13 Responses for "Q&A: Anyone have a dog with Epilepsy?"

1. nita5267 February 14th, 2012 at 6:04 pm 1

   My grandparents had a small house dog, Ringo, that had epilepsy. Being so young, I thought the dog was just excited or hyper. He ran back and forth and rolled around when he was having a fit. Not sure if he was on medication, but he lived a long life.

2. hannah_montana9180 February 14th, 2012 at 6:56 pm 2

   My dog has epilepsy and he is 7.
   -My dogs quality of life is fine.He is fat but thats not my fault.when my aunt comes over she gives him alot of treats.
   -His pheobarb is fine also.Nothing is wrong with that
   -It doesnt matter how much the dog has epilepsy,they can live at the same age as dogs who dont have epilepsy.
   -sometimes my dog acts scared but that is when he is having an epilepsy episodeAKAa seaser
   -when they have a scene(a seaser)it doesnt hurt them.all they do is basically think they are going to die but they arent and just comfert her when she has the scene!
   hope this helped

3. bassetnut February 14th, 2012 at 7:18 pm 3

   I don't now, but I have had two dogs who had epilepsy.

   Our lab/shepherd mix developed it when he was about four, had a few seizures a year for a few years and then stopped. He never had them frequently enough to go on medication.

   My basset hound developed it after back surgery when she was about six. She had them a few times a year for the rest of her life. Again, since she didn't have them often we didn't put her on medication. She lived to be 12 1/2.

   She didn't behave any differently, except that as she got older the seizures would upset her.

   I also had a boyfriend that was epileptic, and he told me that the seizures are painless.

   One thing I discovered was that while I had Myrtle on a low-carbohydrate homemade diet she had no seizures at all. I've found out since then that very low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets are recommended for children with epilepsy. Your friend might want to do some research on this subject.

4. leysarob February 14th, 2012 at 7:53 pm 4

   My friend had a dog with epilepsy. The vet had him on phenobarb ... sometimes it worked, sometimes not. Eventually the dog did die from an episode that stopped his breathing for too long.

   My friend did some research about using gold to treat the epilepsy. Might have your friend as the vet about it.

5. jenny k February 14th, 2012 at 8:06 pm 5

   My pug mix was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was one. We adopted her and are unsure if the previous owners were aware of her condition. She takes phenobarbital 2xs a day and is doing fine. I have not seen any seizure since the 1st weeks she began her medication(it's been 10 months). She has to have blood work once a year because the meds can effect the liver-I think it's the liver-otherwise no problems

   I know how your friend feels. I'm the once who saw her seizure the first time and it scarred the crap out of me. My vet said not to worry because when they get it this young, it's most likely biological and not environmental.

6. K February 14th, 2012 at 8:16 pm 6

   I had a dog with epilepsy. The seizure started when he was about 1 1/2 years old. They were usually triggered by excitement. I kept a log of each episode so we could determine frequency, severity, and what triggered them. When it got to the point where he was having 1 or more a month, we put him on Phenobarbitol. He was groggy at first from the meds, but the vet adjusted the dosage and once he acclimated to the medication, he was the same dog as before. He was on Phenobarb for about five years and then a new vet suggested we take him off because over LONG periods of time, it may cause liver damage. We took him off and found he had outgrown the seizures. In the next five years he had only two petit mal seizures, which was just a shaking of the head. He lived to be 11 1/2 and died of kidney failure which was not related to the epilepsy or to the medication. He was a great dog with one of the sweetest temperaments I've ever seen.

7. ivan dog February 14th, 2012 at 8:47 pm 7

   i had a friend back when i was in high school (long time ago )

   whos dog had epilepsy and the dog always seemed to me to be a normal dog, always did same things as all dogs do and seemed happy
   i dont know what kind of meds. it was on
   his dog lived a long time ...10 yrs or so i believe
   like i said up in beggining i think the dog was pretty normal , i'm sure at first once the dog starts taking the meds it will be a bit diffrent but once it starts feeling better it should be back running around and playing like normal
   as far as i know epilepsy is not a painful disease , its a disease that causes seizures , so once the seizures are controlled witht the meds. the dog should be able to live a full relatively normal life

   dont be afraid to talk to your friend about this , if he/she doesnt want to talk he/she will tell you , but i'm betting he/she would like someone to talk to, and just tell him/her that you are there for them if they need you

   good luck to your friend and the dog

   B.

8. Sordid Fool February 14th, 2012 at 9:34 pm 8

   How is your dogs quality of life?
   She was quite happy - after a seizure she wanted to cuddle, then went on with whatever she wants.

   Is your dog on Phenobarb?
   She was, and it certainly helped control the seizures.

   How long do dogs live who have Epilepsy?
   It varies from dog to dog (breed, individual history, etc.)...if the seizures are well controlled, it doesn't seem to diminish their life expectancy by much at all. My lab mix lived to be 15 years old.

   Does your dog behave any differently now?
   Not really - she was her same stupidly happy self. Keep in mind a young St. Bernard will have a behavior change anyway - they will mellow out a bit as they get older.

   Is your dog in pain?
   We monitored her seizures to make sure she didn't injure herself, restraining her when required. She never hurt herself, and never seemed to be in pain until she became geriatric (old) and developed arthritis as a result of her age.

9. Diane S February 14th, 2012 at 10:23 pm 9

   A friend of mine has a Poodle with epilepsy. He is on medication. The same as your friends dog I believe, but I won;t sware to it. Harley seems to be in very good health now the medication dose has been settled. He has not had a seizure in ages. He's about 7 and has had epilepsy most of his life. I think with the right medication they can live a long and full life from what she was told by her vet.

