Dog fainting episodes
Actually I am the breeder of Saint Bernard dogs and have been for about 6 years. My question involves a puppy who I placed at 7 weeks of age; he was the largest of the litter and absolutely had no problems from birth until last month(about 5months of age) when he had a fainting spell. His name is Brutis; he apparently was in the back seat of the car, with his chest and paws hanging over the front seat and he passed out(he had no collar on at the time), once they layed him on the ground he woke back up, no convulsions or anything else noted other than his eyes rolled back. He was brought to the vet, EKG and heart examination was normal, they called it a syncopal episode, but did not go into explanation what caused it. Well last week, at 6 months of age it happened again, at the vets office and it was witnessed. Brutis was extremely excited and stressed, pulling at his collar and did not want to be put on the scale, he then passed out, falling to the floor. His heartrate was taken immediately and they said it was normal and they are taking bloodwork. This episode does not last long, about 10 seconds and no convulsions, or stiffening of muscles. I, as the breeder, am very concerned about this and would like to know several things
1)what could be the actual cause of this if it is not related to his heart
2)are there any other tests/specific bloodwork that you would recommend we have done
3)can over excitement/stress or pulling on the leash cause this problem by itself, and if every other ailment is ruled out and this is a ‘vagal response’ as they called it at the vet, is this heriditary or a genetic condition? when I asked my vet he said that if all physical problems are ruled out, this may be more an individual problem than a genetic one. Absolutely none of my breeding saints have had heart problems, epilepsy, eye disorders, etc, so I am totally baffled about this situation.
Note : Dog health question from Ask A Vet. Click here for answer (answer available FREE for 24 hours after posting afterwhich you will need to pay $3.95 to view the answer). See other pet health questions.
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