Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 5/20/2011

Question
Hi Jana.

My sister has a Scottish terrier who is about 6months old now.
This dog, is a female, and is now lethargic, drooling excessively, can hardly walk without falling, and also she smells quite bad but only from the neck up. she is also breathing rapidly. my sister however has taken "whiskey" to the vet countless times and they keep telling her that the dog has an infection but they don't know what type of infection. also when she bought the dog, she caught a disease that is only found in livestock such as cows, chickens and sheep. they gave anti-biotic for that and was fine until about a month later and ever since then she just has not been the same. this dog is still a puppy and is suppose to be playful and energetic. but seems to be lethargic and sick most of the time. I honestly don't know what to do, im very worries that my sister is going to lose her dog!

thank you
Melissa

Answer
I am sorry your sisters dog is so sick Melissa, but there is not much I can do from here. I am not a vet but there are diseases that only Scotties get and she needs to find a new vet that has treated Scotties before. I don't recall the real name of the disease but they call it Scotty Disease. It is common in these dogs and does need attention.

Your sister needs to start looking around her area for a new vet that has more experience. There are plenty of ways to find out what kind of infection the dog has and have it treated. It sounds to me that either there is an issue with money and your sister won't pay for testing or the vet doesn't know what to do, in which case she needs to find a new vet.

That is about all I can tell you. You can Google disease in Scottish Highland Terriers and find lots of them. You may even find one that matches what the dogs symptoms are.

I am sorry I cannot be of more help than that- but hopefully it will start you in the right direction.

Here are some of the links I have found:
http://www.scottishterrierdog.com/health.htm

http://www.doggies.com/Scottish_Terrier

One thing you might want to have investigated is this:

Cerebellular Abiotrophy

Cerrebellular abiotrophy (CA) is an inherited disorder causing death of Purkinje cell in the cerebellum. The disorder is seen in several canine breeds and other species including humans. In the Scottish Terrier, the disorder has an median onset of 7 months. The disease often has progressive deterioration in gait, but not in all cases.

Generally, the affected dogs appear normal when walking. However, they show hind limb ataxia when going up or down stairs. As the disease progressed, owners report dogs show noticeable gait abnormalities in all 4 limbs. It becomes progressively more difficult for dogs to negotiate stairs and they lose contol of their pelvic limbs when running.

The assumed mode of transmission is an autosomal recessive trait. However no gene or genes have been isolated to cause the disorder.

http://www.stca.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=333:scottish-te...

I mention that because you stated that the dog can hardly walk.
I hope this helps. Please let me know what you find out about the dog.
I will be thinking of her and hoping for her recovery.