My dog had two seizures last night/early this morning. She's had 4 in the last month but none before that. It scares the crap out of me and my kids are totally freaked out. My vet says there's nothing they can do. Has anyone else dealt with this?
My dog had two seizures last night/early this morning. She's had 4 in the last month but none before that. It scares the crap out of me and my kids are totally freaked out. My vet says there's nothing they can do. Has anyone else dealt with this?
In dogs in can definitely be a genetic thing from inbreeding. Are there any triggers you can watch for? Has his diet, environment, or schedule changed in the last month?
I know this is from Yahoo - but it has some good things to consider as far as possible causes.
The Five Major Causes of Dog Seizures - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com
If she has had four in the past month, she needs to be on medication. Phenobarbital is the drug most veterinarians will start with to try and gain control of the seizures. The meds won't completely eliminate the seizures, some dogs will still have 3-4 seizures per year but they are usually less severe. If your vet says there is nothing he/she can do, then you need to go see a different vet. Seizures are scary but the majority of the time they can be controlled.
I went trough this not that long ago (in fact I made a post about it here)
Since the first weekend with seizures she has been on phenobarbital twice a day and has not had a seizure in 2 years or so now. The vet also gave me a prescription of doggy volume to give to the dog in the event of another seizure.
The vet has been checking blood levels twice a year since, and we have upped the dosage once in the last couple years. Medication for my 80 lbs dog is about 10-15 a month.
If she has had four in the past month, she needs to be on medication. Phenobarbital is the drug most veterinarians will start with to try and gain control of the seizures. The meds won't completely eliminate the seizures, some dogs will still have 3-4 seizures per year but they are usually less severe. If your vet says there is nothing he/she can do, then you need to go see a different vet. Seizures are scary but the majority of the time they can be controlled.
Sorry, I usually search before posting. Did you mean Valium? Is that for before/during or after? I'm wondering if we gave her something like that during storms if it would help.
Also, she is very confused and unstable when she finally comes out of it. The first time she actually growled at me and started running away from me toward my kids. That was really scary. Is there anything we should do during or directly after the seizures?
Has anyone tried a thunder shirt (calming jacket for dogs). Just curious if that helps calm their nerves?
Couple of tidbits,
First, sorry this is happening to you and your kids. We had a YLF that went through this for about 8 of her 11 years. Started when she was a puppy, put her on Phenobarb and they were controlled. The last couple years on it, she didn't have any so we took her off and she stayed seizure free for her last few years.
Phenobarb is hard on dogs organs, specifically kidneys. And I think it may have also led to our YLF's cartiledge decay in her knee joints.
During the seizures, we would hold her and talk to her. Previous poster is right, they can still hear you during the episode.
Vet told us that each seizure affected the dog the same as a human running a marathon. Our YLF was extremely tired following her seizures and would not eat.
All the best to you and your family as you go through this.