Sirius is 14 weeks old. He's coming along with his house and basic training, can be very sweet and determined. My yellow dog, Moon and Sirius have bonded. It's a joy to see them play together.
The 2ND visit to the vet last week, and one bath later to remove the Frontline, he's not having seizure episodes. We're hoping the seizures were reactive to chemical(s) introduced into his system. At the very least, these are things we can control. We still do not know for sure what caused the seizures. If it was one chemical or a combination of chemicals.
After talking with the breeder, we came very close to returning Sirius due to health concerns. We put a lot of time and emotions into our new puppy and of course, we've grown attached to him. Our contract allows up to 6 months from the day of purchase to return him for dire health reasons. We decided to bring Sirius to a new veterinarian for a 2ND opinion. An initial blood test show a slight, low level liver analysis. At this point, we need to do a fasting blood to see if there are any liver functioning problems. If there are problems with the liver such as a shunt, that would explain the seizures. (For information on canine liver shunts: http://www.dog-health-guide.org/caninelivershunt.html).
The breeder did share with me another puppy from the litter was also having seizures. It's a male pup. Again, the breeder thinks Frontline caused the seizure. I'm very concerned this is an inherent weakness. Sirius had the first seizure within 3 hours of getting the booster distemper combo and 1st Lyme vaccines. The Frontline was applied the day before the vet visit. Again, it could have been "reactive" seizures (http://www.vetinfo.com/dogseizure.html) from a "chemical storm" hitting my pups system. And, none of this is reassuring for me. I'm trying to understand it so I can make better decisions for my puppy.
The new vet doesn't recommend Lyme vaccines which is one that Sirius received prior to the 1st seizure. The approach for Sirius in the future will be very conservative with the minimal amount of vaccines. In fact, after all the initial vaccines are given to our dogs, antibodies titers (http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/titer_test.htm) should be ordered before additional innoculations. It is never a good thing to over vaccinate our pets.
We love our puppy and do not want to give up on him. We wait and see.
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Hi -
ReplyDeleteGood to hear your dog is okay today.
My parent's (i live right up the street from them) just got a new purebred German Shepherd, Niko. He's around 9 weeks old now. We've had him like 2 weeks now and in the last three days he's had 3 or 4 seizures... I haven't been there when he's had one, but obviously this is NOT good - it is f*cked. I just talked to my mom & she's crying about this. They just took him to the vet to see what is up and my mother said the vet said he doesn't have epilepsy...
I see there is like 3 drugs they give to dogs who have seizures (Phenobarbital, potassium bromide & Valium).
I don't know what else to say.
Keep posting - i'll bookmark this page and i'll let you know how Niko is doing. THIS SUCKS.
... But good luck (sighs).
I'm sorry to read about your pups seizure problems.
ReplyDeleteMy approach is to try to weed out the cause of the seizures. If we can figure out the cause, hopefully, eliminate the trigger.
The use of sedatives is not my first approach with my pup especially because I don't know the underlying cause of the seizures. The last thing I want to do is to put more chemicals into my pups body. The new vet gave me a small dose of valium if and only if my dog has another seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes. The two seizures my pup had were about 2 minutes - definitely under 5 minutes.
I included links in the post regarding canine liver shunts, reactive seizures, etc. I suggest looking at the links and perhaps get a 2nd opinion from another vet before using sedatives. We just don't want to treat symptoms without understanding the underlying cause.
Right now, my pup is doing much better. It is possible the seizures were chemically induced.
I think we're on the right track doing the blood tests to see how well my dog's system is functioning, i.e., sugar, liver, etc. Blood testing is definitely a good place to begin.
Hi -
ReplyDeleteJust went down the street to see Niko. Now my mom claims she said, "I never said the vet said it wasn't epilepsy."
--?????
WEll, my ears must have lied to me! lol!
Regardless, Niko isn't doing to well today. My parents are both crying. He had 2 or 3 seizures today (Monday, May 18th).
Sometimes life just sucks.
***Also, i'm just wonder, why can't you read the comments we leave? It says two comments (Mrs. and Barbara), but the actual comments aren't there. What's the point of commenting if you can't read them??? Am i missing something here or no?***
Hello! You left a post on my blog about your art-o-mat pieces and I just linked over to see what you had to say--and noticed the puppy having seizures. I just wanted to let you know that I have a 5 year old lab mix that has seizures. He has epilepsy and basically they aren't sure what caused it or how it started just that he has them now. They are scary, but I've had him for 3 years and I can't tell you how much I love that dog and although he does have special needs I'm so incredibly glad that I have him and have kept him. He was a stray dog that I took in and we went through all the testing as well to determine why he was having seizures. Unfortunately the doctors weren't able to locate any specific triggers or medical problems causing them so basically he has a randomly caused case of Epilepsy. Dogs with seizures just have to take some type of medication usually but they can completely live normal lives--my dog is on Phenobarbital. Don't be too eager to get rid of him though--If you aren't showing him or doing something with him that will be negated by the seizures, maybe you are just the home he needs--one with caring adults to help take care of him and show him love despite his issues. Whatever you choose I wish you well! And I hope that either you or someone else realizes how wonderful your dog can be and is happy to give him a forever home! He is a beautiful puppy!
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving your comments about Sirius, my puppy.
ReplyDeleteWe would have a very difficult time returning him to the breeder. However, we went to a breeder hoping to avoid chronic illnesses. When you go to a breeder, the expectation for excellent health is very high. This is my first experience with a breeder and will most likely be my last. My two labs are rescue. My yellow lab has stomach, gastic type problems that come/go and my older boy has hip problems.
Right now, Sirius is doing so much better. I'm hoping the next blood test will give us hope about his health.
We had to put Niko to sleep on Tuesday. His seizures got way more frequent and worse every time. He was in a daze the last two days. The vet said it's the right thing to do. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your doggie.
I feel very sad there was no other alternative for your puppy, Niko. Although it's too late now, did you not have any recourse with the breeder?
ReplyDeleteTake good care.
Well, technically it's my parent's dog first and foremost. They talked to the breeder, it's the first time it's ever happened to one of her dogs. She offered a refund, or we can get another one of her pups in the summer (next liter).
ReplyDeleteHopefully, my father will get another dog but has said repeatedly now no. Both my parent's were totally torn up about this, so i don't know if that will be that. I HATE not having a dog and i'm not allowed pets at the apartment i live at. (my parent's live right down the street from me, so their dog is kinda like my dog.)
Take care.