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Dog/Pet owners
Has anyone here dealt with seizure disorders in their pet???
Backstory: about 3 weeks ago DH and I came home from work at the same time and we walked in to find fur all over the kitchen floor along with pee and Kaiser our 3yo bi-blue sheltie was just cowaring there in the corner of the kitchen, but it wasn't a "I know I did something bad" type of behavior as much as it was a "I don't feel good" behavior. He then proceeded to be very distant and almost like he was in a fog...he refused to eat all night long and barely lifted his head when we'd call for him...I even had to carry him to bed that night. Then bam the next morning he was back to his old self and ate like there was no tomorrow.
Initially we thought maybe they had a bad fight and that's why the fur was all over the floor too, but after talking extensively with the vet they think he might have had a seizure. I have never dealt with this in a dog before and was hoping maybe you could shed some light on if you've had experience, what, if any, you noticed triggered it? I've been talking weekly with the vet, they call to check in and see how he's doing but I feel bad for the poor little energy ball.
Re: Dog/Pet owners
My parent's dog has seizures. She has had them since she was under the age of 1 and she is now 9. The behavior your dog was showing is definitely what Molly would do during and after a seizure. Most we were home for and she would pee or poop during the seizure and afterwards she was also dazed, lethargic, and nervous. Certain things do trigger her seizures: stress, like if she sees suitcases by the door and she thinks we are leaving her. Loud noises, the wind would always slam a door in my parents house if another door was open and she would immediately seize.
Their vet recommended her not to be on medication until she was have 2-3 seizures/week because it is a med that she will have to be on forever. After my brother passed away Molly started having more and more seizures and she is now on meds and doing great. I don't know if she has had any since being on meds.
I hope you find an answer soon, pet seizures are very scary.
Nicole and Sam 10/3/09
Our cat started having seizures when she was about 1 year. A few times after coming home we noticed she had peed on the floor, and we could tell that she had been in the pee because she was wet, sticky and smelly. She was also really disoriented and skittish, but would come around pretty quickly and then act very needy.
We then realized the seizures were happening a few seconds after walking in the door because we began to observe her having them. After talking to the vet, I kept a camera ready at the door so I could take a video of the seizure happening.
With the vet we basically determined that her seizures must follow a stressful/scary/unexpected event so he put her on phenobarbital. She no longer has seizures when she gets the phenobarbital regularly.
Hopefully you can find some answers and help for your pup, it is such an awful feeling to watch them during the seizure and not be able to do anything! Let us know if you find out anything!
There is a pretty decent article on this site about epilepsy. Select the "search the library" option and select "epilepsy" from the drag down menu. http://www.vetmedteam.com/library-pet-care.aspx
Some seizures can come on as a fluke and rarely/never happen again. Other times an idopathic epilepsy can develop. Most vets will have you monitor and see if they continue. If they start becoming more frequent they will run some blood work and make sure there isn't some sort of metobolic issu going on that is causing them.
Once they are over the initial diagnostics the maintenance is fairly inexpensive. Most epileptic dogs will stay well controlled on Phenobarbital (it is dirt cheap). Once they start on Phenobarb the doctor will have you do 4-8 weeks of treatment and then check a phenobarb level to make sure they are at a controlled rate. They may alter the dose depending on the results. After the dose is figured out and they are well controlled the doctor will likely just have you do annual phenobarb levels.
In rare cases Phenobarb isn't enough to control the siezures. We have 3 dogs at my practice that need additional medication. If the seizures are not well controlled with Phenobarb they may add in Potassium Bromide (Kbr). Also, some owners need to keep Diazepam (Valium) injectable on hand at home to give rectally if the seizure extends past 10 minutes.
Good luck, I hope it was just a fluke.
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