Help!!

[Jotts]

I have a male beagle (Jotts) who just turned 1 yr. At 10 wks old, I noticed his eyes rolling up into his head (almost as if he were blind) and he was disoriented, followed by a stillness (no tremors, shakes, etc.). This lasted for only a minute or so and occurred 4 more times over the course of his first year. I mentioned it to the vet & breeder but w/o seeing, they were unable to help. Last Wednesday it happened in Petsmart and they  have a hospital on-site so I ran him over to the docs and they witnessed it. They said they'd never seen anything like it (perhaps brain tumor) and suggested I take him to his regular vet. He had 3 more episodes that evening lasting at 45 minutes. Saw vet the next day and he witnessed but again never saw anything like it. Suggested an eye doc. He had multiple episodes on Thursday again lasting from 20 mins to an hour each. On Friday we saw eye doc, he too had never seen anything like it, as I now have it on film, and said his eyes were fine. The vet started him on Keppra (sp?) for the weekend until could get to a neuro doc on the following Tuesday. Jotts had multiple episodes everyday of the weekend but by late Sunday night he'd vomited and seemed quite ill. I stopped the meds on Monday and he seemed better but continued with episodes. Saw the neuro doc on Tuesday, again he'd never seen anything like it and is suggesting Pheno for a week and we would know if it were going to work, cat scan, MRI & spinal tap. I cannot afford any of the tests.Doc thought it could be atypical seizures or serious brain issue. Jotts and I would walk 1.5 miles in the mornings and very active play in the evening (fetch, smelling, hiking) as he's a very active 1 yr old beagle but he's not been interested in those activities in the past week. He's also somewhat edgy/nervous and will snap at you. He has always been a sweetheart - never aggressive. So for the past week he's had daily episodes of eyes rolling back, then shutting, stillness and non responsive - lasting from 10 minutes to over an hour. Energy level seems way down and his personality has changed a bit. Otherwise he's healthy - passed all tests. Any thoughts on what it is and how I should address?
Thanks,

[Margot49]

So sorry to read this.  The only other thing I could think of was something called Rage syndrome, no cure and is neurological.
He was lucky to have had the live and care you gave him.
Hugs

[Jotts]

Jotts took a turn for the worse (even more so). He became extremely aggressive, developed obsessive compulsive behaviors and was very edgy & mistrusting of everything. His episodes become longer and there were times when I don't believe he knew who we were and/or where he was. Saw another doc and again no diagnosis. All docs agreed that it was likely something from birth, that the episodes were terrible for him and altering his brain/mind quickly. And all agreed that there was likely no cure. Jotts is at peace, now. We're heartbroken but take comfort in knowing he had a wonderful life. Thank you so much for your advice, thoughts and prayers.

[dobelove]

The breeder will know what this is as they must have seen it before. You could also ask for a check on his heart if you havnt done that yet, as sometimes a heart murmur causes these symptoms. My Dobermann had cardio myopathy and a heart murmur and he took what looked like seizures and also his personality changed a bit, he became very on edge and was tiring easily.

[Jotts]

Thanks so much for the advice. The breeder has suggested thyroid testing as well and perhaps strong the pheno if results come back normal. And it concerns me as well that jotts is now snapping at me. He's definitely different after these episodes. He doesn't have the same level of energy and will surely snap when tired.

[Margot49]

Meant to add, I might discuss doing the spinal tap with the Vet, off chance it may be Encephalitis.

[Margot49]

Yes, sorry to read this.  One would suspect a seizure disorder and Beagles can be prone to epilepsy but looks like your Vets have ruled that out.  It could be a tumor or some neurological problem but further testing would have to be done, probably a CT or MRI.  What concerns me is the recent aggressive behavior.  I assume full blood work has been done including thyroid testing.  Wish I could be of more help.  
Would be curious as to how much help your breeder was.  You might try looking up health conditions of Beagles and look up their National Club web site, you may find some information on health issues or possibly someone to contact that may be able to help with more breed specific issues.  The majority of breeders belonging to the National clubs are reputable and can be very helpful.
Hope it is not a brain tumor.  
Good luck and please update.

[Jerry_NJ]

So sorry, I read on expecting to see an answer - how can doctors say "never seen that one"?  Makes me wonder, but suppose it is possible.

I understand and also think one has to set a price ceiling on what is spent to treat a dog.  

Hope someone on this Community can offer some help.