Hello, I own a toy poodle "Sophie" who is 3 1/2 years old. She has developed over the last 9 months a episode of abnormal twitching starting with her back left leg and it appears she is itching the left side of her face. In the last 6 weeks her episodes have increased 4 - 6 times a day. One trigger is the cleaning around her left eye. She has had several blood tests that have come out normal and I followed up with her breeder to see if I could find any information that might suggest what's going on, there is no history. She had her worst episode today in which her front legs locked together and her head was jarred sideways. She has never lost consciousness. Thes episodes last about 5 - 10 seconds and she shakes briefly afterwards. All episodes seem to affect only the left side of her body, and she has never lost her bowel or bladdder. They happen at different times during the day. She is eating well, drinks plenty of water and plays with our other animals. She sleeps throught the night as well. I am taking her tomorrow to a specialist, I would appreciate if anyone has experienced this in their poodle to let me know. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Answers

Sophie

Years ago I had a Cocker Spaniel who had epilepsy. Sophie sounds as if she 'might' have this. I say might because of course be it could be something entirely different. My dog's spells were much more severe, but he lived for several years with a daily dose of phenobarbital. Now, there are probably many more treatments for this. If you've already seen a specialist, you know by now what is wrong. I have a toy poodle now who is 13 and starting about 3 years ago has had FIVE breast cancer operations. The last one about a month ago included spaying because the vet found infection in her uterus. She is blind in both eyes and has glaucoma in one eye, but still is happy and active and eats very well. These little poodles are tough.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001