Shane is having seizures.

[suthrnladi]

Today is the fourth one that I know of, I say that because he is often left outside for hours...(when I'm at work especially) but also he had one in the middle of the night that DH just happened to catch. I know many of you are dealing with this and have been for years, so I'm hoping you can help me.
What should I be doing? Watching for? Telling/asking the vet? I have an appt. to take him on Monday. I took him to the ER vet on the Sunday he had the first one we saw about 2 months ago..they didn't seem worried. So now I think it's time to go to my regular vet. I still can't drive, but have a good chauffer. He scared me today, he was laying on the chair with me, both of us taking our afternoon seista, I'm not sure what woke me up exactly but he was already full-blown into the seizure, he peed on the chair (first time I've notcied that) and I gently let him down on the floor from the chair as he was about to fall off. DH came over and got on the floor with him (I can't) and just talked to him, it lasted about maybe 30 seconds.. after it was all over he stared into space for a few seconds, then he got up and just paced around the house, like he wanted outside..went from one room to another, up on the couch, down, and around and around the house. DH let him out, I let him back in about 5 mins latter, and he ate a few bites, then drank some, then paced some more, probably another 15 mins. Before laying down for awhile. Then he wanted to play...he's still not acting like himself...but it's getting better...

[Arbiesmom]

Hi, As you know I have loads of experience with seizures. Sorry you are going through this.
I advise on individuals. From what you've posted - Here's your plan of action - make an appointment for the vet vet straight away. If Shane is only having the occassional seizure and he's recovering ok (as from your post that seems to be the case - altho he could be having small ones while you're not around) ask them to do a thorough thyroid test and also to test for low blood sugar levels - also check out your own environment - are there things that may trigger seizures in your home or garden? Also change his food to gluten free, natural diet.

When he does have a seizure you can on recovery (when he goes into the pacing stage and responds to finger clicking etc) offer some honey or vanilla icecream then give food in small quantities.

I must point this out - when your pup is pacing it doesn't mean he has recovered - he will only be recovering if he responds to his name and is able to take honey or ice-cream. If he can't do that after five minutes he will need emergency treatment.

Try not to worry (I know it's hard) - stay calm and get the tests done. My Arbie has the worst possible seizures and we're controlling therm = also Frye (frye and dex) has similar seizures and he's doing pretty good>

I will keep you in my prayers while you are going through this. Checvk out my sticky on canine epilepsy - there are links to other helpful info.

[Rocky07]

poor baby! big hugs!

[suthrnladi]

Thanks Tracy, I had you in mind when I posted. I thought I had read some information recently, but couldn't remember where, and didn't look...I was too worried I guess I wasn't recovered yet...I will read the sticky again..probably print it and post it on the refridgerator. For ALL to see so they'll know what to do..just in case I'm not here.
Thanks again.

[Jenentonik]

Oh good, I see Tracy is already here with info Christie, I hope Shane gets to feeling better soon and you too!

[Frye&Dex]

I am so sorry you have to go through this as well. Tracy is probably your best resource to ask questions to, that and the articles she has posted on the sticky...you will be reading all day. Frye has only had epilepsy for 10 months now, so I am still new and learning. You might want to try to go back and read all of my posts about it. I know Tracy would respond to my questions and maybe you are having the same questions.

I definitely agree about taking him in and getting tests run...Frye gets them monthly, blood tests and pheno levels, because we are trying to figure out his dosage. It has been six weeks since his last set, so we are praying it will be longer! This is the longest he has gone!!!

Being on here is probably your best tool and resource. I have no clue what I would have done if I was not on here.

I will be praying for Shane as I do for Arbie and all of our wonderful pups on here!

[Arbiesmom]

Stephanie - that's great news about Frye - six weeks is a good milestone at this stage! You are doing great by him!!!

Christie if you want to just have an ear to bend etc you can pm - I check in here everyday so I wom't miss it and I'm sure stephanie won't mind you p'ming her.
It helps to know there's others goign through the same thing sometimes!

[suthrnladi]

Thank you so much Tracy and Stephanie, this is so new to me. Is it common for it not to show up until they're older, Shane is a year old, and he just began having the seizures (that we know of) in May? I'm to ask all questions posed by Tracy on her sticky when I go to the vet, and I'll read all of Stephanie's postings tomorrow while I'm sitting all day. Did way to much today, so I'm down for the count tomorrow for sure.
Thanks for everyone's prayers for Shane and for me. Christie

[Frye&Dex]

As you will read in my other threads, we are not exactly sure how Frye got epilepsy, either inherited or caused by Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. However, I believe it is common for dogs to start showing signs of epilepsy around a year old.

Like Tracy said, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

[suthrnladi]

THanks...I know I'll have a million questions as time goes on...

