[varkgirl]

I posted last December in this thread:

http://www.abeagleworld.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003982;p=1#000008

about Badger having what we thought was a seizure.

The same dumb unsupervised dog wanders through our yard almost daily. It's a nice dog and all, but no collar and I have no idea who it belongs to. This morning for some reason Badger got really worked up about it again, and had another episode.

Of course, it's Sunday, so we weren't about to haul him to the emergency vet when we knew he would be ok in a little bit. But still, it's scary!!! I feel so bad for him when he gets all worked up like that.

And this time it was a bit worse as far as him losing control of his bodily functions for longer, and to a larger degree. There was lots of throwing up and pooping/diarrhea, way more than a year ago. And he was unresponsive/tongue hanging out for longer. In general though, the events transpired in the same order as last time. Sorry if this is gross:

1. Got upset about dog in yard - I chased dog away, Badger followed me around crying/upset

2. Starts walking around like he is losing control of bowels, dragging butt... at this point I had a pretty good idea where things were going unfortunately - I take him outside where he proceeds to puke all over the yard, looks like he has to poop but doesn't/can't

3. Bring him back inside, he sits on lanai and won't come in house - poops all over lanai and then sits with tongue hanging out of mouth

4. Coax him into bedroom to see daddy - poops in bedroom - lays down beside bed with daddy petting him - does not respond to name, etc for probably about 15-20 minutes. Breathing funny.

Shortly thereafter he started responding to us talking to him, rolled over, sprawled for a while on the bedroom floor. He finally got up and wandered out of the bedroom about 1/2 hr later and has been laying around doing not much of anything for the rest of the day.

He tried to eat a greenie a couple hours after the incident and it made him sick again.

I am annoyed by the whole thing - it's not like this happens to him all the time, it's only been these two times and BOTH TIMES HE WAS UPSET ABOUT THE SAME DOG being in our yard. It just annoys me that someone else not being responsible for their pet is causing our baby to have problems.

 

[cheerio]

This does sound like a seizure.
Seizures can be triggered by sound, light, touch or general excitment. In your case, it appears that the last one is the most likely.
One seizure a year is a very mild form of Epilepsy, one which requires no treatment. However, to ensure that it will not become more frequent, it would be wise to contact your vet. Some vets will treat the excitability of the dog when needed. You can also put 5 drops of Rescue Remedy in his drinking water every day (yes, you will have to change the water every day) to help keep him calm if you feel it is necessary.

Good luck and let us know what your Vet says

 

[varkgirl]

Thanks for the reply. I probably will give the vet a call this week to chat about it.

Badger is a pretty high-anxiety dog as it is, so rescue remedy might not be a bad idea, I will look into it. He is very submissive, very needy, very anxious in unfamiliar situations. We love him to death and try so hard to make him feel secure, but still he is anxious.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Allyson: Sorry to hear you are having to deal with what might be seizures -- it is a very, very scary event for owners. Here is a great website where you might get some of your concerns/questions answered:
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/site_map.htm
There have been a couple of threads about seizures over the last few months that you might also want to take a look at.
Take care and gentle hugs for Badger!

 

[BeagsMom]

Allyson
You have described a grande mal seizure. Feel blessed that they are no more frequent than they are. Cheerio is correct... I would not medicate at this point.

I am mom to an epi male lab, four years old. He is on pheno and Kbr and has been for a little over two years. I feel blessed if he goes past 50 days between episodes.

The grande mals are disturbing to experience. I wish you the very best with this.

 

[Murphys Dad]

One seizure in a year isn't too much to be worried about. If they start being very frequent (like 1 or more every 3 months) then consider phenobarbitol or pottasium bromide. For now, I think you are OK. But do give the date, time and length of seizure to you vet for the records.

The good news is it sounds like you stayed calm and didn't panic. Thats important.

 

[Mandy781]

Hello!

