Dog Seizures- Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, & More
90Guide to Dog Seizures
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Causes of Dog Seizures
Just like people can have seizures and seizure disorders, so can dogs. Basically, brain cells use electrical and chemical signals to communicate, which can either activate another neuron or shut off a neuron. Seizures are thought to be caused when there is an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory signals in the brain.
Dogs, like people, have a normal neurological activity level within the brain that keeps the brain cells from getting too excited, and when too many brain cells are excited at once, a seizure can start up.
Note: The excitement within the brain cells has absolutely nothing to do with your dog getting excited when you come home from school, or work, when he plays, or during any other activity.
Depending on your dog's age, the following medical conditions may be the cause of your dog's seizures. (You will find the list in order of more common to more rare conditions.)
- Under 8 months- Developmental Disorders, Encephalitis or Meningitis, Trauma, Portacaval shunt, Hypoglycemia, Toxins, Intestinal parasites, Idiopathic Epilepsy (rare)
- 8 months to 5 years- Idiopathic Epilepsy (most common), Developmental disorders, Trauma, Encephalitis or meningitis, Acquired hydrocephalus, Neoplasia (tumor), Portacaval shunt, Hypoglycemia, Electrolyte disturbances, Hypothyroidism, Toxins
-
Over 5 years- Neoplasia (tumor), Degenerative disorders, Vascular disorders, Hypoxia (lack of oxygen in body tissues), Hypoglycemia, Idiopathic Epilepsy, Trauma, Encephalitis or meningitis, Acquired hydrocephalus, Serious Liver disease, Hypocalcemia, Electrolyte disturbances, Hypothyroidism
Dog MRI Scan
Diagnosing Dog Seizures
Before you can treat a seizure disorder, you need to determine the type of seizures that your dog suffers may be caused by an underlying disease that when treated, may actually treat the seizures.
The different types of seizures include Primary Epileptic Seizures, Secondary Epileptic Seizures, and Reactive Epileptic Seizures. With your vet's help you can help determine what type of seizures that your dog has. Although, there is no test to 100% determine what type of seizures your dog has, your veterinarian can help you determine the type of seizure by how your dog acts during the seizure.
Many times the vet will try to treat other conditions that may be causing the seizures before he actually is able to treat the seizures. For example, if you dog appears to be suffering secondary seizures, your vet may consider an abnormal process in the brain, trauma, tumor, or an infection, or for reactive seizures you vet may consider a metabolic dysfunction, hypothyroidism, low calcium, liver failure, toxins, kidney failure, or an electrolyte imbalance.
You veterinarian will also consider the age of your dog and your dog's breed, as older dogs are more prone to seizure disorders than younger dogs and some breeds are prone to seizure disorders.
Breeds who commonly suffer seizure disorders include:
- Beagles
- Belgian Tervurens
- British Alsatians
- Collies
- Dachshunds
- Golden Retrievers
- Keeshounds
- Labrador Retrievers
Note: About 65% of dogs between the ages of 1 year and 5 years suffer primary epilepsy.
Tests that your vet may consider may include:
- MRI or CT brain scan to rule out brain tumors.
- Spinal Tap to look for infectious diseases, such as distemper.
- Antibody titers to help identify causes of an infection.
- Toxin Tests to determine if there are any toxins or poisons.
Treating Dog Seizures
Generally, your veterinarian will not prescribe medications unless the seizures persist on a regular, or semi-regular basis. Sometimes your dog may just experience one or two seizures and never any more.
Otherwise, if your dog has persistent seizures, much less persistent severe seizures, your vet can prescribe one of a number of different medications. It's up to you and your vet to narrow down the list, as with any medication there are always potential adverse side effects.