[grammie]

oh no! poor shane and mama. sounds like you're in good hands with tracy and freye's mom. too scary for me to think about.

btw - thor's head tremors have been few and far between since he's been on thyroid med, cholodin, and i listen to him when he says he's hungry. he'll come stare me down and when i tell him to do a 'show me' he follows me to the fridge and stops.

since he doesn't have a weight problem and has never been a glutton, i know he really is hungry. that seems to have helped a lot with making the tremors disappear.

[Frye&Dex]

That is great news Grammie! I am glad he is doing well! Frye is on the cholodin as well...thanks to you! I just bought the big bottle of 500 after I went through the first trial bottle. I think it helps. Frye loves them!

[Zhanna]

Sorry you're having to go through this! Prayers for y'all going up!

[suthrnladi]

Thanks, Grammie, Z and Stephanie. Grammie what is the Cholodin?

We went to the vet today, she said that boxers arent' really known to have epilepsy, but she listened and said, yep sounds like seizures at the least, so she did the blood work, and explained why it is important to rush to vet if the seizure lasts very long, temperature rises, causes brain damage...any way, I am steadily reading the differnent information from all the sites Tracy put on her sticky...thanks again. We should have blood results tomorrow, so we'll go from there.

[grammie]

stephanie - glad the cholodin is working out for frye. i know he had trouble on it when you first started. reminds me i need to order a big bottle online. my vet is cheaper than online for the soloxine he takes for his thyroid, but the cholodin is more expensive at his office.

i'm SO glad my vets wife recommended it. i would almost be tempted to take him off soloxine down the road, but never cholodin.

[suthrnladi]

Shane had another seizure, I'm sure of it, we were gone out to eat, but when we came home I found a wet spot(he lost bladder control last time too) and some foamy looking slobber..
He tore up my granddaughter's bedroom door. Now, I thought the door was shut when we left, we normally do that,...sooooo...somehow he got into her room, the door shut..and he tore up the carpet by the door AND pushed though the bottom of the door to get out. He appears ok, but it freaked DH and I completely out.
Tracy and Stephanie, do you think I should get the crate back out? He hates it, but...he could get used to it again I guess, I want him to be safe.
DH says' this is why I leave him out when I'm not home". IT's 100 degrees outside, if he has a seizure out there>>>Who knows what'll happen>>>
THANK YOU!

[grammie]

oh no! poor shane. he has no control over what's happening. i don't know where would be the safest place for him while having a seizure. in the crate, he may get hurt thrashing in a confined space.

this just breaks my heart for him and you.

i forgot to give you the link about the cholodin. you should be able to get some from your local vet maybe.

Frye had 2 more seizures

[Frye&Dex]

That is what I worry about on a daily basis, Frye having a seizure(s) in the kennel. Aaron came home one night and could tell he had one in the kennel, he had drool all over his face and was a bit out of it. He was fine though.

I would definitely not leave him outside. Boxers tend to overheat really quickly as they are unable to cool themselves down as well as other dogs. Then, add a seizure on top of that, he could overheat really quick. Having a seizure is like running a marathon. That is why they pace around afterwards, their body continues to go and go and go...I would like to see what Tracy says about Arbie and the kennel. I am pretty sure she keeps him in there but not sure for how long at a time. Frye usually has his seizures in the middle of the night or early, early morning, well, I guess the ones we know about...

[grammie]

i agree about outside and seizures. christie, maybe convey to your husband that it's not shane's fault and to let him stay inside?

stephanie - i picked up a bottle of cholodin yesterday at the vet, because i realized i was down to 3 pills left! when you get your order for 500 (amazon?) can you let me know if they are made by MVP labs and what the expiration date is?

the label looks different for the 500 bottle. paul was worried that they might expire before he took them all. But i think i paid $16.28 at the vet for a bottle of 50 so it will be a huge savings to order the 500's.

[grammie]

ps- my vets wife and i were out searching for her lab that has seizures when she got loose about a month ago. she was frantic to find her because of the heat and all she could think about was gabby having a massive seizure out there. luckily we found the hooligan.

having a dog with seizures is an extra step of lovins and care, but well worth it.

