. . . in the distant, early morning . . .

Milton’s Medical Mania

(photo taken by Chris)

This morning Milton was his normal, energetic, happy, hungry self.

Around 3:30pm Milton went out for a minute (presumably to pee), came back in and laid down.  About 10 minutes later he got up suddenly and zoomed to the bedroom.

After 4:15 I started preparing dinner for Elka and Milton.  Elka came over immediately as normal, and I called Milton: nothing.  I checked the bedrooms and continued to call: nothing.  I opened the back door and called into the yard: Milton came jogging out from the bedroom.

So, he was hiding in the bedroom under the bed.  That’s Elka’s spot, but Milton does not normally venture under the bed.

I give Elka her food and give Milton his tug-a-jug.  He looks at me with a sad expression.  He loves that toy.  So I dump it into a bowl and he eats 2 small bites then lays down.  My super-duper fast-eating food-motivated puppy is not eating. 

Panic.

I call the vet and give a description of what’s going on; she asks for him to come in with the fear is that the zoom was a petit mal seizure.  That he got scared and hid.

Here I was worried about the not eating; I hadn’t even considered the “immediate wake from nap zoom and hide” as a symptom.  I just thought he was being my goofy Milton.  Thanks to Mali I’ve learned to give really in-depth descriptions of recent behavior as even the most minor behavior can be a major indicator of an issue - and that learning paid off for Milton today.  If I had just said, “Milton isn’t eating, should I get him in?” it would have been much harder to identify possible issues.

20 minutes later and we’re at the vet.  He’s lethargic for him, but not terrible.  Then he has a gas problem, so the doc thinks maybe his tummy is hurting: possibly he had a sudden pain and ran and hid from that. 

Two possible diagnosis’ based on his symptoms.  The doc grabs a fecal and has me wait while they process it.  While we’re waiting I hear a pop from Milton and 1 second later he has zoomed to my side for help - he had gas, probably had a tummy spasm, and got scared.

It looks like he may have some bacteria in his stool; so right now we think he did not have a petit mal seizure but instead has a very bad stomach ache.  He’s on Forti Flora and Metronidazole (2-4 hours apart) to help his tummy.  Tomorrow we’ll have a full fecal scan from the lab and will have more of an idea what’s going on.  It still may have been a petit mal seizure, but based on his symptoms and behavior at the vet, we think it’s his tummy.

We’re very, very, very hopeful it’s his tummy.  Seizures can be very difficult and complicated to deal with; tummy troubles are generally easier to get a handle on and clear up.

Anyhow, he seems to be doing great now; we had a 1h 20m walk this evening (well 30 minutes chatting with neighbors) and the dogs are now in the bedroom passed out - which is where I’m heading shortly.  Looking forward to the weekend and very much looking forward to the end of this damn heat wave.

... and really, really, really hoping Milton is ok and seizure-free.

-Lisa, on July 8, 2010 at 9:59 pm

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