Common seizure medications and their side effects include:
- Phenobarbitol- sedation, loss of coordination, lethargy, depression, weight gain, increased thirst and eating, excessive urination, difficulty balancing, weakness in rear legs, and severe liver disease
- Potassium Bromide- vomiting, depression, lethargy, and drowsiness
- Clorazepate- drowsiness and wobbly gait
- Felbamate- liver toxicity and bone marrow suppression
- Levetiracetam (Keppra)- stiff and wobble gait, vomiting, and salivation
- Zonisamide- high salt levels
Besides medication, you can consider kindling, which is the repeated application of a low-intensity electrical stimulus to the dog's brain. I want to say that kindling is more of an experimental treatment. It is something that you can inquire about...
During and After Your Dog Has a Seizure
During the Seizure
While your dog is having a seizure, you want to stay calm. Most vet believe that the dog is not in pain, so the best thing for you to do is relax and make sure that the dog doesn't hurt himself (IE make sure that he won't fall down stairs or hit anything.)
Don't try to restrain your dog, just let him seize. You want to keep your hands away from the dog's mouth because your dog may clench down on his jaws and hurt you.
Some dogs may even attack during a seizure, so you want to keep any other pets away during the seizure.
Remember just stay calm. Talk gently to your dog, especially if dog is unconscious, as this may help him regain his consciousness. You may even want to consider dimming the lights.
If you dog has a previous history of seizures, your vet may have prescribed a medication to help ease the seizure, definitely have this ready.
Treat Dog Seizures with Natural Medication
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You can even consider a natural treatment for dog seizures. There are two more common options.
- PetAlive EaseSure is an all natural blend of herbs and other homeopathic ingredients that are meant to treat and prevent seizures.
- EaseSure Drops are recommended to use along with your dog's regular seizure medication. Do not discontinue your dog's regular medicines when using EaseSure Drops.
Before you decide on a treatment, you want to figure out the pros and the cons with any of the treatments, whether that is a particular medications, an alternative, or an experimental treatment.
After the Seizure
Some dogs may be normal after a seizure, but other dogs may be a bit disoriented.
Common signs you will notice after a seizure include:
- Pacing
- Whining
- Extreme hunger
- Blindness
- Disorientation
- Rare aggression
You may also notice difficulty walking, bumping into to furniture, getting stuck in corners, attempting to eat anything, and a persistent crying or whining.
When your dog regains full consciousness, he may want to pace around, which is normal. Help him find a place and let him just walk it off. Your dog may want to pace for a short period or as long as 24 hours.
Also offer small amounts of food and water, as some dogs may get hungry after having a seizure. The small bits of food may help calm him down.
If your dog's body temperature rose from the seizure, you want to consult your vet so that you can find the best way to lower and balance out your dog's temperature.
Disclaimer: Please be aware that the advice in this article should in no way replace that of a licensed veterinarian. The methods outlined above may or may not work for your pet. If you have any concerns, you should consult a veterinarian.
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hello my brother dog is 4 years old and has had about 20 siezure in 36 hours... and they are wondering what to do...
Hi. Can anyone help. My dog is 6 years old and has had grand mal seizures for 1.5 years. She is on both potassium bromide and phenobabaitol. Quite a high dose 2.5 and 2 of each 2x daily. She's 30kilos (about 66 lbs). She still has seizures they happen about once a month and in clusters. For example, the last session was 5 days and she had 9 or so seizures in that time. Then they stop for the next month and it happens all over again. We're trying to balance mess, seizures and quality of life (back leg weakness, excessive hunger and spaciness). This last session has been so hard as it seems like she has lost her mind. She doesn't listen to simple commands (drop etc) all she wants is to scrounge for food. I feel like she is not the same dog and my husband is really fed up with her. It is so hard as during fit sessions she wakes us up a few times a night and is even worse with the pacing / clumsiness. It's like she's lost all her brain cells or function. Thank goodness she is still gentile and sweet, but I'm in tears with how different she has become. I miss my old doggie and want my hubby to be happy with her again too. Any advice? Please help. Has this happened to anyone, what can we do?
