Seizures

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Cicada
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Seizures

Post by Cicada » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:12 am

So my 3 year old GSP has had 3 seizures now the first 6 month ago the second 3 month ago (the worst one lasted 2min) and today lasted maybe a minute We took him to the vet after the second one, about two days later but the blood work showed nothing abnormal. He has always been a bit of a puker eating grass and throwing up not a big eater. This last one he threw up at 5:00AM and then had the small seizure around 7:30 shortly after I had left the house.

So I guess my question is has any one dealt with this this kind a frequency and what was the eventual outcome

Also he is intact but I will be getting him nutted as I really don't want this to be passed along, even if the chance is slim to none.

Thanks

Grant

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Tooling
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Re: Seizures

Post by Tooling » Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:08 pm

Not something to be taken lightly.

My darling wife had a crusty little dog that was prone to seizures and it did not end well. He was the runt of the litter and although it was nothing more than speculation after the fact, the Vet suggested the likely cause was a neurological / brain issue. The dog had never undergone an MRI which is regretful in hindsight but he was on medication. The medication seemed to help with the frequency of the episodes until one Sunday evening he seized for no apparent reason and we lost him as a result..I'd be working w/ a vet pretty closely if I were you.

I wouldn't have any clue whether that sort of thing is hereditary or not??

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Sharon
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Re: Seizures

Post by Sharon » Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:18 pm

This may help some:

My 131/2 year old setter died from not stop seizures.
At that time the vet said it was probably a brain tumor and meds would not help.

the good news: My vet said that when a young dog has seizures medication can make all the difference.
See the vet.
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

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Cicada
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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:28 pm

Call has been made but she is in surgery today I find it strange that 2 times I was not there and he had an empty stomach on 2 occasions for sure.

Thanks

Grant

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Tooling
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Re: Seizures

Post by Tooling » Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:43 pm

Not sure if it adds any value..I seem to recall our dog began seizing at about 2 or 3 yo..he went on medication and his seizures stopped altogether until the final night..he was seven.

Not sharing this to suggest anything dire in your situation and to be crystal clear, when I say brain issue, I literally mean brain issue..the dogs head was tiny and the vet surmised it caused pressure to his brain due to the very small size of his skull. Dog never was quite right but he sure did have gobs of personality!

Good luck w/it!
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shags
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Re: Seizures

Post by shags » Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:01 pm

I don't have personal experience with seizures, but someone who participated on another board had a young setter with them. She recommended this article. Go about 11 Ps down
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-ang ... havior.htm

Good luck, Best wishes for a good outcome.

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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Thu Mar 23, 2017 5:15 pm

shags wrote:I don't have personal experience with seizures, but someone who participated on another board had a young setter with them. She recommended this article. Go about 11 Ps down
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-ang ... havior.htm

Good luck, Best wishes for a good outcome.

I am pretty sure she checked thyroid levels the first time. No aggressive behavior other than barking at strangers that show up on my favorite fishing spots. If any thing he is overly possessive of me does not wander always checks in.

Grant

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Re: Seizures

Post by RYNO » Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:34 pm

I think it was this forum, maybe another, but I remember reading about someone's dog that was having seizures every 5-6 months or something along those lines. He eventually found that when he was filling his water softener tank he was spilling some salt and the dog was eating it causing the seizures.

Not really related but when my setter was about 8-9 months she got real 'wobbly' not really a seizure but looked similar. Took her to an emergency vet that night, they agreed she looked off but couldn't find a cause. I took her to my vet the next day, he found that one of her ears was completely blocked up with gunk, likely a weed seed that got infected. It was so deep in her ear that I never saw enough gunk to be concerned. The blockage was throwing her equilibrium off making her wobble. She's been healthy since.

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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:59 pm

Mine was treated for ear infection after the second seizure It may have come back but I see no signs like before ( heavy head shaking ) I have an appointment in about 2 weeks I will talk over my options with the Vet then.

Frustrating.

