10 week old puppy seizures

[Sher49]

I had a beautiful 10 week old puppy for 11 days. He was very active, no signs at all of any illness. He was put to bed Tuesday evening at midnight. I heard him crying and barking at 1:30 am. Once I saw him I realized he was having a seizure. I took him immediately to an emergency vet center. They couldn't stop the seizures without giving him general anesthesia. The xrays showed nothing. I picked him up in the morning to take him to my regular vet --he was so drugged he was out of it. My regular vet checked him out. He kept having seizures. He had to be put under general anesthesia again. She told me that her "unofficial" diagnosis is Distemper. He had his first distemper shot at 8 weeks and was going to get his second next week. I had to make the tough decision of putting this beautiful puppy to sleep as the vet said there wasn't any hope at all for him. Has anyone ever heard of a perfectly fine puppy one minute with no distemper symptoms at all -- then dying from seizures? I just really don't understand how this could have happened.

[aslan]

Sher49 i personally have never heard of it, but i guess it might happen. I'm very sorry to hear about your baby.

[Dr Lee]

Unfortunately with distemper this is possible although with the age, there may be other possibilities as well; however seizures in dogs less than 6 months of age that are not related to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) often have a poor prognosis. The causes can be very serious. Also the neurologic changes caused by distemper are permanent due to the nature of the pathology. I am very sorry to hear about this. It sounds like you made the right choice, albeit a very difficult one.

[Winston]

Sheri be sure to know that your little pup is running free at the Rainbow Bridge! free of any pain and suffering!

It is a tragic loss! but know that there are many wonderful supportive people on this forum that will help you ease that pain ! even just a little bit! I dont know anything about distemper really but I did a quick google on the computer and there is quite a bit of info about it! I think the only way to know for sure would be an autopsy..(its not called that but I cant remember the word for the life of me!) I think you should also go back to the people you got the pup from because the little bit I read about this is that it is very contagious...

Cindy
little one!

[hazelrunpack]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Sher49. Distemper is a very nasty disease. You did all you could for your little one. Now he's your angel and no longer suffering.

[14+kitties]

Aww, poor sweetie. I am so sorry for your loss.
little one.

[Sher49]

Thank you all for your wonderful thoughts. The emergency vet called me this morning telling me just heard and how sorry he was. He said he feels as though it was a "liver shunt" issue. He thought that from the very beginning. My regular vet said the unofficial diagnosis is Distemper. The only way to tell is an autoposy and at this point, I wouldn't do it to Bailey. The breeder has offered me another puppy in the fall. She does feel terrible. Since he didn't show any other signs of distemper (runny nose, cough, diarreha, vomiting etc) I really don't believe that's what it was. He was so energetic up until 2 hrs. before the seizures started.

Again, thank you all for your kind words.

[t.pettet]

I personally would ask for a complete refund from this 'breeder' and not accept another puppy as her dogs seem to have medical issues.

[ERINSMYTH]

I put up a thread about it, but the same thing has happened to me... I am so sorry for your loss.

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by t.pettet

I personally would ask for a complete refund from this 'breeder' and not accept another puppy as her dogs seem to have medical issues.

If it is a good breeder, then they will honour this request. If you do not get anything back from them...you know that they misrepresented who they are.

In the future, please consider a rescue/shelter. You would be surprised that there are so many purebreds there that require a family. There, you will get a health guarantee and if anything should happen - they will return your money with no questions asked.

I am sorry for your loss.

[julster]

So sorry for your loss.......

[TeeKay]

I've got a 9-week old mini-Schnauzer that until last night was happy and playful. He had a seizure last night about midnight and we rushed him to the Animal ER. They checked his vitals, blood sugar, etc. and conducted a complete blood test - all came back okay and inside the normal margins. He was doing better when we brought him home about 3:00 or so this morning, but had another seizure a couple of hours later (I slept in the floor next to him) and has had 3 more since then. He is up to date on is shots we do not have rat poison at our house for him to ingest.

When researching the internet I discovered one which noted that oak leaves could present a hazard to puppies. Has anyone heard of this? They are all over our back yard and he loves to play with them- and chew on them. What can I do? It is heart-wrenching.

[hazelrunpack]

TeeKay, we have oak leaves all over in back, as well, but we've never had problems with the dogs. They actually eat them! All our dogs are grown, though, and I don't know if oak leaves might affect a puppy differently...

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. If your puppy is still throwing that many seizures, all I can recommend is that you take him back to the vet. There may be some supportive therapy or med that they can try. At some point, you should talk to the breeder, too, and let him/her know that you're having this problem.

Best wishes for you and your little guy, TeeKay

[TeeKay]

Thank you Hazelrunpack:

Yes, we took him back to the Dr. and they kept him for the day. The doc seems to think that its some type of toxic poisoning, but wasn't convinced that it the problem was "oak leaves." He put him on an IV and gave him something for pain and diazepam for seizures. It was so heart-wrenching to leave him there.

I'm wondering whether I did the right thing instead of having him put to sleep. He seems like such a little "fighter" though.

Wish us luck!

[hazelrunpack]

Sending all the luck that s, 32 crossed s and s can generate.

He's so young, I don't blame you for trying to give him a fighting chance

Please keep us posted on his progress, TeeKay!

[TeeKay]

Thanks for all your well-wishes. And thanks for the words of encouragement Hazelrun! We will keep everyone posted. I'm on pins and needles right now, hubby trying to get me to rest a little bit. I slept for a couple of hours on the floor with him this morning and my nerves are shot!

Thanks for keeping all fingers and paws crossed...

[TeeKay]

Just got back from the animal hospital and Gizmo is doing really well. The doctor said he got up from his nap and seemed a little bit angry that he was in a strange place. He's eating well and drinking fluids and trotting back and forth down the hallway to my son's room. (My son is at his dad's house this week.) Gizmo seems that he's back on the road to recovery.

We don't know what he might have ingested that might have caused the seizures, but I’m suspicious that it might have been paint chips that had peeled off of a plastic garbage bag that we had brought from the patio into the house for Christmas trash. I mentioned this to the doctor and he said he would look into it.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and well wishes - and Hazelrun - thank you for keeping all fingers and paws crossed.

Best to all,
Tee Kay

[hazelrunpack]

So glad to hear Gizmo is doing better! Whew!