mini-dachsie seizures

[vanfab]

Hi all,
little Dijon is 3yrs old. she experienced her second seizure the other day (first one about 4 month ago). It lasted for about 5 minutes, but seemed like forever. will be taking her to the vet at the end of the week for consultation. These were the symptoms she experienced: Stiffness of muscles - body in weird position, smacking lips (not frothing at mouth), uncontrolable loss of urine and defecation. However, throughout the whole thing, she was wagging her tail. I was under the impression that when epileptic seizures occur, the animal is unconscious?
Has anyone experienced the same thing with their dachsie? Have you heard about pets having seizures due to heartworm medication? (sentinel).
Thanks and glad to be part of the dachsie community!

[Mrs.F]

My 1 and 1/2 year old dachsie Penny has had a few mild seizures. (They didn't seem mild to US, but that's how the vet has classified them! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/uh-oh.gif ) Anyway, I think Penny stays concious during her seizures - she looses muscle control and kind of sinks to the floor. Then she stares, trembles, drools and urinates. She seems "out of it" but if I talk to her and stroke her back she seems to look at me. It's a "duh" kind of look though..... Also, as she's starting to come out of it she whines if I move out of her line of vision. Afterwards she's very tired (and whiney - just wants to be held) and sleeps for the rest of the day. Penny's episodes are brief and thankfully they are infrequent. We had some tests done to rule out the possiblity of illness/disease and (once she had a clean bill of health) decided not to put her on anti-seizure drugs because of potential side-effects.
I hope Dijon's seizures remain infrequent. Good luck at the vet's!

Heidi

[Cindi]

My 13 yr old just died this past March. She had seizures since she was 4 yrs old and had been on seizure medicine, Phenobarb and Potassium Bromide, for 8 yrs. Her seizures were too frequent not to be on medicine. As you can see, she lived 8 yrs on medicine and had no side effects ie liver problems. And she didn't die from the medicine and/or side effects.
I have a 15 yr old that has occasional seizures and he has never been on medicine. It has always helped my dogs to be in a quiet and very dark (cover head with a towel) area during the seizure. Shortened the seizure length and was easier on their eyes.

[Mark]

Duck Butter had some kind of seizure about 3-4 months ago. You know the cramp you get in the arch of your foot . . . it was like her whole body had one of those. Her back was arched, should couldn't move and couldn't release the chewy between her teeth. We wrapped her in a blanket (dark place) and held her till it passed (about 5 minutes). She did not lose bladder or bowel control. It never happened before and has not happened since. Has anyone experienced "that" kind of seizure before? Is it the same kind we're talking about here?

Mark

[Penny's Aunt]

The seizures that everyone thinks of (falling over, shaking, etc) are Grand Mal seizures. Petit Mal seizures can be as mild as the dog still standing, but staring off into space & not responding to outside motion or noises. And in between, there are seizures of every degree.

Generally, the dog does not know you are there, no matter what he appears to be doing. And there's nothing you can do to change the length or severity of the seizure. Most last from about 10 seconds to 2 minutes, but seem MUCH longer!

If you see it beginning, you can grab a cloth (cloth napkin, dishtowel, handkerchief) & quickly twist it & put it in the dog's mouth CROSSWISE so it crosses over his molars. This can help prevent him biting his tongue if he starts champing his jaws. KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF HIS MOUTH. The champing is involuntary, & he can chomp down on you & never know he did it.

If he is on the floor, just move the furniture away from him so he doesn't bang into it. If he is near the edge of the couch or bed, either quickly slide him to the floor (grab the loose skin over his shoulders & hips like suitcase handles) or grab a pillow & hold it to keep him from rolling off the edge.

If the dog goes in & out of seizures several times the same day, or the seizures keep going, the dog needs immediate veterinary help. This warrants a trip to the emergency clinic, but CALL FIRST!

Poisons such as snail bait & others will cause a dog to go into seizures, & unless you get IMMEDIATE veterinary help, the dog will die. He will not come out of the seizure in a minute or so like he would with an epileptic seizure.

If this is just an occasional thing, make some notes on date, time, & severity for your vet, so he can know how far apart they are.

Medication can be a great help with seizures. If the first or second med your vet puts him on cause any kind of personality change or lethargy, tell the vet; he may want to change the dosage or try another med. A lot of adjusting often goes on in the beginning.

I understand that what are often thought to be epileptic seizures are really thyroid or other problems. You might want to ask you vet about it.


<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by Penny's Aunt (edited June 14, 2000).]</font>

[CJ]

My mom's dachsie, Sugar, is now 7 years old... she started having seizures shortly after we got her... Doc put her on Dilantin for about a year, and she seems to be over it completely now and doesn't require meds anymore. Doc suggested that we not ever take our pets to the shelter when they offer "community dip" days... she said that she sees alot of cases of animals with seizures right after they've been dipped there and believes that they do not dilute the dip solution properly. She also advised us to never apply flea and tick preparations until the animal is "soaked"... overkill doesn't kill more fleas and ticks, but it can harm your babies!

CJ

[Penny's Aunt]

CJ is perfectly correct! I don't even like dips. Maybe it's just me, but pouring a lot of pesticide all over my dog just makes me uncomfortable.