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 Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
   
Location: Red Raiderland | Does anyone have a dog or did have dog suffering from seizures? One of my Dachshunds has been having seizures since 2010 but they were many months apart so none of the vets thought medication was necessary, which I agreed. Well, since Aug. 9th my poor girl has had 3 about a week apart.
I already spoke to one of my specialty vets today and they are sending a referal to a canine neurologist, but for now I want to hear what I am in for. She's almost 8 and in great shape, except for these dang seizure.
What have been y'all's experiences? I just keep thinking now she is going to have them constantly. I'm worried about my girl.  |
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 Stinky Cat Owner
Posts: 4097
 
Location: Oregon | Isn't that the worst?? I've had two dogs that have had seizures, one was a full border collie and one was a border collie x aussie. The first one was the same scenario that you described where he went several years with just having them a couple times a year but then, same as yours, he was around 8 or 9 when they started to become more frequent and harder (paddle type). Put him on potassium bromide and something else that I don't recall at the moment, and that helped him until he died a few years later. My second one, Katie, had them for about 5 years and would have them about 2-3 times a year and they were more of a tensing up type (not paddling) and not nearly as long. Never put her on medication and she would have the seizure and then be totally fine and back to normal very quickly. They are horrible and scary to watch. I'm sure you know this, but I was told to keep them safe but never restrict or hold them down so I just always held their collar. Turned the lights down and just made it very quiet and dark if possible. Good luck to you.  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | My sister had one and she gave him phenobarbital for it everyday and she had valium to give rectally if a seizure lasted over 2 minutes. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 520
| I had a dalmation that had seizures, she had to be on phenobarbital and absolutely had to have it around the same time everyday. If you gave it an hour or two late, she'd usually have a seizure within a day or two. I believe she started having seizures around 7 years old, may have been earlier. She had to be put down around 14 just because of overall health issues.
I have friends whose pitbull was having mild seizures for years, come to find out it was the frontline they putting on him, which they later found out has reported in several dogs. Just something to think about if you use frontline
Just wanted to add, as already said don't restrict them, but if they are in the house its good to have a towel on hand to put under their head. Our dalmation would always end up banging her head pretty bad on the floor.
Edited by Buckles 2014-09-09 7:34 AM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1001
Location: Kansas | I have a Boston Terrier that has seizures, he was having them very frequently - like weekly. He is on the phenobarb now and has been for awhile (about a year and a half), we have finally figure out the right dosage (did bloodwork this summer to check his organs and found he wasnt getting enough to be theraputic, and he was having several "break through" seizures) and he has not had one for quite awhile. I would highly recommend trying it. |
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Fire Ant Peddler
Posts: 2881
| Many years ago, I had a German Shepherd that had seizures. We determined it was the dog food. Switched his food and he never had them again. The dog food was just plain old Purina Dog Chow. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1182
Location: Do I hear Banjos? | My little 5 year old weenie pup has had "episodes" as we call them, since she was 4 months old. She does not have full gran mal seizures...but she gets anxious and then goes into a phase where her pupils are fully fixed and dialated. It passes in a few minutes each time. It's a form of seizure activity and may get worse as she ages. They became more frequent (from one a month to one almost weekly) so we put her on a low dose of phenobarbitol. She hasn't had an eposide in the past 2 months on the medication.
There are other medications in use now...but pehnobarb at a low dose is inexpensive and if it works well we will keep her on it. Just have to test for liver issues periodically as the drug is metabolized in the liver. Not generally an issue at low dosage. But we may put her on milk thistle or other supplement for liver health.
Doxie's are known for this issue. It's one of the breeds that has a pretty high incidence.
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | Thank you all for the replies.   They are very helpful. My girl doesn't have grand mal seizures but like another BB stated her's are pupil dialation and fixation. They don't last more than a minute maybe a minute and half and when she comes out of them she is back to normal in a few minutes. Here's the kicker with her, she has had elevated liver enzymes for years so the medication she will go on will have to take that into account. We had all kinds of tests, ultrasounds and finally a liver biopsy on her back in May, by a liver specialist in Dallas, and he determined that she has no disease and she is in very good shape. This is the specialis I talked to yesterday and I asked if he would refer us to the neuroligst and he agreed so we can make sure to get the meds correct with her because of the liver issue. We talked about Keppra, has anyone else used it? He is pretty certain her liver is not causing the seizures.
