Dear friends

I received the following from a friend of mine who has been involved with Cocker Spaniels for a number of years. if anyone can help, please do let me know.

Many thanks in anticipation.

Pam n co

Message reads -
My 5 year old blue roan cocker spaniel is at the moment fast sleep on the
chair, to see her you would not believe that she is a very sick dog.
The problem being is that apparently nothing can be done for her. Doodle is
her name, she has not an aggressive bone in her body.
The veterinary surgeons of which we have seen many, have put it down to a
psychosomatic illness or something else called "Canine Hysteria", which is a
new one to me, although an elderly vet said he has seen it before, but a
cure has not been found as far as he knows! No it isn't rage syndrome. The
first sign of the illness came with her first season, she had a cyst on her
ovaries which was removed under anaesthetic. Her second season brought the
same symptoms (which I shall describe later) and she was treated with
morphine to help her through the pain. Doodle was spayed 2 years ago.
Here are the symptoms of the illness that still persist.
1. It comes on without warning, sometimes within minutes.
2. Doodle becomes restless, suddenly glances round sharply at her rear as if
in pain.
3. Doodle will begin to howl and rush about,(as though blind and demented)
her back is arched as if in terrible pain.
4. Doodle knocks herself against things or sometimes dashes away.
5. Doodle will be deaf to any commands and blind to direction.
6. In the house she scrabbles at the wall or anything nearby.
7. It lasts for 3 days and 3 nights, always the same.
8. At first it was every 6 months now it is more often, more like 3 monthly
intervals.
Whenever taken to the vet she has no temperature and when examined shows no
sign of pain, no pain killers work and I have tried many homeopathic
treatments but am always open to ideas to help her.
The illness cannot be hormonal now, as she has been spayed, the only way it
is controlled is with sedatives, a lot of them.
Apparently it may be brought on by the temporary unbalancing of the brain
centres, similar to epilepsy but it is not that.
Has anyone out there come across anything similar,
Hope someone may have an idea to help Doodle. Feel free to ask any questions
if you wish.
Thanking you in anticipation

Is she docked?
Bec

Hi Bec

I believe so - yes.

Pam

Oh well ..... there you go then :rolleyes:

er????

The implication that the "problem" has occurred due to Docking

thank you Twilly :p, :D

LOL..... don't mention it! Twills x

OH FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please Please Please - can we not get into an arguement about the pro's and con's of and who is for and against docking and also the suggestion that it must be the cause of this problem. It is obviously nothing to do with docking - but my friend is very upset at how her beloved companion is becoming more and more ill with no clear explanation as to why.

I came here for help - not to trigger a discussion on docking.

So if anyone can throw any light however limited that may be on this problem - even if it's just to say that you too have experienced it and what the outcome was, please do let me know.

Many thanks again

Can I ask how it is nothing to do with docking? This was not meant to start a docking debate but I feel that ALL avenues should be explored and having experience with a dog who has problems with their dock and behaving in a similar manner to that described I thought it only a logical path to follow. However, if this avenue has been thoroughly explored by the vet then I am perfectly happy to accept that. Just because you cannot accept that docking can cause problems doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

A friend of mine had something very similar with the Miniature Schnauzer. Although she is also spayed it has been put down to a hormonal cause, and she has to have an injection every 3 months or so, it is quite obvious when the injection is wearing off. As far as I remember the symptoms are very similar but until I meet Julie again I can't find out further details, or what injection the bitch is on. Incidentally, spaying does not always remove all hormonal changes, particularly if the tiniest part of the ovaries is left, and this happens occasionally. It has been known for a vet to have to re-operate to remove traces of the ovaries if symptoms are strong enough.

If the condition lasts for 3 days, I assume you have called the vet during this time? Have you tried a vet specialising in small animal behaviour? Has every physical cause been investigated and ruled out? I have to say, having an educated guess, if the condition happens at specific intervals it does sound hormonal or brain related - almost like a brain flicker. I had a horse with this and she could not be ridden once diagnosed due to it being dangerous - you never knew obviously when the brain flicker would occur. I also had a rescue dog who although didn't have these symptoms would for no apparent reason wander off and we would find him hours later sat alone staring into space despite our frantic calling. The vet identified this as a mental disturbance, and his behaviour deteriorated and became slightly aggressive.

Pammy, has your friend approached the breeder of this dog to ask if he/she has heard about this before? I dont have cockers but do know several folk that do and i've not heard of this before, but, someone somewhere must have heard of this happening, it sounds as if something is definately hurting this dog when this happens. I'm sorry i'm not much help here, how long has the dog been doing this, is it recent or has this been going on for a long time?

Dear friends

Thankyou for your comments and advice etc, very much appreciated. I will pass them onto my friend and come back with more information etc when I have it.

thanks again

Pam n co