Need Help with Strange & Concerning Behaviour Please!

[Mindy & Lucy]

I'm not even sure how to explain this but have scoured the internet, been to the vet and am now seeing an animal chiropractor but still can't seem to get to the bottom of this concerning issue.

We have a female mini Labradoodle who turned 2 in October. We got her from a breeder who got her from another breeder, the second breeder was going to use her for her own breeding but decided her frame was too small. By the time we got her, she was 4 months old and seemingly healthy. We got her spayed before she turned 1 and have been feeding her good quality kibble.

This past summer we moved from the big city to the outskirts of a smaller city, more less in the country. Our Lucy has been loving it and the new dog park we've been bringing her to as well. A few months ago, Lucy began waking in the middle of the night (she was sleeping in her own bed in our room at the time) and running around and banging into walls and our bed, acting scared. She would look around her like she was seeing things and would be hard to console. This would last a few minutes and happen a couple times a week. I should back up a bit and mention that she was on a steroid in the summer for an infection on her feet that was thought to be an allergic issue. THIS is actually when we started noticing the strange behaviour and called the vet who advised although she had never heard of this kind of reaction in dogs to a steroid, we could stop giving it to her. She seemed to slowly improve. Then it started up again. We took her back to the vet, a different fellow this time - someone who we don't normally see and doesn't really know Lucy. He didn't pay much attention to her behaviour (which was now occurring during the day as well) and focused on the allergy issue and recommended we put her on a vet prescription diet (Hill's??). We decided to switch her diet to raw and took her to an animal chiropractor who said she had adrenal fatigue (makes sense based on everything we knew up until then) and gave us homeopathic medicine for her. She did indeed improve and in fact seem to be free of this problem. Then she started throwing up. Mostly acid, no food. Just a lot of coughing and wretching. Chiropractor said she had liver issues and gave us another medicine. We started giving that to her just last week and the vomiting issue seems gone except her episodes are back worse than ever before!!

I called the chiropractor this morning but he was busy and on his way to catch a plane and will be away for a week. He told the secretary to give us another remedy, this one to calm her. Also, to watch for "triggers" of her behaviour: who's the alpha in the house? Are we making her sit before she goes outside or is she allowed to jump everywhere? Does she jump all over when it's meal time or does she wait quietly for her food? Does she have these episodes when we're ignoring her (for attention)? I just don't understand what this has to do with anything. She will be fine and then all of a sudden crouch close to the ground while skootching around and hovering close to walls, cabinets, or our legs. She will paw at the air, her face/eyes/ears and look around her like she can see something that's not there. I once thought it could be an ear infection or eye issue but it doesn't seem to be the case. Also thought of dementia but she's only two years old!!

I'm at a complete loss. Just don't know where to turn. Anyone have a similar experience or have suggestions? We're running out of money with all the raw food, regular chiropractic visits and remedies...we don't mind spending money on our precious pooch but want to do it for something that will actually help her and get to the root of this issue.

I've attached a video of how she acts just before an episode, you can see a bit of it in the clip as well. There is no foaming of the mouth or anything like that...I've look up seizures and this doesn't appear to be it.

Hoping for some help...thanks so much for taking the time to read!

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[Mindy & Lucy]

Thanks Ricki and Tara! I appreciate your sensitivity to our desire to try to keep her treatment as holistic as possible. I'm wondering if she might still be experiencing a reaction to the steroids as I realize she was taking them at the end of September and her episodes have been sporadic.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don,t these continuing episodes have anything to do with steroids that were discontinued in Sept.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I suppose anything is possible but I honestly have  no experience with steroids. As with most things though each individual can react differently to each substance they ingest. So maybe the steroids didn't resonate with her uniqueness.

[Shari Becker]

HI Mindy,

It all sounds very upsetting and frightening, and I'm sorry your pup is struggling.

I'm quite committed to giving my dog holistic care and I also feed commercial raw. (And yes, it is extremely expensive. And yes, it can be helpful for some dogs with underlying issues, like itchy coats or chronic yeasty ears, like my doodle.)

