# Golden Retriever Seizure & Hind Leg Weakness



## BryanB55 (Nov 4, 2008)

I have an 8 year old, male Golden Retriever that began collapsing when walking and now his hind legs are very weak an he can not stand up on his own or walk for more than 5 minutes.

He also started having small tremors with his head but last night he had a bad seizure that tensed all of his muscles and rolled his eyes back in his head, he eventually came out of it and looked confused but then would not stop panting and trying to walk in circles for hours. I stayed up with him for 4 or 5 hours until 4am until he finally fell asleep.

During the day he is still alert and appears happy and constantly wagging his tail and still seems to be himself except he can't really walk and has small tremors.

We've been through many blood tests, urine tests and he's seen a neurologist but they have not been able to come up with a diagnosis yet. This has been going on for about 6 months now. We are being to fear it could be a brain tumor.

Has anyone seen this before or been in this situation? Is there any hope in treatment or any other possibilities of what could be causing this?

I've heard hind leg weakness is a side affect of drugs that treat seizures but we haven't even started him on any drug for seizures yet.

The vet just gave us some very strong steroids to start him on and phenobarbital to stop the seizures.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

Poor boy. He is beautiful. I hope you find your answer and all turns out well.


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## All about Eva (Nov 22, 2008)

First and formost you need to get the seizures under control. It is highly reccomended if there is more than three seizures in 24 hours the pet should be hospitalized until they are under control for at least 12 hours min. Your dog is going to develope other problems if he is having multiple seizures/tremors daily, and some can be irreversable. When a dog is started on phenobarb they can act funny for awhile. I do not want to sound harsh or come off wrong, but you really need to call your vet and update him on all his seizure/ tremor activity. Or call your local emergency clinic if your vet is not open. You guys seem like you are doing everything you can for this little one and he is lucky to have such a good owner. Circling is a neurologic sign and so is ataxic walking. (walking like they are drunk) and of course seizures are also. I hope you can get answers soon for this little one I know it has got to be hard. Keep us posted


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## lulusmom (Nov 12, 2008)

Hi Bryan,

I am so sorry that you and your Golden are having such a tough time of it right now. If your vet has prescribed Prednisone, then he is of the opinion that a brain tumor is the problem. Prednisone does a really good job of reducing the swelling rather quickly and if it is Meningioma, it sometimes can shrink the tumor. 

Meningioma is the most common tumors but there are others. Being a parent to two dogs with cushing's, I am familiar with macroadenomas which is a large tumor on the pituitary. Loss of appetite and neurological problems such as seizures, lack of coordination, walking in circles, head pressing and weakness in legs is common. Was his bloodwork (including thyroid levels) and urinalysis normal? Has he shown any symptoms such as inappettance, excessive drinking and urination? 

Unfortunately, the only way for you to really know if a brain tumor is involved is by doing a CT or MRI, both of which are pretty costly.


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## olliebee (Jan 2, 2009)

I have an all most 2yo Golden Retriever and tho i haven't had him having seizures when he was 10months old he got meningitis. it started with him having a stiff neck and not being able to eat from his bowl and as it got worse he became less and less mobile and i was having to carry him to the car to get him to the vet and to his bed etc. the vet did bloods and nothing came up. we thought he my have had a neck injury at first with all his stifness in his neck and arched back. he was a heap of drugs and stroids to try and keep his fevers and pain down was still suffering high temp and immobile. anyway after all that once he get better ever since he has suffered a problem with his hind legs. at first they were really bad that they would collaps on him and wouldnt follow him properly, he now has alot more control of them yet they still dont always follow properly and will still cross over on each other and trip him up he also starts to get weak on them after a long walk. we believe he suffered abit of nerve damage from the meningitis. 
I know this is not the same as your retriever Bryan but i just thought i would share my experience.

i hope all goes well and you start getting some answers, its not nice not knowing.


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## rmartin5330 (Apr 10, 2009)

My 6 year old golden has had seizures since he was 3 years old. Yes he has weaken Hind Legs as a result of med's. We have not been able to find cause or trigger for his seizures. I watch your video, it appears your golden is having what is know as petti mal seizures. My golden has grand mal seizures. He has had as many as 10 in a 24 hour period. They are very hard on his body, but once he recovers, he is back to his old self.


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## Bebe_tc (Jan 10, 2009)

I hope your golden get better it broke my heart to see the video !!!


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## boothssi (Jan 7, 2010)

Last year at age 8, a friends Golden began having seizures a with a frequency of about every four weeks, as bad as Grand Mal seizures in humans. She tried a number of things but about six months ago the seizures stopped. Last summer was a bad flea year in Georgia but a strange outcome came to light. in more than one case, dogs kept indoors and given Frontline treatment often got infested while untreated outdoor dogs often did not. One owner even kept his treated indoor dog in the outdoor run with the other two during most days yet the untreated dogs didn't get fleas from the treated dog. I had left my dog outdoors with a trainer for six weeks and she forgot to treat the dog because she doesn't treat her ten dogs, but it came back without fleas. So I stopped treating my dogs and have not had fleas. The lady with the dog with seizures also stopped treating her three dogs and coincidentally this is when the seizures stopped. Bear in mind this is only a coincidence it does not prove that Frontline causes seizures but I believe there is a rule to not give it Ivermectin to white-footed breeds such as collies. Both Frontline and Ivermectin are broad spectrum insecticides so if one can cause canine neurological problems it would imply that caution is required with any material of this kind until it is proven otherwise. It is something else to try.


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## nmichave (Feb 24, 2011)

My Jack Russell, 13 years old, had one seizure and then 2 nights later had a cluster siezure. I feared brain tumor as well, but he was diagnosed with a stroke. He is now on phenobarbital and has recovered nicely. He is now blind though, but I have read that dogs eventually do fine without sight. The phenobarbital has kept siezures at bay so far. He was lucky in that he had a stroke in the part of the brain that does not control any major life threatening functions. He has lost alot of his personality though. Even at 13 he still acted like a puppy, but no longer is as playful. He was good about using pee pads but that has gone away now. But other than that, he seems happy and has a good quality of life. I hope your situation improves and your best friend remains a happy dog.


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