[Gingerpuppy]

Our 12wk old bright smart as a whip puppy went out in the backyard and came in several minutes later with "chewing gum fits" and foaming x the mouth. We rushed her to ER VET. Started on IV's and Valium. cont having seizures and circling for about 24 hours off and on. Started on phenobarb. She defacated a branchy plant material-the first nite- as our vet took her home w\her for around the clock care. We have heavenly bamboo in our backyard- so they (after I filed a case w\ the ASPCA.org poison control) have determined that this may be the cause. But they have not ruled out distemper She has had not previous symptoms prior to the seizure\chewing\foaming. Has not been sick at all. We have her home tonight- and she is still on phenobarb. Totally not herself. continuosly circling- will eat and smell and urinate while on leash. But I am scared that this is permanent neuro damage. Has had no seizure activit since this a.m. I know the parents- and they may have not had all of their immunizations. She has had two so far. Her last dose was 1-7-08. Have also read about the vaccine giving the pets distemper We only have a cat (21 YOA) and we kept her away from other animals. Any info u can share is appreciated. What about a spider bite? The chewing scares me- and now the circling. I keep coming back to distemper when I research on the web. Can pheno cause these side effects. Vets are being vague with us. Thank you! Ginger's family.

[Daveyo]

Listen to me here. To confirm Acute Distemper, you have to have this test done, and make a few phone calls to find out if the vet does the test before running around. Ok.

The very best test for rapidly diagnosing ACUTE distemper is to do what is called a brush border smear of the cells of the inside lining of the bladder. These cells ALWAYS have inclusions. So, easy to collect, easy to stain (quick dip) and instantly diagnosed with inclusions in these cells. If present then Distemper. If not then something else.

Phenobarb is good against seizures. Basically it slows down the electrical signals so the seizures get under control. When the electrical signals go out of control hence the seizure. Don't know what dose your giving your dog, but start 16mg every 12 hours for now. You have to be careful of pheno as it is addicting too, and when dogs are taken off of the meds they can get withdrawal seizures. So the phase out is very slow and it should be fine.

More likely in your case it is vaccine induced distemper. Sorry to tell you this. Some dogs are vulnerable to this problem.

Find yourself some NDV fast. Newcastles Disease Virus Vaccine, and when you get it from any poultry agriculture store, be sure to keep it refrigerated. Then find a VET willing to do the CSF tap and inject the vaccine into the CNS. You can find my post here on the procedure. If you cannot find it let me know. It is under the forum of topic Canine Distemper - Peer to Peer- For any cases of Confirmed Distemper. Scroll down to find it. Print it out and give it to the VET. Instead of 0.1cc of the vaccine go 0.2cc. Have the VET save some CSF fluid (BEFORE INJECTION) so you can get it tested in some lab for specific Distemper Antibodies. Don't throw it away. So make sure the VET puts 0.2cc of NDV and not 0.1cc as he or she does the CSF tap. Upping the dose here so it gets to the brain area faster and making it stronger against the Distemper Antibodies. The tap MUST BE DONE AT THE FORAMEN MAGNUM at the base of the skull where the cord stem resides close to the brain.

Since the dog has hit the neuro stage your odds are 50-50. If this vaccine works it will save the dog, and stops the mess of C-4 cell destruction which is causing demyelination. Only time will tell. Usually to do this is before any seizure occurs which definitely will save the dog. So it is worth a try in your particular case. If not the dog will expire eventually from the seizures. Death is usually within 14 days from onset. If you inject this, it will take minimum of 36 hours for it to become effective. Like I said 50-50 here. If it works the dog will live and hopefully the seizures stop long enough so the dog can recover. If not you passed that thresh hold and it is way too late.

Let me know what happens.