Hi all,
I am have a 6 month old portuguese water dog with some problems and am wondering if anyone has seen anything similar or has any ideas.
He has a constant twitch, every 1.5 seconds or so that rocks his whole body, most noticably his front legs and chest area. The severity of these fluctuates, usually worst after eating, and often almost goes away when he is sleeping. This often makes it difficult to sit or stand still, so he is usually walking or laying, and must get very annoying. I think it might also stop him from sleeping properly (maybe). This twitch was first noticed soon after we got him around 8 weeks or so, but has gotten worse.
He also has very poor appetite. He has been on a prey model raw diet since birth, but i have tried him on heaps of different things, but he just doesn't want to eat much, and is very thin. He has none of the usual puppy vigour and just wants to lay down in a dark corner, cover his eyes and sleep most of the time. He can be energetic and run and play if the time calls for it, like if we go to the beach, or if he meets another dog, but not as often as most pups. He often lays down and moans and groans like he is uncomfortable/feels sick/in pain. He is from a very good breeder, and the rest of the litter is doing great.
He was vaccinated at 8 and 12 weeks. He has been ill with tick paralysis twice and to try help control ticks, he was on frontline for a while.
The vet has run many tests and everything shows up fine. All organs are functioning well, digestive bile enzyme activity normal, tests for various diseases have all been negative. Blood work is all normal, with slightly elevated white blood count. I have not been given the breakdown of which types of white blood cells are high yet. Breed specific diseases such as addisons and GM1 storage disease have pretty much been ruled out.
His problems appear to be neurological, and the vet has been talking to neurologists, but so far nobody has a clue. Anyone experienced anything similar or can offer some advice??
