it's so hard watching them suffer.

I'm sorry I have no useful information.

I'm a member of the Whippet Appreciation Society on Facebook and they are brilliant at supporting owner and suggesting ideas when dogs are sick.

Is there a similar group for Dalmatian?

So sorry you are going through this it must be very frightening for you and your dog.

I've no advice or ideas I'm afraid but I do hope you get a to the bottom of his problems and the vets find a solution very soon.

Poison can come from just about anywhere - something in a thing he's picked up on a walk, puddle water, etc.

The reason I questioned muscles was azoturia. Had it in one of our horses.

A neurological condition? (That could affect the use of his legs and ability to balance). Have you suggested an MRI? X

Are you seeing any improvement, a decline, or about the same?

The symptoms remind me of an old dog of mine that had a stroke - she lived another year or so (by which point she was ancient) and considered stairs more trouble than they were worth, but it was a reasonable quality of life.

Wobblers? Has he been assessed by a neurologist?

I don't think they can really rule out neurological problems until they've done an MRI. Stroke was my first thought. Hope they can find out what's wrong with the boy and treat him

Neurologist's secretary here - I'd do a brain (MRI) scan with those symptoms in a human. After that, if brain normal, a whole spine MRI. Gait disturbance and particular problem with one leg sounds like neurological disorder of some sort.

Have you considered CECS? It's normally in border terriers but not unheard of in other breeds. Look at videos on YouTube (not a pleasant watch) and see if it looks similar

Has the dog been near horse wormer?

In reference to @Faez post, has he been near horse manure? Not necessarily live horses or working products per se. There are wormers that can pass through the horse digestive system and if the dog eats the manure the dog will be poisoned - I've heard horror stories of death.

Hi all.

Halfway home on the 130 mile round trip from the hospital again, I’ve had to leave him there. I sent some videos this morning & the neurologist called him in immediately for obs over the w/end with an MRI on brain on Mon.

They said his symptoms show he may go into respiratory arrest

He’s had x-rays on all legs, spine & neck so far and is without doubt deteriorating by the hour. His bloods are only showing inflammation, nothing else. Initially last week the neurologist said he couldn’t make a connection. Jeez my tears just will not stop

His spine was MRI’d last week, they have said they’re mystified.

I will look at the Youtube tomorrow, thankyou, I am a mess at the moment and can’t face seeing any more distressed animals. I will google azoturia, thankyou, he hasn’t been near horses or their wormer unless in the car (he wouldn’t have got out the car)

I miss his warm sleepy smell, he should be with me. We got him because we underwent IVF for 16 years, he is my darling baby boy, my adorable baby boy. Shit.

Apparently they need to eat quite a bit of fresh manure and have the mutant gene to become ill but I lost my dog very suddenly and the only thing she vomited was poo. She might've come into contact with wormer in feed though as was on a yard. Very traumatic and not one vet suggested ivermectin despite telling them where she was when she fell ill. Given time and the correct support they can make a full recovery. Sadly this information came to us too late.

Thankyou but he never did get out of the car. Couldn’t be trusted!

Has he been sick at all OP? Does he have any head tilt, or twitching of pupils?

My very elderly terrier had very similar symptoms, staggering, legs collapsing from under him etc. Took him to vets convinced he wouldn't be coming back. I was in bits, so can't remember what the name was, but turned out it was a condition that mimics stroke symptoms, normally in older dogs. Vet gave him anti-sickness injection, said keep him quiet, warm and in a safe place, and wait and see, normally they improve within a fortnight if they're going to be OK. Took 10 days before we saw any improvement, about 3 weeks before he was anything like 'normal'.

He still has a slight head tilt, but now 18 years and going strong. I really hope its something similar with your boy.

If it sounds like it might be this, PM me and I'll ring the vet in the morning to get the correct name

So sorry you've had to leave him there OP, which hospital is he at?

My eldest is 10 and my best friend. They're like a piece of you have you got any photos of the spotty lad? Are they giving you updates at the weekend?

Faez
Still trying to drive through tears.
Will be back later.

You don't feed raw meat, do you? I've seen neosporosis present like that.

No raw meat.
He likes dry food, tuna, rice, chicken, white fish but thankyou for suggesting it.

He was sick once, 3 weeks ago, he ran to the door as soon as he saw food. Not done it since.

He’s in Davies, near Bedford.

I have 11,000 photos of him (he was asked to model once - not my choice, no judging please) but honestly I feel I can’t look at them right now. I’m not strong enough, thankyou for the gesture, I do understand and appreciate why you ask xx