My chihuaha puppy is hurt!!

[EluvmyMya]

When i was using the bathroom last night, i walked out in the living room to find my chi laying unconcsious on the floor. I immediatly assumed she was dead, i ran to her and slowly her eyes opened, then she got up on her front legs, and couldn't walk on her hind legs, after i got her a treat and made her walk to it she was walking around fine, but today she hasn't quite been as playful as she usually is and has been sleeping alot. I was just wondering what kind of things i need to watch for to take her to the vet. It's the 4th of july weekend and i couldnt exactly find an open vet where i live. I am just wondering if there are any signs i need to watch for and if she is going to be okay? any advice would be helpful. She is 14 weeks old.

[mallgirl12]

dog seizure symptoms
lose consciousness
falling to the ground
paralyzed, reluctant to move or can't stand up
shaking
excessive drooling
head drawn backward
teeth gnashing
frantic thrashing of limbs
vocalizing
paddling of feet
salivation
uncontrollable urination and defecation

Dog will be in prolonged seizure or status epilepticus (SE) if the seizures is not over within five minutes.

After the seizure ended your dog will have the following symptoms:


confusion
disorientation
temporary appear to be blind or deaf
eat or drink excessively
pacing
salivation
restlessness

[Jaybay]

I agree with pixie that it sounds like a seizure.  When a dog (or human for that matter) is status epileptic they tend to sleep for quite a while.  A seizure uses up a tremendous amount of energy and the recovery takes a lot longer than the seizure itself.

While seizures are frightening to witness, they don't do harm by themselves unless the seizing doesn't stop.  You need to find out why it happened in the first place.  When seizures begin at an early age, that generally means the dog will have them through the rest of his life.  Epilepsy is not a death sentence and in most cases can be well-managed with medication like phenobarbitol.

Make an appointment with your vet and discuss what testing might need to take place to rule out something truly nasty like a tumor or other brain lesion that may have caused the seizure.  It wouldn't surprise me one bit if your dog has completely normal xrays or other imaging studies.  

If your dog is still having trouble with her back legs, there could be a couple different reasons for that.  Either there is some kind of damage or disease process in the part of the brain that caused the seizure, or she has another injury from thrashing around during the seizure.  Whatever the case, you need a vet.  Hopefully you can find an open clinic today.  Most vet clinics have an outgoing phone message that tells there clients where to go in an emergency, so don't hang up if someone doesn't answer the phone.  

[pixie76]

hi im a vet tech and what  you described worries me. it sounds like she had a seizure, but on the other hand what do you mean when you say she couldnt walk on her hind legs? do you mean she was unsteady/off balance or do you mean non weight bearing?