Hydrocephalus in Corgis
Hi Folks, I am new to this forum as we now own our very first corgi! Before this we only owned Goldens. Our puppy is almost 9 weeks old. Last week we took our pup to the vet for his first checkup. We had noticed that he was emotionally flat and independent but thought that was just typical corgi behavior. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus (water on the brain). An neurolgy vet confirmed this diagnosis the following day. We were devastated. Since then we've started him on some medication to help reduce the amount of brain fluid produced and are more accepting of his limitations as we understand the diagnosis now. We are going to enjoy him and love him for the unknown amount of time that we have with him. Does anyone have any experience with this condition in corgis? Thanks.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Oh Kathie, I am sorry to hear about your pup. I have never heard of this in dogs before and am hoping for a positive outcome with the meds as you learn more about his condition. May he do well on his medications and learn to be loved and love you back. Be brave thank-you for giving him a good life. Please update us we're here also to support you!
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Permalink Reply by Kathie Cropsey on
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Thank you for your kind words and support. The meds will be a temporary fix. They want to wait until he is bigger to do an MRI to get a more accurate accessment of the severity but the neurologist thinks he is probably a 7-8 on a 10 point scale. This defect is most common in toy breeds.
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I did read that about toy breeds but didn't have time to read more about options.
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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I am so sorry to hear this about your puppy. I've never of heard of this either but I echo everything that Jane has said including updating us on his progress. We are here to support you even if we have no experience in his condition. We are good at being there for those who need support.
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Thank you so very much, Linda for your support. I'm so glad that I found this group!
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Hi Katie,
First can I offer my sympathy.
From whom did you get the puppy? I read that you had him at 7 weeks which is very early for a corgi to leave his Mom.In Ireland, good breeders tend to hold onto their puppies for 10-12 weeks to allow them to mature. Also, I find it dubious that a breeder would have been oblivious of his hydrocephalitic condition or that it would have been asymptomatic.Does the breeder not have some duty of care to you & your puppy?
When you described him as 'flat', I thought to myself that whatever corgis are, flat is not a common breed descriptor.
I completely understand that you have bonded to this puppy, but in the interests of future clients of that particular breeder, some difficult conversations need to happen, apart from all the difficult decisions about future treatments.
Take care.
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Hello Frances, I live in the US. I spoke with the breeder almost immediately after we found out and I have provided her with all of the documentation from the neurologist. She has never heard of this condition and was shocked, saddened and deeply apologetic. As a mother of three young boys herself, she could feel the heartache of my son and would have not sold us the pup had she known the pup's condition. Per the contract she will provide us with another puppy from another litter at a later date. The symptom that the vet should have noticed is the domed skull. She will be speaking with her vet about breeding the bitch again. Our neurologist said that this condition is very uncommon for this breed.
Thank you for your support and concern.
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Kathie....we're glad you found us too! This is a group of wonderful, knowledgeable and caring people. We share the good times and the bad.
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Oh, dear. I'm so sorry to hear about this development...what a sadness.
And what a strange thing. I also had never heard of the condition afflicting dogs -- but then, why not?
On reflection, I completely agree with Frances: you need to have a chat with the breeder. Did the breeder give you any health guarantee? In my parts, a good, reputable breeder will guarantee a pup's health, at least at the outset. This sounds like a congenital condition. At the very least, the breeder should refund part or all of your money. You'll need it if you elect to keep this pup for the duration of its natural lifetime.
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Hi Vicky, I opened up dialogue with the breeder the day that we found out. She was shocked, saddened and very apologetic. Per her health guarantee, she normally requires that we return the pup and will give us a pup from a future litter, however, we are going to keep the pup and care for him. We will be receiving a pup from a future litter from a different set of parents. Although we may go through the process of taking a MRI at the time that our pup is neutered, I do not see us proceeding with shunt surgery. The risks for complications are high and it it's success rate is not very high. We will keep him and love him until there is a point where he is pain or starts having seizures. We do not want him to suffer at all.
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This makes me want to cry. I'm so sorry this is happening to you, to the breeder, and most of all to the little dog. God bless.
You are wonderful to want to care for the pup as long as possible.
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Here's a photo of our special pup at 8 weeks old.
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