I am very conservative when it comes to meds(they got all their puppy shots till a year and no more) and preventatives(Heartgard, which has been shown to cause seizures, they only get every other month and not in the winter) for my dogs so I don't think that is an issue and they are all on a raw meat diet. I have the aunt to this dog and she has never had a seizure. Even though they are niece and aunt they can't be anymore different. The seizure girl is VERY active and when we go for our nightly walks she chases our Doberman the ENTIRE time. The other Doxie does her own thing and plods along smelling and checking out everything so genetically I think the seizure girl got the raw end of the gene pool for brain function.  |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | TrailGirl - 2014-09-09 9:01 AM My little 5 year old weenie pup has had "episodes" as we call them, since she was 4 months old. She does not have full gran mal seizures...but she gets anxious and then goes into a phase where her pupils are fully fixed and dialated. It passes in a few minutes each time. It's a form of seizure activity and may get worse as she ages. They became more frequent (from one a month to one almost weekly) so we put her on a low dose of phenobarbitol. She hasn't had an eposide in the past 2 months on the medication.
There are other medications in use now...but pehnobarb at a low dose is inexpensive and if it works well we will keep her on it. Just have to test for liver issues periodically as the drug is metabolized in the liver. Not generally an issue at low dosage. But we may put her on milk thistle or other supplement for liver health.
Doxie's are known for this issue. It's one of the breeds that has a pretty high incidence.
You know, me and my family have had Dachshunds since the 1960's and have never had one with seizures(knock wood) so it surprises me to hear that Doxies are included in the high incidence catagory. I have a call into my breeder and I am going to find out about this particular line. It seems like I talked to her about it when they first started back in 2010 but I can't remember if she said she had any or not...I've slept since then. lol
I am pretty weary of her having another one so I have been a bit antsy since Saturday when she last had one. I'm driving myself a little crazy.  |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | Katie's - 2014-09-09 12:19 AM Isn't that the worst?? I've had two dogs that have had seizures, one was a full border collie and one was a border collie x aussie. The first one was the same scenario that you described where he went several years with just having them a couple times a year but then, same as yours, he was around 8 or 9 when they started to become more frequent and harder (paddle type). Put him on potassium bromide and something else that I don't recall at the moment, and that helped him until he died a few years later. My second one, Katie, had them for about 5 years and would have them about 2-3 times a year and they were more of a tensing up type (not paddling) and not nearly as long. Never put her on medication and she would have the seizure and then be totally fine and back to normal very quickly. They are horrible and scary to watch. I'm sure you know this, but I was told to keep them safe but never restrict or hold them down so I just always held their collar. Turned the lights down and just made it very quiet and dark if possible. Good luck to you.
They are very scary especially at first. I do the same thing you did and turn lights down and noise off(TV) and wait it out with her. You feel so dang helpless. How long did Katie live? I know she was your girl. |
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Stinky Cat Owner
Posts: 4097
Location: Oregon | Kaycee - 2014-09-09 9:18 AM Katie's - 2014-09-09 12:19 AM Isn't that the worst?? I've had two dogs that have had seizures, one was a full border collie and one was a border collie x aussie. The first one was the same scenario that you described where he went several years with just having them a couple times a year but then, same as yours, he was around 8 or 9 when they started to become more frequent and harder (paddle type). Put him on potassium bromide and something else that I don't recall at the moment, and that helped him until he died a few years later. My second one, Katie, had them for about 5 years and would have them about 2-3 times a year and they were more of a tensing up type (not paddling) and not nearly as long. Never put her on medication and she would have the seizure and then be totally fine and back to normal very quickly. They are horrible and scary to watch. I'm sure you know this, but I was told to keep them safe but never restrict or hold them down so I just always held their collar. Turned the lights down and just made it very quiet and dark if possible. Good luck to you. They are very scary especially at first. I do the same thing you did and turn lights down and noise off (TV ) and wait it out with her. You feel so dang helpless. How long did Katie live? I know she was your girl.