   He does not seem in pain and is a happy little guy. In fact unless someone told you he has a health issue you would never know.

   I'm sure your friends dog can have a wonderful life especially as he seems to be loved so very much.

   Diane

10. pomlover1957 February 14th, 2012 at 10:50 pm 10

    My boy Alf (pomeranian) was diagnosed at about 4 years of age. It was frightning and upseting when he first had his seisures, but he was a happy outgoing dog till he passed away at the age of 13. His quality of life was as a spoiled rotten child!!! We did obedience, agility and tracking and he never had any issues. He was on Pheobarb and did have a seisure from time to time, but those were maybe once or twice a year. With medication he lived a very happy life even though he also was diabetic and went blind about two years before his passing. All I can say is that as horrible it was to watch an episode they only lasted a few seconds and the rest of the time he was fine! He should enjoy every second of time with his dog and not dwell on it!!

11. Shashie February 14th, 2012 at 11:12 pm 11

    I had a Cocker Spaniel that had epilepsy. There are different forms and levels too. But my girl had Idiopathic Epilepsy. She had seizures once in a while. That was hard to see, but you just had to let it pass, and then she would be kind of in a disarray and confused for a short while after. But then would be herself soon enough. I would say she had them twice a month. We started putting vitamin E oil in her food, and we swear it helped! She would only have them maybe once a year if at all. She lived to be 14, died of cancer (not at all related to the Epilepsy). Epilepsy was something we dealt with. It did not seem to be painful to her, just confusing. Just know to stay calm during a seizure, and not panic, he/she can sense that and, well that does not help matters. Your friend just needs to get a book or look on-line to understand the disease more, It's not a death sentence, just means he will need a little extra attention. Love to your Friend and his pup. It will be OK!

    P.S A healthy diet is very important and can make a world of difference to an epileptic dog. ...NO PEOPLE FOOD! There is stuff in our food that can trigger anything. Dog Food only!
    We fed Lily dry food with some Vit E oil on it. We would sometimes put a little wetfood in her dry for a treat.

12. Poopy February 14th, 2012 at 11:42 pm 12

    I used to have a poodle that had epilepsy. If she got overheated, stressed, or ran around too much, she would sometimes go all rigid, and then start shaking and rolling her eyes. It would only last a minute or so but it sure was scary and creepy while she was doing it. She was on medication for it for awhile (I don't remember the name - it was a long time ago. Little white pill that I would hide in cheese....) but then the vet decided her seizures were not harming her and happened so rarely (once every other month or two, at their peak) that she didn't need it anymore.

    She lived to be about 10 years old - not very old for a small dog, but she developed cancer and I had to have her put down once it got to be advanced. I do not think she was in pain from the epilepsy at all (she was in pain from the cancer, though). In fact, we got the epilepsy diagnosis when she was about two years old or so, she was on medication for about a year, and her seizures occurred less and less often the older she got. In fact, I don't think she had even one seizure in the last 2-3 years before her death.

    She did everything a little dog is supposed to do - she ran, she barked, she jumped, she gave kisses, she was affectionate, she played chase with the cat, etc. She never was 100% on the housetraining thing, but I don't think epilepsy had anything to do with that. I never noticed much difference in her behavior between pre-epilepsy diagnosis and post-epilepsy diagnosis, although when she was on the medication, it seemed to slow her down a little bit. Just made her tired, and not as hyper, but she was still up for fetch and going on walks, etc., and she was still ready to roll the cat whenever the cat pounced on her from a darkened doorway.

    The only thing the vet ever said she couldn't do was have babies, and that not so much for her sake but because it was considered a breed defect that you wouldn't want to chance passing on to puppies. We had to watch her in the summer because she was black and would get hot quickly, so we had to make her "relax" more than she was willing to on her own, but that's really the only "accommodation" we ever made for her. She was one of the best dogs I ever had.

    I know your friend is probably scared - the diagnosis is new to him and it's a shock. Depending on how bad the epilepsy is, though, he may find that virtually nothing - or at least very little - changes with the diagnosis. If he was planning on breeding Shana, I would recommend that he not do that now, but chances are with a rescue that he wasn't planning on doing that, anyway. Shana may even kind of "grow out of them" the way my dog seemed to do, too.

    I also had a friend who had a dog (mixed breed) who had epilepsy way worse than my dog, and that dog is still going strong. So it's not a death sentence or anything like that. Once your friend has a chance to adjust to the news, he will see that he can still have a long, happy, and healthy life with Shana and everything will be just fine.

    Hope this helps.

13. e_theodore@rogers.com February 14th, 2012 at 11:49 pm 13

    First of all my deepest sympathy to your friend, something like this can be very traumatizing. The dogs vet will know what he/she is doing so the important thing is that your friend pays attention to what he/she has to say. Epilepsy isn't very life threatening in dogs i believe, as long as their area is clear and their mouth and airways are clear, you should treat dog seizures like human seizures, the most important thing though is not to panic. Epilepsy will not change the dogs quality of life, except for the short time she is having the seizures. It doesn't effect life span unless something happens during a seizure and younger dogs shouldn't behave differently. The vet will be able to give your friend a lot more info than can be found here and you should really ask someone you know who is a professional in this area. That's the best advice i can give. Again, i am sorry for your friend and his dog.