Epilepsy in dogs, your experience?

Sigma Force

Our little Papillon took a turn last night, frightened the life out of us, rushed to the vets. Seems he had a mild epileptic fit, we are taking the vets advise and monitoring him so we don't know yet wether he will have to go on meds or not. So far he's had no more and is back to his usual self but we're watching him closely..probably too closely ..every little twitch or blink lol.

Would like to hear of other peoples experience with it, I know it's not the end of the world but it's a scary thing to happen. Am relieved it's not something like his heart and am hoping it was a one off with any luck it could be but it could happen again in a day, week month, year so we are keeping an eye.
He's only 3 and a half and the baby of the house hold.

bluecherry74

One of my dogs has seizures so I know how you feel. The first time she had one I was scared to death. It was the middle of the night and I nearly called the emergency vet, but she recovered so quickly so I left it 'til the next morning.

She was diagnosed with "idiopathic seizures", in other words seizures with no known cause. It doesn't sound like much of a diagnosis, but it's probably the best kind! My vet says it's most likely a mild form of epilepsy. There can be other underlying causes (such as a brain tumour) but Jess has been having them for 2 years now so it's unlikely that there's anything else causing them.

When she first started having them the vet recommended a wait and see approach in terms of medication or treatment, same as your vet, and luckily she's never needed any medication. The first year she has a seizure maybe every couple of months, they lasted 30-60 seconds and she was a little disoriented for about 10-20 minutes afterwards. The last year she's only had 3 seizures in total thankfully, so things are improving and I'm hopeful that she'll lead a normal healthy life.

Since this is your dog's first episode all you can do for now is monitor him and see if it happens again. Fingers crossed it was a one off, but if it wasn't then it's doesn't necessarily mean it's anything serious or life changing. My vet assured me that many dogs with epilepsy lead normal lives, even with medication, and the medication isn't terribly expensive. There's always the slight chance that there is a more serious underlying cause, but if you haven't noticed any other health or behavioural changes then just go on as normal and keep an eye on him.

bannermaf

My Pomeranian Cross started having seizures 10 years ago. Like your dog, the vet recommended wait and see, and we have never given her any medication. It is awfully scary when it happens, but we just stay calm and sit with her until it passes and she's fine They warned us that the seizures would increase with age, but she's 14 now and they actually seem to be rarer, rather than more frequent, and they have never caused her any ill effects. Aside from the occasional seizure she is the picture of health.

Sigma Force

Thanks guys, we're so paranoid now so that really helped.
So far so good he's had none since but we still are at that stage where every blink and twitch and if he moves or yawns or anything I'm like staring at him..poor dog will get a complex.

I'd be reluctant to put him on meds straight away if he had another one so that's something I'll talk through with the vet but hopefully he won't have another one *fingers and paws crossed. If he does I think I'd have to, for my own sanity, try to save up and get a full scan done just for peace of mind and if the vet thinks I'm not crazy to do so lol.

Have any of your dogs had to go under anesthetic? He needs to get his teeth descaled soon and the vet said it'll be fine they used the safest gas stuff thingymabob. I was a basket case while he was being neutered a few years back so him going under again will have us pacing the floor.

bluecherry74

Sigma Force wrote: »

Thanks guys, we're so paranoid now so that really helped.
So far so good he's had none since but we still are at that stage where every blink and twitch and if he moves or yawns or anything I'm like staring at him..poor dog will get a complex.

I'm still like that TBH, even after 2 years. Jess usually runs around frantically for a few seconds before she has a seizure so whenever she suddenly dashes off the couch I panic slightly. Having said that, dealing with the seizures themselves has gotten a lot easier. I just make sure she's positioned in a way that she can't hurt herself and wait it out.

Sigma Force wrote: »

Have any of your dogs had to go under anesthetic? He needs to get his teeth descaled soon and the vet said it'll be fine they used the safest gas stuff thingymabob. I was a basket case while he was being neutered a few years back so him going under again will have us pacing the floor.

Yep, Jess had a general anesthetic at 6 months when she was neutered. However I had only just got her from the pound and I don't know her history, so I have no idea if she was already having seizures prior to that. She had her first one with me about 6 weeks after the surgery.

Ask about pre-anesthetic blood tests - they may or may not be helpful to show up any potential problems. If it's just a descaling though, I'd be inclined to wait a couple of months to see if anything changes.