Puppy with seizures

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FourShelties

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We rescued Penny and her son Knox about ten weeks ago-when he was just a week old. We've had Keylah since she was a pup, she is now 5, and Kingston is her son who will be turning a year old next monday the 9th :razz:

At 8 weeks old, Knox suffered his first round of cluster seizures. He had to go to the emergency vet for several doses of valium. Thankfully, after 6 hours they stopped and he was back to his normal crazy self. No toxins were found, and all of his blood work levels came back normal. Unfortunately, a few nights ago he suffered his second round of the cluster seizures. That meant another night at the emergency vet, with a follow up at his regular vet the next day. They decided to put him on Phenobarbital, diagnosing him with epilepsy (scary word) He is on his third day of the medication, very anxious, hungry and constantly pacing and whining. We are quite worried about his safety and quality of life due to the age of this becoming present- he's quite young.
Has anyone had experience with these types of seizures in their sheltie? It's very new to us, and also very scary for us..We just want to become as educated as possible to give our little guy the best life possible.

Now that you know about us, we look forward to learning more about all of you and hearing what everyone has to say!
Have a great day :smile2:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you

Trina,
Thank you for your reply. We will be contacting our vet to see if thats something we can get done as soon as possible!
 
Please keep us posted...little Knox already is part of "the family" here and our prayers are with him.

Trini
 
I'm so sorry to hear your puppy isn't well, please keep us updated. Prayers and hugs sent your way.:hugs
 
My trainer's GSD started seizures at 8 weeks, he probably had them before then but the 'breeder' chose to ignore them. it started with him being very spaced out rather than fits. His seem to be triggered by low light levels, but he also has a under-developed brain, one side is not as big as it should be.

Beemer is an absolute sweetheart, a big cuddly bear. He is on quite strong drugs for his seizures, which have worsened with age, but my trainer is aiming to give him quality over quantity. Even so I think he now must be coming up to 7 because he is older than my Cadbury. He has done obedience and agility, though only for fun, but he is very happy in himself.

He did have a weird patch in summer 2012 when he had a seizure and changed personality, not in a bad way, but he just wasn't Beemer anymore. So they started calling him Clive instead. They try to find the lighter side of it all.

I know it isn't easy to have a dog with potential long term health issues, but many of them cope very well and it is about managing it so they live as normal a life as possible. Beemer certainly doesn't worry about his epilepsy, he is one of the most content dogs I know.

And welcome to SF:biggrin2:
 
labgirl said:
He did have a weird patch in summer 2012 when he had a seizure and changed personality, not in a bad way, but he just wasn't Beemer anymore. So they started calling him Clive instead. They try to find the lighter side of it all.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest, I find that quite funny. Although I tend to have a morbid sense of humor..
 
One of my girls, Pixie, started having seizures before she was 3 months old, but not cluster seizures. I worked with a vet who treated her with prescription homeopathic medicines, and that combined with a careful diet and absolutely no chemicals of any kind (flea/tick etc) cured her by the time she was 4 years old. The seizures gradually became less frequent and finally stopped entirely.

We were lucky, perhaps, but there were a few things I did that helped. I didn't feed any chicken or turkey. Pixie eats only duck. There's something in chicken/turkey that research has shown can trigger seizures. Same goes for treats. Be very careful what heartworm medication you use. I use Sentinel for Pixie. She is 8 now and just fine.

We opted not to use Phenobarb. I'm not sure if it's still true that once they start on it, they have to be on it for life. Perhaps that's changed. It doesn't sound like you had a choice. I hope your pup improves and you can wean him off as he gets better. It might be worth consulting a homeopathic vet and/or nutritionist if you can. Good luck and please keep us posted on how he does. I know how awful it is to see a small puppy in seizure.
 
Thank you

Thank you everyone for your advice and kind words! Knox was feeling much better last night. He was back to his normal, wild and crazy puppy self. We have switched his food and treats, and have began a behavior log in hopes to find a pattern of triggers in the future.
We are also going to have his spinal fluid test done as well to make sure its not brain infection.

Both times the seizures have occurred were exactly a week after he received his vaccines. The vets don't seem too concerned and said it is rare for a reaction that bad to happen that late..just seems like a huge coincidence to us. They told us that in the future, they will give all vaccines separately to be sure.

We will keep everyone updated! :smile2: Thank you for all of the support!

Stefani, Stephany, and Furkids
 
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