Many people expect the medicine to work like magic, it takes 2-3 weeks for the medicine to level out in your dogs blood. I have a 13 year old boxer that was put on medicine, for 3 days all she did was sleep act weird and do her business every where in the house. We were going to put her to sleep the next day, and my 11 year old pleaded on her behalf and told us to give her a month as we had promised. Sure enough she started coming around and after 3 weeks she was back to her old self , today after 2 months of seizure free living she had a mild one. We are going to monitor her over night and hope that she doesn't have any more. So please give your dog a chance before putting them down.
I have a nearly 14 y.o. lab mix. She started having seizures at ~1 y.o. I thought they were brought on by her getting into something toxic, I don't know what, but her liver enzymes were VERY elevated (her bilirubin was 9X normal). The most frequently she had them was 1X/mos, which then dropped to 4-5X/yr, then to nothing for many years. Recently though, she has started shivering. She's not cold and doesn't seem ill in any other way. She does sometimes just stop and stare into space, but I figure that may just be her having a "senior moment"! She was a bit overweight most of her adult life and is now normal weight, but not thin. I assume that it is because she has gotten fussy in her old age and will often leave her food unless I put a treat in it. Treats she gobbles up as usual. She appears quite healthy and very active for her age. But this shivering has me concerned. Could the shivering and/or standing staring into space be forms of seizures? Could they be symptoms of something else? Her vet is unconcerned.
I have a 6year old staf and just a few weeks ago she started to have what I think is a seizure. Her whole body does not shake but just her head. She just lays there while her whole head is twiching uncontollably it is so hard to watch. She didn't have any till two days ago and since then has had it 3times. After about 1-2 mins she seems to be back to normal, I haven't seen anything like this before. I am going to take her to the vet.tomorrow but has anyone come across something like this before? Help
my dog has seizures had them all her life
I had a 4 month old pure breed chihuahua. Just yesterday she had seizures almost back to back didn't know why she was having them. She was a very healthy puppy was up to date on her shots in all.
This is what happened, we got up in the morning feed her she was doing fine in the morning she played for about an hour. Then all of a sudden she was making these little noises like something was bothering her I thought her nails where to long an getting stuck in our carpet so I had clipped them, but that wasn't it. Once I had put her down she had started to pee every where very unusual for her to do that. I had picked her up in she just started to cuddle with me making little cries. I laid her down after awhile,checked on her with in 5 minutes and she was foaming to the mouth and started to get stiffed. She was having a seizure. I gave her honey to bring her blood pressure up because her gums got so white. It did help a bit after a few minutes she just started to get them almost back to back. Took her to the vet and they gave her a shot to control the seizures. with in a few hours my bullseye passed away it did'nt help her, doesn't make seance. Just today her daddy 3yrs old Chihuahua had a seizure in the morning hes doing great after me giving him some honey,hes very weak did eat some of his food and drank a little bit of water and know hes just laying down but is alert.I'm still keeping an eye on him just in case he has another episode.PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MIGHT BE..
My dog is 13, she started to have fits at 11. The vet gave her all the usual medication, none worked. She had a few months to live. One day the Vet thought to try cordesone. Why not, she is old, it will not get worse. And guess what?? The seizures are history! For a year now she had no siezure, half a cordisone every day and she is a changed dog. Bullet proof again and happy chaising the ball. Hope this helps some one with an older dog.
Hi there...my husband has an 11 year old Jack Russell....he has had seizures from the time he was a puppy and has been on meds pretty much his whole life....when I moved in 6 years ago I was determined to get to the bottom of it....so we tried different foods, but my husband has always just bought whatever food is on sale for him and other than the seizures his coat is great, he has a ton of energy etc... my husband also from the time he was a pup has given him table scraps...so one day I put a stop to ANY table scraps just to see if there was any change....well he went from having 4-5 seizures a week to maybe 4-5 seizures A YEAR!!! and even the few he has are way milder and it's usually after he's either gotten into the garbage or a visitor has sneaked him some scraps...it's the weirdest thing but worth a shot...he hasn't been on meds in over 5 years! I hope this helps someone out there...good luck!
