French bulldog had a seizure last night
Discussion
Last night we were woken by a strange noise, we found our 3 year old French bulldog on his side, frothing from his mouth having a seizure.
It lasted around 2 minutes and around 10 minutes later he was back to his usual self.
Is this the beginning of the end for him? I love him dearly and the thought of him suffering fills me with dread.
Has anyone had similar happen?
We have an appointment at the vets on Monday.
It lasted around 2 minutes and around 10 minutes later he was back to his usual self.
Is this the beginning of the end for him? I love him dearly and the thought of him suffering fills me with dread.
Has anyone had similar happen?
We have an appointment at the vets on Monday.
Short answer - I am not a vet but have an epileptic dog. It is entirely normal to fear the worst - seizures are very scary for you. It is treatable with good success.
Our Old English Sheepdog did this back in January, and proceeded to have about a dozen seizures over 36 hours; previously she'd had occasional head wobbles which could be fixed with a biscuit. Vet put her on some medication, with another to be added if another cluster began. This didn't do much - a cluster happened every two weeks. Dosage increased gradually towards the maximum. Then weaned back off and onto phenobarbital, which increased the gap to 6 weeks, and reduced to four seizures in 36 hours. She's also less zonked during and after the clusters now.
The other aspect is that we are calmer during the seizures; gently pack a towel at each end for drool etc, leave her be until she gets up. If the seizure itself is under five minutes no harm us being done. There will be a recovery period afterwards with heavy breathing.
So you might be lucky with the first drug, you might need to switch.
Our Old English Sheepdog did this back in January, and proceeded to have about a dozen seizures over 36 hours; previously she'd had occasional head wobbles which could be fixed with a biscuit. Vet put her on some medication, with another to be added if another cluster began. This didn't do much - a cluster happened every two weeks. Dosage increased gradually towards the maximum. Then weaned back off and onto phenobarbital, which increased the gap to 6 weeks, and reduced to four seizures in 36 hours. She's also less zonked during and after the clusters now.
The other aspect is that we are calmer during the seizures; gently pack a towel at each end for drool etc, leave her be until she gets up. If the seizure itself is under five minutes no harm us being done. There will be a recovery period afterwards with heavy breathing.
So you might be lucky with the first drug, you might need to switch.
D1on said:
Just got back.
Done all the blood tests and they've came back fine.
Said they think it's epilepsy and to monitor him.
They've prescribed Diazepam incase he has another one...
Now I'm sat on edge waiting...
I know it's impossible, but try not to worry too much, as he'll pick up on your mood. Take a deep breath, keep him calm and give him lots of cuddles.Done all the blood tests and they've came back fine.
Said they think it's epilepsy and to monitor him.
They've prescribed Diazepam incase he has another one...
Now I'm sat on edge waiting...
Edited by D1on on Saturday 21st May 19:55
My parents had an epileptic dog, but decided not to go down the route of medication as he only had a seizure every few months. He was absolutely fine and lived to a good age. Different I know, but I am an epileptic myself, and I think it's much more distressing for those who have to witness it than the sufferer.
Hope you all go on okay
We have a rescue that is epileptic, first fit a month after we got him.
That was 8 years ago.
It's stressful.
MCT oil has been the most beneficial addition to the cascade of prescription medication.
The biggest risk when our one has a fit is him injuring himself.
He goes off like a greased pig.
The next biggest risk is getting scratched, bitten or pee'd on.
Only happens when he's resting or sleeping.
He seems to recover well enough, but mid cluster, can be restless & drags his feet.
It's always unpleasant to witness.
That was 8 years ago.
It's stressful.
MCT oil has been the most beneficial addition to the cascade of prescription medication.
The biggest risk when our one has a fit is him injuring himself.
He goes off like a greased pig.
The next biggest risk is getting scratched, bitten or pee'd on.
Only happens when he's resting or sleeping.
He seems to recover well enough, but mid cluster, can be restless & drags his feet.
It's always unpleasant to witness.
We had a Rhodesian Ridgeback whom lived with grand mal seizures for 5 years. Sometimes he would go months without one, then often he would have a cluster of up to 10 seizures within a couple of days.
The vet got them largely under control with a mixture of drugs which were:
Gabapentin
Epiphen
Epilease
I remember being really scared when he started having them, and it was awful when he had eventually come around from the seizure and was walking around smashing into door frames and slipping on the floor. Sometimes he pooed/weed whilst having them too, then did a lot of drooling whilst roaming around the house afterwards, But he always recovered well.
One of the things we did, which helped was moving him onto a raw food diet
As someone else has said, try to relax, it's very unlikely to kill/harm the dog & you will get used to it in time.
Best of luck with it!
The vet got them largely under control with a mixture of drugs which were:
Gabapentin
Epiphen
Epilease
I remember being really scared when he started having them, and it was awful when he had eventually come around from the seizure and was walking around smashing into door frames and slipping on the floor. Sometimes he pooed/weed whilst having them too, then did a lot of drooling whilst roaming around the house afterwards, But he always recovered well.
One of the things we did, which helped was moving him onto a raw food diet
As someone else has said, try to relax, it's very unlikely to kill/harm the dog & you will get used to it in time.
Best of luck with it!
Edited by Andy_290 on Saturday 21st May 21:02
Edited by Andy_290 on Saturday 21st May 21:04
Good luck for you D1on and your woofer!
I must admit I feared the worst when I read your first post so held back from posting but great to hear about other posters experiences and those being more positive.
Fingers and toes crossed for you and hoping it all works out.
It’s so bloody awful when your loved animals are ill etc,
god knows why we keep putting ourselves through it!
I must admit I feared the worst when I read your first post so held back from posting but great to hear about other posters experiences and those being more positive.
Fingers and toes crossed for you and hoping it all works out.
It’s so bloody awful when your loved animals are ill etc,
god knows why we keep putting ourselves through it!
D1on said:
Thanks so much for your replies guys, I've taken it all on board.
His last (3rd) seizure was last night at 10pm, it was the least severe yet and lasted around one minute.
Luckily he slept right through all night without any seizures.
The seizures get much less frightening, I promise. His last (3rd) seizure was last night at 10pm, it was the least severe yet and lasted around one minute.
Luckily he slept right through all night without any seizures.
My husky is epileptic and started having seizures at 3 years old, he’s on epiphen and hasn’t had a seizure for 2 years now and stabilised nicely. I keep some Diazepam with me just in-case he has a seizure but that hasn’t happened. Hopefully you get your dog on the right medication and they get used to it. My boy comes up to me for his tablet now as I give him a treat with it!
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