Odd head shape/Hydrocephaly?

Koopah Troopah · Nov 9, 2021

Hi everyone! My partner and I are excited to be new and first time Frenchie owners to an 8-week-old Fawn boy named Bumi. We took him to the vet yesterday and the vet told us that his head shape is "a little odd" and "consistent with hydrocephaly" based on just looking at his head (i.e., no imaging diagnostics). Obviously, this caused a bit of anxiety for us because of how traumatic that kind of disease can be for both dog and owners. I decided to turn to the forum to get some perspectives, since I feel people here have a lot of different experiences with Frenchies. Bumi is active and has no behavioral symptoms or any outward symptoms really; although he is a pretty quiet puppy, which is different than my experience with other puppies of other breeds. Then again, my understanding of hydrocephaly is that it is a progressive disease so maybe things won't show up until later.

Also, the vet didn't actually solidly diagnose anything, just to be clear. Given what I've read about how dramatic head size and shape can change in Frenchies over the first year, I'm leaning toward this just being a waiting game to see how he develops. Thoughts?

2bullymama · Nov 9, 2021

Welcome to FBN! He is absolutely adorable!
[MENTION=4]davidh[/MENTION]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Koopah Troopah · Nov 9, 2021

Thank you! We are absolutely in love with him and are hoping he will have a long and healthy life with us.

Jakeyjake · Nov 19, 2021

What a cutie! His head does seem to have a bit of a dome shape, but it could change as he grows like you said. So I can share with you my experience when we had with Stella. When I took her for her first vet visit at 8 weeks old, my vet (who I trust implicitly) said her head shape was a bit concerning and dome shaped as well. At 11 weeks she had a few seizures which can be a symptom of hydrocephalus and they placed her on phenobarbital. We waited until she was older, 5 mos., to have a MRI done. The neurologist said she had "Mild to Moderate" hydrocephalus and needed no special treatment at the time. He wanted us to wait until she was older to give her omeprazole to reduce the production of spinal fluid. I went with my gut and weaned her off of the pheno. If she started to have seizures again, of course I would start the pheno up again. She did not have another seizure for 7 years. Had another MRI done with a different neurologist. Sadly she had a brain tumor that eventually took her life. I asked the neurologist if the hydrocephalus had worsened and he informed me that she did not have hydrocephalus at all. I couldn't believe it. My breeder was willing to take her back when she had the first MRI done at 5 mos. old, but we chose to keep her and give her the best life possible.
I'm sure your pup has stolen your heart just like so many frenchies do. Enjoy him and love him and hopefully he will live a long happy life.

davidh · Nov 20, 2021

Cute little bugger. The head is a little domed shaped, but it can change some as he gets older. Plus is the vet a Frenchie specialist? If not, I would find one. Some vets just aren't that good with Frenchies.

Koopah Troopah · Nov 24, 2021

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for your response. We took Bumi to a second vet and they said that while he does have an odd shaped head that we shouldn’t be too concerned because they see a lot of dogs with odd shaped heads lol. Reading your response about your Stella brought tears to my eyes…she must’ve been a wonderful dog.

Koopah Troopah · Nov 24, 2021

Thanks so much for your suggestion. This wasn’t a vet that specializes in frenchies. We took him to get a second opinion though and they weren’t concerned about his head shape so that made us feel a whole lot better!