traumatized chinnie

[frolic]

My 3.5 year old chin is pretty anti social. She is a rescue who's been through a lot of homes in her first year. She was very resistant to being brushed tonight and when my husband was brushing her she sprayed him(that's only the second time she's ever done it).

He continued brushing her and finished up she then went completely limp. We panicked. I started freaking out about not having found a new vet since we moved(something I'm looking into right away now). She looked dead but we could still feel her heart beating. I've never heard of a chinnie playing dead before but that's definitely what seems to have happened.

We set her down on the floor until she started to move around. It took over 2 minutes for her to move and this is from a chin that never ever sits still. She took a couple feeble hops after a couple minutes. We didn't want her to get really active and then have to 'recapture'(thus stress her) her to go back to her cage so we choose to put her back cage cause she won't go to her cage on her own yet.

She's been moving around a little but much slower than usual. She's eaten some pellets and hay and took some hay out of my husbands hand but wouldn't take a dried rosehip from me which she usually really likes.

So what happened? We're going to keep a really close eye on her. We think she just got really freaked out that spraying didn't work to get us to stop and wasn't an effective defense mechanism. She seems kinda in shock but she's eating and drinking.

It was just so terrifying when she wasn't moving. I was crying and so scared I never want that to happen again.

 

[addictedtochins]

I don't know what happened, maybe she overheated? Keep us updated please.

 

[6Dusters]

I was combing out a couple last night and could feel my big boy Jesse was getting warm. I put him back in his cage and he sat on his cooling stone for a long time. He just sat in that state for a good long 10 min. He regained his sweet personality and I offered fresh hay. Jesse does understand the combing procedure. However my new sapphire proved to be a challange with kicking and carrying on. Geeezzz.
I sit inside a play pen when combing and offer the animal a break from time to time. Sounds like she was really angry over a combing and gave up her will so to speak. I'm sure she will have rebounded. Some people including myself will spend some time with certain animals just making them sit still in your lap and running the comb upside down over the body as a refresher. Some chins are just little stinkers and you have to treat them a bit different. I had to hold the sapphire in a gentle ear pinch to make him settle. We know we would never hurt them..........but some have had bad experiences at previous homes. Good luck with the little one.

 

[alli713]

To me it almost sounds like she had a seizure or something from the activity.

I'd keep an eye on her and make sure she's drinking and eating like normal.

 

[Stackie]

I agree with Alli, sounds like she had a seizure to me...

 

[AZChins]

I would agree with the seizure diagnosis. It sounds like she freaked out so much she seized. I hope that it was a one time thing and not a stroke or a lifetime epilepsy condition. Poor girl.

If she gets that stressed over a combing, maybe you should just opt for more dustbaths and skip the combing. I do that with most of my chins because 9 out of 10 hate combings.

 

[CerLynn]

If it was a seizure, one thing you can do if it happens again is dab the inside of a raisin or a bit of karo syrup on her lips - it raises their blood sugar and can help them recover a bit quicker. Good luck and I hope your girl is ok!

 

[frolic]

She's acting normal today. The seizure thing sounds scary but makes sense. That's better than a stroke(she's not showing any limited mobility and has been on her weel). She's never liked brushing but never even tried to spray in response to one before so this was totally out of character for her.

She's just waking up now a little later than usual but she's acting normal. My husbands getting her out now for some treats and cuddles.

Should I schedule vet visit for her? Is there anything they can do? Is there such thing as a well chinnie check up that she needs? Money is pretty tight but if she should go in I'll take her.

 

[Stackie]

There's not much a vet could tell you at this point. Keep an eye on her food and water intake and her poops, as well as her activity level to be sure there are no signs of extreme lethargy. Those are the key things to watch for when trying to see if there is something wrong with a chin.

There are quite a few stories of chins having seizures when they over exert themselves, like at playtime. They get going so much that their blood sugar gets low and they end up having a seizure. Most are completely fine afterwards and act like nothing happened. Sometimes it never happens again, sometimes it's a regular occurrence if their playtime isn't limited.

To lessen the chance of it happening again, I would no longer brush her. Pet chins don't need to be brushed; it's more for the show aspect. Dust baths should be all she needs to keep her coat in good condition.