I know this has been visted before. I'm looking for more personal experiences.

How many of you have actually experienced this?

Do you think it runs in certain lines?

Is it possible to have a dog exhibit the symptoms of EIC when they are run too much and very out of condition, when they otherwise may not ever experience it? IE, they are fine when they are fit for the exercise they are asked to do?

There are at least two universities studying EIC. The symptoms are quite explicit--different from heat exaustion or other causes for collapse (heart valve for example).

Go to these sources and get as much technical info that you can. That should help. It "runs in lines" because it is genetic. The research groups are trying to identify the gene or genes responsible for it.

The one link I know of is on Working Retriever Central www.working-retriever.com I think this is to a group in Canada working on the problem.

MK

Thank you for the link.

I wondered if anyone could tell me what the difference is between the symptoms of heat exhaustion/over excerise in an un-fit dog and a true EIC episode?

I guess what I'm asking is can EIC be misdiagnosed even if the symptoms look very similar?

Thanks!

High stress and high pressure situations seem to trigger a lot of EIC cases according to the reading I have done. Sounds like a dogie panic attack to me. I recommend dogie Prozac.

There has been a lot of discussion on other forums that it has been established that EIC has autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The test should be available on th e market soon (within a year I think).

So would a doggie panick attack actually mean the dog HAS EIC??
Or is it something else entirely??

I've heard "Doggie Prozac" rarely works for most situations according to an animal behaviourist out of one of the finest hospitals in the States.

Has anyone had success with it? I would like to hear those stories especially with EIC involved. It would be excellent information for anyone with a dog suffering with EIC.

With EIC, the dog is fully conscious. Back end of the dog ceases to function, but the front end of the dog is still working normally. When EIC occurs during a retrieve, the rear legs do not work, but the front legs will continue to try to pull the dog towards the bird/ bumper.
With a heat injury, the dog is generally out of it and is not really trying to still function normally.

They believe the disease to be autosomal recessive, but some will also tell you that dogs will exhibit it in varying degrees. In other words, 2 dogs may both be affected, but one can still hunt while the other must be restricted from that activity as it will bring on an episode.
The best we can do is report suspected episodes to breeders and have the suspect dogs thoroughly checked by a vet to rule out other causes.