My Weimaraner has wobbly legs & seizures. Is a heart echo needed?

Poor Alfie! It can be very difficult in some cases to distinguish syncope from epilepsy based on how the dog looks during a collapsing episode, because both problems can look very similar. Syncope is caused by a heart problem - occasionally we can see it with congestive heart failure, but most often it's due to a cardiac arrhythmia. Sometimes we can hear an abnormality in the heart beat during the exam, but not always - sometimes it only occurs during a fainting episode, which can make it hard to diagnose. Some tests that may be helpful at this stage would include chest x-rays and an ECG. If these are normal and the diagnosis is still uncertain, a device called an event monitor can be used to actually record an ECG during an episode - this would give a definitive answer.

Yes, this sounds like seizure activity. Unfortunately at her age if she is just now starting to have seizures that is not a good thing. Seizures starting at her age are usually indicative of an underlying brain lesion. I would recommend you take her in to your vet for an examination and some bloodwork. In the meantime, monitor her closely and if it happens again I would video tape the episode so you can show it to your vet. I hope this helps. Best wishes to you and Lily.

Poor girl. The fact that she is wobbly and running into things, means that this is likely neurological. I would definitely have her seen by your vet right away for a thorough examination and brief neuro exam to see if we can find the underlying cause for this. One common cause for these types of sudden neurological symptoms in older dogs is vestibular disease, which can be caused by an inner ear infection, a brain tumor, or idiopathic (no underlying cause found). Idiopathic vestibular disease is the most common one we see and typically can improve on its own within a few weeks time with supportive care through your vet. I hope that things work out well for your pet Molly moving forward. Best wishes and take care!

It sounds like Bella may either have a problem with her heart causing her to tire easily or she may have a problem with her lower spine causing her to be painful in the back end and her legs to sway. Unfortunately neither of these could be diagnosed with blood tests. Radiographs or even advanced imaging such as echocardiography or MRI would be needed to determine what might be going on here. You may want to consider a consultation with a veterinary neurologist and/or cardiologist. You can find one in your area on www.acvim.org.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would need to ask a bunch more questions and would be happy to do a consultation if you’d like but let me give you a few ideas. 1) be sure it’s not heart- Fainting spells can look a lot like seizures. Consider a cardiology consult to make sure it’s not that. They’ll do an EKG and ultrasound of the heart to make sure nothing is amiss. 2) weird fungal diseases- I’m from Arizona, land of valley fever - a fungal disease that can - and often does- cause seizures. Other fungi like Blastomycosis and Histoplasmosis can do similar things. If Bella has traveled out of Texas- even for just a day or two- these are considerations. 3) Bella is simply an atypical epileptic and needs more/different medication. Just like in people, it can sometimes take some time to find the right combination of drugs to get the seizures controlled. 4) weird drug interactions- double check especially about any anti-anxiety or behavior modification medications and pain medications. 5) hypothyroidism, tick fever, other weird stuff. If you’ve done an MRI, you may have already consulted with a neurologist. If not? That would be the next step along with the cardiologist visit. Best of luck to you and Bella!

I'm sorry to hear that Paddington has not been feeling well. An electrolyte imbalance with a low sodium to potassium ratio occurs most commonly with Addison's disease, but can also occur with kidney diseases or due to medications. I agree with your vet that performing an ACTH stimulation test to rule Addison's disease in or out is quite important. Addison's disease is referred to as the "great pretender" because its clinical signs can be quite subtle in many cases. Exercise intolerance and panting are most concerning for heart disease. I would also recommend asking your vet if chest x-rays could be performed to evaluate the size of Paddington's heart as well as the overall appearance of his lungs and blood vessels. Not every heart disease shows significant changes on an EKG. You may need to consider taking Paddington to a veterinary cardiologist to perform an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) to assess the heart's function and ability to effectively contract. I hope that all goes well!

It's a bit hard to say, but this sounds like seizure activity, especially with the periods of confusion you're describing after the episodes occur. In a 4 year old dog I'd be concerned about epilepsy, although other possibilities such as a poisoning and brain tumors should be considered as well. Roscoe needs to see his vet ASAP in order to find out what is going on, and start treatment. If these are seizures, the longer they go undiagnosed and uncontrolled, the more likely he will have one that he won't come out of. Get him seen ASAP.