This is an emergency animal case of a six-to-seven-year-old black German Shepherd who's repeatedly turning in circles counterclockwise (to the left) for about a minute, then falling down with contracted neck muscles forcing it to appear to look at its hind quarters even though it is clearly incoherent because it's unresponsive to familiar voices or faces.

I need some help please.

The following are the rubrics I've so far discovered, which seem to indicate either Berberis or Causticum.
KENT'S REPERTORY on turning in circles, unfortunately, misleadingly listed under Vertigo


quote:
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VERTIGO, Turning, as if in a circle (K105): Acon., aloe., alum., am-c., anac., arg-n., arn., asaf., aur., bar-m., bell., berb., bism., Bry., calad., calc., camph., chel., chin-s., cic., cocc., Con., cupr., Cycl., euon., eup-per., eup-pur., eupho., ferr., grat., hell., hep., hydr-ac., kali-bi., kreos., lact., laur., lyc., mosch., mur-ac., nat-m., nat-s., nux-v., olnd., op., par., phos., Puls., ran-b., rhod., rhus-t., ruta., sabad., spig., staph., tab., til., valer., verat., viol-o.

----- he turns in a circle : Bell., berb., calc., caust.

----- to right : Berb., caust.

left : Bell.


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KENT'S REPERTOY on contraction of muscles


quote:
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GENERALITIES, Contractions, strictures, stenoses, after inflammation (K1351): Agar., alum., ant-c., arg-m., asaf., bell., bry., calc., camph., canth., caust., chel., chin., Cic., clem., cocc., con., dig., dros., dulc., eupho., lach., led., Merc., mez., nat-m., nit-ac., Nux-v., petr., phos., plb., psor., puls., ran-b., Rhus-t., ruta., sabad., sep., spong., squil., staph., stram., sulph., teucr., thuj., zinc.

----- muscles (See Extremities)
KENT'S REPERTORY on contraction of muscles

EXTREMETIES, Contraction of muscles and tendons (K966): Acon-c., acon., ars., bar-c., bell., bry., Calc., canth., carb-s., carb-v., Caust., cedr., Coloc., con., crot-c., crot-h., cupr., ferr-m., ferr., Graph., guai., hydr-ac., hydrc., jatr., kali-ar., kali-i., Lyc., merc., mill., mur-ac., nat-c., nat-m., nux-v., oena., op., phos., plb., ruta., Sec., sep., sil., still., stram., sulph., syph., vib.

night : Plb.

to the left (not listed)

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KENT'S REPERTORY on contraction of muscles
quote:
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BACK Spasmodic drawing, cervical region (head bent back) (K945): Acon., alum., ant-c., apis., Bell., calc., camph., cann-i., cedr., cham., chin., Cic., Cimic., cina., cupr., eup-per., gels., glon., hell., hep., hyos., hyper., ign., ip., kreos., lyc., mez., mur-ac., nat-m., nat-s., nux-v., Op., phel., samb., stram., tab., verat-v., zinc.

----- lying : Ant-c.

(No listing for "neck-muscle contractions drawing head to face the left")
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The owners of this dog, my neighbors, are very crude and ignorant people, so they're likely to put the dog down rather than treat it or, most certainly, will allow allopathic physicians to kill it if they do choose to spend some money on the animal.

It's the coolest dog I've ever seen!

It's happy, playful, eager and content even though penned in alone all day long and almost never played with and not ever walked.

This will be a tragedy I mean to avert if possible, and I certainly want to take possession of the animal if the dullard fools permit it.

But I've first got to save it.

Help please.

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PS. Sorry, I said in the first sentence that it was spinning to the right but meant left, counterclockwise.

[ 29. December 2003, 20:58: Message edited by: Hahnemannian444 ]

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Albert, also Hahnemannian444B

Do you know if the dog is in any pain from the contracted neck muscles (as in, does he allow you to touch him, or does he yelp or shrink away when you do? Does he perhaps try to bite at you if he's touched there?)

How often does he do this, and when did it all start? Was there a discernable aetiology?

Are there any concommitant symtpoms?

Have you tried the Berb or Caust?

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Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.<br />C.G.Jung

TY sweetie.

This seems to have been a Belladonna-prescription question. If so, TY sweetie, for that was my first thought too. But the repertorization is not indicating Bell.

I cannot tell about pain. It appears to be doing this unconsciously and therefore oblivious to pain. I can't reach him to touch him, because their gates are locked. I can only helplessly watch this happening in the center of their yard. From what I observed when briefly home during lunch time, he does this repeatedly: the turns counterclockwise for about a minute then falls on his right side and bends his head to the extreme left until he again rises after about a minute.

This really sucks, for I don't have the time to devote to this, but I really love this dog.

I don't know when this started. I would, however, guess it's been going on for at least a day since these people next door have not yet evolved to know how to love even animals.

I'm truly afraid that some monster with a hammer reached through the gate and smashed the preciously affectionate and friendly dog on his head for criminal reasons. An injury is also what I'm getting from vets, but the cause doesn't matter to me; I'm looking to cure what's curable. He's salivating. That's all I've so far observed. His unconsciously doing this may be another symptom, for there's no apparent recognition of familiar voices or faces and with a far-away stare in his eyes. My drugs were all recently stollen in burglaries, so I'd have to overnight something or find it locally.

