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As some of you may know, Alice and I adopted Zeus 4 months ago. Upon adopting him, we knew that was a special needs dog, and we were 100% up to that challenge. The minute we saw him, we knew he was the perfect dog for us. We were told that he suffers from mental and physical impairments that they suspect was from surviving Distemper as a puppy. We quickly noticed that he definitely has some ticks. He runs around in circles obsessively when he's happy, presses his head against you until he falls over, twitches uncontrollably, and can stare at you for minutes without blinking an eye. All of these traits make him so special (and cute!)
But we soon saw that his cute ticks came with not-so-cute ticks.
Going on 6 months of having adopted Zeus, he has gradually shown more and more signs of concerning behavior and discomforts.
It began with minor aggressive tendencies that turned into very aggressive episodes whether they are directed at humans or himself. We noticed that his behavior has not been consistent nor have his triggers. This makes it very hard to pin point what was causing his aggression.
More recently, Zeus has been waking up in the middle of the night (with no stimulation/noise) in a terror- he aggressively and repeatedly bites the air and barks. We are not able to redirect his attention during his episode as we have tried many times using different tactics. After he calms down he seems confused and on edge.
We believe this is more than just a behavioral issue. We have used all the resources available to us to ensure he is in good overall health but in order to explore any other possibilities, Zeus will need help from a specialist. More specifically, a neurologist.
We make sure he has enough stimulation and play time throughout his day, that he is not acting out of fear.
We have tried CBD, we have tried Alprazolam, and he is on Gabapentin. Considering his unknown neurological issues, we do not want to fill him up with every type of medication until we find the right cocktail- rather find where these problems are stemming from.
The foster who knew Zeus for just as long as we have, were shocked at our reportings, as Zeus has only been loving and friendly the entire time he was with them, which is why this situation has become urgent. We have tried treating for pain, anxiety, and depression, with no avail. We decided that the next stop was to see a Veterinary Specializing in Neurology. Our vet suspects that he is not in pain and it's not behavioral, but that he may have a neurological issue that needs to be addressed. We love Zeus so much, no matter what, which is why we want to get to the bottom of this. We know that he is a fun loving cuddle bug deep down. But he is telling us that something is wrong through his actions.
The neurologist has drawn up a plan of diagnostic tests to test a variety of neurological and biological issues. As you can imagine, this is not a necessarily cost effective process, especially at this time since they are still in the diagnostic phase. We are asking for help to get the funds for the MRI that will give us a clearer picture of what's going on. This is just the beginning of getting Zeus the normal life he deserves, and we appreciate any help that anyone is willing to offer. Thank you so much in advance for participating and for sharing! Zeus and Alice and I thank you so much.
But we soon saw that his cute ticks came with not-so-cute ticks.
Going on 6 months of having adopted Zeus, he has gradually shown more and more signs of concerning behavior and discomforts.
It began with minor aggressive tendencies that turned into very aggressive episodes whether they are directed at humans or himself. We noticed that his behavior has not been consistent nor have his triggers. This makes it very hard to pin point what was causing his aggression.
More recently, Zeus has been waking up in the middle of the night (with no stimulation/noise) in a terror- he aggressively and repeatedly bites the air and barks. We are not able to redirect his attention during his episode as we have tried many times using different tactics. After he calms down he seems confused and on edge.
We believe this is more than just a behavioral issue. We have used all the resources available to us to ensure he is in good overall health but in order to explore any other possibilities, Zeus will need help from a specialist. More specifically, a neurologist.
We make sure he has enough stimulation and play time throughout his day, that he is not acting out of fear.
We have tried CBD, we have tried Alprazolam, and he is on Gabapentin. Considering his unknown neurological issues, we do not want to fill him up with every type of medication until we find the right cocktail- rather find where these problems are stemming from.
The foster who knew Zeus for just as long as we have, were shocked at our reportings, as Zeus has only been loving and friendly the entire time he was with them, which is why this situation has become urgent. We have tried treating for pain, anxiety, and depression, with no avail. We decided that the next stop was to see a Veterinary Specializing in Neurology. Our vet suspects that he is not in pain and it's not behavioral, but that he may have a neurological issue that needs to be addressed. We love Zeus so much, no matter what, which is why we want to get to the bottom of this. We know that he is a fun loving cuddle bug deep down. But he is telling us that something is wrong through his actions.
The neurologist has drawn up a plan of diagnostic tests to test a variety of neurological and biological issues. As you can imagine, this is not a necessarily cost effective process, especially at this time since they are still in the diagnostic phase. We are asking for help to get the funds for the MRI that will give us a clearer picture of what's going on. This is just the beginning of getting Zeus the normal life he deserves, and we appreciate any help that anyone is willing to offer. Thank you so much in advance for participating and for sharing! Zeus and Alice and I thank you so much.