I have a chaweenie, an she just started seizures 3 days ago. I have only had her for 2-3 weeks. She is 12 weeks old. She had them back to back sometimes 30 minutes apart, 10 a day at times. I brought her to the vet, an her tests were all normal sept she was anemic. Which can trigger seizures. She was put on 8mg phenobarbitol, an antibotic, an vitamins. She hasnt had one since, but she whines alllllll the time, it drives me nuts! Lol so i will prolly bring her back to the vet an find out as to why an if anything to help her.
My dear sweet love Pippi,I posted about 7 days ago,she was having seizures,passed away in my arms on Saturday morning ,just 4 days ago,I am so devastated.I did not want her to suffer any more and I prayed for her to pass but I feel a empty hole in my heart without her.I have other wonderful dogs but she was my first baby,and like a child she had her own special place that can't be replaced.R.I.P.my darling Pippi.
My chihuahua, and something mixed, had its 4th or 5th seizure tonight. She has been doing this for about a year. She normally gags, (which is normal for her, she's 17) then falls to her back, pukes and pees at the same time. This is very horrible to see, and very heartbreaking. I know she's old, and has been here forever. I don't want to have to put her down. But the seizures are more common then they have been? Any suggestions? Should I take her to the vet and get medicine? Will the medicine work? Please comment, I need help please.
Karen,
You did the right thing as the quality if life for your dog was going to be rough. My dog is also starting to deteriorate fairly rapidly with same symptoms and suspect i'll be in your shoes in the next couple weeks. Life is short and unfortunately for animals slit shorter.
Had to put my 8-9 (not sure of age) golden retriever/lab mix down just 4 days ago. He began having seizures in Nov (4mos ago). Vet put him on Phenebarbatrol twice daily. The day before he was put down, we doubled his dose to 4 pills per day instead of the two. He had a seizure just 4 hrs after the last dose. He was very off balance when he came to, paced the floor for long time, bumped into wall. Took him next day to be put down and vet thought he may have also had an abcess in his abdomen as his stomache looked a bit large. She also thinks he may have had a brain tumor. I am having a hard time dealing with it because I wonder if I did the right thing by putting him down. Someone please help me to be able to accept that it was the right thing??? Please.
my 10 year old dachshund has crushing disease takes meds for that and thyroid meds ,glaucoma,poor old gal has started having seizures,it started with one or two a day lasting for 30 seconds,wobbly-falls down,stairs off in space then collapse on one side and then 30 sec and shakes her head and walks to her pillow.Also eats her food like she is starving and she has food on and off all day so she cant really be hungry.I love her so much but I really don't want her to be on more meds.She does get up and walk a little after her seizures and I was wondering if she is not crying,still eating,knows me ,is she in pain?she doesn't cry or anything,but is getting up and walking after a seizure mean she is in pain? IS their any organic way to help her seizures?
I find it very strange how many many dogs have seizures. The more I read about the things such as preservatives in dog food and all the toxic injections we give them the more I think we need to look at why there are so many seizures in dogs.
Yesterday I went to go feed my 13 year old lab and she walked over and just collapsed. She can walk perfectly then she falls again. What should I do???
I found out that giving my dog table scraps cause him to have siezures. When he eats only dog foos than he is fine.
We just lost our 11 and a half year old dachshund yesterday. She laid down, arched her back and shook about 5 or 6 times and died. She has never had a siezure before.The Vet told us she probably had a weakening in her heart and things just started shutting down and she was not in any pain because she was unconcious. She had always been healthy when she was examined and got her shots. How can this come with no warning?
