My Simon dogger's having some problems

[Horsefeathers!]

I didn't know whether to put this in health, care, training, behavior, or where, so since it's a combination of things, I put it here.

Simon is our Schnauzer. He's estimated to be about 8ish years old, but it's anyone's guess as to how old he really is. He was picked up several years ago as a stray.

He's acting really funny lately. A couple of weeks ago, he had gone outside and when he came back in, he was jerking and twitching and bothering at one of his feet. Closer inspection showed a bit of an irritated spot between his toes like maybe he'd gotten into some ants. I doctored it and it's fine. About the same time this happened, he started acting... odd. He's always been an outside loving dog, but lately he almost refuses to go. We figured that maybe he was "traumatized" by whatever irritated his foot, but it really wasn't that bad. He's had worse sores and problems than that and survived.

I'm beginning to wonder if the foot thing was just coincidental and maybe Simon is having some more serious problems. He has also started acting like he really doesn't want to be bothered. He's usually right in the middle of things, but lately he stays under the bed, or if the bedroom door is closed, he squirrels away in a corner under an end table.

Simon is, for the most part, my husband's dog. That dog cannot stand for my husband to be in one part of the house or yard and Simon stuck somewhere else. He'll howl and scream and whine until they are "reunited." To say he is extremely fond of my husband is an understatement. Now, keeping that in mind, something happened a few nights ago that we don't understand. Simon was lying near my husband's feet and raised his head and began screaming like a dog would if you stepped on its tail or paw. He was screaming like something was on him. Hubby looked down there and tried to see what was wrong and Simon bit him! It was like he (Simon) didn't know who my husband was. Simon has never, ever, ever been a biter and we can't imagine him biting ANYONE, but especially not my husband. No fear biting, no socialization issues, none of that. He was either having some sort of "episode" or something unknown to us was hurting him, though there was nothing near him to bother him.

Simon has always had some skin problems and itchiness. We've mostly been able to control it, but he has outbreaks of itchiness from time to time, worst in the Spring. I was buzzing Simon down tonight and noticed he has splotches of hair loss all over his body! No sores, just hair loss. His skin also feels funny... like little old man skin, thin and frail.

Simon is also acting like he sees something. He just raises his head and follows "something" on the ceiling and walls. It's like he sees something we don't see. He's done this in the past very occasionally, but he's constantly doing it now.

I know it's time to consult with the vet, but does anyone have any ideas of something I could ask about? I don't know whether to think he may have Cushing's, or maybe he's just way older than we originally thought and he's just getting senile, or cancer (Schnauzers are so prone to cancer, so it makes me paranoid), or what may be going on. He still eats good, bowel and bladder activity are normal, and he doesn't act like he's hurting when we manipulate him to try to find pain. I'm absolutely stumped. Anything that I could specifically ask the vet about?

Thanks. :(

[StarFox]

Hmm maybe it's some type of seizure?? :-? I'm not sure, but I hope you can find out whatever is making him act funny and get the proper care for it. Hope he didn't bite your Hubby to bad.

[gooeydog]

Could his eyesight be going? That might explain his not wanting to go outside, staring at the ceiling, and his being spooked when your husband leaned over to him. I'd have him checked out by his vet when you can, just to see if there's some physcial reason for him doing this.

[mouseatthebusstop]

print out what you have wrote for us and give it to the vet
it does sound worrying and the sooner he's checked out the better

[Canis erectus]

I was going to suggest visual problems too, and cushing and cancer are definate concerns. You might want to add potential back (spinal) problems on your list of things to ask about, something like a pinched disk.

At any rate good luck to you, hope you find out whats going on with the little guy.

[BuddysMom]

How is Simon doing? Update?

I'm no expert but did have my older dog Puppy slip into senility very quickly, over the span of 1-2 weeks we were losing her fast. During this time she even bit my husband. She had less and less interest in us and what she loved.

Took her to the vet, had to deal with the "alternate" because her regular vet was out of town. Was told it was old age and really nothing I could do. I counldn't accept that so I researched sor hours that day and found out about Anipryl, recently approved for senility (and longtime used for cushings). Called the vet back (same day) and requested a prescription. Though they said it may not work at all or if so would probably take 1-4 weeks to see anything, we saw results in 2 days and had our Puppy back mentally almost 100 percent from a week later until she died of other causes almost 1 year later.

Just to let you know, if that's what it is there's hope (and I'd love to see an update).

[courtnek]

my foxhound has some of the same issues. She startles easily, normal house noises make her bay, and she growls if she hears something and cant identify it immediatly. She has never bitten, but she does look confused when the "thing" that upset her has been identified. Her peripheral vision has issues. even though she is a hound with a fabulous nose, she still depends on her eyes for identification. my vet said she would be less startled if blind, because then she would have to depend on her nose for everything. so I would have visual checked as well. Since this started out in the yard, and she had foot sores, possibly some kind of venom insect? maybe wasps or hornets? He may have stepped on one
and freaked because he felt the pain without seeing the attacker.

good luck HF and best wishes to you and your pup.

[Horsefeathers!]

For now, Simon has had just a basic wellness exam. His vision doesn't seem diminished and there are no overt signs of illness, no fever, no parasites, nothing glaringly out of the ordinary. Of course, he stood right there for the vet with his "I don't know what her problem is, I'm fine" demeanor, making me look like a fool. The last couple of days have been good days and he's acting fairly normal. Court, Simon is not a nervous, timid dog, and has never been snappy or growly with anyone, ever, but rather a very friendly, outgoing guy (other than antagonizing other dogs :oops: ). It would have been easier to deal with if it were not something so far out of character for him.

I thought about the possibility of something really venomous getting him in the yard, but his foot never did look that bad. Just kind of red and rashy like a minor bite(s), but it wasn't way swollen like I would expect with a more serious bite/sting. It seemed pretty minor and healed pretty quickly. Maybe I should have had it looked at by the vet, but I've doctored way worse "injuries" here at home right in our own little first aid station. It just didn't seem that bad at the time. :oops:

We're just going to keep an eye on him and monitor to see if it gets worse, goes away, levels out or what. It'll be easier to keep check on his skin since I clipped him pretty short. It's still possible that he's older than we thought, so I reckon time will tell. If it doesn't seem better or gets worse soon, we'll have more extensive testing done, or if his hair loss and thin skin seems to spread (I'm so trying not to think Cushings). I'm kind of hoping he isn't starting up with a seizure disorder, either. We had an old dog a while back that began having similar mild episodes right before going into full blown grand mal seizures (that dog was also believed to have Cushings and was put on Anipryl). I will just have to watch for it.

Thanks. 8)

[gooeydog]

Could he have been bitten by ants? Just something else that came to mind....