My daughter has a 12 month old Chocolate Lab, Hugo, who is Bailey’s half brother-same sire, same breeder. About six months ago Hugo had a seizure. He had been deeply asleep when Bailey and I arrived. He would normally have woken to the sound of the car or to the noise Bailey makes when we get there but didn’t do so. We had entered the house unheard and Hugo went from deeply asleep to awake very rapidly. He began to shake and collapsed to the floor, his eyes remained open and he appeared terrified and had no control over his limbs. We sat on the floor with him just talking gently and after a few moments-that seemed like hours-he tried to stand. He needed help to stand but after a few wobbly steps he appeared to recover. He didn’t lose control over his bladder or bowel. We took him straight to the vet, who could find nothing wrong and advised us to keep him calm for the rest of the day and to call if there were any more problems. Forward six months and today he had another one. Almost the same scenario-going from deep sleep to rapidly awake. Another vet visit and the same advice. My daughter is obviously upset as is the breeder. He is absolutely normal between episodes. Where to go from here? Does anyone have any experience of this? Is it just watch and wait? It is terrifying for all concerned, especially poor Hugo.
Hi there, so sorry to hear about this. I can deeply sympathize, as my Poppy has the occasional seizure, and I understand how upsetting and scary it is. Like Hugo, she is awake and aware and frightened during a seizure and tries to get to us for reassurance, so we stay close to her and comfort her. Some people say you shouldn't touch dogs during a seizure because of the danger of inadvertently getting bitten, but I hold her to stop her crashing into things and hurting herself, and I keep talking to her gently and reassuringly. Like Hugo, her seizures are quite far apart, and there is no real cause or single trigger for the seizures that we can find, other than that stress seems to be a factor. Apparently it is very common for a seizure to start when the dog is completely relaxed, often in a deep sleep, most often at home (which is a blessing, I suppose). With Poppy, I had her fully evaluated after her second cluster of seizures by a veterinary expert in epilepsy. He did blood tests and checked her out physically, to rule out any organic cause for the seizures. He advised us against having a brain scan done - he was convinced she did not have a brain tumour, and said it would just cost us a lot of money. Because the seizures are far apart (it was almost a year to the day between the previous seizure and the last one, which was about a month ago) she is not medicated. However, and this is very useful, we have diazepam suppositories, which I administer immediately as soon as she has a fit. We carry them everywhere with us! Diazepam is basically valium, and relaxes the dog and so reduces the length of a fit and also reduces the risk of a second or third one. As I am sure your daughter already knows, almost all dogs who have had one fit will have others, and that the first 48 hours after a seizure is when the dog is most likely to have another. I would go back to the vet and ask about the diazepam. Also, tell your daughter to note down what was happening around the time Hugo had the fits, as a pattern might emerge. For instance, I couldn't understand why Poppy had her last two seizures on a Saturday morning, when everything was calm with no stress - until I checked on the calendar and realized that on both occasions my OH had been away for a couple of weeks right before, which was very stressful for me (and thus for her) as I work full time and had to rush to and fro and organize dog walkers and so on. Both times, he got back on the Friday night, and all was happy and good. Then on the Saturday morning she had the seizure - as though she'd let go of the tension, and as she was relaxed that was the point the seizure started. I also avoid giving her Bravecto (oral tick/flea medication), as it has been linked to seizures, and I was advised against giving it to a dog who is prone to epilepsy. I had Poppy spayed too, as it seemed there was some correlation with her hormonal cycle. Good luck to your daughter - tell her from me that life can be completely normal with a dog who has the occasional seizure. I know people with dogs who fit several times a week, and one who has seizures almost every day. We are the lucky ones.
In case you are interested, here is a link to the thread I posted when Poppy had her last seizure: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/seizure.21346/
I am sorry to read about Hugo , excellent advice from Karen . I have also owned a dog who had seizures and received the same advice , watch and wait . Unfortunately my dog had them regularly and so did have to be medicated with phenobarbs , to which she responded well, living a full and happy life . Good luck to Hugo xx
Oh, I have just remembered something else that the epilepsy vet said. He said that I should continue to work with Poppy (we do a lot of gundog training), as that is very important to her, and that it is positive stress for her. He told me just to lead a normal life with her. The only big changes we have made are that I carry the diazepam all the time, and that I try not to let her swim far out where I couldn't get to her quickly if necessary, and I don't let her swim in the first couple of weeks after a seizure.
Thanks so much for your replies. The information is very helpful. Hugo was here last evening after the latest seizure and was alert and happy. He and Bailey are best friends and they play beautifully. It was hard for my daughter to take her eyes off him however. I’ll pass on your suggestions. Thanks again.
