jasperd

Thank you all for so many comments and opinions. Interesting to see that others have experienced the same problem when the vets had no knowledge. I tend to think that in my dog it is a metabolic problem or similar, rather than that I have just allowed him too much exercise. Have taken on board the comments about leanness (he eats a lot but is lean) and food (he eats mainly dried food). Will speak to the breeder this week and ask if anyone else has reported a similar problem. If it is EIC in a poodle then obviously it is more widespread than thought.

The vet did suggest this. She said that he would have to wear a monitor for 24 hours or so like people do and she'd have to find someone who could organise this sort of test.

Yes, he has access to water all the time. It has been hot here too, but this has happened on coller days as well.

He is walked every day, we take him most places we go, and when we don't throw a ball for him at home he is usually chasing around with it himself. I really didn't think that throwing a ball for 8 - 10 minutes was excessive. We've been doing it for the last 2 years and he's had no problem. However, perhaps it is and we've cut back now. I hope that's all it is.

I know this would probably be better posted in the poodle thread but I am a bit forum challenged and could not see how to do it (it said I did not have permission to post a new topic ). We have a 2½ year old miniature poodle, from a registered breeder, US imported mother, UK imported father, so he should not be inbred. He adores his ball and loves to chase it. He's ball obsessed. Over the last 6 weeks, often, after about 10 minutes of running and chasing, he appears drunk and uncoordinated, his back legs wobble and fail, then his front legs fail and he collapses. He recovers very quickly (a couple of minutes). In all other respects he appears a very active, healthy, energetic dog. We have seen a vet who did a blood test but was at a loss to explain the problem. She consulted other vets but no one had heard of this happening. I googled 'collapse in dogs' and found a syndrome called Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC) - references are to the USA and it is being studied there, but the condition seems to be found only in labradors and collies. There is a video of a border collie collapsing after exercise and it mimics exactly what happens with our poodle. Does anyone know firsthand of this problem, especially in poodles? I can't believe our dog is unique and I suppose I want to know, really, what the long term prognosis is. I am going to print out the references and take them to our vet when she returns from holidays. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I doubt that he has an infection because he sleeps all night without the need to toilet. Also, he will not toilet when he is on a lead so if we take him out, even if it is for a couple of hours, he waits until he gets home. But then some evenings after dinner he might wee on the floor (or outside if we've taken him out and we're lucky) three or four times before bed. This does seem excessive. He is confined to the family room and kitchen with us and 'goes' anywhere in this area. He had a vet check a few weeks ago but not a urine test so perhaps that would be worthwhile. Otherwise we'll just keep persevering, I guess. I suppose my great worry is that he'll never learn and we will always have this problem.

We are at our wits end with our 5 month old miniature poodle. Typical is what has just occurred. He has been asleep and as soon as he woke we called him to come outside and wee. On the way, quick as a flash, he crouched and did a wee on the floor. We still took him outside to the designated area and spent 10 minutes telling him 'wee'. No result and we assume it is because he did it on the floor before he got out the door. So we came back inside and, yes, he crouched and did it again within minutes. We believe we are doing all the right things. We take him to the same area regularly and if he 'goes' we praise him madly and reward him with a treat. But at least 5 times a day he comes back inside and, even though the door is propped open so that he can get out at any time, he does it inside. I clean up with vinegar, hopefully to eliminate any odour. Any suggestions please because this is really getting us down. He is the third pup that we've had over the years and we did not have such a long-lasting problem with the other two.