[Gpdd] Health: Deep sleep??

[scalabro3 at cfl.rr.com]

ME, your new little girl, Minnie, sounds a lot like our Cocoa Puff. He came to us after he developed an ear infection at a pet store and was given to my friend who runs a dog rescue in Orlando.  He has had multiple courses of antibiotics and has on many occasions scared us to death by his playing dead.

I would recommend talking to your vet about whether she needs to be on antibiotics longer. Based on our experience with Cocoa Puff, one week seems like a pretty short course of treatment. With Cocoa Puff, the infection was in his inner ear, so it has damaged his sense of balance. 

Because of his inner ear issues, Cocoa Puff is kind of "floppy" when you pick him up. If Minnie is like him, you'll know what I mean. It's more like picking up a stuffed animal than a "normal" piggie. He doesn't seem to like to be picked up as much as other piggies. He's Ok if you pet him in his pen, but as soon as you try to reach under him to pick him up, he runs away.  He's OK again once he's being held and all four feet are on the ground. I suspect that it has something to do with his balance issues.  He has adapted very well though. He can't stand on his hind legs without falling over, so to compensate, he launches himself up against the front bars of his pen, and "grabs onto" the bars so he doesn't fall over.

Cocoa Puff recently celebrated his third birthday. He still has his head tilt. We treat it twice a week with steroid drops in his ear and occasional antibiotics when his symptoms are worse. I can't remember the organism that the vet said caused the infection, but it's something that she can't treat without destroying his digestive system, so we just have to keep knocking it back with pulse treatments of baytril and sulfa medications.  He's also on benadryl each day because he seems to have some sort of allergic situation going on. We have a nebulizer for him because mucus tends to accumulate on his vocal fold, most likely due to his allergy and the head tilt, which probably makes it more difficult for him to clear his throat. We "steam" him for about ten minutes twice a day when he has flare ups, and then he's back to normal.  He's high maintenance, but very worth it.

Our vet tech is the only one who has actually witnessed one of his unconscious episodes from start to finish. Cocoa Puff was just about to leave the vet after I had dropped him off for a check up when she said that he had an episode of nystagmus, or rapid eye movements, and then just fell over and was unconscious. She ran to get the vet because she thought he was dead, but by the time the vet made it to the room, he was already out of it.  The vet said that it was tied to the ear infection and inner ear damage and that it was not something that we should worry about.

I hope that your little girl, Minnie, feels better soon and adjusts to her new home. She's very lucky girl to find such a good home. Best wishes,

ME in New Smyrna Beach