[ 24. December 2003, 00:07: Message edited by: Hahnemannian444 ]

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Albert, also Hahnemannian444B

Hi Albert,

I hope you get this dog, too. If there is intervention with the vets, you can always go along with them and observe what they conclude. Since we don't have any clear aetiology for the dog's symptoms, a diagnosis, if they can come up with one, will be helpful. If they can't, their physical examination can still give you lots of solid information to help you make your own ddx about remedies.

I'm sure it will be curable, even if there is a neurological disorder that results from an injury. You just have to be sure to get in there and get the case, then prescribe.

Good luck, Albert (and in this context, you can always call me Sweetie! )
Quackie holidays!

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Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.<br />C.G.Jung

Albert,

We often get injured squirrels, presumed head injuries from falls and every single one of them circles left. (To clarify your first post...the dog is circling left, counterclockwise, correct? Or is he circling to the right?) Had thought this due to right side brain trauma but can't figure how every one of them would always have right side brain trauma.

Had a cat who circled left before falling on his right side and convulsing with head bent toward left side. However, he would have jerking motions when down, mutilated himself biting at whatever he could come in contact with and sprayed urine during the seizure. The pulse was visible on one side of his face. He had been hit by a car, head crushed and in a coma for some days. He regained the use of all body functions but began seizing following anesthesia for neutering, a year after appearing fully recovered. I mention this only because he also circled left and fell on side as you describe. As a matter of fact, I don't recall ever hearing of an animal circling to the right...... every one circles left.

I never had much luck repping the symptoms very well for either the cat or the many squirrels that circled. The squirrels didn't have the convulsions, just circling and falling. Assuming it was right side brain thrombosis, used Bothrops, Nat Sulp and Arn, plus a number of other remedies, without success. Read that either Bell or Acon in as high a potency as is available in the midst of a seizure might be helpful but this would be very difficult for you from a distance. Also, if possible, in the midst of a convulsion, I've found that wrapping them tightly will lessen the violence of the seizure. That's easier with the squirrels than with the cat, since he thrashed and bit through the seizures.

Sorry, to be so long and say so little. You may want to look up *adversive* and *cerebellar* types of epilepsy to see if there is a similarity to the symptoms and might offer a guide to cause, if that would be of any help.

You really need the concomitants, as ChaCha said but hard to see well from your yard.

What a terrible dilemma you are in. I really sympathize. If you didn't live next door and were less easily detected, I'd say just kidnap him. Many kidnapped animals live/d here because I found that nothing else worked very well when dealing with creeps like your neighbors or even trying to gain possession through proper channels. If you have a friend who will house him........? Then, 6 months or so from now, you bring your new dog home.....they'll never know the difference since it seems they never really looked at him any way.

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Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Hi Albert,

I didn't ask the pain questions with bell in mind, just a curiosity about other symptoms you may have seen or learned about in the case.

Is this dog abandoned in a yard? Is he chained up? Is it cold out? Hot out? Sunny out and he has no shade? Is there food and water nearby? Is he clamoring for attention--from you or from his caretakers?
Can you tell if his behaviour is determined by something like fleas, or ticks, which may be making him uncomfortable? In your observation and opinion, do you get the sense that he is doing this out of some kind of disturbance?

oops...almost missed the last part of your post--it does sound as though there could have been some physical trauma like an injury from something like a hammer; and I have to admit that unless I learn about a pet being attacked or hurt in this way it doesn't always occur to me to consider it. Do you know if there is any bleeding? Can you actually access the dog?

[ 24. December 2003, 00:07: Message edited by: ChaChaHeels ]

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Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.<br />C.G.Jung

Hope you can read this and answer quickly...are you able to access this dog--get to him yourself? Or is he already at the vet's?

I would think of a remedy like nat sulph or even something to deal with that shocked, blanked out state and the type of unconscious behaviour you describe...especially if there has been some trauma to the head. It seems clear that, if an injury to the head is the cause, his symptoms now result from neurological damage. How sad this situation is.

Let me know what's happening.

[ 24. December 2003, 00:13: Message edited by: ChaChaHeels ]

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Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.<br />C.G.Jung

It's left alone all day while the owners are at work, but they never play with it when they get home. So, yes, abandoned in a yard is appropos.

Not chained.

I live in Kansas. It gets cold, but we're having a moderate winter. However, this dog stays outside in the most bitter cold. In fact, I wanted to kill the owners the first two years, because this dog would make a pleading yelp during freezing cold I never want to hear again.

He has shade.

He's got food and water but never any treats or rewards except occassionally from me. These nutritional deficiencies show in the poor quality of his coat of fur.

This is an extremely happy dog. Clamoring for attention does not seem to fit, for he appears to keep himself content by jumping and running around by itself. It's a wonderful dog!

As for the possibility of fleas or tics causing this, negatory. This is neurological and hopefully a curable illness rather than an injury from cruelty.

[ 24. December 2003, 00:19: Message edited by: Hahnemannian444 ]

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Albert, also Hahnemannian444B

I'm unclear how you are planning to treat this animal you have no access to. Why don't you just call a vet or the owners?

Gotta go.

Cya tomorrow!

-----

It's a chain-link fence. I'd jump the fence to put a medicine in its mouth if I felt sure of it.

And I already called Animal Control since neglect and abandonment of a sick animal is obvious. I am hoping that the animal has been picked up by them and then effectively treated but payment for it is refused by the owners so that I can take possession of the wonderful dog.

Cya sweetie!

[ 24. December 2003, 00:25: Message edited by: Hahnemannian444 ]

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Albert, also Hahnemannian444B