Puzzling issue with 5 yr old dog

[smjm]

Hi there,
I am contacting anyone I can find to see if they can offer any answers to the problem we have been having with our dog as of lately.
We have just spent over 300 dollars at the vet for xrays and bloodwork, only to come back clean. The vet is baffled and says he is fine.

A few days ago, our 5 yr old dog started this thing where he will become really disoriented, and cry/howl like he is in pain, when it happens he is like a completely different dog, he looks scared, and shakes and even drools. When you go to touch him its like he doesn't want you to. This happens the majority of the time just after he wakes up. After it passes he is his old self again, playing, running around, eating and drinking fine as if nothing were ever wrong. it is just really strange when he goes into these episodes, and painful to watch, because we just don't know what is happening and the vet cannot offer any sort of explanation. She said it isn't arthritis.. but she gave us some pain medication to give him. If you have ANY sort of answer at all to what this could possibly be, I would be ever so grateful for your help.

thanks guys....

[growler~GateKeeper]

Did the blood work check for thyroid hormone levels?

Did the vet examine his eyes?

[smjm]

they did a complete health profile.. like she said, she is baffled because nothing came back.. it's so strange. I'm wondering if it could be nerves

[Sabine]

The way you describe it sounds like epileptic seizures to me.

***click***

[Chilver]

My sons dog did something similar. They didn't know what was wrong with her either but put her on prednisone and she is back to normal again. We are waiting to see when she comes off of it whether she reverts back but we are hoping not. Her blood work was also normal.

[Dingo]

The symptoms sound like those common with Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome (CECS, or Spike's Disease). It's a known problem in Border Terriers, but I'm not sure if it affects other dogs. Here's a website you can look at:

http://www.borderterrier-cecs.com/index.htm

[smjm]

Originally Posted by Dingo

The symptoms sound like those common with Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome (CECS, or Spike's Disease). It's a known problem in Border Terriers, but I'm not sure if it affects other dogs. Here's a website you can look at:

http://www.borderterrier-cecs.com/index.htm

hm, thank you very much for your reply. I looked at that site and although alot of the symptoms are the same, I watched the videos and looked at the pics, and it's not half as bad as those dogs.

[Dingo]

That's good. Apparently the symptoms can start mild and grow progressively worse, so it's worth keeping an eye on him if you think that might be the cause. There's a fair bit of info around on dietary changes that have helped some dogs with CECS, so you might want to try some of those things.

[smjm]

Originally Posted by Dingo

That's good. Apparently the symptoms can start mild and grow progressively worse, so it's worth keeping an eye on him if you think that might be the cause. There's a fair bit of info around on dietary changes that have helped some dogs with CECS, so you might want to try some of those things.

I will look into that. For now we just have to watch him closely and hope he heals from whatever it is he is going through.. poor thing.

Thanks for the reply.