Boston fell over, could not move back legs, went into shock

by Dan J
(Lockport, NY, USA)

Last night our boston was just standing and then fell over. His back legs stuck out stiff and he could not get up. His legs relaxed in a bit and he just laid there unable to get up. We took him to the vet, they did x rays and tried to take blood, but my poor Quincy was in shock and they couldnt get much blood from him. They didnt see anything on the x rays that would cause this and seemed rather stumped. But one thing was for sure, they, like me thought he was going to die, they gave him a shot of steroids.
I took him home and carried him in the house. He was not breathing well and was cold. We laid in front of a space heater for about an hour. Quincy then stood up, walked around a bit, drank some water and went pee outside. I brought him back in he laid with me all night cold and shallow breathing. Then about 5am he got up, drank more, ate some food, went to bathroom again and pretty much was back to normal.
Vet took more blood today, stil had no answer and said results will be back tomorrow.
Anyone ever have anything like this happen to their dog?

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Boston fell over, could not move back legs, went into shock

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May 21, 2012
 our boy ralphie
by: artistnomo

our little guy ralph is 3, the other day he was out in the yard doing his normal business, I looked to call him in and he was acting like he was choking then his back legs went stiff and he fell over. I ran to him an when I picked him up his bowels began to move. We raced to the vet which is a 30 min drive all the time on the way he was breathing shallow, his mouth was white his tongue was hanging out and his eyes were glazing over. I talked to him, breathed for him until we got there. The vet gave him a shot to get him out of shock, a shot for pain and antibiotic. He laid down on the floor and his stomach cramped, he passed some stool which was kinda bloody. We took him home an stayed up with him all night. He continued to be cold, and lethragic, the next morning I took him back and the vet again gave him another shot for shock. That afternoon, I boiled him some chicken and he ate like a champ, we continued to give him boiled chicken and sugar water. He slowly began to come back to himself, he was up walking doing number 1 outside, by the fourth day his bowels moved and he came in and ate his normal food. We still have no idea what it was anyone got an idea? Thinking about switching his dog food to some natural form he just can't handle anything with a lot of fat in it.
Feb 06, 2012
 Liver Shunt
by: kat

My Boston has had the same thing happen to him. We took him to our vet and he said he had a seizure. It was not the fall on the ground and shake kind, he just fell over and didn't move. He did blood work and a Bile acid assay and found out he has a liver shunt, his body can not handle protein. We have him a a low protein diet, around 13% and he still has seizures but they are about 1 every 3 - 4 months. We move around a lot and many vets do not seem to know about this so it wouldn't hurt to ask!! A friend of mine had the same problem with her bostons and they put him on Seizure meds, when she told her vet about my dog they did they tests and he had the same thing. Their dog is now off the meds on a diet regimen and doesn't get any more seizures.
Jan 10, 2012
 Boston Follow up
by: Dan J

So, my boy Quincy has been to several vets and had several tests, after having about 4 of these "episodes" he has had no more. What was discovered from an extensive ultrasound scan was that my boy has a tumor on his heart. What the thought was from the vet is that this tumor bleeds and fills the heart sac, this filling of the sac causes Quincy's heart to have a tough time pumping and is knocking him into these episodes. The sac stretches and then he can resume normally (sort of).
Sad part is that they have given him not a very good long term prognosis and obviously the tumor on the heart will not go away. But so far he is still with us and getting lots of love and treats until he is taken away from us. When I think about it I cry, and get upset but when he is snuggling with me and we are sitting together I realize that we have to enjoy the time we have, we never know when it may end.
Thanks to all that left comments and information.
-Dan
Jan 07, 2012
 this might help...
by: Tiffany E

our bt was about 5-6 months old when he would all of a sudden start gagging (like he was choking) and then spit up this clear liquid... after taking him the vet he told us he was having seizures.. he was too young to give him meds so he said if they got worse then he would medicate him.... well i did some research and found some random website that suggested a diet of duck to help these seizures. I thought it was a bunch of bs.. well the next time i went to buy food for our lil guy I realized they made a Duck and Potato formula made by Natural Balance.... He has not had one seizure since!!!

Maybe this was luck, but he was having them once a week and now NOTHING!! wouldn't hurt to try!
Dec 04, 2011
 Boston Terrier fell over and could not use his legs
by: Anonymous

I have 2 Boston Terriers ages 10 & 12 both female. We also have 3 French Bulldogs ages 5-3 & 2.

I had a 6 year old French Bulldog who all of a sudden stiffened up and was shaking all over, eyes in shock. When he stopped seizing he could not walk because his legs were so shakey. Turned out he was having a seizure-I kept a diary and eventually he was having them every day sometime 2-3 times. My vet treated him with phenobarbitol-never again!! He continued to have seizures but the medication really caused his legs to collapse. Maybe keep a diary. Also I don't know how many seizures he was having when I was not home-they do come out of it. He did in the end had one horrible seizure and died in my arms in my bed. It was an awful time. I hope your baby never has anymore of the same issues.
Nov 24, 2011
 ticks?
by: Anonymous

A tick? It can cause paralysis, abd shallow breath from the toxins the tick rekeases. Catch your babies for ticks or bites.
Nov 23, 2011
 Seizures or Episodes?
by: Anonymous

My Boston Terrier constantly has what I call "episodes". They last about 3 minutes in length at different times..mostly in the mornings...about a month or so apart. He seems out of sorts (walks in circles) right before they happen. Once the duration of the episode, he pops out of it and goes back to his normal self. When asked if I should take him to get tested for Seizures, I was told that it might be a waste of money because they may not be able to prove that it is a seizure. So, yes, unfortunately, you are not alone and I wish you well, but knowing that he has this conidition, does not make it easier on him or me. I just try to keep him as calm as possible and console him until the episode is over. Good luck.
Nov 11, 2011
 Possible Seizure
by: Anonymous

Hi, i cannot say for sure but I have a Boston that is a seizure dog and some of the symptoms you speak of sound somewhat like a seizure. Unfortunately, if there is not a specific cause for the seizures and the dog is not having one while at vet, they have no way to diagnose it. I too had a situation where when my girl first started having seizures and we spent alot of visits at emergency vet that they were trying to draw blood from her and had a hard time. Also, when bloodwork is done shortly after a seizure in my experience the results will not always be accurate. I'm not familiar with the side effects of the shallow breathing or being cold but those could be symptoms of the body going into shock. My girl will pace alot,drink alot of water, sometimes be extremely hungry and restless after a seizure. I'm not a professional so please understand I am just offering an opinion based on my experiences. Good luck to you and your boston.
Nov 09, 2011
 Back legs gave out
by: Albert

My little 3 month old BT Had the same thing happen yesterday morning. He went potty and I notice he was straining a lot. It took a while for him to finish potting, half of the poop was stuck. He finally finished his buisness took a few steps to the back door and next thing u know, his back legs gave out.I called him over he could not walk. He was dragging his legs. He knew it to so he stopped. He just sat there scared. It only lasted a few minutes. Rest of the day he was fine. I consider taking him to the vet, decided to wait and see. So far he's seems ok.

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