Seizures?

I seem to recall someone on here posting that their dog had seizures, but, I cannot remember who.

Well, I need some help. My sister's dog, a Catahoula mix, about 3 years old, has had what seems to be a seizure. This is the second one my sister knows about. I say knows about as maybe she has had more when they are at work.

She has recovered both times, within a few minutes, with a slight 'limp' or grogginess to her walk. The following day she seems fine. Both times were while walking, both times in warmer (but, not HOT) weather. This last time was after an injection (I can't remember if it was regular vaccine or a steriod, or what at the moment).

My sister is concerned, of course. Can anyone with a dog that has/had seizures post or pm me with more information? Treatment? Side effects? Anything?

Thanks!
Johanna

We need an Uppydate on * Snoopy * anyhow ...

So the doggie you're probably thinking of is Snoopy - one of the
Beloved Ones at 4 Dog Mom's house (aka Diana).

Snoopy has had repeated seizures and is on med to help control them.

SNOOP ~

How ya Feelin, lil Bud??

As far as I know, the last seizures Snoopy had was about a week ago. He is on Phenobarbital, and Potassium Bromide to help control, and also gets valium after he as a seizure, and to try to stop them, as he generally has clusters.


My SILs dog also used to have seizures, but they found out his was caused by a thyroid issue. Once he was put on the thyroid medication, he has not had more. His seizures were much more mild, where he would "zone out", whereas Snoopy has grand mal seuizres and often loses control of his bodily functions, and is staggering and blind for a brief time afterward. He is also extremly thirsty and hungery following the seizures.

I told my sister I had thought it was Snoopy or Taggert.....

Thanks for the info, Amy. I will let my sister know.

When we first Snoopy in for the seizures, we were told that some dogs have one every six months or so and some have them much more often. If you are okay with the dog having the seizure (meaning not flipping out but staying calm with the dog) and it is only every 3-6 months or so, you do not have to put them on medication.

Snoopy has what is called cluster seizures. That means once he has one, without staying on the valium for a few days he is likely to have another. One night he had them about every 4 hours or so. (That was before the valium). As time has gone on (it has been about 2 years now), they seem to be increasing in intensity. They last longer (but probably less than 2 minutes), he looses all his body functions which means he pees, poops and droools all over and it now takes him longer to come out of it. He used to hop up and stagger around. Now he lays like he has just run a marathon for a couple of minutes and he seems to be disoriented longer.

He was started on phenobarbital but when it wasn't working alone they added the potassium bromide. With some dogs they can find a reason (like the throid problem Amy was talking about) for the seizures and with others they cannot. With some dogs it can be a food, a noise, actually just about anything. Snoopy is a rather high strung dog and very attached to me. The only thing we can connect his to is to when he can't see me or doesn't feel I have been giving him enough time. The last ones were after I spent a week with Christy, Jasmine and Dominic and then brought Jasmine home with me for a couple of days. It seems like his happen after a period of stress. But we really don't know for sure.

As for your sister's dog, she can wait and see if they get worse and happen more frequently. The important thing is to not get your hands near their mouths as they clamp down and have no control over releasing it. Also try to keep them on the ground so they don't fall off of the bed or furniture. Snoopy has gotten his mouth latched onto his kennel wire mesh and onto the outside fence once. Don't try to get them to let go as you can hurt their mouths. Once they come out of it, it will naturally release. Don't leave them alone but talk gently to them. I usually pet Snoopy as I am trying to talk to him calmly.

Oz was having mild seizures, as compared to what it sounds like Snoopy's are. He gets this sort of spaced out look, shakes a lil' and loses control of his legs. They've all been less then a minute in duration, but were happening daily. So I took him into the vet and he recommended not putting Oz on medicine as long as they were mild. According to him with the level Oz was having, there would be no worry of brain damage and once you put'em on the medicine, they're on it for life.

Anyway there doesn't seem to be an exact science to determining what causes the seizures. They more or less rule out things that could be causing the issue. So when we left the vets, after they ran some tests, I still didn't know for sure what was causing them.

I tried to think of what was different though that all of a sudden, he started having these seizures. The only thing I could come up with, was I was doing an exorbitant amount of cleaning to the floor, because Gull was going through a diarrhea issue at the same time (Gull's issue turned out to a bacterial infection). It's the only thing I could think of that was different, so I decided to go over all the floors with just a vinegar and water solution, getting all the cleaning chemicals up off the floor. His seizures immediately went down in frequency, level and duration.

Then he went for quite awhile with no seizures, until just recently. He had a very very mild one not too long ago. I've been racking my brain trying to remember if I was cleaning anything that he could have come into contact with, but don't recall having done so. He had vaccinations recently so maybe now he's more susceptible to the seizures and that caused it. I just don't know. I just hope they continue to stay mild and don't elevate or better yet cease occuring again.

