Anxiety attacks?

[Love That Collie]

I would try a second opinion myself.

Bailey gets sinus attacks, which in no way mimick a human sinus attack.
My vet didn't know what to say except, "Must be a food allergy", which is what most vet's comments are when they don't have a definitive answer, they say to change the food. She observed him in her office for about 5 hours nothing....yep, change the food.....no I didnt' change the food because I KNEW it wasn't his food. So, I take him to another vet and LO and BEHOLD.........I tell the vet the symptoms, he looks him over,the vet looks at me without blinking an eye and he says, "he's got a sinus infection". I say, "oh, you've seen this before?", the vet says, "sure have, a lot of dogs and other animals in this valley get this and I see this very often." He gave Bailey a shot, gave 2 prescriptions and we were all set and on our way. Now, when I see the symptoms appearing I give him his medicine and he's good to go. BTW, his meds are over the counter human meds. From Bailey's symptoms I would never have guessed that it was sinus related. Bailey's regular vet was not in agreement when she got the report from the other vet but I can tell you what........Bailey hasn't had another occurrance since May or June and we are now in a big sinus infection season here because of our unusually warm fall/winter (more like early Spring weather).
Please get another opinion.

[Taz_Zoee]

You know what, I think the next time it happens (hopefully it won't be in the middle of the night) I will have Bruce take her to another vet. I really like my vet I have now, but totally understand about getting a second opinion.
Thank you for the suggestions.

[BOBS DAD]

I am afraid that your dog may in fact be suffering from epileptic seizures. Sounds pretty symptomatic of the disease. See Attached:
How do I recognize a seizure?
Seizures can be very subtle or very obvious, depending on the dog and the circumstances. Any abnormal behavior that is out of character for your dog and that appears to be neurological in nature, could be considered a seizure. Seizure activity may be very different than what you would normally expect, i.e.: a dog that falls over, jerking or paddling its limbs. Quite the contrary, a seizure can be something a subtle as a dog becoming disconnected for a moment and then suddenly snapping back to reality or a dog whose pupils dilate and who suddenly starts salivating for no apparent reason. All of these things should be a source of concern and should be monitored for increased occurrence or for more severe symptoms. If you suspect your dog may be having subtle seizures, discuss the circumstances with your vet, or make an appointment with a veterinary neurologist to get a more accurate assessment.

Seizures occur in several distinct stages:
The Prodome - may precede the seizure by hours or days. It is characterized by changes in mood or behavior.
The Aura - signals the start of the seizure. Signs include restlessness, nervousness, whining, trembling, salivation, affection, wandering, hiding, hysterical running, and apprehension.
The Ictus, the actual seizure - a period of intense physical activity usually lasting 45 seconds to 3 minutes. The dog may lose consciousness and fall to the ground. There may be teeth gnashing, frantic thrashing of limbs, excessive drooling, vocalizing, paddling of feet, uncontrollable urination and defecation.
The Post Ictus/Ictal - occurs after the seizure, and may be the only sign of epilepsy the owner sees, particularly since many seizures occur at night or early in the morning. For minutes to days after the seizure, the dog may be confused, disoriented, restless, or unresponsive, or may appear blind and deaf and eat or drink excessively. At this stage the animal is conscious but not functional.

The Canine Epilepsy Network site has some short video clips in their "Canine Epilepsy Basics" section that can you can view to see what a seizure sometimes looks like.

from http://www.ashgi.org/aussiegenes/concerned.htm#3

This is very common among Aussies. You may want to "watch the videos" to see if they resemble your girl's behavior.

[BOBS DAD]

http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/basics/basics_index.html

if this sounds like your experience, you may want to get another opinion from a another vet.

[mike001]

it does sound like a seizure, but the dog isn't incontinent which is one of the surest signs. Hard to tell without another diagnosis. If it is seizure activity, it could be caused by low blood sugar, don't know if your vet checked this or not. A complete blood profile would be in order I would think.
Also, bee or wasp stings can cause this for long periods, especially the salivating. The stinger could have gotten lodged in the nose and caused a small cyst or in the throat also.
In any case I would have the dog checked out again.
Is there any way the dog could have gotten into some kind of insecticide? This will also cause similar symptoms.

[Taz_Zoee]

Bob's Dad: Thank you for all of this info. I didn't realize that was even out there. I am going to continue to research this. I seriously hope this is not what Zoee has. Bruce is in denial at the moment. He doesn't want to admit that they might be seizures she is having, since ALL of the symptoms do not pertain to her. But I am going to investigate further and see if there is a specialist near us. She is not even two years old yet.....why does she have to go through this??
Granted they are not very often, but I'm afraid if I don't figure out what it is now it will become worse, quickly.

Mike001: Bruce took her to the vet and the paper work only states "Blood Profile Major (canine)". I knew I should have stayed home and taken her to the vet myself. I guess I could call them and ask more questions on what exactly they tested. I would think an extensive blood test would take a day or two to get the results back. I am going to call tomorrow.
And there are no insecticides she could have gotten into, unless someone threw something over the fence....our back fence does connect to the park.

She appears to be back to her normal happy self today. Like nothing ever happened.

Again, thank you for taking time to help me figure out what is going on with my baby girl. I truly do appreciate it. I knew I could count on fellow PTers to help.

[Rachel]

Cindy, your thread was very helpful to me as my Tucker has had some strange episodes which start out with trembling, then hiding in a very tight dark place (I could barely find him) and ending with his being confused as if he were deaf or blind. When the episode was over, he is back to normal. I suspected these episodes might be epileptic in nature and after reading the info from Bob's Dad, I even more convinced.