Shaking episodes

Sorry this isn't really a staffie question but Nola says she's an honorary staffie (please?).

We're starting to get some odd moments with her. The first I can put my finger on was about a month ago when we were in France. We were on a walk, we'd probably done about 4 or 5km which isn't very long for her, and her legs started shaking. We let her rest for 5 minutes till she was settled, finished out walk (another 3km or so) and she was fine, no sign of anything the following day - we did take it easy just in case.

Then, a couple of weeks ago in the evening she started shaking. We thought at the time that it was the beeping of the smoke alarm (the battery was being silly), so we gave her a cuddle and let her outside away from it. 15 minutes later we found her lying in the dark in the middle of the garden, not as in crashed on her side, just lying normally but in an odd place. Normally if she goes out at night it's to do a wee or chase bunnies, not to just lie there.

The next odd thing was a couple of days ago, when she decided to flatten some plants by the front gate to curl up there. It was a really weird place, not in the sun, not very comfy, not near anything, just strange.

And then today, she'd been for a walk, just 20 minutes or so, and again started shaking. She was sitting down and her front legs shook. 10 minutes later, we found her standing at the end of the garden, facing into some shrubs looking lost. She then came in a settled on a dog beanie bag that she never normally lies on.

Other than these odd moments she's completely fine. There's no pain if you prod and poke, she's not lame, she's eating like a labrador. The only other thing is that she doesn't want to join in the staffs' rough and tumble all the time (most of the time she will) but she is 10 so that might well be just her feeling less like being in the middle of such a full on pair sometimes.

We're obviously keeing an eye on her and a vet visit may well be on the cards but I was wondering if all this sounded familiar to anyone?

My Flo will shake if she feels sick, she isn't sick every time she shakes but it a sure sign she is feeling unwell. 99.9% of the time she's fine after 24hrs. Another sure sign is not eating her dinner, is Nola eating in her usual way Liz ?

Nothing, but nothing, will stop Nola eating! She's a hoover when it comes to food. So no, no change there. I've not seen her being sick at all recently and her poos look completely normal as well.

Of course Nola is an honorary staffie I don't know what to suggest Liz. Perhaps it is age related, just keep an eye on her x

George met up with a friend on a walk this morning and described what Nola is doing. Jackie had a dog who used to do exactly that, it was canine cognitive dysfunction (dementia). I've just had a google and it's very common, one study in California found 28% of dogs aged 11-12yrs tested had one or more signs. If that's what it is, there's no treatment, just management.

If she does anything else worrying, anything that appears to indicate it's other than that, I'll pop her to the vets earlier, otherwise we'll probably leave it till her booster's due at the beginning of next year.

Poor Nola.

my first thought was a mild stroke, especially considering her age, but mild dementia is also possible.

Of course Nola is an honorary staffy, never was a doubt.
So sorry that it might be dementia, I did have to google it too.

Thanks

I didn't think of a stroke - that feels less likely as she's 100% most of the time, walking well, no lopsidedness, etc.

Reading up a bit more about CCD, I'm more inclined to take her into the vet now. There is a drug that can be effective that I'd like to talk to someone about if the diagnosis is CCD, and it's one of those 'the earlier the better' drugs.

This is an interesting site: https://dogdementia.com/

And here's my girlie the other day, still not looking her age

Thanks for the link



(You don’t post enough photos  )

(Don't encourage me)

God she is beautiful! I’d pop her to the vet sooner rather than later for a check, even if it’s just for your peace of mind. I’m thinking there is an underlying cause but hopefully something minor that can be treated. I’ll be checking for updates, when you’re ready. Big hugs! PS She might not be a staffy but she’s sure part of our staffy family here & treated the same!

I'd agree with a trip to the vets just to make sure of what's what and if possible any treatment.

Nola may not be Staffy but she's certainly a part of our family here

She's such a beauty, she really doesn't look her age!

I also think a chat with the vet would be useful.

We've got an appointment to see Uncle Keith at 4.30.

Will be thinking of you then, hope all goes well

Keith's not convinced it's dementia. To him it sounds more like either kidney disease or mild epilepsy, with the standing in odd places afterwards as a result of the worry of the fit.

He's running bloods to check kidney and liver function amongst others and we'll talk when they're back. If the bloods look fine his first thought is to treat as epilepsy to see if that makes a difference.

Not quite what I expected.

Ah, will be interesting to see what the results reveal.

It's often the case that we think one thing but in reality it's a completely different diagnosis, just ask Flo

Keep us posted Liz

I just asked her but she didn't answer...

Cos she's deaf silly

Try sign language

All her bloods are normal, which is a relief.

That leaves us with epilepsy or CCD. For two reasons, we're going to assume the latter for the moment.