All that said, if my dog were acting out like this, I would want to see a doctor. You could certainly see a holistic vet, but I would see a trained vet who won't think twice about running tests when tests need to be done or giving meds when meds need to be given. I have a holistic vet who, for example, gave my dog antibiotics for a UTI, but also prescribed an immune boosting supplement and probiotics after the meds. That feels like the right balance of East and West to me.

I don't want to sound dramatic, but if this were a child - and not a dog - you would likely start with your pediatrician? And possibly then see some specialists.

Doodles, according to my trainer and vet, are extremely sensitive and smart dogs. So they can react very emotionally at times. My dog throws up in the middle of the night if she gets scared, esp. when we are visiting my parents. (They just LOVE that!) So if there is nothing medically wrong, is it possible your dog is reacting to the stress of the move or experiencing anxiety? (My friend's cat needed to be put on anti-anxiety meds after moving to a new house because the stress was so great. And they could never get her off them. It was like the move triggered some panic in her.)

All this to say, clearly you love your dog and want to do what's best for her. I would be beside myself if I were in your shoes. In the interest of your own sanity and your wallet (holistic care is expensive!), I'd go to a real vet and have a full workup done so that you can get answers. Whatever the outcome, you can choose to supplement the medical care with holistic care, but at least you may uncover the source cause. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think this is such good advice. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I agree with this advice too.  Have your vet run a complete set of tests?  I have no idea how a chiropractor could diagnose adrenal fatigue or a liver disorder (?)  If the blood tests show nothing - perhaps a neurological specialist should be consulted.I had an fear experience similar to this with Finn when we were recently traveling and it's like they are seeing ghosts. You really want to help them and you don't know how.  In our case, we have not been able to uncover any physical cause but his behavior is thankfully back to normal. 

[Kimberly Park]

Hi. I'm unable to play video but check out vestibular in dogs. It's an inner ear issue. It can cause various symptoms and be misdiagnosed. Like I said I may be way off considering I can't see video but my dog had it and it was after all other tests came back that it was diagnosed. I hope your pup gets better.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I would also try to get video of the actual episodes so that the vet can truly see what you see. I would also try to keep a diary of when the episodes happen with a short blurb of the preceding event, again so the vet can 'see' what you see. Time, where dog was (what room), what dog was doing just prior, what household was doing just prior.  Doing this might help you to see a pattern.  There could be some outside happenings in the country that she can sense, smell, hear, that are very different from the city she has been in.  We expect a dog who has never heard garbage trucks, traffic noises, tons of people, to be anxious, but the silence of where you are now, may not be silent to her - predators outside (coyotes, owls, wolves, etc) may make her nervous. I may have missed your point but perhaps my thoughts will trigger some creative causes realistic to your new home.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Awhile back I did a lot of reading about neurological issues in some dogs

Could you look in that direction? Some Seizures do not present themselves as ' typical'. In dogs there have been descriptions as fly biting--looking or snapping at the air and things that are not there.  There is cocker rage ( not likely here) where the dog suddenly becomes fearful, lunges at things with aggression and bites it, while a few minutes later they are just fine and act like nothing is happening.   A  lot of other seizure related symptoms out there.  I just named a few that I could remember.  And again, I was just reading. If it doesn't seem right--its not. So, time to find some answers

For your dog's sake, get another opinion. Even if it is not the holistic road you might want to take, seek out an internist/Vet that will look in a direction that has not been taken yet.  She needs you to think outside that box right now

[Ginny Nightingale]

OK--I agree that this needs some expert advice--it could easily be neurological--but I am also going to add another idea--that it could be her vision--perhaps night blindness or floaters in her eyes. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon--must be very upsetting!!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Ginny - You are correct, another reason for this could have to do with her vision.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

I may be off base but I would see a neurologist - I think what you are describing are complex focal seizures.  Many times we don't recognize a seizure as it is not typical.  I don't think the steroids or her diet has anything to do with the problem.