Seizures

Welcome to the world of 'Life With a Seizure Dog, Where EVERYTHING is a trade-off', LOL.

This statement is pretty accurate.  Having just gone through 7 months of this type of thing with Bear, I will say that what works for one dog may not work with another.  I had Bear at a regular vet as well as a TCVM vet.  I was home cooking.  I was doing everything possible and nothing helped.  Everyone has made a ton of suggestions and while I am not discounting any of them, you have to find what works for your dog.  There is an excellent book out there called "Canine Epilepsy" that is written in layman's terms and is a very good source of information.  I'll have to find the author's name as I cannot remember it off the top of my head.  Herbs did not work for my dog - they made him seizure, but that is not always the case.  As I said, 7 months and $4000 later, I couldn't find what helped, so I opted to send Bear to the Bridge as his quality of life as well as my own was suffering.  It broke my heart to do it, but I know he is at peace, not suffering endless multiple grand mal seizure episodes, enduring endless vet visits and meds; he's not falling and hurting himself.  I miss him terribly and am sorry I couldn't fix him, but it was breaking me financially as well as emotionally.  Please do as much research as possible, work with your vets, don't just take the word of a bunch of people on the internet about what to do.

I really hope you can help Dublin with minimal difficulty.

I totally understand what your saying and I have read so many heartbreaking stories at the canine epilepsy sites.  I am shocked more don't make the decision to end their dogs suffering sooner.  I know I will if it came to that.  Seeing the two grand mals have left me shaken so badly I can't sleep or eat the same.  I didn't go to work again today because of pouring rain and worry about whether he will have problems.  I made the decision I am going tomorrow no matter what.  I have to get back to normal again, if I am sick he doesn't have a chance then.  And after our last beloved "money pit" dog, we know we won't go down the long road of financial ruin again.  But for now everything is okay and he seems perfectly fine.  Even his stomach since the last episode has been perfect, knock wood.  (that is my head)

It is just hard to come off of a two year battle with a dog you love and spent the endless circle of specialists and bills bills and more bills and then get a new puppy and have two great years of good health and then boom!  We feel like we are back in hell again in some ways.  Dublin was our happy again puppy after a long drawn out couple of years with our Jax.  They say God gives you what you can handle, so I have to just go on and hope for the best and do what I can for him.

I understand how you feel -"it's just not fair".  I'm sorry that you're dealing with this so soon after Jax's troubles.  You do seem to have a good sense of how much you can handle.

Epilepsy, some dogs are more prone to it than others and it usually makes itself known around age 2.  Some don't have the full-blown grand mal seizures.  My childhood dog had seizures occasionally, but it was infrequent and not grand mal.  I'd never seen one until Bear's started.  They are terrifying, but you have to try to remain calm.

I know when Bear would have his, they'd start at night.  I kept a journal of everything - moon phases, diet, meds, frequency of seizures, etc.  Both my vets were excellent and didn't mind my phone calls and endless questions. 

I'm single with a son in college, limited income, no other family.  It was tough to go to work every day and not worry.  My boss is pretty understanding of all my circumstances, but you don't get family leave for pets.  Did I do everything?  Maybe, maybe not, but I did the best I could.

You'll be in my thoughts & prayers.

I hope Dublin doesn't need any med's or treatment and that the shampoo incidents were isolated and he won't have any more seizures.  My heart still breaks when I think of what Tina went through with Bear.  I had a seizure dog for many years and hers were well controlled with potassium bromide.  They started her on pheno barb and then once she was stabilzed on that we transitioned her to the potassium bromide.  She remained seizure free for the rest of her life and was a happy, healthy active dog.  My point is that seizures aren't always the worst thing your dog could have.  I didn't know about TCVM when I had a seizure dog but I would certainly pursue that angle if I had a seizure dog now.  Good luck with Dublin. 

 ALSO, call his breeder! Let her know, and ask her if any of the other puppies have experienced similar problems. She may have a tip or trick.

