Dear Val,
Can you please provide some advice for my friend whos’ dog is suffering from seizures?
Dear for a friend,
I had a wonderful Golden Retriever named JC that had seizures from age 6 months and lived a long healthy life to age 12.
Despite this is more of a medical question for a vet, but I will answer to the best of my ability with the help of some reliable sources.
Before I responded to this question I did inquire as to the breed of the dog, the age of the dog and if the dog had been diagnosed with epilepsy or if this was a new health problem.
Certain breeds of dogs are more prone to seizures and this is often an inherent condition. Those breeds seizures are more common in, are Golden retrievers, Labs. Vizslas, and Shetlands, to name a few.
Early age onset seizures are usually epilepsy. This occurs in dogs ages 6 months to 6 years. Late onset seizures can be liver disease, kidney failure, or brain tumors. Spontaneous seizures can be from ingestions, poisons, toxins or trauma.
Seizures can be different in how they affect your dog. Some can cause violent shaking of the entire body and they can loose control of their bowel and bladder and other seizures can be a minimal type of staring or glaring into space type seizures.
The 3 biggest problems with seizures are the length of time they last, if they aspirate or choke on food or fluid or their tongue, and injuries sustained from furniture or items in close proximity of the seizing dog.
If your dog has a seizure, make sure their surroundings won’t cause injuries. Move furniture out of the way and remove other dogs from the area. Keep them on their side and do not stick your finger or anything in their mouth. They will probably appear confused after a seizure and this is called the post-ictal phase. Keep them safe, warm, and comfortable. They will come around soon.
Some dogs can be diagnosed with epilepsy early on in life and be put on medication and be seizure free most of their lives. Other dogs that have regular and frequent or changing seizure activity may promote you to think about their overall health and quality of life and a lengthy conversation with your vet may be warranted. If they are started on anti seizure medicine, it should not be discontinued abruptly or the seizure condition can worsen.
If your pet is still not doing well despite proper medical advice and treatment, you should educate and advocate for your dog as well. If your dog is not responding to traditional medicine, maybe investigate a new diet and or nutrition aspects, CBD oils as an alternative. (I am myself am currently becoming educated to the positive effects of treatments such as CBD oils for pets). If you google, ‘how to treat my dogs seizures,’ you will be flooded with many alternatives to traditional medicine. Please make sure you keep your vet in the loop if you feel you would like to try something new to avoid any over or under medicating of your pet.
Most importantly you should determine if your pet is suffering. If he still has a purpose in life and he can eat and take himself out to eliminate and does not seem like he is in pain or distress, then it probably is not the time to discuss end of life issues. It is important to allow your pet to have a sense of dignity.
You may want to check out this cool website called the Canine Epilepsy Resource Group at www.canine-epilepsy.com.
I hope this was somewhat helpful and informative. I tried to elaborate not knowing the full circumstances of the pet, but thank you for looking out for your friend.
If you have a question about training or behavior, please email me at HappyLabLady77@Yahoo.com
Make it a Pawsitive Day!
Val S Elliott CPDT Behavior Coach
Wags of Wisdom:
“No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as much as a dog”
The Daily Dog:
We have three daily dogs we call the Three Amigos. Kona, Bitta, and Jet. All rescues. All love each other. All well loved.
If you would like to send a cute photo with a description or short story about your favorite furry friend, please send it to HappyLabLady77@yahoo.com