Grant
Last edited by Cicada on Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Seizures

Post by mountaindogs » Sun Mar 26, 2017 1:24 pm

Keep the most detailed log you possibly can wash time it happens. There is a genetic tendency but there are also a lot of environmental factors that that trigger. I have heard everything from monthly meds to human skin creams. Contact with treated fabrics, consuming certain food dyes or preservatives, thyroid issues, post vaccination issues, and two who started 12 hrs or so following sugary in which the vet had used Ketamine as one of the drugs. I just don't think we have a good handle on epilepsy at this point but absolutely involve the vet. They can and do cause death in dogs. Good luck. http://www.canine-epilepsy.net

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Re: Seizures

Post by mountaindogs » Sun Mar 26, 2017 1:28 pm

Also on the site I listed above there is a research being done. If the cause is not found please consider submitting a sample and contacting the breeder so that a sibling who is not affected may also be sampled. Finding genetic links to epilepsy in dogs would be astoundingly helpful and every breeder wishes we could eliminate this issue from dogs entirely.

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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:11 pm

Thanks for the link I talked to the breeder and none of his dogs have had seizures and I he did not mention any of the other Pups I believe he has not had any more repeat breeding's.

As I mentioned it may be separation anxiety or this last one was preceded with a skunk in the face followed by long bath.

Thanks again

Grant

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Re: Seizures

Post by KCKLH » Sat Apr 08, 2017 5:10 pm

Dealt with this a lot unfortunately. My uncles GSP, my first Golden, and my brothers Golden all had epilepsy. It sucks really bad man. Phenobarbital and Val's will help but will rob your dog of quality of life. 13 years of a brain damaged incontinent dog wandering around your house bumping into walls isn't something you want to live with. It's a hard balance to find. If they're infrequent and the dog doesn't need to be on pills every day then all will be okay. If they're a regular occurance then it's probably best to put the dog down. Even if you are willing to take on the additional cost and let the animal suffer eventually a fit will come they will not wake up from and they will likely have suffered from two or three days of seizures before the end comes. Best to prepare yourself. I personally think it's a result of too much line breeding.

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Re: Seizures

Post by Sharon » Fri Apr 14, 2017 4:45 pm

That's interesting . A closeup skunk spray can cause all kinds of problems as it affects the red blood cells.
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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:03 am

KCKLH wrote:Dealt with this a lot unfortunately. My uncles GSP, my first Golden, and my brothers Golden all had epilepsy. It sucks really bad man. Phenobarbital and Val's will help but will rob your dog of quality of life. 13 years of a brain damaged incontinent dog wandering around your house bumping into walls isn't something you want to live with. It's a hard balance to find. If they're infrequent and the dog doesn't need to be on pills every day then all will be okay. If they're a regular occurance then it's probably best to put the dog down. Even if you are willing to take on the additional cost and let the animal suffer eventually a fit will come they will not wake up from and they will likely have suffered from two or three days of seizures before the end comes. Best to prepare yourself. I personally think it's a result of too much line breeding.
The causes of this may never be found out, looking at his pedigree I don't see a lot of recent line breeding Sire was a Sholten Dam was a Witten\Wise.
Talked to my vet and she concurred as long as they are one or two over a 4 month period medication would do little. And I sure hope I don't get to that point of putting another dog down because of quality of life; especially him he is one of the best bird dog/fishing buddy I have had and he just getting into his prime.

Thanks for the comments and welcome to the board.

Grant

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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:10 am

Sharon wrote:That's interesting . A closeup skunk spray can cause all kinds of problems as it affects the red blood cells.
Have not heard of that connection, interesting for sure. I never saw the hit but he was not shaking his head or rubbing his face so I thing it was just his shoulder. The skunk was still digging on the hillside 30 minutes later when we went back up river; a good size one too!

Grant

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Re: Seizures

Post by Sharon » Sun Apr 16, 2017 2:23 pm

" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

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Re: Seizures

Post by Cicada » Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:24 am

Thanks for the link hopefully this skunk thing is a one and gone.

Grant
Sharon wrote:toxicosis from skunk spray:

http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/sk ... =&pageID=2

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