Hope you're feeling better Badger! :heart:

I just love that name! hee hee hee

Amanda - Mommy to Bella and Badger! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[SpencersMOM]

Kinda sounds like a seizure but never heard of vomitting and diarehha. Spencer has seizures alot more frequently then 1 a year though. I would stop giving greenies. There have been numerous deaths related to greenies. They get lodged in the system and do not digest properly. Some dogs are fine and some can die from them.
I would see a doctor about this episode and see what he says. Print out this post and your other one and give it too him. You have a good description of the events.
I wish I could help more. I hope he is okay!
Let us know what happens!
Becky

 

[varkgirl]

Quote:

The good news is it sounds like you stayed calm and didn't panic. Thats important. [/QB]

It was much easier to stay calm this time, since I recognized what was going on!

 

[varkgirl]

Quote:I would stop giving greenies. There have been numerous deaths related to greenies. They get lodged in the system and do not digest properly. Some dogs are fine and some can die from them.

I always make sure he chews them thoroughly. They are his favorite thing, he gets so upset if I run out.

 

[Joe Johnston]

It could be a seizure, or it could be a massive anxiety attack. Since his two episodes have both been predicated by this other dog, maybe this other dog triggers some kind of deep emotion from Badger.

As Joe said, keep some very good notes for your vet when you discuss this with him. Do go to the website Judy posted, it has some of the best user friendly, practical info on canine epilepsy I have seen.

Best of luck,

 

[Murphys Dad]

Varkgirl: Hopefully, you have seen the last of Badger's episodes but, if not, try to get a videotape of what is transpiring to share with your vet along with your notes.

Quote:Originally posted by Joe and Vinny:
It could be a seizure, or it could be a massive anxiety attack.

As Joe is already aware, my Maggie was diagnosed several years ago with seizures and put on phenobarb. With her exhibiting liver damage, I took her to a veterinary neurologist who doubted the diagnosis and had me take a videotape of Maggie's next episode. New diagnosis was severe anxiety attacks of unknown cause. She was weaned off the Pb but still has some permanent liver damage. I always thought Maggie looked and acted like she was in severe pain during the attacks and, after new vet determined she had chronically infected anal glands (now removed!), I am hoping I have seen the last of the episodes. During her treatment for "seizures", the Epi-Angels were a wonderful support group. Do check them out!

 

[varkgirl]

The thing is, he is anxious a lot of the time anyway (despite our best efforts). So an anxiety attach could be a possibility too. He doesn't twitch or flail around or bite or anything, just lays there.

Hopefully this was our last!!!

 

[varkgirl]

Sorry to resurrect an old post...

We had seizure #3 last night. They seem to come every 10 months. Badger turned 4 in April.

This time, it was not as bad as the others. He was over it in 2-3 minutes.

It was bedtime and I was trying to get him to come in the bedroom. All I could hear were his nails clacking on the tile in the kitchen, but he wasn't getting any closer. I turned on the light and found him scrambling under the table - not able to control his legs or stand up straight.

His jaw was clenched again and his whole body seemed to be shaking, but this time he did not lose control of his bodily functions. He just was having trouble standing up. I sat down on the floor next to him and held him next to me and helped him stand because he wouldn't go for anything else - this seemed to help and he was shaking less. After a couple minutes he stopped shaking and sat down in my lap. Then the tongue came out and he seemed back to normal.

It's so scary... even though I know what it is now, it still scares me while it is happening and after it happens.

Please don't flame me, but I still haven't talked to the vet about these seizures. I am so worried that he will just immediately want to medicate him! At almost a year apart, that seems harsh. I know I should bring it up since it has happened three times now, but I feel dumb telling the vet about something that happened two years ago, three years ago, etc...

Anyway, thanks for listening...

 

[Murphys Dad]

Allyson,

No flames... but PLEASE get Badger to the vet.

10 months apart is still OK for not needing meds to control it (as long as the seizures are short). When the seizures get long, cluster, or occur 3 months apart or less on a consistent basis, then its time for meds. FYI: phenobarbitol is not expensive and can be given in low doses so not to affect Badger.