My 11 1/2 yr lab started having seizures 6 mo. ago. She would have about 1 every 3 weeks and by December, she had one a week. In January, she started having two a day with what seemed like a mild seizure, then she almost came out of it only to go back into a large seizure. She took a half hr to one hr to come out of the after effects. After she had two seizures in a day, I talked to the vet about his suggestion of Valium. The other vet put her on phenobarbitol twice a day.
Within hrs of the med, she began to pace, cry and bark. She wouldn't sleep. She would drink a lot of water and eat her food (side effect). She began to urinate all over the house.
After almost two days of this behavior and crying, we took her in at 1am and had her put to sleep. It was almost like she
thanked us. I believe the pain became unbearable for her and she finally cried to let us know. It was harder for my husband
to watch the seizures than me, but after having to go through the seizures the last few days alone with her, I realized how hard it really is to watch and what she must be going through.
My dog, a golden retriever, has had seizures since he was 2. His mom also had seizures. He's now 7 and regularly has seizures. I have talked to the vet and they said they can't help me until he seizes in front of them.
My dog mutt(part beagle) Cody has had seizures since he was 8 weeks ld. He was really bad for a few weeks, having 3-4 seizures a day. Now he nly has 1-2 a month all in the same day. He is super lazy and doesn't have much of a brain, for instance he wants to chew on toys like my other dog does but he doesn't know how to.
If a dog shakes their feet in their sleep it's most likely a dream, a fit it's scary as hell. My dog has had one tonight first time and when it stopped he just laid there Tongue at the side and looked vacant, didn't respond to anything it wasn't my baby, he's a 5 month border collie, when he got up he kept trying to hide in a corner and ignored me as he is usually so well behaved. All your comments have helped me so thanks. He's sleeping now but I dare not leave his side, he also lost control in the toilet area, I think it's down to him licking cement as there is building work outside and he had it round his mouth that was yesterday. X
my beagle has seizures and she foams at the mouth. she tries to walk and stumbles.
my staffy/rodgeback cross dillon had a sudden onset of seizures this mon. he never had them before and it was as scary as hell!!! he had 5 over a 3hr period. we have had him to the vets and are awaiting the results of his blood tests though the vet has staeted him on a treatment of libromide and epiphan. he is very wobbly and restless due to the new medication but at the moment we seem to have lost all the things abouut dillon that made him who he was. i am hoping that this settles once his meds kick in and his system becomes used to them.iv rad a little about the treatments we have been given on the net and i cant say im totally sold on libromide.i know if it helps its best to keep him on it but to think we might loose his old charecter is quite upsetting. he's only 2 and we want to do our best for him. has anybody else had any experience of these drugs and the effects they had on their dogs. he my baby and cant bring myself to think that the best thing for him means us loosing who he is???? any advice would be helpful. we do have an upcoming vets appointment with him and will be raising these questions with them too. thankyou. :0)
my dog is having alot of sezures and he is only 2 years old and he is a shnoodle i need information please help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! asap
Visit the guardian angels for dogs website. http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ There are many things you can do to help your dogs that are realtively inexpensive. I have a rescue dog who has seizures and the people on the website have helped me alot and have provided some much needed support.
i have a pet beagle and he has got 3 seizures in 1 day .
how can i reduce this or stop this as it really pains me
to see my dog suffer
please coment on my problme
My doberman is 8 years old and had 3 seizures yesterday. He is on an IV right now, and got treated for an allergy over night. Do you think this could be a cause?
He didn't have any seizures today, he is just drowsy.
I have a 4 yr old 35lb Sheltie who has been having seizures for a little over one year now. Recently, she had three seizures within a 24 hr period...due to the time change we accidentally gave her meds to her an hour later since the clocks were set back one hour. After she has a seizure she has trouble walking, balancing and just eats and sleeps most of the time. It has been four days now and still the same. Sometimes I can get her to go out, but mostly she may urinate on the tile since she is this way. I am wondering if she has to get used to her meds all over again since these are side effects of the meds (pheno & bromide)or if it is a result of the seizure itself and any effect on the brain or trauma caused by the seizure. The last time we goofed her med time she was like this for weeks. Is she still seizing without us knowing?