I am so sorry he's started having seizures! We've had two epileptic dogs, Louise was a medium-sized, mixed breed who typically had her fits in the wee hours of the morning, after being fast asleep. She would start circling and this was the first sign of her pre-fit "aura". Her fits would see her collapse, running and thrashing, foaming at the mouth with laboured breathing. Straight after she would get up, still circling, and relieve herself, but it would be a good hour before she knew who she was or where she was. She was on Phenobarbitone and it helped, but as she got older her fits increased in frequency and even on meds it was one or two a month. My precious Riddick was our Lab. He had many other complications, born blind he developed cataracts and was then diagnosed with diabetes, he developed epilepsy at around 4 years old. Initially we thought they were low blood sugar seizures - we didn't immediately think epilepsy because they didn't look like epileptic seizures. His pre-fit "aura" would have him pacing and walking into walls and furniture and losing his balance and looking lost, and whilst he did have a few fits like the ones Louise had, his were usually different. Once I could get him to stop pacing and lie down so he'd stop falling, his muscles would tense making his whole body shiver and then relax, and this would go on for several minutes. Once it stopped he was not as disoriented as Louise had been, but he would be wobbly and exhausted for hours - so much so that we bought a disability harness for him that I could quickly zap on over his head when I saw a fit coming and help him stay upright. :'( And sudden excitement was a definite trigger for his seizures. With the big fits where he thrashed his legs, he would lose control of his bladder so when I saw it coming I tried to get a towel under him as fast as I could, and then I would pull him away from walls or furniture and hold his head up off the floor and talk to him. I did the same for Louise. After these fits he was very confused and tired for quite some time. It was the hardest thing to watch. I never stopped waiting for the next one. I never left him home unsupervised again if I could help it. The biggest problem for our Riddick was that he developed a reaction to the Phenobarbitone that made his back legs lame! It was a month before he could walk and squat properly on his own again, and we had to wean him off the pheno and switch meds. Big hugs for Hugo. It can be controlled with the right meds.
Thankyou so much for your reply. Hugo has only had the two seizures so far and they seem to have been on the mild side, if there is such a thing as a mild seizure. We’ll continue to watch him, love him and help him as much as we can. Thanks again.
We had a Welsh Springer spaniel Henry who started fits at nearly 5. His were "classic" tonic/clonic seizures, on his side, clamping his jaws and foaming, paddling his legs, losing control of his bladder (but not bowels). They lasted up to 3 minutes or slightly more and if he had one he usually had another one or 2 within 24 hours. He started about monthly, then it got more frequent, until they were weekly or less. The vet tried Pexion (imepitoin) but no effect, then he went on to Epiphen (phenobarbitone), no better, then after he had 4 seizures in a day, and he was so exhausted we were beginning to feel he could not go on as his quality of life was so poor, the vet tried adding libromide. He never had another fit, although his back legs got weak. Well, not exactly weak but poorly coordinated. He could jump etc, but needed time to think about it. For the remainder of his life he was happy until he died recently of septicaemia unrelated to his epilepsy. I would say, try everything before giving up, all epileptic dogs are different and what works for one may not work for another. Also if his seizures are infrequent consider carefully whether medication is the way to go as these are pretty strong drugs. And remember that the actual fit is less distressing for him than for you as he is unaware. Sorry for the long post. Good luck with Hugo, he is lucky to have you all on his side!
My boy had his first fit at 1.5 yo. Typical grand mal seizure as described above - paddling legs while lying on his side, constricted airway so he made ee-aw sounds like a donkey as he tried to breathe. Head thrown back. Teeth bared (probably like lock-jaw). Lasted 1-2 mins (felt like forever). Took 1-2 hours to get back to normal, meanwhile walked around like a drunk, disoriented, not wanting to be touched. Also needed to poo immediately after a fit, he’d race outside on wobbly legs. He had one fit every 4-6 months for 2 years. Then he had one on a Sat, another the next day, and vet said we must medicate. Went straight onto potassium bromide. It made a big difference - he calmed down and became cooler. But increased his appetite terribly. He also continued to have fits, but less frequently. The last one he had was about 9 months ago. We and the vets think his fits were related to drop in blood sugar at around 4am cos that was when he’d fit (he sleeps in our bedroom). But he did have a fit a few hours after taking Milbemax and then, two years later, he had two fits after taking Bravecto. So we now steer clear of any kinds of tick or flea preparations, and use Mediworm for deworming. He’s in really good health now, at 6 yo. It’s been a long journey cos he’s also itchy and had a slipped disc. But he’s now slim and fit and not so hot as he used to be. He gets a snack before bedtime to prevent the sudden drop in blood sugar in the early hours and also to prevent early morning pukes (he’d regularly vomit, apparently from early morning hunger - according to the vet). He’s fed raw meat and raw meaty bones, very few carbs. Good luck with Hugo. Fits are such a worry. Our boy whimpered during a fit - heartbreaking - and he definitely knew when one was coming, made him out of sorts. And just as it was about to happen he’d jump onto our bed seeking comfort. But life goes on and things are not nearly the worry they used to be. I didn’t think Snowie would have a normal life, but aside from taking his meds every morning, he’s a normal, sweet, happy-go-lucky Labrador.