Poor guy, he knows when he's gonna have one and comes to me to hold him up. That seemed to be the worst part for him, losing control of his legs and not being able to stand. During one of the more severe ones, I found him laying on the floor drooling, unable to get up and he seemed so upset about not being able to stand. He was trying to stand, but his legs were like rubber. I had to really work to keep it together and not get all hysterical on him. I figured out if I stay calm, talk to him softly and sit under him so I can prop him up in a standing position, it's not so scary for him. I think that's why he seeks me out before they happen, because once they start, he can't move to get to me and he knows he'll end up on the floor. So at least we got a system now that makes it less scary for both of us.

Par...

My dog Rose also has seizures. The first time I noticed something happening was when she'd "zone out" and shake her head slightly from side to side. Then she had her first grand mal seizure when she was about 4 years old. She loses all control, paddles her feet, drools, and loses bladder function.

When I took her to the vet, they ran a full blood workup on her and found nothing out of the ordinary other than she was hypothyroid. We treated her for that, but the seizures kept happening, so they added phenobarbitol. The problem with phenobarbitol is that it can cause liver damage over time. At my suggestion, the vet also prescribed potassium bromide (KBr). We tried to get her on KBr only, but she was having too many seizures.

Lately, she has had some breakthrough seizures and the vet found her thyroid levels to be too low again. We increased her thyroid medication and she's been seizure free for the last month or so.

I found a website that was helpful in the early stages of this: www.canine-epilepsy.com. There are others, just Google canine epilepsy and they'll come up. There are several sites to which veterinarians or veterinary schools contribute - those are the best.

Hello,
<br>My mom has a cocker spaniel that had seisures, she took him to a chiropractor and it actually has worked so far

I Have A Teacup Yorkie Chi. Mix And She Is 1 Pound And She Has Had Three Short Seisures While She Maks This Crazy Sound So I Rushed Her To The Vet And They Said That It Could Be Her Tounge Getting Stuck In A Flap In Her Throat And Its Her Trying To Cough It Out. It Really Freaks Me Out When It Happens So If Anyone Has A Dog With Epilepsy And Can Give Me Some Info That Would Be Great. Also If Anyone Has Any Tips For Me That Might Help That Would Be Good To! Thanks So Much!
Morgan

alex has seizures, and has lived very well with them for almost 10 years. angel duke also had them, his were very very mild compared to alexs'. his were considered well controlled b/c they occured once every 6 months, i adopted duke knowing he had them. i would still adopt a dog with seizures since i know so much about the process. looking back i wish i'd known that epilepsy is not a death sentence ( i was terrified that my dog was in pain and was going to die), that there was support and knowledge and a good vet was worth every penny and dogs don't know they have epilepsy, they have their pack and their lives and fun most of the time. i also wish i understood that for some dogs, alex, chemical sensitivity is a trigger(lawn sprays, mineral spirits)and when i am very stressed , he's more likely to have them. life is good for alex, but there are fairly brief times when he's groggy from the meds and i'm freaked out. if you'd like to chat more, please PM me.

I didn't read all the other posts, so, sorry if I repeat what someone else said.

My Josie has epilepsy. She started off only having a seizure once or twice a year. The vet said it wasn't enough for treatment. However, soon, the seizures kept getting more and more frequent. She would have them once or twice a week, and she would sort of have one after another at one time. I think if they're in a seizure for more than 5 minutes, the brain overheats and it's very serious. (IE, get to the vet)

Anyway, Jo now takes phenobarb pills everyday, and hasn't has a seizure since. Sometimes she gets a little shakey, but nothing too bad.

When the dog is in a seizure, it's best not to hold them, or really even touch them. (although I do gently pat Jo...) It's best to not have really bright lights or loud noises either. And put the dog on the floor so he/she doesn't hurt themselves.

I know it's the scariest thing to see. I cry everytime Jo has one. I tell myself not to, but I honestly can't help it.

Oh yeah, the only thing I know triggers a fit for Josie is the fire alarm. Anytime it would go off, she would get really shakey, or go into a fit. Since she's been on the meds, she just gets shakey and REALLY frightened. I guess any loud noise or bright flashing lights can trigger them?? I know Jo has had seizures in the middle of the night too, with no appearint cause

Kia had a single seizure after an injection of ProHeart 6 (now off the market). After it happened I did some research and over vaccinating can cause side effects, like seizures.

Something to look into. :)

My greyhound Shaianne had seizures from about April 2001 to Sept 2001 until the final one took her life. The vet and I believed she had epilepsy but after describing to the vets how she passed away we agreed that she probably had an aneursym that was pressing on her brain or a brain tumor or something similiar. There wasn't anything that I would have done differently as she lived out her final days fat and sassy and very much LOVED! :)
I hope your sister's dog is doing better Jo.