Well, I can honestly say in MY whole life I have never seen a dog have an epilepsy attack.
Last night Capone had not one or two attacks - but he had 3 epilepsy seizures within a 12 hour period. It was frightening. I called the vet after the third episode. It was heart breaking to see it occur, knowing there is nothing you can do just make sure the dog does not harm himself while it is occuring.
Be advised that this is pretty graphic....
The third seizure happened again while he was asleep at my feet on the floor, below the desk in the early morning. I felt him shaking, and instantly knew what was coming. I moved the chair and pulled him by his back legs -- so his head was not in the cranny between the slats of the desk, his legs were outstretched, left side of his face twitched, body was rigid, head back and he was drooling. His body began to jerk uncontrollably again. He awoke from the seizure about a minute later and just laid there, he seemed to be in shock. I comforted him by petting his back and let him lay there for a couple of minutes, cleaning off his face.
I have since learned after talking to my vet that dogs can die during the seizures. It is best to call your vet if 3 seizures happen within a 24 hour period and if they last a long time then you must call the vet as it may help the dog to survive the trauma of a seizure. The vet increased his medication dosage and also spoke of the need to possibly add another seizure medication and follow it up with communication and blood work. So, do talk to your vet, document what happens when your pet has a seizure and make sure you dose with medication as prescribed by your vet.
In my previous post I stated that I had not yet tried use these items for a mouthy or barking dog:
1) spray water bottles on the dog to deter biting and barking, this seems to work VERY well
2) closing the dog's mouth with your fingers to stop him from barking, works sometimes - other times it just makes my dog mad
3) Saying and signing "NO" with a mad face. He seems to get this readily, but it still at times makes him mad.
Have decided I have a dog with a little bit of a separation anxiety problem - explained this to the vet. He chewed my Venetian blinds when he could not see out. This can only be corrected by opening them up, and yes repairs will be needed.
I have not tried "The Husher" device (similar to a muzzle) - have heard different things about it. The rescue society did not want us to use a collar which zaps the dog so we are not considering them.
I did try Lemon Juice - this did not work as the dog actually liked it. I have not tried Tabasco sauce (we don't have any and won't use it) to deter mouthing or biting.
I am going to try the TTouch which is a type of massage to perform on the dog. It is supposedly beneficial for not only the dog but also for you. Keep y'all posted on this endeavor!
The most important thing I can say is that you must find a way to teach the dog "NO" and "Quiet" as they are vital.
Last night Capone had not one or two attacks - but he had 3 epilepsy seizures within a 12 hour period. It was frightening. I called the vet after the third episode. It was heart breaking to see it occur, knowing there is nothing you can do just make sure the dog does not harm himself while it is occuring.
Be advised that this is pretty graphic....
My dog began displaying very agitated behavior (nipping and very mouthy) beforehand, he bit my husband and I on the arms, then fell fast asleep on the bed - this is when the first seizure attack began.
- 8:45 pm he fell off the bed (onto his side). He convulsed onto the floor under the side/night table (my husband picked up the night table to get it out of the way as our dog was twisted and convulsing underneath it. I removed Capone from the corner under the bed, his legs were outstretched and flexed tight, his body was rigid, his head was back and his mouth became frothy/foamy. His body began to jerk uncontrollably, he started drooling. This went on for two minutes -- but it all seemed to go on forever.
Afterward - he was woozy, disoriented, wanted to go outside. He had a little trouble walking and was disoriented. He ran into the wall, he was stiff in his gait and slow to move, but he did move forward. He walked for bit, I slipped his harness on him and hooked his leash on quickly, he then went to the back door past the nearest bush and peed and pooped on the pine straw outside almost immediately afterwards. I cleaned his mouth up with baby wipes when we got back inside and wiped the froth off the carpet in our bedroom, cleaned his back end and put him back in his dog bed but he wanted to get up with us in bed. He missed jumping on the bed and fell back, my husband put him back on the bed.
During the second seizure at midnight he fell off the bed again, over the foot board (onto his side) and onto the floor, legs were outstretched again, body taut and stretched out, body stiffened and his head was back. He was drooling, his body began to jerk violently against the wall, I pulled him back and he continued jerking uncontrollably. It was over in a minute.
The third seizure happened again while he was asleep at my feet on the floor, below the desk in the early morning. I felt him shaking, and instantly knew what was coming. I moved the chair and pulled him by his back legs -- so his head was not in the cranny between the slats of the desk, his legs were outstretched, left side of his face twitched, body was rigid, head back and he was drooling. His body began to jerk uncontrollably again. He awoke from the seizure about a minute later and just laid there, he seemed to be in shock. I comforted him by petting his back and let him lay there for a couple of minutes, cleaning off his face.
Afterward - he was woozy and disoriented more so this time. He got up, walked about 10 feet into the wall in the hall before he got to the kitchen and then ran into the other wall. He lost control of his bowls and I had to clean him up.
I have since learned after talking to my vet that dogs can die during the seizures. It is best to call your vet if 3 seizures happen within a 24 hour period and if they last a long time then you must call the vet as it may help the dog to survive the trauma of a seizure. The vet increased his medication dosage and also spoke of the need to possibly add another seizure medication and follow it up with communication and blood work. So, do talk to your vet, document what happens when your pet has a seizure and make sure you dose with medication as prescribed by your vet.
In my previous post I stated that I had not yet tried use these items for a mouthy or barking dog:
1) spray water bottles on the dog to deter biting and barking, this seems to work VERY well
2) closing the dog's mouth with your fingers to stop him from barking, works sometimes - other times it just makes my dog mad
3) Saying and signing "NO" with a mad face. He seems to get this readily, but it still at times makes him mad.
Have decided I have a dog with a little bit of a separation anxiety problem - explained this to the vet. He chewed my Venetian blinds when he could not see out. This can only be corrected by opening them up, and yes repairs will be needed.
I have not tried "The Husher" device (similar to a muzzle) - have heard different things about it. The rescue society did not want us to use a collar which zaps the dog so we are not considering them.
I did try Lemon Juice - this did not work as the dog actually liked it. I have not tried Tabasco sauce (we don't have any and won't use it) to deter mouthing or biting.
I am going to try the TTouch which is a type of massage to perform on the dog. It is supposedly beneficial for not only the dog but also for you. Keep y'all posted on this endeavor!
The most important thing I can say is that you must find a way to teach the dog "NO" and "Quiet" as they are vital.
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thanks for sharing!