This morning after a 20 minute run, I took Moose (8 month old Lab) to the pond. After swimming for a few minutes, he gets out and is down in his back end. He never fell or actually had to drag his back legs but there was definitely an issue. The best way I can describe it is "partial paralysis". It looked bad. I had him sit for a few minutes both in the water and out. He was better after about 10 minutes but still having problems. I loaded him in the car for the 15 minute ride home and he was normal when we got there.
As soon as he started having problems I called him to me and pushed on his hips, back, legs, etc. and he never once acted like anything hurt.
It was early so I don't think he got too hot. He ran about 2 miles, before going for a swim. I was with a friend and he had 4 other dogs that were with us and they had no issues.
Anybody ever have this happen?? I'm scared that he may not be able to hunt. He's doing awesome with his training but if this is something to do with strenuous excercise then he may not be able to.

Sorry to hear about Moose, it could be EIC. Were his dam and sire tested for it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Uq8NFaYqM

Not trying to derail the topic but anybody looking for a Boykin pup needs to check for EIC also. I dodged a bullet. Found out months after getting my pup that EIC was in his lineage. I have not DNA tested him (neutered so not necessary for me) but he has shown no signs of it.

My BIL choclate does the same thing, hate to say this but get your pooch fixed so 12 other people won't get dogs with this problem

That's scary... Hope that he is doing better now. I've always heard not to run them too hard until they've fully developed their joints etc...

You may also want to go back to the breeder and let them know. If they're worth their salt, they'll let other owners of the litter mates know and get the sire and dam tested also. They certainly need to discontinue that breeding until they get it figured out.

Hopefully it was just cramps.

****I am not saying the following to scare - just give a heads up for something to look out for.****

Ace (black lab) started having seizures about that age and the first one started the same way. Again, just something to be on the lookout for. We (the vet) put him on a very low dose of Phenobarbital (sp?) once a pattern was established and it stopped the seizures, for the most part. We gradually upped the dose as he grew and it didn't seem to slow him down after he got used to the medicine.

IMO the quality of life for Ace and our peace of mind justified the medicine. It wasn't too expensive of an option either.

I researched it after I made the original post, and I am almost 100% sure it is EIC. I am really disappointed, to say the least. I didn't know to look for that when I decided to get a Lab. I just wanted another excuse to get my boys out to hunt something besides deer.I studied my butt off to learn how to train him, and I am addicted now. The guy I bought him from told me that he was a carrier but that if I didn't want to breed him then it made no difference.My mistake. He is more advanced than he should be according to my friends that are trainers. I will continue training him and be careful of going to the extreme with him. Hopefuly he can hunt, but if not he will always have a home with me. During my research, I came across an informative and seemingly educated article. It said if your dog has EIC, you should be careful when conducting training that is intense, when the dog is running for a good distance at a quick pace, and when he/she is romping with other dogs. He was doing all of those just prior to the episode. Force Fetch...running along side atv...playing with 4 other Labs. My hope is, that he has a minor case of EIC and that if I keep close tabs on him, I will never have to witness that again. It was horrible.

I read that phenobartitol is used to treat EIC. I will be contacting the breeder. And he will be fixed.

If they say the dam/sire were tested ask for a copy of the results

A dog that is a carrier should not have problems only affected ones should.

You can get him tested for around $60.00 from a place called DDC veterinary http://www.vetdnacenter.com/search-breed-result.php?breed=79

There are dogs that live very productive lives and are EIC affected. The key to this is finding your dog's "trigger" (not all dogs have the same trigger). I have a friend that trains an EIC affected dog and she has a MH title. That's the very reason so many on this board stress the importance of requesting health clearances from breeders. I'm sorry you have a dog that is affected. If you want additional info give me a call.

Carriers wont go down-affected will.

Robby

It could be EIC but labs can also be effected by a similiar issue called CNM you might read up on it also. The dam/sire should be tested for it also.

I looked at paper work. Dam was carrier and sire was not tested. My bad for not educating myself.

Don't beat yourself up to bad. We all make mistakes and it sounds like you are going to do right by the dog and learn from this. Call Kevin (kbobbjr) and listen to what he tells you, he is sharp on these dogs and has seen a lot. If he don't know the answers he will be able to tell you where to get them.

Good luck to you and Moose and sorry you are dealing with this.

Read your post and instantly thought of the EIC affected dogs I've come across. It's a tough deal - I'm sorry it's happened to you. Have you had it verified, yet? I hope Moose is able to enjoy a relatively normal life. We encourage people shopping pups to make sure the parents have their clearances and even beyond that, to purchase from someone who will stand behind their dogs. When we say we put our guarantees and warranties in writing, folks don't always appreciate the value in that - unless they've been through something like this.

I sure wish you and Moose the best.

I haven't had him tested and probably won't. I feel confident that it is EIC. The results wouldn't change anything for me. I'm going to continue training him and be careful with it. I feel like it is a mild case of EIC because this is the 1st time he has shown any effects of it and I have been working with him almost everyday since he was 7 weeks old. If he does get worse or this happens again, then I will be content with him being the family pet and get another pup to hunt. He will be fixed so it doesn't happen to another litter. I will be talking to the breeder.

I am sorry for you and the dog. This could be avoided by proper testing and breeding. I have a EIC carrier female and have done my homework on breeding her. Affected dogs will break you heart if you see a bad episode. Kevin is right about finding the trigger point. I know several nice dogs that are FC and MH that are affected. Danny Farmer trains one of them.

Have him tested. It could have been that he was hot as well. Humidty can make a dog get hot faster ...Pat

I am going to test him. He was tested as a puppy before I got him and the paper work says he is a carrier. Thus not affected. I got this info from the breeder. Either they mixed it up at the lab or something else is going on. Thanks for all the help and concern.

What is EIC? Had to put our lab down a little while back and while we are going to take out time, Im on here "looking!" at pups...

hallfns here is a link that will explain Exercise Induced Collapse

http://www.justlabradors.com/health-and-nutrition/exercise-induced-collapse-labrador-retrievers

Another resource for you, where most EIC study has taken place: http://www.vdl.umn.edu/ourservices/canineneuromuscular/eic/taylor2008/home.html

I'm very sorry if you had to have your dog put down due to EIC. That must have been heart-wrenching. When you are ready next time around, be sure to get health clearances AND genetic defect warranties from the breeder. All the better if they will give them to you in writing/a contract.

Thank You so much, but he was an old dog 10 or mabey even 12 He had a tumor, but like you said Heart Wrenching! 2nd time Iv had to do that! But it sometimes is the thing that has to be done, as the dogs companion it is a responsability(sp)
I had never heard the above term. Is is common?


Commet, Thank You for the Email aswell!

I commend you for making the unselfish decision to put the dog down, rather than causing him to drag on and suffer. Like you said, it is the responsibility of the dog's companion to do the right thing - no matter how hard that may be for us, we need to think of the DOG.

Sadly, we live much longer than our four-legged friends and over the years find ourselves giving tearful good-byes to them. But we're blessed for the time we shared.

EIC, unfortunately, is becoming more and more common. Hopefully, as more people become informed, they will screen for EIC tested parents when shopping pups. This can cause market demand to (hopefully) drive down the EIC carrier gene pool as breeders realize they have to produce what buyers demand.