High stepping and chattering.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi and thank you for your question. The symptoms that you are describing are unusual. The high-stepping that you are mentioning could be something called hypermetria. This is usually caused by some sort of problem in either the brain stem or the part of the brain called the cerebellum.

It's hard to connect that activity with the clicking of his teeth. It definitely sounds like there is a serious neurological issue here. One possibility is distemper virus. However, if Socks is vaccinated then this is not likely. There are other unusual neurological problems such as fungal infections or even parasites that can do this.

It could also be that what you are seeing is some type of a seizure.

It definitely sounds like he needs to have a vet visit. If you are able to videotape the episodes so that your vet can see them then this would probably help. The vet will likely want to do some bloodwork and maybe even some spinal xrays. But, there is a chance that no cause can be found without doing even further testing.

This isn't something I would wait on for any longer as it has the potential to be serious.

I hope things work out ok.


Dr. Marie


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