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Old June 3rd, 2009, 12:23 PM
MarieSkye MarieSkye is offline
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Mini Schnauzer, STRANGE behavior

Hello, my name is Marie and I have a 5 year old mini schnauzer named Abby. She has always been a little quirky and weird but I always thought it was cute until recently I realized that it could be a serious problem.

Ever since we got her she has always been very weak. She does not hold herself up entirely and she slumps down when she walks. She sometimes drags her back legs and when she gets really excited to see people, she will collapse and roll onto her back.

I have also realized that she is constantly staring at the floor. Its not like she is looking for something, but more like she is sad, and in a depressive trance or something. I have 2 other dogs around Abbys age and whenever I am giving the others attention, she will stare at the floor until i start petting her, and when i do begin petting her she will get excited for a few seconds then continue to stare at the floor. She is a very energetic dog, and she loves attention.

Abby has had health problems all her little life. She was diagnosed with epilepsy and she will sometimes have these spells where she will get really spacey and sick for a few days and do nothing but lay down. During these spells she can barely walk and just wants to be alone (which is not anything like Abby). We take her to the vet everytime, and last time it happened ( a few months ago) they were worried that her kindeys were failing. Luckily she snapped back into shape in a couple days and hasn't had a sell since.

I was wondering if her strange behavior (staring at the floor, collapsing, etc) was something I should be worried about, or if it is just her personalty. Ther two other dogs I have a boys, so I thought it just might be a dominance thing, because the boys will always growl at her whenever she tries to get close to people. Im not sure what it could be, but now that I think about it I am very worried about her.
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Old June 3rd, 2009, 03:27 PM
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LavenderRott LavenderRott is offline
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Has your vet ever done a complete medical work-up with blood tests and such?

Honestly - my very first thought is cardiac but I am not a vet and could very well be wrong. When she has these weakness "spells" or when she is doing the whole staring at the floor thing - does she pant?

I think I would start with a complete medical work-up. You might want to do a little research online and see what genetic issues are common in the breed and see if any of them sound like what she has so that you have some specific questions to ask your vet.
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Old June 3rd, 2009, 04:35 PM
kandy kandy is offline
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The dragging of the back legs could also indicate a serious spinal or neurological problem. I would agree that an in-depth exam, including blood work, is needed. Is she being treated for the epilepsy? The staring at the floor behavior is consistent with seizures. Of course if her heart is bad, then it wouldn't be supplying the oxygen that she needs and that would cause fatigue and loss of appetite among other things.

It sounds like Abby does have some medical issues going on. I hope that you are able to get some answers for her.
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