My 17 yr old chihuahua has seizures that came on with old age. I feed him every 5-6 hours. while I am at work someone feeds him and I wake up in the middle of the night to feed him. Sinc he is toothless i just give him chihuahua kibble ground up and made into a cereal with bottled water. I inject that into his mouth for his early a.m. middle of the night feeding. This has stopped his siezures for the most part. If I sleep thru and am a little late to feed him, he will seize. Chihuahuas are a breed that are prone to seizures, the author left them out, don't know why..it is prevalent with the breed. Try food for your dog before medication, he or she could just be hypoglycemic.
Most of you are standing by not taking the dog to the vet.My mother waited to late and the dog is recovering.MInd state is still slow.
BEST FOR DOG SEIZURES:
Phenobarbitol
(possible to lower mg's down after a
few weeks depending on dog)
Milk thistle (aide liver from harmful side affect to liver
Teaspoon or 2 a day with food to increase low blood pressure
Petalive.Seems to help as a natural medication made from plants.
If the dog has had heavy mal seizures hopefully there is no permanent brain damage. If the dog cant walk or seems paralyzed. You will have to give him therapy.Move his or her legs manually so they dont cramp.
Walk the dog with a towel wrapped around him or her to assist walking.Or you can find or make a wheel pulley.(similar to a mini engine hoist. Or an actual dog wheel chair.
All that 15 different veggies thing is an over kill.
Meat and rice with a hidden crushed multivitamin will do the trick.
Premium bagged dog food chopped with a beet hot dog, Boiled or microwaved then washed with water.To remove most of the salt.
Check to see if your dog has an ear infection also before thinking brain tumor.
i have a 15 months old boxer bourght him from someone when he was 5 months old and he started having seizures when he was 7 months old took him to vet in the night cause wasnt sure what was wrong with him they gave him shots and put him on phenobarbital was without a seizure for like 4 months then had one night woke up with him in seizures took him in to vet for blood test everything came back fine wass good for another month then 2 nights ago went back in to seizure mode but more agressive so went to vet again and she up his dose hopefully this works cause i know what everyone here is feeling its very hard to see ur loved one go through something like this i just sit with him pet him and talk to him quietly in the dark if anyone knows of anything else a person could give extra that wouldnt harm him would like to know i love my dog hes my baby and i feel helpless
my dog abu is almost 2 years old and is having seizures this has just recently started the first time i was at work and when i came home my brother and sisters said she was acting funny i didnt think nothing of it cause prior to this i had never heard of dogs having seizures about 8 hours from the first incindent she did it again they both lasted for 1-2 mins and she got really aggressive with anyone that went near her well another 8 hours went by and she had another one that last 5-10 mins so i rushed her to the emergency vet of course the bill is expensive and they told me to take her home and monitor her we were at the eclinic for about 7 hours by the time i got her home she had another seizure this one lasted an hour and i rushed her back she stop and i follow up with a reg vet right after they did blood work and the only thing that came up was her white blood cells were off so they put her on phenobarbotrol and i have been reguarly giving it to her she was fine for about 2 weeks and then went into another seizure that lasted over 2 hours i rushed her to the eclinic and they gave her 2 shots of phenobarbotrol and valium and she was still seizing i took her to my reg vet again and they told me to keep her on the medicine i currently have her on the medicine but yesterday she started acting weird again and is gaining weight like crazy she has weighted 5 pounds up until these seizures and has gained 3 and keeps going up i dont know what to do or what really could be causing these incidents she has brought me so much joy and was the one to get me out of my depression if the medicine is not working i dont know how or what will help her to stop..
