# Help with Puppy episodes of ataxia?



## jlogan21 (Dec 8, 2011)

I have a 4 month old mix breed puppy. We think that she is a chihuahua mix. She weighs close to 6 pounds. On November 25, at about 10 am, she was sitting on a pillow and her head was bobbing, sort of just moving back and forth like she could not stop it. She was not looking side to side, just as though she could not keep her head still. Also, when standing she was sort of swaying and did not have great balance. She was also very lethargic, which is not usual for her, as she is very active. I got her a vet appt. 2:45 and by then she was fine. They ran some blood work and all of that came back normal. Then she had another episode on Tuesday, though it was not as pronounced and did not last as long. It started the same, and I was watching her closely because that morning she was very lethargic and just wanted to sleep when she usually is really active in the morning. Another trip to the vet showed all normal neurological responses and her blood work was fine, with just a slight elevated phosphorus level. I am very concerned as we just lost a chi/jack russel mix who was displaying the same signs, but she had hit her head so we thought that it was that. But the signs were the exact same, episodes of lethargy, head and body swaying, off balance, and the previous dog did vomit with her episodes, while our current puppy has only vomited with the first one. I cannot afford an MRI or the major tests like that so I am hoping that someone here with more experience than myself can please help. Sorry this is long, but I wanted to give as much detail as possible.
Thanks for looking!


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

How are her eating habits? If she eats something while looking shaky, does she perk up? I'm thinking low blood sugar (hyoglycemia). Make sure she eats something at least once every couple of hours and see if she improves.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Agree with the poster above. I'd try feeding at least 2 meals a day, with snacks in between.

Has the puppy been vaccinated fully (for Distemper)?


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## jlogan21 (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. Her eating habits are good. The first episode she had eaten in the morning and then symptoms started around 10am. The second time I am not sure if she ate or not. She has food in her crate but I do know that she did not eat anything once I let her out. Both times at the vet they did check her sugar and it was normal. She has had all of her shots.


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## LoveCWCs (Oct 21, 2011)

I don't think that Peter is a real poster, so I wouldn't pay attention to his odd comment. 

What are you feeding your dog, exactly? Could your dog have gotten into anything poisonous while you weren't looking? 

I would start keeping a journal of exactly when you noticed the dog behaving as such; before eating, after eating, after chewing a certain bone or toy or after exercising... Just any and all details you can think of. 

It honestly sounds like she's getting into something...

What does she drink from? Does she ever eat the poop of other animals? Is there a pond near by? What do you wash her dishes with? 

Are you all close to any kind of chemical plants?


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Even if her blood sugar is normal AT the vet's she could still be having episodes of hypoglycemia, it will usually rebound to normal by the time a puppy gets to the vet. So make sure she has small amounts to nibble frequently.

Having said that, with a chi mix I'd be worried about hydrocephalus, which I'm sure is also why your vet brought up MRIs.


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## jlogan21 (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks again for the ideas. The journal suggestion is something that I am going to try to implement! She eats Purina Puppy Chow. In the kitchen she has two small dog bowls, one for food and one for water. In her crate I have a water bottle and one of those bowls that hooks on to the side for her. I have searched the house and can't think of anything she would have gotten into and we keep all of our chemicals put away. When we take her out she is on a leash so we don't let her get into things outside and I am not aware of a pond anywhere near my home. Her dishes are washed with just dawn dish detergent. I am also making sure that she has food to nibble on between her meals. So far she has been find since the last episode, but the two episodes were 11 days apart and so far it has been 5 days, so we will see. Again, thank you all for the comments and suggestions!


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## jlogan21 (Dec 8, 2011)

Update on my puppy. So far, Missy has been doing well and we have not had any more episodes of her stumbling or head bobbing. Her vet has checked her out and we are now in a "monitoring" situation, as he puts it. One thing that I just wanted to pass along that he called me about after some research was jasmine toxicity. He said that it is rare but that it can cause similar symptoms that my dog was having. We don't have any jasmine plants but I had been using jasmine incense sticks in our home. I have stopped using them since then. I do not know if that had anything to do with it, but figured I would pass along that information. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will be ok. Thank you all for the replies and the suggestions!


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