Seizures in Dogs

[DawnCt1]

My black female standard poodle, Annie had seizures. The first time it was rather scary. We put her on phenobarbital. I gradually withdrew it because I thought it sedated her too much. After that, she had perhaps 2 to 4 brief seizures a year. I could live with that. She knew when she was about to have a seizure and she would come and sit on my foot. Jude, a white standard poodle, developed seizures at the age of 5. He had his American and Canadian championship at that point but his breeder was responsible and at the first seizure, she neutered him. If it wasn't for his seizures, he wouldn't have come to live with us. He would still be "working". He has been with us since he was 8 years old. He is ten now and has had 3 seizures. I can live with that too.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

yep, our golden had then for 10 years. He was on 2 phenobarbital pills a day and had blood work twice a year. I think we increased the milligrams maybe 3 times. The seizures were tough on him but he recovered pretty well. He never flopped, it was clenched jaws and limp legs. We keep towels handy because he would usually lose controls of his bowels after, and he would have a head tilt for about an hour after.
I did discover that if I covered his eyes with my hand they didn't last as long, and his eyes would dilate so I assume the light was tough to deal with. He did growl a bit during the seizure and wanted to go outside and be left alone for a few minutes but then he was fine, maybe a little sluggish for the rest of the day but that was it. Oh and he would drink a lot of water after.

 

[Chicago526]

My dog gets them. There's no way to know for sure but the vet thinks it's linked to hypothyroidism. She takes thryroid pills and the frequency is much less than it was. The are so few that she is not on anti-seizure medication. Have your vet test you dog's thyroid levels.

ETA: Missy is a black lab/border collie mix. She had her fist seizure at about age 5.

 

[npmommie]

My dog was on the phenobarb too, we also had valium on hand if needed, the night she passed away she started seizing in the middle of the night, i woke to the thumping sound..........I don't know how long it had been going on when I got down there but it was apparant that it had not just started.......it was clusters by that time...........

cluster seizures are when they seize and they just don't come out, they slow up but then it begins all over again immediately, the body doesn't recover, so when I woke and found her seizing, i tried the valium but at that point she needed the valium iv push..........it just wasn't bringing her out.

I don't mean to scare you, many many many dogs live very full lives with seizures, my dog ginger had them for a little over 2 years, and she was an older dog when she was diagnosed, she was close to 10, which is older for a large dog.
your dog is younger so i bet she will do well on meds to control them if that is needed. Keep us posted!

 

[AndyLL]

Our dog had 2 seizures this afternoon. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this has occured. She is currently at the vets being watched over night and having tests done. Epilepsy has been mentioned but this is not a sure thing as of now. Does any one have any experience with their dog having seizures?

Lori

Both of our 1st 2 Golden Retrieves had epilepsy ahad seizures.

The 1st would stiffen completely and shake.

Before medication she had a decent number. After medication it would only happen when she got real stressed. At home and when camping we'd carry a syring of medicine (valumn?) that we'd shoot her up with when she siezed.

The 2nd one had more 'stealth' seizures. Just would become unresponsive for 5-10 minutes. (after reading a PP I remembered... her bad legs would go dead on her) Medicine took care of her issues.

 

[LargoLori]

Thank you everyone for posting your experiences, I just talked to the vet and Sunshine did not have any additional seizures last night. They did test her thyroid and we should have the results in 2 days. She is leaving the emergency vet this morning and going back to our regular vet. They will probably keep her for the day. I will keep you posted. Thanks again to all.

Lori

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

My dog Moli had a seizure after she was poisoned. Our gardner put this weed killer down after we told him not to and he put it all over the patio as well. My dog walked on it, her paws got inflamed, and she licked them. We took her to the vet after her seizure, and they said that she was find, nothing they could do or see. It wasn't for 10 years that we saw the dammage it did. It killer her liver - it was about a 1/4 the size that it should have been, and it was as if she was an alcaholic. The last couple of years for her were not the best. Because of all this, she couldn't "hold it" anymore, and wet her bed constantly. We were buying her a new bed every week. She was always thursty as well. If it hadn't been for the poisening, she would have lived so much longer. I got her when I was 10 years old, and put her down when I was 23 - she died almost exactly 1 year before my first daughter was born. I always wished they could have met.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

No, not a lab. Just a mixed breed with possibly hound in her.

We have a lab/hound mix who started having seizures about 5 months ago. The first time it happened it totally freaked me out. Now I just kind of get up and hold her still so she doesn't hurt herself. Just like the others mentioned she gets really stiff and her back legs kick. Than after they are done she just kind of lays there out of it for a little bit.

 

[MaleficentFan]

We have an 8 year old Chihuahua that has seizures. We adopted him when he was only 6 months old... I don't think the shelter knew he had them since he was with them for less than 24 hours. I'm firmly convinced that the previous owner knew annd that's why she gave him up... but I digress.

Our little one is not on medication. His seizures are not all that frequent... he averages maybe one every month or two. The vet suggested considering meds if and when he has seizures at least once a month. But our concern is the effect of the meds on his liver. He already has pancreatitis. Our thought is we're not going to start him on the meds until necessary. When the seizures become more frequent we'll look into the medicine options.

We had him tested... he spent three days at a veterinary hospital known for it's specialists. They ruled out assorted other medical problems and diagnosed him as epileptic.

He's a wonderful, happy, lovable little dog. He's gotten to the point that he knows when a seizure is coming... he'll actually come "find" us. We just sit with him while he gets stiff and shakes (he does the head back, front legs straight out, shiver and drool). He's blind for a bit after each seizure... and exhausted. But within a few hours he's back to his normal self. We just take it in stride at this point... although it was heartrenching to watch until we understood what was going on and what to do.

Hope all works out well for you and your "baby".

 

[daisax]

Seizures are so scary... I have a dog who has them. We did find low thyroid after testing her, so once she has gone a year without a seizure (March) we will begin weaning her off the potassium bromide to see if, in fact, the thyroid pills are taking care of the problem.

He has been on Potassium Bromide (you have to get it from a compounding pharmacy)

I'm in Mass too and my vet mixes his own. Depends on the number of clients they have with the problem, I guess.

 

[LargoLori]

I am happy to report that Sunshine is home now and has been seizure free for 36hrs. Her blood work came back normal including thyroid. Our vet has her on phenobarbital 2 times per day. Hopefully this will keep it under control. Thanks again to everyone for all your well wishes and information.

Lori

 

[mamamary]

I hope Sunshine continues to do well.

 

[LargoLori]

I hope Sunshine continues to do well.

Thank you!!

 

[ericamanda01]

Our Boston Terrier started having seizures around 6 months old. The vet put him on phenobarbital which stopped the seizures completely. He hasn't had a seizure in 2 & 1/2 years. But they check his blood every 6 months because there can be some liver issues due to the meds. I hope everything works out.