dog seizures

[Kelsey]

My 70 pound dog began having seizures about a 1 1/2 years ago when he was 3 years old. The vet did all the tests and did not find a cause for the seizures. He can go months without us ever seeing a seizure but has also had 3 within a months time. He is not on any medication for the seizures because they are not frequent enough according to the vet. My dog looses the ability to use his back legs during his seizures but will continue to try and stand then falls into furniture, etc.. He also shakes, drools, and his eyes dilate. His seizures last a long time, sometimes 5 minutes. Last night my dog was sleeping on the bed and woke up having a seizure. During his seizures I stabilize him to keep him from falling into objects if he will not lay down, and talk to him until the seizure ends. I then give him some honey which he dislikes terribly. Do you have any other recommendations? I am always scared he will have a seizure when we are out walking for I take him walking daily.

[Deb]

The cocker mix my family had when I was growing up started having seizures when she turned about 10 years old. We asked the vet about them and he thought she developed epilesy. About that time the vet put her on "Pet Tab G", a vitamin to help slow down her cataracts. After starting the vitamins the seizures stopped, so we figured it was some kind of vitamin deficency.

[CenTexDave]

What's with giving the dog honey, especially if he dislikes it?

[Brad Buckley, D.V.M.]

Seizures most commonly occur due to an epileptic condition in dogs. Epileptic dogs are typically healthy otherwise BUT it is a good idea to screen for other disease conditions when seizures start occurring. Diseases affecting the liver, heart, kidneys and blood sugar can all cause seizures but idiopathic epilepsy is found to be the cause of seizures more than 90% of the time.

I typically base my recommendation on whether or not to start a dog on anticonvulsants (anti-seizure medicine) after thoroughly evaluating the patient and understanding the history and characterizations of the seizures. I want to know how severe, how often, how long and any other pertinent information as it pertains to the episodes. Using that info will help me to determine whether or not anti-convulsants are the best route for a given patient. It is common for me to determine that the episodes are short enough in duration, frequency and intensity that medication might be harder on the dog than the seizures themselves.

In young, very small puppies (ex. chihuahuas) I will recommend giving Karo syrup or honey should a seizure occur as many of these pups may suffer from low blood sugar as the cause. As for older, larger dogs I do not recommend giving honey but I don't really see anything wrong with it. I would imagine the logic behind it is that seizures can consume quite a bit of energy in a patient and the honey is an easy and quick way to replenish glucose into the system.

I would recommend that you consult with your regular veterinarian concerning these episodes and see if the duration, frequency and intensity are reaching a level where anti-convulsant therapy may be appropriate.

[FieryPrincess]

Maybe your dog would prefer the Karo syrup over the honey?

[Kelsey]

They put my dog on phenobarbital for one month to see how he responds, since his seizures were lasting so long. My dog had been getting aggressive towards other dogs when we were out walking, a newer behavior, but since the phenobarbital that behavior has completely stopped. He has begun favoring his right back leg. He loves to run and rough house with our other dogs so I am not sure if he has injured it or can this be a result of the phenobarbital? It is not to the point where his leg/hip stops him from playing or going for his walks. If he does not seem to improve soon, I will take him to our vet but do I need to be concerned that the medication could be causing his leg problems?

[CenTexDave]

An epileptic dog?

[Kelsey]

Diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy.

[Brad Buckley, D.V.M.]

It is highly unlikely that the phenobarbital is causing the limping in the leg. I would suspect that an injury (sprain/strain) is the cause of the limp.

[poundpup]

I had a dog, who ran in front of a van before I took him over. He had seizures that progressed until he had as many as 20 grand mals in one day (on anti-convulsants).

Do you know if your dog has had a head injury at any time? My vet could not find any reason for him to have seizures, but we figured it had to do with his accident that he came out of externally unscathed at the time. That could also be a reason for his leg.

[Kelsey]

He was a pound puppy. He was about 4 months old when we got him from the pound, so we do not know what happened to him early in life but he has not had an accident since we have had him. It looks like someone, for some unknown reason, tried to crop his ears and did a horrible job for there is massive scaring in his ears. He has only recently, in the last week or so, begun favoring his back right leg. He is a very active dog, so there is a good chance it may be a injury but since the phenobarbital was new, it was a concern. I am amazed how his behavior, when we are out walking, has changed since being on the phenobarbital. No more lunging and growling at other dogs. He was not always aggressive towards other dogs when we were walking and thinking back, his behavior while walking did begin changing about the time the seizures started.

[Wireman]

I ran into the same predicament a few years back. Our quite healthy lab starting having siezures once a blue moon. We finally figured out he was allergic to the Frontline we were using. Once we stopped it never happened again. Shot in the dark, but maybe it's worth it, and hope it helps.

[wolfcub]

Our Greyhound has had seizures for years. She never has gone on meds though has no lasting side affects after an epsisode.