Yep, tv off, no noise, dark and just super calm and quiet. Amos, my first one would be super exhausted and just plain worn out for up to an hour after his seizures but Katie was like superdog and would just get up like nothing happened. Katie lived with seizures for about five years and led a normal happy healthy life. She died at age 7 from either an aneurism (sp?) or possibly brain tumor... |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | Katie's - 2014-09-09 12:11 PM Kaycee - 2014-09-09 9:18 AM Katie's - 2014-09-09 12:19 AM Isn't that the worst?? I've had two dogs that have had seizures, one was a full border collie and one was a border collie x aussie. The first one was the same scenario that you described where he went several years with just having them a couple times a year but then, same as yours, he was around 8 or 9 when they started to become more frequent and harder (paddle type). Put him on potassium bromide and something else that I don't recall at the moment, and that helped him until he died a few years later. My second one, Katie, had them for about 5 years and would have them about 2-3 times a year and they were more of a tensing up type (not paddling) and not nearly as long. Never put her on medication and she would have the seizure and then be totally fine and back to normal very quickly. They are horrible and scary to watch. I'm sure you know this, but I was told to keep them safe but never restrict or hold them down so I just always held their collar. Turned the lights down and just made it very quiet and dark if possible. Good luck to you. They are very scary especially at first. I do the same thing you did and turn lights down and noise off (TV ) and wait it out with her. You feel so dang helpless. How long did Katie live? I know she was your girl.
Oh Katie's that is heartbreaking. I'm so sorry. |
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 A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
Location: Southern Oregon | Kaycee - 2014-09-08 10:08 PM
Does anyone have a dog or did have dog suffering from seizures? One of my Dachshunds has been having seizures since 2010 but they were many months apart so none of the vets thought medication was necessary, which I agreed. Well, since Aug. 9th my poor girl has had 3 about a week apart.
I already spoke to one of my specialty vets today and they are sending a referal to a canine neurologist, but for now I want to hear what I am in for. She's almost 8 and in great shape, except for these dang seizure.
What have been y'all's experiences? I just keep thinking now she is going to have them constantly. I'm worried about my girl.
Ours has been having them for three years. I am pretty use to seizures. Before we had her, growing up I had several JRT that had seizures, due to there breeding. My Mini wiener started having them after we came home for a long trip. She was 5 then. She LOVES chasing fly's and gets really into it. Well she went to chasing a fly and went smack dab into the wall at full force. She too only has them intermittently. I believe it is caused by a pinched nerve, sometimes stress induced as well. Our girl is going to be seen by a local vet that does chiropractic and acupuncture to see if that helps |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | We had a Boston Terrier that had seizures towards the end of her life. They were very unpredicatable, but usually after she had really exerted herself. We didn't do anything for them because at that time she was really old. She also had some other health problems that we ended up putting her down for because the vet said even if we had medicated her she wouldn't have the quality of life or live beyond about a 6 month time frame. |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | cowgirl_3207 - 2014-09-10 12:12 PM Kaycee - 2014-09-08 10:08 PM Does anyone have a dog or did have dog suffering from seizures? One of my Dachshunds has been having seizures since 2010 but they were many months apart so none of the vets thought medication was necessary, which I agreed. Well, since Aug. 9th my poor girl has had 3 about a week apart.
I already spoke to one of my specialty vets today and they are sending a referal to a canine neurologist, but for now I want to hear what I am in for. She's almost 8 and in great shape, except for these dang seizure.
