Stargazing dog

Hello, I wonder if anyone can help me – I’m a bit at my wit’s end to be honest. My three-year-old cavapoo, Gus, has been stargazing (when he stares at the ceiling and goes rigid for anything from a couple of seconds to 30 seconds) for the whole time I’ve had him (two years). It’s sometimes accompanied by a twitching muscle in his leg, as well as chattering teeth. We’ve been to see a neurologist who said that she doesn’t think it is neurological, as if you make a noise you can snap him out of it, and he doesn’t do it when he’s distracted (like when we’re out walking). He also doesn’t have any other symptoms consistent with it being something to do with his brain. He’s had an ultrasound which didn’t show anything. Our vet put him on anti-seizure medication which he’s been on for about a year now, but it hasn’t made any difference so we’re weaning him off that. We’ve also tried omeprazole in case it’s gastrointestinal which he had an allergic reaction to. He’s currently taking zitac which hasn’t made any difference whatsoever, and we’re about to finish the course. I’ve tried putting him on elimination diet which didn’t do anything and also make sure he’s gluten-free. I really don’t know what to do next. It’s quite distressing when it’s really bad and he also seems quite scared. Other than this he’s in perfect health. I just wondered if anyone had had anything similar or could offer any advice that we haven’t already tried. Thank you very much in

Hello!  And what a handsome boy.  His sounds like a complex, confusing case and I won't try to solve it as you've already had a vet and expert neurologist on the job, who has far more information available to them than me.  Out of interest though, what was the ultrasound of and what did it show?  It sounds as though the neurologist has ruled out seizure activity and obvious nerve deficits?    I havent heard of gluten affecting consciousness or head movements very much in general - its more often associated with things like allergy, diahhoea and skin disease, but your neurologist will clearly have more knowledge in this than me.   I wonder in passing  1) whether neck or other muscular pain might be involved? And ²) whether there is an obscure, perhaps breed-related neuromuscular problem that I havent considered?  Again a neurologist would be better placed than me to comment on both of these things and further, on their proposed next step?  Perhaps it would help your neurologist to see a video - if they havent already.  I wonder whether the possibility of sudden pain has been considered - and if that was the case, where it would be coming from.  Of course, there may also be a theory of it being behavioural....?  So perhaps there are more questions than answers there - I do hope that you manage to get to the bottom of what you are seeing and if so, we would be really intruiged to hear what is found.

Thanks for the reply. To answer your questions, the ultrasound didn’t show anything. The neurologist has seen both a video and him doing it in real life, and on our second visit said that she didn’t think it was neurological, which is why we decided to go down the gastrointestinal route. Our vet has now suggested we try a low-protein diet, as apparently some dogs can’t tolerate high amounts of protein. So fingers crossed as this seems to be our last option. Oh, and the gluten thing is based on a study of border terriers where gluten caused seizures (I think it’s called Spike’s disease). It was another long shot but the neurologist thought it was worth a punt. Thanks again for the reply – I’m still hopeful that someone else out there might have had a similar experience and be able to suggest something else we can try.

Hello! I have a question...Did you ever find the cause of your pup stargazing? We are currently going through that with out almost 2 year Mini Schnauzer. Vet thought it was focal seizures, went to a Neuro that didnt think an MRI was warranted after showing her videos. He is fine on walks and when we are playing. We have an ultrasound scheduled for next week. Some days he hardly does it and today its been pretty bad. We too can call him out of it. He is currently on omeprazole as well thinking that maybe he has acid reflux. Not that I want anything to be wrong with my pup but I am hoping something shows up on the ultrasound because not having any answers and seeing him like this is breaking my heart.

Sorry for the slow reply. I’m afraid I still don’t have an answer. We’ve since put him on famotidine which didn’t make any difference either. The vet has suggested we try sucralfate next. If that doesn’t work they’ve said it might be time for an endoscopy. It’s very distressing as this has been going for his whole life and despite spending thousands of pounds on vet bills we’re still no nearer to an answer. I hope you have better luck than us.

Hi, I was wondering if you found any answers concerning Gus's stargazing. I have a 3 year old bichon, She suddenly started stargazing 2 weeks after a grooming visit. At first, I thought she was getting use to her short coat bc she had a very long coat before her appt. It's been 2 weeks now. She looks up, stretched her neck and sniffs the air repeatedly throughout the day. We've brought her to our vet who thought it might be an ear infection and gave us an ear wash, but nothing has changed. She is also not acting like her normal playful self. She's hiding under the tables or wants to be held. Her tail is down and she is not her perky self. I am so worried she may have been hurt or it is something more serious. Did anything trigger Gus's onset? I do not see much information about stargazing in dogs on teh internet. My vet had no idea what I was referring to.  It seems to come up more as reptile illness. Please help. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you for your time, Ladybug's mom

Also if the other dog on this thread, the mini schnauzer (KMatonti), found any answers after you had the ultra or found out anything, could you please also reply. I hope your pup is better. My heart is broken seeing my little puppy like this. I don't know what to do. Thank you!

Well, we tried sucraflate but Gus was sick on that so we had to stop. The next stop is an endoscopy to check if it might be a stomach ulcer. I’m putting that off though as it’ll be very traumatic for him. In the meantime I’ve bought Gus a thunder shirt which I’ve been putting on him when the stargazing is really bad. I do think it’s helping a little. There wasn’t anything in particular that triggered it - at first he did it occasionally and I didn’t really think anything of it. Then it got worse and other symptoms appeared including tremors, and acting scared and hiding. It is horrible, but it does seem to come in stages. He’ll be particularly bad for a week or so, wanting to be on his own and stargazing every few minutes or so, then he’ll be back to normal for several weeks (although he never stops doing it entirely). I’m starting to think it’s just something that we have to try to manage. The good news is that my vet doesn’t seem to think it’s doing any long-term damage to him, so that’s something. It’s horribly distressing when it’s really bad though.

OMG, it is so relieving to know that my dog is not the only one experiencing this.  Not that others are suffering also, I don't mean that, I just mean that I am not alone in this.  My dog started Star gazing when he was just a few months old.  At first I didn't know for sure what he was doing.  Now, he is a year old.  The vet has him on omeprazole and it does help not 100% but overall it does lessen the frequency.  My vet said its probably gastrointestinal.  Blood work was negative for serious conditions fortunately.  But if it's gastro, then why when he gets sick or doesn't feel good with other conditions, does he do it then??  Like when at the groomer, they did something to his eye.  I suspect they scratched it.  Then he was doing it so frequently. It seems like any time he doesn't feel go he does it a lot more.  He doesn't seem to be in pain, I don't think.  But he isn't as active during the times of presentation.  I am so worried about him.  I didn't say, he's miniature schnauzer.   He's so mild mannered compared to all of the girls I've had in the past.  He is so friendly and active.  I just wish there was something to do to help him, he's only 1.  Giving him omeprazole twice a day for the rest of his life is an inconvenience at best.  I don't like long term drug use for him.  If anyone has an ideas or anything I would appreciate any and all help.