The first reason is that we've found her in a couple of odd places again. Last night she was sitting in the bathroom and this morning we found her lying between the bed and a wardrobe close to it (dog width apart, really).

The second reason is that the Epiphen is a serious drug with potential side effects, whereas for CCD there's a supplement (Aktivait) that Keith has suggested has no side effects. He has an overall positive experience with it. I've ordered a month's supply and we'll see how we go. We'll try it for a month or two, monitoring as we go, and then stop and see if there is a difference.

Sounds like a reasonable plan to me, I'm happy with it.

Ah yes. I think I’d also try the happier medication option and if worse comes to worse, you can’t do much harm with it.
Fingers crossed you have positive results

Sounds like a positive way forward Liz, fingers crossed it does make the difference

What's CCD ? (excuse my ignorance)

Canine cognitive dysfunction, the dog equivalent of dementia.

Oh wow I didn’t even know there was a thing!

A quick update -

Nola has been on Aktivait for a month now (nearly). We had one or two odd moments early on but for the last couple of weeks she's been great. She's initiating play again and is back to buggering off after squirrels in the woods.

Or at least that's what it looks like. The plan is another month of Aktivait then stop for a while to see if there is any change with her not having it - that's what Keith suggested and it makes sense to me.

Definitely so far so good, though, and if it is the Aktivait that's rejuvinated her, it will be food for thought. How much do we accept that 'it's just because she's getting old' when we don't need to?

Thanks for the positive update.
It’s reassuring to be able to “play it by ear”, still hoping you’ll need minimal medication help to keep Nola stable and happy

It's not actual medication, it's a nutritional supplement that's aimed at supporting brain function. The reason for stopping after a couple of months is to see if there is any difference without it - it could just be that she's fine anyway and that the Akitivait isn't in fact making any difference other than to our wallets. If she goes backwards without it we know to resume, if there's no change then she doesn't need it. If she does need it, it's not an 'as required' thing, rather an all the time one.

Hey Liz, just wondering how you are getting on with/without supplements ?

The jury's out at the moment. She was on Aktivait for 2 months and has now been off them for a few weeks.

On them, we had no signs of anything. The first couple of weeks off were good too, but I think there is a change now. It's very slight so we're just monitoring for a bit to make sure we're not making it up.

There have been 2 shakes, one after she got excited meeting another dog when her back leg started shaking and one that was straight fear, the low battery beeps of the smoke detector for some reason terrify her. We also had a couple of very quiet days, for instance not coming to greet my husband home from work, and although she is playing I'm not sure it's as much.

The reason for holding off putting her back on the Aktivait is that it's hard sometimes to know if you're seeing stuff only because you're looking. It's not cheap (£32 a month) - if she needs it that's fine but if she doesn't it's a waste of money.

Dogs... who'd want one... or three... ?

Oh, Lord, it's so hard to know what to do.

I suppose all you can do is play it by ear & do the best you can for her.

It is difficult to know what to do sometimes, isn't it? At the moment, she's fine in herself and I don't feel there's any great urgency. She's moving well, showing no pain, not appearing unhappy. What I really want to make sure of is that her interactions with the others aren't a cause of any anxiety for her. They are full on and don't read 'I don't feel like playing' terribly well! I know we'll have to cross the bridge at some point but it would be great if it wasn't now!

Ho hum.

It is a tough call.
Are you just seeing stuff because you’re really looking for it? I mean maybe you were also looking as hard for shakes that just weren’t present on the supplement.

I’m sure Nola will manage to let you all know how she’s feeling so you can do the necessary for her.
Maybe she just needs a holiday overseas

You might be right there! Maybe somewhere in France..., what do you think? I hear it's quite nice in the Seine Maritime area.

Decision made, though. I've just ordered some Aktivait. Two very un-Nola things this evening - firstly, she'd been in the bed by the Rayburn during the afternoon (normal), didn't want to move to go out late afternoon (less normal) and then didn't get up when I started getting their tea (not at all normal!). She did get up and act normally when she heard the plink of kibble on bowl, but normally the first hint of food and she's there!

Then just now George and I were having supper. Nola's a dreadful begger and I usually have to tell her to go and lie somewhere else. She started off at George's feet (normal) but after just a couple of minutes, without being asked, took herself off to lie behind the piano stool (very odd!). Yesterday she was 'wafty', not sure if she wanted to be in or out, which is unlike her too.

So now it's not so much the shaking, although she has had that one when we met Ice, but the 'not quite right' stuff. Animed usually delivers pretty quickly but then it will take a good couple of weeks for it to start working again. Then, hopefully, she'll be back to being Naughty Nola again.