Ena is on Precise Light, right now. It's just chicken and rice, with oatmeal. So is their Foundation formula. They have thier own plant, in TX. It was a dealbreaker, for me, BUT it isn't as simple or digestible as Natural Balance's. Maybe you could do Hills D/D or the Royal Canin Simple Diet? 

Good point, Jennie.  Definitely call his breeder.  There is no test for epilepsy as there is for hips and eyes, but it tends to be hereditary.

The book, "Canine Epilepsy", is by Caroline Levin.

Another book, not just for epileptic dogs, is "Four Paws, Five Directions".  It gives a lot of good info about TCVM.

Been so busy I am sorry I didn't reply.  Thanks so much for your thoughts and suggestions.  I am pursuing holistic and traditional both.  I am leaving this food alone till I sort through some of this.  I was afraid to upset the apple cart since he went a week now without problems.  I just wanted to thank you.

Seizure  can also be the result of a blow to the head, calcium deficiencies in nursing mothers, end stage heartworm disease, toxic plants, chemicals, fertilizers and poisonings. There is even evidence that seizures may be have a hereditary factor involved since there are several breeds such as the Belgian Tervureren, German Shepherd, Dachshunds and others that have a higher incidence of them than other purebred dogs.

Just remember when your pet is on seizures, the first thing to do is stay calm. Safety of your pet must be done first.

I got a hold of his breeder the next day.  She talked to me for quite a while and also offered us a puppy if we felt we couldn't deal with this.  Or to just soften the blow I guess if this doesn't go well.  We declined at this point because I have enough stress right now and felt a puppy (while I do adore them) might add to my dog's stress as well.  I also decided to hold off on diet changes for a couple weeks and let him be.  It always throws him out of whack when I try to transition slowly and he again doesn't need more problems right now.  The breeder did tell me the next day, that she only had one seizing dog and it was Dub's grandfather.  They didn't know until he was much older though and thought it was due to liver shunts and put him down. 

They stopped breeding Dub's mother because of a pup who later turned up to have a heart defect and in Dublin's litter they seemed to have quirky stomach's.  She said they weren't really jazzed with the outcome of her puppies and retired her.  I don't have a reason to doubt her, since she sounded honest about it.  I know from my setter forum, where so many breed them, that it is a crap shoot in some way.  Even with the best intentions and trying to weed out the bad ones, it happens.  I don't blame anyone.  This is the fragilty of life isn't it?

Fragility, indeed.  I think you are right to wait to approach any major changes in Dub's diet right now.  He may have had the two seizures triggered by the shampoo and never have them again, but definitely not stressing him too much all at once is a good idea.

As you are probably learning, seizure disorders can have many different triggers.  The TCM vet I took Bear to told me they are the hardest dogs to treat; sometimes, as with Meg's and Jackie's dogs, they will respond well to treatment and I hope that is the case with Dublin.

I hope I didn't scare you with my post about Bear.  My intent was to make you aware that while some dogs are very treatable, others are not.  It's a crap-shoot because it can be such an unpredictable disorder.

I'll be thinking of the two of you and hoping Dub's outcome is good.  It's hard not to feel a bit helpless, but I'm sure you will do the best possible thing for Dub.  Thank you for the update.  Please do so again when you can.  ((Hugs))

I am not scared by your post!  I totally know what is potentially waiting for me.  I hope for the best but prepare for the worst.  I think my reality is that I am nervous whenever I am not home.  We ran out for dinner a bit ago, and I insisted we eat at a place we hate but that is the closest to home.  I was literally paying the bill while they ate dessert.  I was like "let's go".  And to come in and fine all is well is such a huge relief.  I am sure this isn't cool to do daily since like I said before he will out live me if I keep worrying like this.  My hope is that he will have a good quality of life for at least four years or so and then if things get worse slowly we will at least have known he had a great few years with us..... that is my hope in a perfect world. 

 I'm so sorry you're going through this, but at least you have some awesome support and advice from owners of seizure dogs on this forum. I'll keep you and Dublin in my prayers; {{{{hugs}}}}