My Bestfriend just suffered a Seizure & I'm looking for advice. Please.

Ocsi · 10-29-2009, 04:58 PM

Ocsi has been a healthy boy for over 6 years that we've known each other. He became my best friend when I laid eyes on him at 3 months old. He has been the most amazing friend, companion and never asked for anything in return but a warm bed, food, water and to always be by my side.

This morning as I sat down to my computer to catch up on my emails for work I heard him scratching next to me- almost as if one of his favorite toys had gotten stuck under the couch again and he was furiously trying to get it out. I turned to him in frustration for disturbing me to see that he was leaning with his side on the sofa as if he couldn't stand. I quickly rushed to him and noticed his whole body tense and stiff. I was so scared, I didn't know what was happening. After what seemed like a few seconds he calmed down and I pulled him into my arms and wrapped myself around him, tears coming down my face. I said "Ocsi, Ocsi!" but he wasn't really responding. I screamed for a flashlight- any flashlight (why were people asking me what kind of flashlight!) and turned it on to see if his pupils would dilate. They were to my relief.

I'm not a vet, or even a trained doctor, but have seen a family member suffer from a seizure, and had a friend's dog who had several in their lifetime. So my best guess was Ocsi had suffered a seizure. He hadn't really soiled himself at all- there was a little odor, almost like coco to my nose, Travis said it smelled like doggypoo. And we noticed a few brown spots on the floor.

I would have loved to take him to the ER and gotten the best medical attention possible, but my fury friend would have been thrown out- so we did the next best thing; drove very quickly to the vet. By the time the vet saw us Ocsi had completely gone back to normal (he peed on all his favorite trees on the walk to the car, and even had a nice poo which we made sure to bring with us to the vet's office!). The vet gave us some basic information on seizures, took our $$ and said "Call us on Monday for the results of your blood work."

After a very distracted work day, with a lot on my mind I'm looking for support, feedback and recommendations from this community on any websites, herbal supplements, diet changes, etc. that you would recommend. Or even your own stories of seizures in your dogs.

Ocsi has always been a very healthy, energetic, friendly dog. We just bought a new bag of Neutro dry dog food which I have every intention of returning to Petsmart for a full refund. While its a brand I've feed for the last 6 years, but as I write this everything in my dog's world is suspect...

MoosMom · 10-29-2009, 05:04 PM

Well first off I'm glad he is OK. I would have a vet check done to make sure nothing else it out of the ordinary, but unless your dog is having them all the time, more than one occurrence a day, the vet won't be able to do anything. This may be the only one you ever see, or they may continue. It's a hard thing to treat in dogs. He perked up quick, that's good. The best you can do is keep him safe if you see him having one, and if they should continue start paying attention to what is happening when he has one. This way you may be able to identify a trigger. Good Luck

Oh an BTW they really look much worse than they are, he's not in pain and doesn't even know it happened. I hope that is at least a small comfort,

Ocsi · 10-29-2009, 05:08 PM

^thank you.

We did to go the vet this morning and are waiting to hear back on his blood tests.

We've found many articles this afternoon similar to this:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/caninevita...ves/145402.asp
another:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...utro_foia.html
... thoughts?

MoosMom · 10-29-2009, 05:46 PM

I'd be willing to bet the work comes back clean. Don't be discouraged tho. I would most def look into a more natural pet food. If you don't know of any small pet stores in your area that sell natural food, Petco had been doing a wonderful job offering a whole line up. Brands like Wellness, Avo derm and Solid Gold are just a few. Do some reading over on the Food area of the forum too. You can pick up a wealth of knowledge.

Ocsi · 10-29-2009, 05:47 PM

anyother comments?
We're off to the store to buy some cottage-cheese per my mom's suggestion.

MoosMom · 10-29-2009, 05:48 PM

Might not want to give dairy, you may very well get a diarrhea issue.

Ocsi · 10-29-2009, 08:24 PM

I gave him 2 teaspons of cottage cheese with about 1 cup of rice, he 'wolfed' it down. I'll keep an eye on him regarding the diarrhea, the only time he's had an issue with dairy was milk- everything else has been ok in the past. (icecream, cheese etc).

He's in great sprits tonight, very frisky and energic.

Has anyone purchased this reference guide?

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs : Safe and Effective Alternative Treatments and Healing Techniques from the Nations Top Holistic Veterinarians

pat1950 · 10-29-2009, 11:19 PM

I actually had a border collie who stareted having seizures. She was on Nutro and when was put on phenobarbital. She contnued to have seizures but when I took her off the Nutro and put her on Fromm she never again had a seizure and I was able to greatly reduce her phenobarbital. I was afraid to stop it totally.

Ocsi · 10-30-2009, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pat1950

I actually had a border collie who stareted having seizures. She was on Nutro and when was put on phenobarbital. She contnued to have seizures but when I took her off the Nutro and put her on Fromm she never again had a seizure and I was able to greatly reduce her phenobarbital. I was afraid to stop it totally.

Phenobarbital is what the vet gave us as a 'just in case' he has another one- which "she doesn't expect him to," we'll see

I did return my Neutro to Petsmart yesterday- mind you I have been an avid 'spokesperson' to all my friends and relatives on what a great brand they are! I know at least 4 dogs that have switched per my recommendations

Of course, I don't know the cause of the seizure yesterday, but I am trying to change anything I can besides packing up my things and moving!

My mom said she found a few articles where the most 'common' things could cause seizures, including cat urine and feces, rotten garbage left on the streets (think of what is growing on there, parasites that are ingested- sometimes doing no harm, or in rare cases they release toxins that attack the central nervous system!) and diet. How scary!

Ocsi · 11-01-2009, 05:28 PM

Ocsi has had a good weekend so far. He's been eating rice, cottage cheese and frozen medallions of raw lamb & veggies I bought from my groomer. He seems to be in very good spirits and no more issues have show themselves.

BooLette · 11-01-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ocsi

Ocsi has had a good weekend so far. He's been eating rice, cottage cheese and frozen medallions of raw lamb & veggies I bought from my groomer. He seems to be in very good spirits and no more issues have show themselves.

I don't want to scare you, but I would watch him VERY closely no matter how well he seems to be. I used to be a manager of a pet store(before I knew any better) and they had a byb mini shnauzer there that was perfectly fine and then one night went into a fit of seizures. She had one and then was fine for weeks. Well, after a couple of weeks she started having them again and didn't stop. She had them every 10-20 mins, but the owners of the store REFUSED to take her to the vet. The poor thing died from this when a simple trip to the vet and some meds would have saved her life. Before it was all over she couldn't even walk or stand. She had so much permanent damage that it was sickening. I felt so bad and still do feel so guilty for not knowing that I could have reported this to the spca and maybe saved her and shut them down.
Just please watch your boy.

Ocsi · 11-05-2009, 07:33 AM

The vet called us Tuesday afternoon (we're in training this week at work- its been a crazy schedule!) to say that his blood work and other test results were final and they were all clean!
I think this is good news, it means nothing is "wrong" with him- but the questions is still "what caused this awful thing to happen...?"

Thracian · 11-05-2009, 11:22 AM

I'm glad your sweetie is doing better. I hope it's just a weird one-time thing. He's such a cutie!

Locke · 11-05-2009, 12:16 PM

One of my boys has epilepsy. His first seizure was totally out of the blue and it was almost a year before he had a second seizure. His bloodwork came out clean as well.
I'm glad Osci is better, but be prepared that it could happen again.