[Arbiesmom]

It is probably safer for Shane to be crated - preferably with some kind of padding round the bottom part of the crate. Arbie is in the crate sleeping when he has most of his seizures and I tend to let him stay during the first seizure then open the door for recovery ready for the next (Arbie has at least three seizures at a time). The only problem with the crate is if they are having what I call a "violent" grandmal - I found Arbie with his teeth clenched around the bars of the crate and I was frightened all that thrashing about would cause some injury but it didn't - he was fine. I can't pad out Arbie's crate - he would eat the padding!! Silly boy

[suthrnladi]

Thanks all, I'm going to spend some time tomorrow "discussing" the crate with hubby, he's beginning to be open to what we need to do for Shane....long story short, he mentioned it would be "easier to get rid of him" than to do all that needs doing, and I lost it...I mean really lost it...told him fine, since he has diabetes and heart problems it would be easier for us to get rid of him too...sooooooooooo,,,,,.he's starting to show his softer side, most of you know it's there, you'll remember the McKenzie saga...BTW..McKenzie is no longer with us, she crossed the bridge about a month ago...and is running free waiting for us on the other side.

[grammie]

lol christie. yeah doesn't matter how long you've been married you still have to break them in and they'll need 'refresher' courses throughout the marriage.

that was a great analogy for him. paul used to be tough, thinking dollars and cents, work involved in adding more hooligans, but look at him now he does talk trash to the offenders every now and then like ...

'skids you're a piece of work and sending us to the poor house with your allergies > time for you to get a job baby girl, or off to the pound you go!''

'skids no more poopies on the back porch or you're going to have to pay for maid service'

the dogs just

grampie's like me - he'd live under a bridge if he had to make sure they'd get the best care we can give them.

was he always like that? not a chance. it's Shane's job to charm his daddy these 3 have grampie wrapped around their little finger and it took no time at all.

tracy that is so scary about his teeth on the crate bars. i'd definitely try to pad one if you can christie.

[suthrnladi]

Yeah Grammie, hubby is more bark than bite and he too would do everything possible to make sure Shane is getting the best care possible, now that I've set him staight..LOL. He's definately changed since we met and married..., he was the one in the floor petting and talking to shane during the last seizure when we were home...and he is the one who suggested I put the list that Tracy wrote on the fridge so he and the kids would know what to do...
He has said no to the crate, we'll just fix whatever Shane tears up,...ok..
yeah Tracy shane would eat the padding too...
in fact, since he's in the house so much more he's started chewing on the carpet and furniture again, I've got to work on some exercise that I can do with him...I've pulled out his kong, and the treat ball he got in his Christmas package. He loves both and his cat...we'll find something to do in the house.
We started meds today. Twice a day...1 gram...so we'll see.. Thanks again all.

[Frye&Dex]

About the crate thing, you should order from primopads.com. I ordered them in March, for busy season, and my dogs cannot tear them up and they are cushiony, good for their joints. They actually have zip ties on the edges so they cannot scratch and pull them up. I was afraid they would tear them up, but they can't. Plus if your dog tears them up in the first 30 days, you get one for free and 1/2 off if within 90 days! I haven't had to do that.

I actually just emailed them, a rather smaller company, to see if they could possibly make 'bumpers' for the kennels out of the same stuff for Frye's seizures. I am waiting on a response. I think I will try calling them tomorrow. They do custom orders, so I figured they might. They are a bit pricey, but I bought those sheep wool looking mats for the kennels, close to the same price and they shred those to pieces, towels, blankets, you name it!

Tracy, I am not sure if they ship overseas, but I am sure you could try if you were interested. I am also glad thats what you do with Arbie. I was scared I would come home to him missing a toe nail or toe or something from getting caught during a seizure.

[suthrnladi]

awesome stephanie, please keep in touch with what you find out about the custom order...I am going to continue to work on DH about the crate, I too think it's probably safest for Shane....so If I think so..and ya'll agree...then I just have to convince him he thinks so too...LOL.

[Arbiesmom]

That's great stephanie - if we can all get something indestructable for padding - it is much safer Arbie being in his crate then out when the first seizure comes on.

[suthrnladi]

Grammie, I'm also going to try the Cholodin.

[Frye&Dex]

Grammie, I just checked the cholodin. It is by MVP Laboratories, however, I did not see any expiration date...maybe I should call them tomorrow too. I actually gave a weeks worth to a girl at work. She has a 13 year old Mastiff who is not eating much and not wanting to do much but sleep and falling down stairs (loss of coordination). I read over the reviews again and saw that it helped with dogs not eating, arthritis, liver, and dogs not interested in anything but sleeping. I am not sure if she started her on it yet, I think she was going to call her vet first, but I will let you know how it goes. I hope it works for her. Her dog is so sweet!

[grammie]

i just love this forum best ever. everyone is so helpful and willing to share knowledge, experiences. and no blowharditis running rampant

stephanie, definitely let me know what you find out about the expiration date. it may be a date code on the bottle. that's the route i'm going to take to keep stocked, if they aren't stale dated.

those kennel bumpers sound like a good option too.

christie your husband is going to be fine. remember we have the upper hand = always. very easy to wear down.

this is our #1 weapon

doesn't take long and they are agreeing with anything to get us to shut up