Anyone ever have a pet with Epilepsy?

[SarahB]

A strange thing happened earlier tonight. My dog (a very healthy 3 year old American Eskimo) had what looks like a seizure. She's very looked after (fenced yard, only in certain areas of the house, and we don't leave meds or dangerous foods around anyway) and from speaking to the vet, she doesn't appear to have symptoms of toxicity and is okay now, but it was freaky. The vet said it could be isolated or it could be a chronic condition.

The strange thing is that my brother has a very severe form of epilepsy (likely shaken baby syndrome from an abusive babysitter, but that's another story) and my biggest fear was that my children would develop it. Thank goodness they're fine, but my life is full of strange ironies. I didn't even know dogs could get epilepsy. Ah well, all we can do is watch and wait. If it happens again, she'll go in for some bloodwork. Perhaps my neurotic dog really did have neurological problems. Poor thing. :(

[The empressof all]

1. yes dogs can have epilepsy

It can be controlled with medication. My neighbor has a few pygmy goats with epilepsy. Apparently it is common with the breed. They scamper around and then just fall over sideways. Get up and start all over again

[Mikimouse]

2. Not really all that rare...I had a German Shepherd...

many years ago and he had siezures periodically. The vet told us that with the bloodline being very narrow, it was not uncommon (this was in the late fifties). He lived a very good life (15 years) with out any obvious side effects from the epilepsy.

[Teddy_Salad]

3. Yes...

...I once had a beautiful dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, who at about 3 or 4 years old started having fits.

One minute she would be fine and the next she would begin shaking and collapse to the ground, frothing at the mouth.
It was scary but if I was there, I would pet her and talk to her and within a few minutes, she would be running around like nothing happened.
Our vet at the time said she was having epilectic fits and she was on medication the rest of her life. Unsure what the drug was though.

Unfortunately, she died when she was eight years old.
We found her dead one morning but we have no idea if it was the fits that killed her not.....although I'm certain it was.

I have always thought about what may have triggered her fits and the only thing I can think of is when she was 3, my stupid jerk of a brother-in-law decided to take her for a walk, without my permission and he never bothered to place a leash on her.
Poor mutt stumbles out on to the street and is hit by a car.
Nothing serious.....she seemed fine at the time but I've always wondered whether it was a bang to the head in that incident that brought on her epilectic fits.

I hope your dog is okay but if it is having fits, try not to worry too much. If you are there when it happens, just comfort the dog and it will get through it.

Hope all works out.

[Kadie]

4. A very strange story about my grandmother's dog.

Years ago, my grandmother had a dog that had seizures. This went on for awhile, and I guess the vet couldn't figure out what to do for the dog. So my grandmother took the dog to her chiropractor, and he actually did an adjustment on her. The dog never had another seizure.

Good luck to you and your dog. Hopefully it was just an isolated incident.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. That's wild!

About 30 years ago, we had a dog who would occasionally have them. If she had a couple within 24 hours of each other, we gave her a pill...I don't remember what it was.

At other times, we could help bring her out by pouring a gentle stream of cold water over her.

She never had any other problems...

[finecraft]

5. My Irish Setter had it

and he lived to be 15 years old. After Duke was diagnosed, it got to the point where we could tell when he was going to have a seizure before it happened. In his case, he would walk around in a circle 2 times then sit down and stare at the wall. Sure enough, about 2 or 3 minutes later he would have one of his episodes. After about ten or fifteen minutes, he was up and walking around again as if nothing had ever happened.

[Teddy_Salad]

6. Yep...

....good points.

Although my dog died at 8, our vet did say that the vast majority with the condition live long lives.

My mother also knew when the dog was going to have a seizure.
I used to say....."How do you know, Ma".....and two minutes later, it would start.

[fairfaxvadem]

7. Poodles are very susceptible to epilepsy...

Have to be on medication and kept on it regularly. It is a little unsettling when they have a seizure.

And, if you buy a purebred that is pre-disposed, like poodles, you pay more money for the puppies that have been genetically tested for it and come out clear w/out the gene for it...

Now, I have cats. Do cats get epilepsy? I've never heard before.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. I had a deaf and dumb poodle

which was a real advantage since the poor thing couldn't really bark, that also had seizures.

She'd fall over on the floor and get all stiff and stuff and then would be just fine afterwards.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. One of my brothers has a dog with epilepsy

She's on anti-seizure medication.

[Dees]

10. My Yellow Lab died from it. It was chronic.

Five years old. Our vet took it pretty hard. He said he should have put him on meds the first time it happened. I accept blame as much as anyone. It can be controlled.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

11. My German Shepherd has been on phenobarbitol for a few years

to control it. She still has one, occasionally. But she's ok, mostly.

[oxymoron]

12. Yes, my dog has severe epilepsy.

We rescued a miniature dachshund that has a thoracic anomaly and severe epilepsy. She was having 2-3 major seizures a month, lasting up to 2 hours. It was absolutely heartbreaking. After trying all of the anti-seizure medications to no avail, we heard about remarkable results from potassium bromide. It has dramatically improved her quality of life. She now has much less severe seizures, maybe once every 2 or 3 months. When she does have one, dissolved diazepam administered with an eyedropper seems to take care of it pretty quickly. There is some great information at this site:

http://canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

Good luck and feel free to PM me if you would like more info.

On edit: It is indeed a life threatening condition if it's chronic and not treated.

[oxymoron]

14. Kick

for some important information.

[SarahB]

15. Thank you for the link

[Rowdyboy]

13. My springer spaniel has been taking phenobarbitol for two months

Very low dosage, twice a day, hidden in a piece of ham. He had occasional seizures for over a year, maybe once a month. He'd stare at the wall, lose focus, drool and tremble. We would hold him when it happened and comfort him for awhile.

However, two months ago he had two STRONG seizures, one on Friday night, the other on Saturday night. The vet said it could get worse-he could go into a seizure and not be able to come out, so be started treatment.

Costs $18 a month for the pills. It doesn't stop the seizures entirely (simply lessens the number and the severity. Last week Champ had another seizure. It was his first since getting on the medication and was much less severe than normal.

It has made no difference in his personality at all.

Good luck with your puppy!

[SarahB]

16. Thanks to everyone

Wow! I had no idea it was so prevalent. This helps so much. :grouphug:

[LividLiberal]

17. No! I've had one with asthma, and thats scary enough!

I hope it was just a one time fluke, and everything turns out okay.