And not only checked for seizures, but have him check his back as well. Murphy did something similar to this before blowing out his back. I'm not saying is the same thing, but its good to have it checked to be safe.

Also, please think about anything he may have been given or did the day of the seizure... Did he have his tick & flee meds, Did he get into the garden (fertilizer or mulch), etc... to possibly fing a cause.

Again, please see your vet ASAP.

 

[Makaella's Mom]

I just want to say how sorry I am for what you and he went through. I had two Malamutes before my beag Jack and the male, Simon, had a neuropathy (sp) in his hind end that eventually caused him to fall and be unable to get up - at all. I remember sitting there with him in the kennel sobbing, he was so frightened and waiting for my neighbor to come over to help lift him - he weighed 120 lbs. I had to put him down the next day he had lost all hind end function. I am crying now as I write this I miss him so. I understand how scary it felt and wish you nothing but success and a better outcome than I had - though it was the right thing to do for him. Let us know what the vet says.....

 

[BookerMoose]

I agree that a check with the vet is probably a good idea to ease your mind if nothing else, and from our experience (both Booker and Moose have both had infrequent (once or twice a year) minor seizures for many years) the vet is not likely to be quick to jump into medication unless the frequency and/or severity of the seizures changes. And I totally understand how horrible it is when they have one - even that infrequently... Moosie had one in May when we were on vacation and he was at the doggie hotel and I hated not being able to be there for him, although he bounced right back.

Good luck and keep us posted - fingers and paws crossed everything turns out okay.

 

[Artimus Beaglesworth]

When I was a kid I had seizures - not the shaky kind but the kind where I just sort of spaced out for a few seconds to a minute. The doctors diagnosed me with a form of epilepsy and gave me a course of drugs for about a year and then my symptoms went completely away and I was fine.

My question is - in order for the doctor's to diagnose me, they had to get an MRI and also another scan, but i forgot what it was, but it was costly. Will it be the same if you take a dog to the vet with seizures?

 

[varkgirl]

Originally Posted By: Murphy & Summer's DadAllyson,

No flames... but PLEASE get Badger to the vet.

10 months apart is still OK for not needing meds to control it (as long as the seizures are short). When the seizures get long, cluster, or occur 3 months apart or less on a consistent basis, then its time for meds. FYI: phenobarbitol is not expensive and can be given in low doses so not to affect Badger.

And not only checked for seizures, but have him check his back as well. Murphy did something similar to this before blowing out his back. I'm not saying is the same thing, but its good to have it checked to be safe.

Also, please think about anything he may have been given or did the day of the seizure... Did he have his tick & flee meds, Did he get into the garden (fertilizer or mulch), etc... to possibly fing a cause.

Again, please see your vet ASAP.

I hear you. He is due soon anyway, so I will be sure to deal with it sooner rather than later.

The other two times, I knew what brought it on because he was upset by another dog. But this time, I can't figure it out. Everything was normal - no flea/tick stuff (I saw another post of yours about Frontline Plus - interesting because that's what we use but he is way overdue for a dose of it), no odd food, and in fact he pretty much slept all day like he always does

I am on summer break so he and I are lazy together all day. I can't think of anything odd that he did yesterday or anything he might have done to lead up to it...

I will talk to the vet. Thanks again.

 

[Zookeeper]

We had a poodle when I was a kid. the first seizure he had was after my sister scolded him too harshly for pottying in the house. She ended up sitting with him for an hour she felt so badly. He only had them occasionally, but often enough that the vet did put him on meds, but it in no way affected his energy or personality. The dosage was very low and it did him a world of good. Eventually, he grew out of the seizures and was able to spend his last 5 or 6 years (he lived to be 15) off meds.

But the vet was so important not only in treating Pierre, but also in comforting and reassuring us, his family. I'm glad you've decided to talk to your vet, it will make you feel so much better to put this in his/her hands. They will make sure your Badger gets the right treatment and can monitor any future attacks. Best of luck to you both!