Possible Heat Stroke? Our Frenchie Questions

Discussion in 'French Bulldog' started by KellyJoanne, Jan 30, 2022.

  1. KellyJoanne

    KellyJoanne New Member

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    Possible Heat Stroke? Our Frenchie

    Hi guys, I’m new to this forum and just after advice or if anyone else has experienced similar.

    Our gorgeous Deli changed over night. Been to Vets twice and so far have been pretty useless so back again on Monday.

    We noticed that she started sitting on her bed and staring at the wall, panting, shaking and disoriented, last few days, not as bad but is up and down. When she comes inside she is confused on where her bed is. She is eating and drinking normally. Temp check was normal. She has lost her playfulness and just looks blank.

    I was thinking heat stroke as we have had terrible humidity, she doesn’t show all the classic signs such as red tongue, bruising on skin…anyone experienced similar?
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  3. Queensland blue

    Queensland blue Member

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    Hi , I have had dogs get hot here in the tropics never severe heat stroke, though it is common among the many hunting dogs here .
    What you described could be that or could be something else , it is difficult to know for anyone here , though the heat definitely gives dogs a frazzled brain .


    Here is what the rspca here in north queensland australia says about it .
    https://www.rspcaqld.org.au/blog/pet-care/heatstroke-staying-cool

    i think the small dogs can experience the heat and it knocks them around too , plus different breeds are not designed for it , where some others are .

    my dogs will dig a hole in the shade , under a house , a tree , etc and naturally know how to deal with it .

    it is very dangerous for a dog which has severely overheated , so if its the aftermath your talking about , and not just ongoing discomfort of bettering the situation , then you need the vet .

    hunters give things like electrolytes in their water , and while hot lying in very overly cold water restricts their ability to cool down also , as it can constrict vessels which need to stay open to disperse the heat .so a no no.

    having a pool for them is good though , not icy .
  4. KellyJoanne

    KellyJoanne New Member

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    Thank you for your info, much appreciated. Both time at vets with no elevated temp and she has lots of water, comes inside for cooling as well…got me stumped…hopefully we will find out more after a vet visit again tomorrow…
  5. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    It sounds like it could be seizures. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to diagnose unless you actually see one in progress.
  6. KellyJoanne

    KellyJoanne New Member

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    Thank you, yes certainly a possibility
  7. CaroleC

    CaroleC Member

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    I must admit that some kind of neurological event was the first thing I thought of too.
  8. Chris B

    Chris B Member

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    My first thought was seizures. Is she aware when you try to distract her when she is in one of the episodes? Keep a diary of what happens on the build up to an episode and, if possible, take a video to show your vet
  9. KellyJoanne

    KellyJoanne New Member

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    Toedtoes likes this.
    Yep you are right, video is the way to go as went to vets tonight for third time and they took bloods, temp again etc and nothing, even they are stumped so what hope do we have!…she seems to slightly improve and then takes a step back, but seems a little brighter today…guess it’s watch, video and wait…everything crossed!
  10. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    You really want to put her on a "48 hour suicide watch" so to speak. Don't let her out of your sight for a single minute, so you can see exactly what happens right before she becomes confused.

    If she goes outside, you go outside with her, etc.

    Identifying if she is having seizures just identifies the symptoms and cause of the confusion, etc. WHY she is having seizures could be caused by a variety of things, including heat stroke.
  11. Chris B

    Chris B Member

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    Epilepsy. unfortunately. doesn't need a trigger. One minute fine, the next in full seizure mode. Hopefully. this isn't the case with this little one, but the starting at the wall etc does match the symptoms

    The suggested diary is more to help the vet with diagnosis
  12. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    I agree on the diary. The problem with seizures is that there can be an underlying cause (cancer, neurological damage, injury, etc) or not (epilepsy). And frenchies with their large number of common health issues have more potential causes than most dogs.

    The vet may not be able to determine an underlying cause, but the more information you can provide about when the episodes start, where the dog is and what she is doing, etc, the more they should be able to eliminate certain causes.
  13. Malka

    Malka Member

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    That is exactly what happened with my beloved Pereg. When she had the first seizure she was asleep on the bed cuddled up to me, and suddenly she went straight into a major Grand Mal seizure. And apart from the times that she had a GM in the middle of the night, which obviously woke me, I saw it happen every time she had one during the day. One minute she was as normal as ever and then in the blink of an eye she crashed straight into one.
  14. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    My Bat-dog just suddenly had mini seizures, but there was the underlying cause of a brain tumor. So while the seizures weren't triggered by anything, there was a definitive cause for them.
  15. Helidale

    Helidale Member

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    @Toedtoes Merry's seizures were not typical, and for the same reason. No frothing or incontinence, just a distorted right handed rigor running from her mouth to her hind leg. She would try to run to me when she felt it taking hold. All I could do was hold her close on the floor until she relaxed. Poor girl didn't understand what was happening to her.
  16. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    Yeah. With Bat-dog, it affected her back legs. After the first mini-seizure, she got a bit wobbly on the back legs. Two days later, she couldn't stand on them at all. It was heartbreaking to watch.

    When I adopted my Dog-bird (Amazon parrot), his prior owner said he would sometimes fall off his perch while sleeping. It happened soon after I brought him home and it was actually mini-seizures. He had one every 1 to 2 weeks. He'd lose his balance and one side would go rigid (his wing would droop and hang). It would take several minutes for his to wing to return to normal and then he'd regain balance. It was sad to watch.

    I had gotten him a cage that opened at the top and a variety of perches, and he started moving around a lot more (the prior owner kept him in his cage and he sat on the one perch 24-7). The arthritis in his feet eased, he lost weight (he was fat), and his mini-seizures decreased to once every several months. There was never any cause determined - other than potentially his lack of exercise and high fat diet (he had only ate a seed diet for years).
  17. KellyJoanne

    KellyJoanne New Member

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    Thank you for all the feedback, most appreciated. She’s a little better altho still is not the same girl, far from it. She has trouble processing commands and takes a while at times to go from one place to another; the simplest things like calling her to come inside. She will sit all confused at first and go to come inside and just hesitate. Sometimes we gently pick her up and bring her in then she will just click and go to her bed.We just need to give her time and be patient with her. She could also sleep inside all night but now she has started to toilet inside, thank goodness for floorboards! Time will tell, we are hopeful, it’s so unfair, Deli is so gentle and sweet!
  18. Malka

    Malka Member

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    Possibly I have missed it but have you told us how old your girl is?
  19. Chris B

    Chris B Member

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    Good point. We've all assumed a younger dog without thinking to ask
  20. Malka

    Malka Member

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    Chris, my first thought was age-related dementia but seizures were mentioned and it carried on from there. It was the latest message from @KellyJoanne that brought that thought back into my mind, so I read the thread again to see if I had missed the age of the dog. When I could not see it I thought it best to ask.
  21. KellyJoanne

    KellyJoanne New Member

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    She is 7…

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