Author Topic: Seizures and big dogs  (Read 3109 times)

Offline greeg

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Seizures and big dogs
« on: September 27, 2006, 02:53:18 am »
Hello,
I'm new here and I have 6 German Shorthaired Pointer dogs. All are getting up there in age, 9 years to 12 years. One of my males, Clyde, age 9 has started having seizures. He gets a few every 2 to 3 months. It is horrible to watch him go through these. I try very hard to be calm and help him through the seizure by sitting down next to him and petting him while he is grand malling. Not a pretty sight. I have him on homeopathic meds because he has a bad liver and I do not want to put him on something that will make his liver worse. Any of you have a large dog breed that seizures. I sure would like to be in touch with you, because after a seizure I'm nervous for days. He just had one 2 days ago. Just talking with others who know what this is like really helps.
Thank you all for your time

Greeg

Offline navarre1316

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Re: Seizures and big dogs
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2006, 04:13:47 am »
You're already doing what you need to do, keeping him calm and safe.  There's another thread on the board that deals with seizures and there is a lot of good advice on them, so I would search the board for seizures.  In the meantime, since his seizures are every few months they more than likely wouldn't put him on any meds anyway, they usually only do that if the dog is seizing at least once a month.  But keep a diary, write them on your calendar, keep track of how long they last.  It feels like forever but it's really only ends up being like 30-60sec!!  If they get more frequent or last longer then it's time to take him to the vet and rule out other things.  Navarre's would be so violent sometimes that he would actually flip over!  So when he was having one, if I was home, I would sit behind him, do not put yourself anywhere near their face!!  Keep him out of doorways, from under furniture, etc so he doesn't bang his legs on anything.  I don't know if Clyde has a pre-seizure personality.  I could sometimes tell when Navarre was going to have one, even a day or so before, so I would start putting him in his crate when I wasn't home just in case!  And after the seizure just reassure him he's ok and get him back into his routine.

If you have him on a food that has wheat, try to find one without.  In people with epilepsy they have found that if wheat is removed from the diet, the seizures get fewer and less severe.  Just know that if there is no underlying cause, and it doesn't sound like it, nothing will make him totally stop having seizures.  They will get less often and less violent.  Navarre started with having seizures every 2-3weeks but at one point he went 10 months without one!  Good luck!
God placed me on this earth to accomplish certain tasks...I'm so far behind I'll never die!!

Navarre: GSD 9/13/99-5/14/06 patiently waiting
Issabeaux: GSD 1/27/07
Daphne: Boxer
Stone: Siamese mix

Offline greeg

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Re: Seizures and big dogs
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2006, 05:40:41 am »
Thank you so much, I'm learning my way around here and did post in the medical area.  :)
Greeg

Offline newflvr

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Re: Seizures and big dogs
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2006, 10:12:06 am »
I know how scary it is!  Our big Newf, Cowboy had cluster seizures (grand mal seizures lasting about 1 - 2 minutes but repeating about every 20 minutes and can eventually get to almost continuous seizuring).  You are absolutely right to be careful with meds....they are very hard on the liver.  Cowboy is on Gabapentin three times a day and KBr (potassium bromide) once a day and he's been seizure free for 14 months (not that we count days or anything).  It's a great idea to change foods to see if that helps.  Has your vet given you Valium to use rectally during a seizure or is each seizure months apart?  Sometimes giving him Breyers vanilla ice cream after a seizure with a couple of drops of Rescue Remedy helps get his blood sugar back up and calm him down.  That shouldn't hurt his liver at all!!  (I recommend the same for you!!)

Offline The Brindle Pack

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Re: Seizures and big dogs
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2006, 01:44:48 pm »
Welcome to the group.  There are several of us here on BPO that have epi's. 

My Tucker had his first GM 12/25/04.  He had been on Pheno and KBr but has been off Pheno since the end of June and is only on KBr.  Tuc has been seizure free since June 22, 2005.  I never thought he would go 30 days without a seizure the fact that it has been 463 days is a miracle.  He too is a cluster pup (3-7 per episode) and would seize every 7 - 10 days.

If you have not checked out the K9 epi boards and site I would recommend that. 

http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/

To subscribe to the boards:
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/subscribe.html

Offline Moni

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Re: Seizures and big dogs
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2006, 01:52:30 am »
Tenchi has seizures about every 6 months or so.  We don't have him on medication either, because of the chance of liver damage and because they're so far apart.  Having a dog with epilepsy can be worrisome, but these 'special' pups can touch your heart like no other.

I also give him ice cream after an episode for his blood sugar.  Another thing to remember is the worst part for them is usually the moments after the seizure(postictal?).  They are often very confused and can have different things not working correctly right after.  Tenchi has occasionally lost his vision(which is hard since he is deaf) or lost use of his legs afterwards.  Sometimes he won't know who anyone is so we just give him space while signing too him.  Just try to keep him comfortable and safe afterwards and have a vets number handy just in case he goes into clusters.

Good luck with your boy!
~moni
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