Exercised Induced Collapse

[Bluzinnias]

I'm wondering if anyone on the board has had a situation similar to mine. Sorry this is so long.

 

My dog is just over two years old and is very active. We walk briskly around the neighborhood everynight for about 40mins, he plays ball in the field almost everynight and on weekends we work sheep at least one day, sometimes two and if we don't make it we go to the dog park, walk around the city....what I'm saying is that he is in no means out of shape.

 

On three occasions now for no explained reason, he has collapsed after a short time of exercise (less than 10 minutes). There was no seizure but total loss of strength in the rear limbs, temperature over 107, and heavy, heavy breathing. He completely recovers in about 30 minutes and we can continue walking (no ball). This has never happened while we are working with stock, only when out playing ball.

 

I work at a vet hospital and the first time it happened severly, we were here at the hospital. One of our kennel attendants took Speck outside with him for a cigarette break and threw the ball for about 5 minutes before he went down. The doctors and I have researched this through VIN and other collegues and a lot of them have seen this occur in border collies. After blood tests both pre and post episode, cardiology tests etc. the dogs (including mine) seem normal. Since this only happens when he is playing ball, my opinion (not very professional) is that he is over stimulated with the interaction and anticipation of people and balls. It breaks my heart to stop playing ball with him as it is what he loves most (after sheep of course).

 

The veterinary resources that I have checked all compare this to a similar syndrome that working labradors experience. However, there is no treatment other than avoiding the exercise.

 

My question to the board is: has any one else had a dog that experiences these symptoms and if so, how does it progress? There isn't any prognosis information out there that I have found and I don't know if this is going to get worse, cause further problems or limit his activities as he gets older.

 

Right now, it doesn't seem to set in while we are working stock, but he does seem to quit a lot sooner than other dogs I have seen. We are just beginning and Speck isn't doing the 500 yard outruns but honestly (and it's hard to even say this) I don't know if he could. We were at a clinic just days after this happened the first time in the spring and I'm watching all these dogs working and thinking will my dog be able to run like this?

 

This weekend was the third bad episode with it and I'm just so upset about it. He's the greatest dog and together we are learning so much. Health wise, he's just been a mess - broke two teeth off below the gumline that required oral surgery - twice, terrible hips (even with a OFA Good and OFA Excellent parents) and now this. My other dogs are working JRT's and man, they bounce back from just about anything.

 

Any input would be great.

[Pipedream Farm]

There have been a few treads that touched on this issue.

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/cgi-bin/ultima...0521;p=1#000000

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/cgi-bin/ultima...0725;p=1#000000

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/cgi-bin/ultima...1561;p=1#000000

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/cgi-bin/ultima...1630;p=1#000000

 

These were found using the search feature.

 

Mark

[Bluzinnias]

Mark,

 

Thank you so much for your response. We actually met at the summer VBCA trial. I volunteered in the set out pen all day.

 

I've read the links (sorry I didn't use the search feature first) and they were very helpful. As soon as one of our dr's come out of surgery, I'm going to give them information I've printed about the Labrador EIC. The description of what happens and the symptoms that occur hit it right on the head. At least I have some idea of a prognosis even if I don't like it.

 

Michelle

[Pipedream Farm]

Michelle,

 

did you see this post in one of the threads?

http://www.bordercollie.org/cgi-bin/ultima...1561;p=1#000034

 

Hey I just got a reply from Dr. Taylor. Here it is:

 

Labs with EIC still have very strong femoral pulses during collapse - I am certain of that because as part of our research we collected arterial blood gas samples during collapse from 15 of these dogs. They are bounding pulses.

Border Collies do definitely have a syndrome that looks very similar to Labrador EIC but is not the same. In the cases I have had a chance to observe, almost always their muscles get stiff and their gait gets choppy as they continue to exercise, while the Labradors are flaccid and seem to almost have a balance problem. It is unusual for Border Collies to get to the point that they absolutely are unable to walk or move, where this is common in Labradors with EIC. Also, muscle enzymes are

sometimes increased in the Border Collies when they go down - they are always totally normal or barely elevated in Labradors. A common feature is the high body temperature, but we have found temperatures over 42C in normal exercising (retrieivng ) Labradors as well. I am pretty sure the Border Collies have some kind of metabolic myopathy/neuropathy that (similar to the Labs) is triggered by exercise and excitement. There has really been no work looking at the Border Collie syndrome yet so I cannot give you any good recommendations for treatment. I am attaching our information sheet on the Labrador EIC condition but I would be cautious extrapolating much to the Border Collie condition.

 

Just a note: selective cobalamin (vitamin B12) malabsorption has been reported in Border collies and seems to be prevalent in some of the same lines experiencing this exercise intolerance syndrome. It might be worth pursuing that as well. Good luck

 

 

Sue Taylor, DVM

Mark

 

P.S. Thanks for jogging my memory, I remember you from the summer trial.

