EIC

[Guest SweetJordan]

Just wondering who has experience with exercise induced collapse? I never heard of it until recently. I think my BC may have it. The first thing I noticed about her after we adopted her was how much she would pant after exercising and for how long. I had a BC mix who had the same energy level and she never panted the way my BC does even when she was fighting lymphoma. At first I thought maybe she had something wrong with her Kidneys because she seemed to be drinking and urinating excessively, but recently this has improved a lot. She also heats up quite a bit during exercise, but she has never actually overheated. She always seems to collapse and often wouldn't come in after playing frisbee and needs to be carried in after biking. In the 6 months or so that I have had her her endurance level hasn't increased. In other words with biking for example she can't go any further than when we started. She always seems ready to work except for the time off she needs after a workout. I'm always careful with her because I know BCs in general will work till the death. There is nothing wrong with her heart(it's been checked by a vet). I mentioned her problem to her, but I didn't get much of a response. The reason her heart was checked was because the vet thought that she had a slow heart rate, but I have since read that this is normal for a BC. Prior to that she was seen by a vet when she went into rescue and was given a clean bill of health. Other than having some issues she is a typical border collie though she came from a crappy breeder. The rescue sent me her ABCA papers the other day(after having to wait for months). I looked up the breeder and apparently they just sell the puppies online to anyone willing to use paypal no questions asked.

[BCjetta]

I would suggest doing bloodwork and screening for addisons disease and checking her other organs as well to rule any metabolic disorder out. Some symptoms of addisons include increased drinking, dilute urine, low heartrate and a bunch of other things. It just reminds me of a case we had at our clinic recently. A 5 yr old lab who had been doing fine but came into the clinic for an anesthetic and just didn't bounce back. 4 days later he went downhill and couldn't really even get up. When they were in for the appt the husband made the comment (as the lab was laying flat out on the floor) that he's normally just like that after he exercises, not all the time. A normal dog, even after exercise is not flat out like that. We did bloodwork and he was in an addisonian crisis (electrolytes totally out of whack, kidneys not functioning right etc). He's on meds now and is back to normal and is a typical hyper lab.

[AK dog doc]

I mentioned her problem to her, but I didn't get much of a response. The reason her heart was checked was because the vet thought that she had a slow heart rate, but I have since read that this is normal for a BC.

 

HOW slow? There's a difference between having a slow beat from athleticism and having one that's pathologically slow. Bradycardia (slow heart rate) IS one of the signs of Addison's disease. So are excessive drinking and urination and some of the other things you describe.

 

There are a lot of other possible explanations, but in your shoes I'd be going for the bloodwork; a lot of the possibilities can be ruled in or out on bloods. Bear in mind that Addison's disease is rare, but underdiagnosed (I diagnose on average about one a year, but only because I'm actively looking for it; they tell you in school you'll probably see one a decade or so). Also bear in mind there IS such a thing as an atypical Addisonian (the electrolyte levels and ratio come back normal, but the dog still has Addison's disease.) It's a tough diagnosis (Addison's is the Great Imitator), and as I say: rare. However, it's fatal if not treated and usually responds very well to treatment, so it's worth a check, IMO. (Labs, BTW, are predisposed. BCs not so much, but ANY dog can get it.) And if that's not it, there's still SOMETHING up, from your description. If it were my dog (or my patient) I'd start with full bloods. JMO, and I can't see your dog so I might be wrong, but I think BCjetta's suggestion is a good one.

[Guest SweetJordan]

It was as slow as 36 beats per minute, but it went up to 68 by the time she left the office. I should mention that at the time that I was told she had mild bradycardia she had been hit by a car. It was a mild accident and she didn't suffer any permanent injury. (Since then we have taken extra precautions to make sure that never happens again.)She is the same as before the accident. But was kept in the ER for awhile as they thought that she may have suffered mild shock. She was moved around a lot before I adopted her, so I know that she does get nervous in new situations very easily. She even gets nervous if company comes over, even though she is still at home. So I was suprised when I was told her heart rate was slow, I would have thought it would have been on the high side. Though if she was in mild shock perhaps that had something to do with it. When the vet asked if I had been told that she had a low heart rate before I told her no, and I discussed some of my concerns with her, but she didn't really say anything. I believe she did an EKG on her. I don't remember for sure. I felt so guilty that she slipped out of the house some of that day is a blur to me. I checked her discharge papers for the heart rate. So come to think of it she has actually been seen three times, by three different vets. The vet while in rescue, the ER vet, and my own(as I was concerned that something was wrong). She has a really good appetite, and eats a lot but is very thin. She also has a ton of energy and is on the move alot, it's just the way that she tolerates intense exercise as I described above. And some of the others things I mentioned as being off. I don't know if age means anything, but she's only a year old. Will be two in Feb.