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Our almost 3 year old, perfectly healthy until today, beloved dog had what appeared to be a seizure this afternoon.
I would like to talk/email with someone who has actual 1st hand knowledge of dog seizures, treatment options, genetic implications since we have her twin sister too, and which vets here are good with this condition. She is a medium sized, black with white trim, mixed breed short hair who might have lab, kelpie, or heeler heritage, but we really don't know because the person we got them from did not have the parents.
It was absolutely terrifying while it happened, but she seems just fine now.
Mahalo for any advice or information based on experience,
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Many years ago had a Bassett hound that started having seizures. Our vet diagnosed epilepsy. Drugs were effective for a while, but in the end he had no quality of life and we had to say good bye. That was back in the 70's, do hopefully there have been advancements. Best of luck.
David
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Carol - I can't say enough good things about Aloha Veterinary Centre in Hilo and would certainly recommend taking your dog to a vet as soon as possible. I've never seen a pet of mine have a seizure but have experienced it with people. It's terrifying and can understand how you feel. I think it's more important you get your dog seen by a vet first and then consider who might be the best person to see.
Tom
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I had a dog with epilepsy and she lived to a ripe old age. She had the "worst kind" of seizures, the grand mal, and once she had one, she would not stop having them until drugs intervened (cluster seizures). It didn't start out that way, keep reading to the part about kindling. The vet set us up with phenobarbitol to prevent the seizures. Its cheap, safe, and effective. It prevented probably 99% of the seizures, meaning that we needed injectible valium to give her when she DID have a seizure in order to stop them. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. The thing about seizures, whether dog, human, or otherwise, is that each seizure makes it more likely that another seizure will occur (its a process called "kindling", each seizure serves to "hardwire" the brain, making the pathways for future seizures) so it's important that you do everything possible in order to prevent them from occuring. Over the years I learned the events and signs that she was more likely to have a seizure and I was able to increase her dose of phenobarbitol during those times to decrease the likeliness of another seizure. Some of the triggers were stress, too much exercise, change in food (usually if she "got into" anything), too much heat, or other things that were outside of her norm.
After the seizure she was a bit catotonic. She could walk around in a daze, but didn't seem to be able to see, hear, or recognize us. This lasted about 15 minutes, although it seemed much longer. She would usually void her bowels and/or bladder during the seizure, and sometimes she would vomit immediately before the seizure. Goodbye carpets. She ALWAYS knew right before she was about to have a seizure. She would immediately run to me, paw at me, and make sounds of panic. This gave me time to rush to the valium, draw up the proper dosage into the syringe, and try to get it injected before the seizure began. Getting the medicine into her while seizing was like hitting a moving target, but I got good at it.
A grand mal seizure is like running a marathon and the dog can overheat. Dogs don't sweat and they don't pant effectively during the seizure. The overheating can potentiate another seizure. It is important to keep the dog in a cool area and out of the direct sun. During a grand mal seizure a lot of foam comes out of the mouth and she would sometimes bite her tongue or cheek, making the foam pink. Dogs foaming at the mouth in this manner have been confused with having rabies.
You asked about genetics. Dogs in general are more likely to have seizures than humans, and some dog breeds (like labs) are more likely to have seizures than other breeds.
p.s. another post about this dog is here: http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9861&whichpage=3&SearchTerms=euthanasia
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Terracore,
Our black lab started having seizures when she was about 4 - we did a lot of what you did except for the injectable Valium (this was 35 yrs ago too). It was pretty manageable for a few years - about 8 yrs she just one day had seizure after seizure. Vet came to us (back in the day when they would). He put her down for us the next day At the end, the doc got her sedated enough to be held, and she died peacefully in my brother's arms with us and mom there.
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Aloha Vet is great. My first choice for doctor would be Dr. Lei.
I wish you the best
Bonnie Lee
Bonnie Lee
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Hi Carol, my heart goes out to you. I'm a devoted dog guy from way too many years; and I can tell you that seizures are part of the deal, not all that uncommon, and are generally more difficult on the owner than on the pet. It may never happen again, but...
I'd like to offer these thoughts, do with them as you please.
Stay calm. The dog is likely aware even if that doesn't seem to be the case; hard to believe I know.
Get the dog to a secure location as soon as you can or secure the area around the dog. Eliminate any and all risks. Above all else, keep the dog from wandering into danger or injuring itself.
Be with and comfort the dog. He/she is more confused than you, and needs you there now more than ever. Protect your hands and face, seizure activities are entirely involuntary.
Pad the dog's head.
Kill all the distractions from the secure place. Eliminate anything and everything out of the ordinary; tv, radio, road noise, kids playing, everything. Make it just you and the dog.
Time the seizure and take notes. Date, time, prior activities, food and water intake, etc. Your vet will surely ask for this info.
Don't do anything or offer anything during the event that could cause the dog to choke. Contrary to folklore, the dog won't swallow his/her tongue.
Once the dog is up and around afterward, continue to secure its space from potential dangers for at least a couple hours. I generally try to offer a bit of icecream during this period to tweak the blood/sugar, and I'll usually provide a smallish ration at the next feeding, just in case.
Schedule a vet check to rule out all you can.
More than just a couple of my best friends have suffered from seizures. It's a OMG moment every time, but we get through. My last guy lived with them from just beyond puppyhood, and didn't give it up 'till he was 17. It's a thing you can live with.
Good luck.
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Dear Carol,
I spent 16 years with my beloved Cocker Spaniel, after she turned 3 she started having seizers. It was so heart breaking and I felt so helpless. I pulled up my coward straps and hit the vet train. To find the best vet and researched information. Well at the conclusion the vet chose to put her on phenabarbetol! And it worked just the right amount and she lived a normal life until 16 years. I had to give this to her everyday of the rest of her life and it was well worth it. I see there are other options nowadays but I wanted to throw this out there for you! So sorry but there is help! You and your pup can and will overcome this!! This is normally from Genetics.
Morningstar Wolf
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Mahalos from the bottom of my heart for all the support and information. Little Maia will be heading to the vet asap. We were right there with her through the stages of the seizure and the first voluntary movement she made when coming out of it was to wag her tail, even though the rest of her was still rigid.
Again, mahalo nui loa,
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Neighbor's dog went berserk, barking at things that weren't there, jumping around, twitching.
He killed a Bufo toad, apparently bit into it. If your dog "investigated" a Bufo, the result may look like a seizure.
quote:
A common threat to south Florida dogs is poisoning from Bufo marinus,
the giant or cane toad. This species of toad produces a pasty yellow-
white toxin in the parotid glands, which extend from the head backward
over the shoulder region and is released through pinhole openings in the
skin. When a dog mouths or bites a Bufo toad the toxin is released and
rapidly absorbed across the mucus membranes of the mouth.
Symptoms of Bufo poisoning occur suddenly and may include profuse
salivation, vocalizing and pawing at the mouth, brick-red gums,
incoordination or a stiff gait, difficulty breathing and the intoxication can
rapidly progress to seizures and death.
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