A member of my family

[jkchuma]

My dog, Russell Sprout, is going to the vet in the morning. He has been air (fly) biting for a while and my wife and I didn't think to look into it. I'm pretty sure tonight he had a seizure. His muscles got tense, he was shaking, could barely walk, and when he did walk it was very wobbley, like he couldn't balance.

Like the title of this thread states, he is a member of my little family (wife, Russell Sprout, and me). This little episode has scared the crap out of us and I hope that it is manageable and not too hard on our bank account. If you will please keep us in your mind and prayers for a while. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[texbilly]

Prayers on the way. Just today, I took my 8 year old Lab in to have a mysterious growth on his side checked. Nothing serious as it turns out, but scary nonetheless. We have three big, furry members in our family and wouldn't know what to do without them.

Your Russell Sprout will be fine and if he needs help, he knows you'll be there for him. Hang in there!

 

[tgarza]

Best wishes for the little fella.

 

[superbleu]

Hope it turns out ok. Best wishes.

 

[Argonaut]

Best wishes, I'm curious if you have a Jack Russell Terrier, I had one that started having spells, like narcolepsey. He was fine until he was about eight years old, then when he'd play fetch he would chase the ball and bring it back, when you took the ball from him he would stiffen up and fall over like the fainting goats. He made it just over age 9, vet had no explanation for the spells. Murphy was a great dog and I'm suprised as I write this how affected I still am by his passing. That was 6 years ago. By the way Russel Sprout is a great name for any dog, I hope everything works out for you and your companion.

 

[valmara1971]

I have everything crossed and I'll tell all my animals to have their paws crossed believe me that's a lot of crossed limbs!! Having recently suffered two massive dogggy losses in a week I'm 100% there with you and you family brother. Good luck and please please let us know he's fine okay?

 

[WhosYerBob]

I can relate. We have never had any children so our various pets over the years have been the substitutes, and unexpected vet visits have always been a cause for real concern. My thoughts are with you.

 

[jkchuma]

Thanks everyone. He is a Jack Russell Terrier in fact and will be 5 years old in December. The vet doesn't open until 7:30 EST. We almost took him in to the emergency vet but then it passed.

I started doing some research and now I'm kicking myself for not realizing something was wrong sooner. I just thought he was paranoid but the fly biting, barking and growling at nothing, and chewing on nothing are all symptoms. Just last night a few hours before the seizure he was chewing on nothing and I thought he was trying to eat something he shouldn't be but nothing was in his mouth when I tried to dig it out. One day my wife came home from work and said his eyes looked funny and he was walking a little funny but it passed shortly. Now I know that was also a very mild seizure

I'll let you all know what the vet as to say later today.

 

[justice4all]

We are sending good thoughts and wishes your way this morning. Keep us informed.

 

[jkchuma]

Appointment at 9 am EST. I'll be back later.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Good luck! My old pug developed a seizure disorder and I can completely sympathize with what you're going through. Hope everything turns out well.

 

[Gruder]

Best wishes! We've been blessed to be able to successfully deal with seizure issues in our cat. Hoping for a similar outcome for your pup.

 

[jkchuma]

Just got back. They said what I described so far is very mild but they are going to do full blood work and check the urine sample. This could rule out any systemic issue. I'm going to look into pet insurance. The vet said they can't say it is a pre-existing condition yet.

Does anybody have pet insurance? Any good or bad experiences with certain companies?

The test results will be in within 3 days or so. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for all the support!

 

[valmara1971]

Cant say who to go to buddy as im in the UK but look out for a no excess policy and if possible a life time of care for any condition. Meds for the rest of his very long life would cost you so let them take care of it.

 

[jkchuma]

The vet called yesterday with the test results. It came back clean. We are going to just document when we see what we think may be symptoms so we can show the vet how frequently the fly biting, invisible gum chewing, and barking at nothing occurs. This will help them to decide if it might have anything to do with his episode.

Right now there is nothing else we can do. If it doesn't happen ore than twice a year and it isn't violent it doesn't warrant medication. Also, the vet is not convinced that it was a seizure. They say he may have just pinched a nerve temporarily. We'll just see if it happens again and go from there. Lets hope it was just a one time thing.

 

[thunderball]

My grandparents' little Pomeranian had similar seizures a few times each year for each of his 12 years of life. We just held him still and comforted him until they passed. It didn't seem to affect his otherwise very happy and active life.

 

[Azza]

Great news in the end! Hope the little guy wasn't too bothered with all the attention.

Aaron

 

[J.B. Books]

How old is your dog? Also, you may want to keep in mind that most locaL vet's, are general practitioners. When you are dealing with a complex problem it is often best to take the dog to a spe......t or teaching hospital.

I hope that things go well for you and your dog. They have a way of worming their way into your heart. Prayers sent.

 

[WhosYerBob]

Does anybody have pet insurance? Any good or bad experiences with certain companies?

The vet that we used to take our Borzoi to had his own insurance. It was around $800 per year per dog and was worth every penny, as they were high maintenance.

 

[J.B. Books]

Unfortunately the pet insurance companies will NOW consider it a pre-existing condition. When you apply for pet insurance you have to provide the complete medical history of your pet. When they contact your vet the will be told about all visits and symptoms.

I took my 8 week old Lab for his initial check up. I happened to mention that the pup seemed to be scratching more than normal. The vet made a note of that comment, even though he did not think that there was a problem.

When I obtained pet insurance, allergies were excluded on the policy as a pre-existing condition. I contacted the pet insurance company and asked what they were refering to, and I was told that the vet's medical notes made it a pre-existing condition!

I got a letter from the vet stating that he made no such diagnosis, but it did no good. As far as they were concerned the dog had allergies.

I wish I had better news.