What have been y'all's experiences? I just keep thinking now she is going to have them constantly. I'm worried about my girl. Ours has been having them for three years. I am pretty use to seizures. Before we had her, growing up I had several JRT that had seizures, due to there breeding. My Mini wiener started having them after we came home for a long trip. She was 5 then. She LOVES chasing fly's and gets really into it. Well she went to chasing a fly and went smack dab into the wall at full force. She too only has them intermittently. I believe it is caused by a pinched nerve, sometimes stress induced as well. Our girl is going to be seen by a local vet that does chiropractic and acupuncture to see if that helps
See my Doxie is very intense about things like going for a walk(actually it's a run for her lol) especially when all three dogs go and she can try and keep up with our Doberman. We used to let her chase the laser but she got so intense we thought that was what triggered the first seizure. Our other Dachshund is the complete opposite of her(they are related-aunt and niece). She couldn't care less about the laser and just doesn't get too worked up about anything, except FOOD, which is totally understandable, she's a Dachshund!  |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | mtcanchazer - 2014-09-10 12:25 PM We had a Boston Terrier that had seizures towards the end of her life. They were very unpredicatable, but usually after she had really exerted herself. We didn't do anything for them because at that time she was really old. She also had some other health problems that we ended up putting her down for because the vet said even if we had medicated her she wouldn't have the quality of life or live beyond about a 6 month time frame.
How old was she and how long inbetween seizures did she go? |
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 Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | We had a dog at our shelter that had seizures, we had to give him a pill a day so he woudl be ok, he never had once since then and was JUSt adopted last week after being here 8 mos!! Luckily, he was able to be in a home in foster care most of the time. He was a purebred Fox Terrier. |
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Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | Kaycee - 2014-09-10 12:31 PM mtcanchazer - 2014-09-10 12:25 PM We had a Boston Terrier that had seizures towards the end of her life. They were very unpredicatable, but usually after she had really exerted herself. We didn't do anything for them because at that time she was really old. She also had some other health problems that we ended up putting her down for because the vet said even if we had medicated her she wouldn't have the quality of life or live beyond about a 6 month time frame. How old was she and how long inbetween seizures did she go?
I'm trying to remember exactly, but she was in her teens (close to 15 I think, we got her when she was a couple of years old and had her close to 10 years, so we weren't certain on her age).
Her seizures were so sporadic...she could have them two days in a row (one a day) and then go a month before she would have another one. They usually happened after she ran really hard or something like that (one of her favorite things was to run from the back gate to the house as hard she could when you came home or in from taking her out). They got more frequent as she went to about once a week or so, and had some other peculiar things go on too (she would lick the sidewalk, stuff like that). She eventually got to a point with her other health issues that she wouldn't eat, so we knew it was time. |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | DLV - 2014-09-10 2:08 PM We had a dog at our shelter that had seizures, we had to give him a pill a day so he woudl be ok, he never had once since then and was JUSt adopted last week after being here 8 mos!! Luckily, he was able to be in a home in foster care most of the time. He was a purebred Fox Terrier.
Do you know what the pill/medication was?
I got an appt with the canine neurologist on Tues and we will be discussing medications. |
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Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | mtcanchazer - 2014-09-10 2:23 PM Kaycee - 2014-09-10 12:31 PM mtcanchazer - 2014-09-10 12:25 PM We had a Boston Terrier that had seizures towards the end of her life. They were very unpredicatable, but usually after she had really exerted herself. We didn't do anything for them because at that time she was really old. She also had some other health problems that we ended up putting her down for because the vet said even if we had medicated her she wouldn't have the quality of life or live beyond about a 6 month time frame. How old was she and how long inbetween seizures did she go?
Her seizures were so sporadic...she could have them two days in a row (one a day) and then go a month before she would have another one. They usually happened after she ran really hard or something like that (one of her favorite things was to run from the back gate to the house as hard she could when you came home or in from taking her out). They got more frequent as she went to about once a week or so, and had some other peculiar things go on too (she would lick the sidewalk, stuff like that). She eventually got to a point with her other health issues that she wouldn't eat, so we knew it was time.
Our girl has had them just after high energy times and when she should have been asleep for a while. They don't seem to have any rhyme or reason.  |
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