Little Bo Boop Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 My 5 yr. old Border Collie, Mike, had a seizure about 4 am Sunday morning. He sleeps in a soft crate beside our bed, we woke to hear him sounding like he was puking. I got up, turned the lights on, and went to get stuff to clean up his crate, next thing I know he's having a full blown seizure ;-(. Still in the crate, on his side, eyes wide open, foaming at the mouth, the whole deal. It lasted about a minute or so. He came out of it pretty quickly, got up, a little shakey for a minute or two, but then appeared fine. I am hoping that this is just a one time, freak deal? If he was epileptic, wouldn't it have shown up before now? I can't imagine what would have set this off, I've thought back, and nothing that he could have gotten into that would have triggered anything like this. So I guess just keep an eye on him, and hope he doesn't have another one? Betty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyF Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 The onset of epilepsy is normally anywhere from 2 - 5 years old. So, he would be right at the end of the normal age span for the onset. If he continues to have any seizures, then I would be sure to have him seen by a vet. Sorry you had to go thru this. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Talk to your vet but I'm pretty sure I've heard of idiopathic epilepsy in dogs Mike's age, though generally it does show up earlier, around age 3. My parents' dog developed epilepsy around age 3.5 and hers seemed to be triggered by her food (low quality Cycle at the time), ivermectin heartworm preventative, and stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Thanks. Yep, I thought about all those things, but he's not had his heartguard in a month (he's due a tab in a day or so) no stress (I should be so stress free!) Same feed, (Diamond) no exposure to any cleaning chems. and I'm chem. free as far as yard stuff goes. Just cross my fingers, that it was just a one time deal. Don't care to see the poor guy go through that again ;-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 So sorry he (and you) had to experience this. I hope things work out for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy V Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Hi Betty, Sorry to hear about the seizure. Since seizures are caused by a number of things, epilepsy isn't usually diagnosed until after a dog has experienced several. 5 yo is at the top of the usual range, though I have a dog that developed epilepsy at the age of 6 1/2. IMVHO, late onset epilepsy seems to be a bit easier to control than early onset. I found the website www.canine-epilepsy.com to be very helpful. Good luck to you and your dog, Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Like Wendy said, seizures can be caused by any number of things. I'd suggest keeping a log of Mike's seizures if they continue, as this can be helpful in diagnosis. Include when they happened (date/time), where he was (surroundings) and who was with him, how long they lasted, what he was doing beforehand, what exactly happened during the seizure, how he was after (if it took him X minutes to "snap out of it"), etc... Sorry you and Mike are going through this. Could be something as simple as a tick-borne disease that can be treated with some antibiotics. I'd suggest talking with your vet as well. Oh and if you have other dogs, keep them away from Mike when he's seizing. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks for all the input, really appreciate it. I'll keep a close eye on him for sure, we already wrote down all the particulars of the event, hopefully it was just a one time deal. If not, and he has another one, I will take him in to be evaluated. Fingers crossed that he doesn't have another one. Thanks again, Betty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordermix Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hopefully, this is a one time seizure for your dog. Our BT started to seize at age 3, after a move from CA to AZ, and I still think (hope) that it was stress related. All his tests came out normal so he was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. After his first seizure, he had another one, 25 days later, so he was put on Phenobarbital. The good news is that, a year later, he is doing so well, we are slowly starting to ween him off the med. Anyway, keep an eye on him, and if he has another one, I'd recommend blood tests, etc. As others have said, age 5 is at the top of the range, but possible. The website mentioned in an earlier reply was very helpful to me, and I still read it on a daily basis. You might want to look at your food - is it grain free? We switched all the dogs over, and they are all doing well on it. There are many to choose from, with varying price ranges, so if you decide to switch, you will need to do your research and see what works best. Another thought - do you use flea/tick medication? That might be another cause. Good luck - watching a seizure is downright scary, especially the first one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Mick has only had 1 siez. that i know of. It was due to TB's. Treated that and he's been seiz. free since then. Just somethiing to think about. Raven my 10 year old, is starting to have them. The first one I saw was same as you described. We were all sleeping. The 2nd 2 were when I started to give her a bath. I know it's strange but it really did happen each time when I started putting the water on her and she was in the bath. I had her thyroid tested, they said it's normal but Im thinking I might follow that up cause normal for one isn't normal for another. She also has some other symptoms that look like thy. ran other blood tests they all came back fine. the doc wanted to start her on meds but I opted to wait and see. Of course I haven't tried another bath but she's not had another episode since then. I do think stress was what set off the 2 from the bath but not the underlying condition. I've been lucky to keep her pretty stress free but that's about to change here real quick. Good luck and I agree, I started a log just so I knew the dates and what she had eaten, done, what meds had gone into her compared to when she had the seiz. I've not had to add another entry and sure hope I don't have to. Keep up posted please, I'm really intrerested in hearing others experiences and what they ended up finding out and doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.