Doggie seizure question

Hey Ya'll

I have a friend who owns mini pin's, one keeps having seizure about once a year...she ends up taking to dog to the vet, they give her anti-seizure meds. She gives him the meds for like a month then no more and another year he'll have another. My friend is annoyed at her vet not wanting to find a reason just hand her an rx. I have been trying to get her to switch vets or continue the meds all the time.This dog is only 4.

I think I remember another friend whos dog had a few seizures, to do eating too much fat (once she stole a big ham bone outta the trash) could a food allergy be the cause....she feed a mid quality kibble and its dog is overweight...

Anything i should/could tell her?


Tx,

Melissa

In humans one seizure is just an occurrence, 2 is epilepsy. When a seizure occurs there are changes to the cellular structure of the brain that make future seizures increasingly common.

I doubt diet is an influence, unless it's literally like [give the dog part of holiday feast -> seizure later that day]. Given how little is really known about epilepsy I doubt a different vet will pursue the root cause, meds are the typical approach.

We had a dog a while back that had seizures, he has since passed away but the approach was to treat with meds like stated above.... best of luck to your friend and good it is only once a year. Our dog was having a few a day!

You talk about 'eating too much fat' Melissa. My boy Little Joe has been stress related epileptic, diagnosed by a neurologist, since a tiny puppy. This time last year he started having cluster fits, which started to become regular. Then I read somewhere that Evening Primrose Oil should never be given to epileptics. I stopped Joe's daily capsule. End result, no fits whatsoever since early January this year.:xfngr: that you are on the right track.

maile my cav has epilepsy. at 2.5 she had three seizures, once a week. she began phenobarbitol. she had been seizure free for 3 years until 5 weeks ago when she had 2 seizures. we went back to the vet and here pheno levels were a tad low so we upped her dose. 2 nights ago she had 2 more "breakout" seizures. her pheno levels were rechecked they are back up to where they should be on the higher dosage, we have now added another medication to the mix. crossing my fingers this will do the trick. with all that being said.

I would think sooner or later if your friend doesn't want the dog to seize he needs to be on medication. each seizure changes the brain making it "easier" to have another seizure. food allergies are rare as a cause from what I have been told. the vet no matter which vet do not have crystal balls and can not say why the dog has epilepsy all they can do is treat it. best of luck to her. it is a hard thing to watch your dog. the best you can do is try to control it. I have had vets say a seizure a month is not bad for some dogs

Ok thanks for the input. I talked to her a long time today about her dog, Brownie. He is home alone like 5 hours in the mornings so honestly I brought up that she really didn't know if he has had more seizures, bad idea it only made her cry:(, which I didn't mean to but I did have a point. I told her what you all said, and yes she agreed to keep him on meds. because every time he has a seizure things could be (are) getting worse.

Unfortunately, Brownie does not like children because I would offer to keep him in the mornings as least for a bit....



Melissa

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Originally Posted by MomObvious

Ok thanks for the input. I talked to her a long time today about her dog, Brownie. He is home alone like 5 hours in the mornings so honestly I brought up that she really didn't know if he has had more seizures, bad idea it only made her cry:(, which I didn't mean to but I did have a point. I told her what you all said, and yes she agreed to keep him on meds. because every time he has a seizure things could be (are) getting worse.

Unfortunately, Brownie does not like children because I would offer to keep him in the mornings as least for a bit....



Melissa

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Awe...you meant well sharing that w/ your friend though. I agree... it would be scary to leave him alone for long. Like you said...who knows if he is having seizures more often than she realizes? Has her Vet done any tests at all?
There are so many types of seizures..some not so severe..and others can cause death. Like everyone else has said...medication on a continual basis is about the only way to control it.
Our golden retriever was having Gran-mal seizures. ( Terrible to witness!!! ) At first they thought is was epilespy..but after sono's & an MRI...he had a massive tumor....thus causing all the symptoms. Doctor said at his age..he most likely wouldn't of survived the surgery...and no guarantee it wouldn't return. He said he could tell from the parameters of it..was cancerous. We had to have him put to sleep just a month after we got Wrigley ( so..> 7 months ago.)
It was soooo hard to do :(
But we didn't want him in pain. He was 12 yrs. old...and we knew he had a good life up till then.

I pray your friend gets some good solid answers to what the root of her dogs problem is..and it is controlled for him.