It doesn't look like ANY of the inquiries get answered on this page... sad... there are actually people who wait for an answer that never comes..
i have a pitbull and hes still a puppy hes around 7 to 9 months and hes been having seizures since he was about 5 months, overall hes had about 6 seizures and they are becoming semi frequent, from once a month to twice a month and i dont know whats wrong with him, i contacted his vet but they are rediculously expensive, we cannot afford the testing, etc, we might have to get in debt to treat our dog, but id like suggestions as to what might be wrong with my puppy, how i can help or any other types of suggestions please!!!!!!
It's been 2months since my 11yr old yellow lab had her first seizures. One of the hardest things I have had to go through in my life, I'm starting to realize the seizures are caused by a much worse condition. We chose to not do extensive testing/treatments, she will be 12 in 6months. My vet advises, through process of elimination of bloodwork, it is most likely a brain tumor. She is on phenobarbitrol now, we have had to increase her dosage over time but she is holding her own, which makes it harder. She does have both urine and bowl accidents in the house, she is limited to just the 1st floor now, we need to pull my son's rug up she has had so many accidents in his room. She has also "snapped" at me twice, once while brushing her and another as I looked at her long nail that was bothering her. The pacing that occurs after a seizure, do not be fooled, it is a sign of discomfort or pain. I don't want to keep her around for my comfort/happiness if she is in any sort of pain. In an old dog, no amount of honey or phenobarbitol will keep them around. I just hope I have the courage to do right by Jasper before she is in too much discomfort. Good luck to all...
12yrs old has had 3 seizures hes a mutt i am going to try
honey .that might work . its worth a try???1 a month ago
than 2 yesderday? foams from the mouth. saliva thick.
My dog had 4-6 grand-mal seizures per day. The vet put him on homemade food for another reason and he never had another seizure!!!!! Get off dry dog food ASAP. Use:
Eggs (cooked lightly), chicken, cooked/raw carrots, canned tomatoes, spinch, broccoli, celery, beef, rice, oatmeal, (easy on the carbs)and cottage cheese. Also his lost hair returned beautifully and those fatty lumps under the skin disappeared in 4-6 months.
Hi I am new to this and my dog has a fix 3 days ago, do these posts get answered. I have questions I would like to ask others in the same boat.
I am reading so much and getting so confused.
My chuwawa has regular seizures and the sight hurts my heart. Is it cruel to let the little rascal continue down this rough hard pathway for a lifetime? I am getting more upset at the onset of each outbreak becomes more frequent and she looks as if pain and the 1000 yard stare becomes longer? However, there has been no mention of euthanasia in any articles. I J need some direction!
have a 13 year old lab who has paralyzed trachea and takes thyroid medicine. I keep him in an air condition room during the heat and I only let him outside in the early morning or night time to do his business unless we have a cooler afternoon then he goes out to.
he drink excessive amount of water if left to his own he will drink until his abdomen is bloated. He is other words almost drowns himself. all his blood work show nothing wrong except for his thyroids that he takes him meds for. Last year while tending to my horse he came over and puked up water and then falls down and just lays there and one min later he gets up like nothing happened. another time he was walking over to me while walking my horse out of his stall and noticed he seemed off , so I turn around and run my horse back into his stall. He was down on the ground with no real bad breathing sound and laid there and one min latter he was up again like nothing happened. Now in the past 2 weeks he did this twice except some thing have changed. I gave him one cup of water and then he goes outside to pee and then he comes in the house and pukes the water up and then stumbles into my daughter room and falls down and stretched out and I was calling him and petted him and was sure he was dying. So I go to call my husband and tell him junior died, and then I hear him barking and go into the bedroom and he was standing up and acting like nothing happened. Just yesterday I was awaken by hearing hard breathing and he already had a bowel movement on the floor and looks at me and fall down and he lays there and pees allot urine all over the floor and I then one min later he gets up like nothing happened. he does have bad breath but have always bought high quality meat based dog food. i now soak his dog food and spread it out threw out the day in order for he won't choke and I also started feeding can food with his food and giving him wild alaska salmon oil for his coat. besides the can food added now he has been feed the same food without a problem. my other dogs are doing well on the food. does this sound like a seizure he doesn't go anything like I have seen other dogs seizure. he just had blood work again and finds nothing wrong with him besides what we already know. the vet said phenobarbital to help his seizures but not sure does anyone else have any ideas?
