Labrador Retreiver and Seizures

Deacon's Dad

Hi,
My lab has been having seizures lately. ive talked to my vet about it, but he said because he is pure-bred that sometimes is a problem. Now they are about amonth a part, but they last about 5 minutes. its just awful to see him suffer like that.

Does anyone else have a dog with seizures?

Labsnothers

I would talk to a different vet. Careful breeding will reduce seizures, but not eliminate them. Being purebred has little to do with it except that there are too many poorly bred purebreds. Even the best vets may not be able to diagnose and control all seizures.

Cracker

I agree that maybe a second opinion would be a good idea. Did your vet recommend blood work or MRI or any diagnostic work ups at all?
Seizure disorders do show up in some breeds more than others (springers and dals come to mind) but it is not necessarily due to "being purebred".
Many things can cause seizures; brain tumours, diet sensitivities, environmental things,excess anxiety and sometimes it is simply idiopathic (meaning no obvious cause).
Keeping track of the seizures frequency, duration and severity can help you see if there is a pattern or if the seizures increase in these aformentioned ways.
Take a good look at this diet and what time of day they happen, is it after stress or exercise? Are there any other behaviours that seem different to you? Some seizure episodes don't LOOK like your typical seizure. There can be staring and disorientation, air snapping, sudden aggression, sleepiness etc that are symptoms of underlying seizure disorders. Not all seizures are twitchy.
I really would look into seeing a specialist or doing some more research so that you have all the information you need...your doctor is not helping you by dismissing it as a "purebred thing".

Also..when he is having a seizure, he is most likely UNAWARE of what is happening until it is over...it is often more distressing to the owner than the dog himself. Keeping calm, making sure he is safe (watching he doesn't bump into furniture etc) and then just being comforting when he is in his post ictal state are all you can do.

Good luck.

Deacon's Dad

Thanks so much for the advice. I do think I need a second opinion. He just lays on his side and his eyes get all dilated and he makes this awful grunting noise and just trembles. He can't even stand. Its terrible

heidiann

Cracker has said a lot of what I was going to say.

We have an epileptic dog who's had seizures for 3 years now. While scary to watch, Canine epilepsy can sometimes be managed with meds and patience. Sometimes there are triggers you can pick out and sometimes the cause is unknown.

What are you feeding your dog? Sometimes switching to a higher quality or grain free food helps. And don't rule out the meds. Topaz is on both Phenobarbitol and Potassium Bromide as well as Taurine and we feed raw (to rule out food and to avoid the recalls).

See a new vet and keep a journal and remember that although it's hard to watch, it's harder on us than it is on them!

We have a blog for our dog located here... http://topazseizures.blogspot.com/

I have a page on my own blog: http://www.peargirly.com/blog/canine-epilepsy/

And here's a great site to start with: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/

I always suggest that people who have a seizure dog, join this email list as well: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/subscribe.html

The people on that e-list have been dealing with canine epilepsy for YEARS, some have had multiple dogs with epilepsy, and they are VERY helpful and knowledgable when it comes to epi dogs.

Feel free to private message me as well if you need anything.