The American Beagler Forum

Last week while out running with a friend, his year old male took off for parts unknown. My first thought was a coyote came in on the dogs. My second thought was bee's. Then I was told of running seizures. I'll lay out the senerio & you guys can give me your opinion.

We were running my bitch & his male, year old littermates. It was probably the hottest day this year(short sleeves) . This dog has been run probably 3-4 times a week since late last summer. The dogs had been running pretty solid for about 3 hours. This dog is usually soloed so he was receiving considerable mental pressure that he was not used to. We saw him over run by quite a bit several times(unusual for him) in a effort to maintain the front position. They finally put a rabbit over the top of a ridge & had a break down. Maybe 5 minutes. My bitch was about 120 yards further out than him when he gave mouth like he had a sight chase for maybe 5 barks then he shut down. I was watching the Garmin wondering why my bitch wasn't honoring him . That's when we noticed he was coming down off the ridge at a fast pace (no bark) he came out into the field & headed down a stone wall with his tail between his legs at a pretty fast pace. He whimpered several times & my friend headed out after him. The dog never slowed down or came looking for us. He headed down to the trucks but never stopped at them. I watched my GPS while trying to get my dog(I thought maybe coyotes came in) & he was making a bee line for parts unknown & fast. In about 15-20 minutes he was over two miles away & getting further. He was picked up in about a half hour. My friend used the GPS to get within 400 yards then he was able to call him in to him.
We checked the dog all over & nothing seemed out of order. No bite marks or cuts, bee stings. His muscles weren't tight. He wasn't stiff & he did'nt seem any worse for the wear.
Not sure about low blood sugar either. He is fed high quality food once a day, I think in the evening, so his stomache was quite empty. ( late afternoon hunt )
I have had dogs get into bees before & had them with the crap scared out of them from the coyotes, but never had one cover that much ground (scared) so fast.

Can anyone educate me or give me an honest opinion?

Thanks

that right there is a running fit I've seen it a time or two.

seen coondogs and beagles get put on the move by female coyotes with pups ,one might of scared him pretty good!JMO. but a few weeks ago our dogs where running a rabbit and my best female came out mid race and acted like she was going to have a seizure,it was hot. she cooled down and was fine. then she did it again, onthe next hunt, both morning hunts,we feed our dogs once a day in the afternoon, so i took her to the vet,he said it was her blood sugar.told me to take some loaf bread and give her some ,2 pieces before we go hunting. now she acts fine.....

I have a dog that has the same problem vet said he is hypoglycemic. I give him syrup before he runs and he is just fine.

A handful of honey gram crackers would do the trick but, I don't think it was a fit.
I think he got caught trespassing and got sent home.

Patch man,

I dont believe it was a fit either. When we picked him up he showed no sign of seizure. No stiff muscles, eye's were'nt dialated, gums were normal color.
He just seemed glad to see his owner. Seemed a little scared that's all.

We ran him last Saurday with two other dogs. Even more mental pressure. He ran hard for about 3 1/2 hours. We heard him yip again then he came out to a trail with the hair on his back standing up. His owner called him & he came right in. After about 15 seconds of petting I checked his gums again, everything was fine. He seemed a little scared. My male fired up on the same hare he was on & he was off to join in???? There wasn't anything wrong except he did seem scared. I know for sure it was'nt a coyote this time, but it was'nt a fit either. We picked them up after 4 1/2 hours. He was still fine.

This only confuses me more!!!!!

A seizure is a seizure a running fit is what your dog had.

I've seen both

seizure - dog locks up stiff falls on the ground mouth foams shaking for a few minutes gets back up like nothing ever happened.

Running fit is what you described to the letter.

Joeyman,

What causes it? Does it get better as time goes by? What treats it or prevents it?

Any info is appreciated. Everything I've read about fits/seizures is either neurological (Epileptic) or hyperglycemic (sugar)

Thanks

I've seen a dog hit an electric fence before and take off scared as crap for an hour or so before coming back.

Like Joey said, a hypoglycemic fit is a lot different from an epileptic seizure. You would know if it had an epileptic seizure. It would lay flat on the ground and it's muscles would lock up. Hypoglycemic seizures usually happen when young growing dogs are ran until their body is depleted of sugar. They usually grow out of it once they get full grown, but a few have them as adults. Feed a good quality dog food with highly digestible protein, and it's very important they have plenty of water. Dehydration is a big cause of hypoglycimia. Hope this helps.