My Boston Terrier Female is 14 and she just had her first seizure on potassium bromide. Me and my girlfriend just got her three months back because her owner could no longer care for her. This was her 4th seizure and by far the worst and longest(around 2-3 minutes). She paced some when she had the first three but not like she is pacing now. Does that mean the seizure was in fact the worst and how long before she can go to sleep? She is such a sweet dog and I hate watching her go through this. Thanks and I hope everyones dog(s) on here are doing great.
My dog is half shiatzu/maltese. He is 15 and has cushing disease. He has had 4 siezures. The first he was running in back yard and then fell over and gave out a loud scream. He eventually got up and walked it off. The second was 8 days later, same happened. The third was 12 days later, same again. The vet took him off the cushings medication and put him emediately on Heart Tablets. He takes one every morning and evening. He did not have another siezure until Tuesday. The reason I believe was he had been unwell for 3 days and the VET took him off the heart tablets. He has been back on them since Tuesday evening and touch wood all is good. What I have learnt when he has a siezure is get close where he/she can see you and in a calming voice incourage he/she to get up. This has worked twice now with siezures only lastin 30 seconds to 1 minute, much better then the first two. I hope this helps.
Our dog Vinnie developed siezures. First it was maybe once every 2-3 months. Then it got more frequent. The vet put him on pheno barbitol which helped some but eventually he died of liver failure.
My 11 year old yellow lab had 5 seizures last week for the first time. We took her to a vet while we were vacationing, and it was a horrible experience. He suggested they were normal. We followed up with our vet once we got home and they tested her for lyme disease which she has had in the past. My vet suggested the seizures can be a side effect of the lyme especially since she is older now. We hope the lyme medication helps and the seizures stop.
I would suggest when seizures are sudden with your pets ask for your dog to be tested for lyme.
jaguarsky 2 weeks ago
I have a Beagle/Jack Russell mix, (as close as we can tell), he is about 8yrs old and was a Katrina rescue.
He started having seizures about a month after we adopted him. They rapidly became a devastating part of our lives. We have him on the usual meds and because of the nature of his seizures it is really hard to tell if they do much but we certainly don't want to take him off even though the meds are toxic themselves.
Poor old boy has rarely gone for more than two weeks without a grand mal seizure and sometimes he may, during a cluster have several a day for days or weeks at a time. But, when he is doing OK his quality of life is pretty good.
That is until recently as he seems not only to be having more seizures but is showing symptoms of dementia as well. He wanders 24 hours a day until he falls down in exhaustion and sleeps for a while. He has also become agressive with one of the younger dogs. The only time he is at all like his old self is when it is time to eat.
We have had this good old boy for years now and adjusted our lives accordingly. We never leave him alone unless it is absolutely necessary and then we put him in a room by himself where he is relatively safe. We have never thought of it as a burden, just something you do for someone you love.
But now as we this decline we know that sooner, rather than later we will have to make that hard decision. It is breaking our hearts. We have been through it several times before with our doggy children, but it doesn't get any easier.
My heart and prayers go out to those of you who are in this situation. Please, before you give up work with your vet to adjust medications. Try different diets. (We keep our boy on a low fat, no additives diet that seemed to be helpful up until now.) Try some suppliments like glycine or other amino acids with your vet's knowledge. (do some online research)
When we take a pet into our lives it is supposed to be a lifetime committment. Not all gifts are perfect and the struggles they sometimes bring can teach us how to be better. Sometimes, that is the gift.
Blessings.