[Katie Minor, RN]

Hello,

I work at at the University of Minnesota. Our lab, in conjuction with Dr. Taylor, is conducting genetic research to determine the gene responsible for EIC. Our main focus has been on labs, and we've had great success lately. We've narrowed our search to a small segment of a single chromosome (dogs have 38 + the xy). We are interested in obtain samples from other breeds to determine if there is a commonality between them for this location.

For our study, we need affected dogs, as well as their unaffected siblings and parents. We require a 10 mL sample of blood, a questionnaire, and a pedigree.

If anyone is interested in our study, or would like more information they can contact me at minork@umn.edu or they can call our lab at 612-624-5322.

Thank you,

 

Katie Minor, RN

University of Minnesota

Canine Genomics Lab

[Guest amylobdell24]

Our stories are so similar....I work at a clinic too, and my almost 2 year old BC has the symptoms you describe exactly. We've ruled out heart & lung conditions and anything strange on bldwk. My next step is to take her ball-throwing and get her to where I know how she acts right before an episode, and glucose check her to make sure she's not hypoglycemic, and temp her to see if it's high. It's so funny to read your posts - I even gave my vet a print-out of the same articles today! Like you say, it's only when throwing the ball repeatedly(and we do a lot of other strenuous exercise - flyball, agility, herding, running, swimming) but it's her FAVE thing! And it's scary... Let me know if you find out anything from your vets & I'll share anything new we try with my girl....Good luck!

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

One of my female BCs had this sort of episode once. She went down and then recovered approx. 30 minutes later as we were on the way to the vet. I thought she was just overheated. How would one tell the difference between EIC and overheating? Thanks.

[voices4animals]

My question to the board is: has any one else had a dog that experiences these symptoms and if so, how does it progress? There isn't any prognosis information out there that I have found and I don't know if this is going to get worse, cause further problems or limit his activities as he gets older.

 

I'll try to be brief.. but yes, I have also had a similar experience with my bc, Murphy.

 

We just moved back to the U.S. from Okinawa --- so much of Murphy's situation was exasperated by the fact that we had been living in a horribly humid climate (an island - sub tropical).. and intense heat 80% of the year.

 

His hind legs would get weak.. it was like lead in his feet.. and only after walking a block or two. One time - as a youngster (5 -6 mo or so), he completely collapsed after only 15 min of play... he did appear to seize (my husband was there, I was at home)... but he recovered quickly... and it has never happened again.

 

At least 6-12 dogs per week would collapse and some would die from heat exhaustion/heat stroke in Okinawa. The vets ruled this out for Murphy.... we considered EIH .. but his temps always came out normal.

 

Murphy overheats easily.. and spends a lot of time laying in front of the fan --- and as much as I would like to chalk it up to having a rough coat, we're now in 4 ft of snow and extremely cold, and after a 2 mi walk .. in the cold... he still makes a B-Line to the fan.

 

Murphy has a unique "symptom" though that has led us to wonder if he might not have tracheal collapse: he has a honking "cough" (for lack of a better word) if he is suddenly excited (like when we come home after being gone for awhile, when he sees his "girlfriend" - the golden retriever across the street - come out to play... etc etc).

 

There are a lot of other indicators that have led me to believe that tracheal collapse is a possilibility. The vet and I have discussed that he could also have a damaged trachea from trauma (I can't count the number of times he's forgotten he's on a leash, then RUNS AT FULL SPEED, only to nearly lose his head when the leash comes to a sudden END).

 

We now use a halter (NO COLLARS!) - which has greatly improved things.

 

Anyway.. another issue I'm contemplating as well is Cushing's Syndrome, which Murphy ALSO has some of the symptoms of.

 

I'm trying not to be paranoid... but when typing in his symptoms, these are the things that pop up in my searches. It could be any HOST of conditions... it could be nothing... but chances are it's an issue with his trachea.

 

Murphy is getting x-rayed this Friday -- thankfully we are finally home where we have an excellent vet facility (unlike in Okinawa). I'll be anxious to finally know what the cause of the symptoms are... but what appeared to be EIH in the beginning, is now swinging more towards other causes.

 

Please keep us posted on your situation -- I'll be very curious to hear what you find out about your bc!

 

~Kim in NY

Edited February 10, 2007 by voices4animals

[Guest amylobdell24]

So Ceana does have hypoglycemia after exercise - but also appears to have EIC issues. Her temp skyrockets in a matter of about 6-8 minutes of ball play without rests - when it's over about 70 degrees outside and she has no place to swim. My vet started her on daily Riboflavin, Carnitine, and CoEnzyme Q10 doses appropriate to her weight. We'll see what happens!