my dog is sick

Re-shell · #1 09/02/04, 06:40 PM

I was just wondering if anyone can tell me if my dog having seizers is a symptom of diabeties. His name is Koz and he is about 5 years old. He has had only two seizers that I actually witnessed. They were about 20 minutes, the first much more violent than the second. He was laying on his side shaking, hitting his head on the floor, that lasted for about 2 1/2-3 minutes. The second, he was trying to walk around banging into things, stagering around, that one lasted only about 1 1/2 minutes. He seemed fine after they were over. I am at a remote gold mine camp, so I can't just drive to a vet. I am going to contact one asap. Does anyone know anything about this sort of eppisode, or what I sould or should not do before I can get ahold of a vet? Your responses will be greatly appreciated.

thank you,
Re-shell

TexasArtist · #2 09/02/04, 07:13 PM

An old neighbor had a dog that had gotten diabetes and the syptoms she mentioned were:

strange sour but yet sweet breath
eyes looking funny (like watery but yet dry)
constintly being thirsty then haveing to pee immediately!! Poor thing couldn't even make it outside
There was another sign but I cant remember it but I'm pretty sure seizures weren't anything she mentioned.

Another neighbor that had a dog haveing seizures and her was because the dog went through a HUGE trauma. She had gone away for the day to visit her sister adn couldn't get back across the bridge that evening. That night about 3:00 in the morning her house flooded with the dogs inside. The little guy got so affected by it he had seizures anytime a storm was in the area or if someone played music with alot of bass. Has your little freind had any thing like that? Maybe he was hurt bad when he was little and it's just now coming out? Other then this I can't offer any help and hope you can find the naswers you need to help him.

practical-cat · #3 09/02/04, 07:13 PM

I don't know about diabetes, but I had a dalmation that started at about 3 years of age to have seizures. He was diagnosed with epilepsy, and he took phenobarbitol for a while. They went away after a year or so, and he lived til 12 without another. But I would definitely have your dog checked asap. Seizures could be due to a lot of things more serious than epilepsy. Could he be getting into some kind of poison?

Re-shell · #4 09/02/04, 08:24 PM

Thanks for you input, he seems to be doing well now. Hopefully he will remain ok until I can get him to a vet. Thanks again.

Re-shell

bgak47 · #5 09/02/04, 10:00 PM

If you want your dog to live, take it to a VET.!!

comfortablynumb · #6 09/03/04, 12:23 AM

I have 2 with seizures, what you describe is classic.

I found the small dog improved greatly by adding raw fat to his diet, as low body fat tends to make them worse.

if you cant get him to a vet right away, feed em RAW fat and dont let him hurt himself flopping around. often they pee and pop themselves and may even vomit afterwards. If you say he recovers fully after a fit and shows no lasting symtoms, a vet will probably agree, the pup is epileptic.

a vet will likely begin treatment with phenobarbital, its very safe and has little side effects.
the one dog is getting resistant to it and is taking large doses, but is having seaizures almost every other day, so the vet wants to change her meds to something stonger. the other dog goes well with a small dose and a high fat (raw) diet, only having a fit every few weeks.

what causes it, I dunno. Sh*t happens.
if the siezures are lite and he recovers after a few min the bifggest danger is him smacking his head. during a hard seizure they can rupture blood vessels and die but I'm told thats rare.

our beagle sits up like a penguin and flips over backwards over and over... the little rat terrier falls on his side and his front legs bend over his head.

each ones a bit different.

the imortant thing is if he recovers and is fine after he chills out a bit, or does he continue to act sick?

if he continues to act sick, it may be poison. if he is right as rain till the next spaz fit, its epilepsy.

GeorgeK · #7 09/03/04, 06:49 AM

diabetes is not particularly associated with siezures, more likely something else like epilepsy, or less likely a brain tumor. If febrile maybe even meningitis

fin29 · #8 09/03/04, 07:16 AM

Fat will help, but it's the omega-3 fats you want-salmon, flax seed oil, and especially DHA, which you can buy at any supplement store. They help coat the nerves with essential fats for proper nerve impulse transmission.

Nette · #9 09/03/04, 07:35 AM

You can find good information at this site: www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com.

Even if your dog doesn't have epilepsy, you can find a great deal of helpful information about seizures. It's a very complicated subject. My Chrissy had seizures for the last several years of her life, and the vet determined that hers were the result of low blood sugar caused by an insulin-secreting tumor. Please take your dog to the best vet you can find.

jillianjiggs · #10 09/03/04, 10:08 AM

Both of my sister's dogs have epilepsy. They're both great dane mixes. They both take phenobarbitol. It's a pretty violent seizure when they do have one, but the medicine helps.

Usually diabetics pass out. I've yet to see one have a seizure, but it's not impossible.

kabri · #11 09/03/04, 12:05 PM

Something to try is acupuncture. One of our dogs was having siezures.... he has a full sister that was diagnosed with epilepsy and it is becoming very previlant in australian shepherds :waa: Anyway, I found a vet who's whole practice is doing acupuncture on dogs.... also prescribed some chinese herbs for a short while. The results were amazing.... he only had 3 siezures that we know of, then nothing... for at least 5 or 6 years until he passed from old age. Never was put on Phenobarb. His littermate was on Phenobarb her whole life. Since siezures is some sort of miss-firing in the brain, it kind of makes sense that acupuncture would work well.... Hey, if you have a dog that is maxed out on the drugs and still having seizures, it's worth a try. Good luck with your dog.

Re-shell · #12 09/03/04, 07:41 PM

Thank you all for your help. I contacted a vet and he did mentioned phenobarbitol. Thank you all once again.

DayBird · #13 09/03/04, 08:12 PM

At the petstore, I hear several times each week about dogs having seizures and going to the vet and the vet diagnosing ear infections. The dog shakes his head, sometimes violently, trying to clear his ear canals. Fluid builds up behind the ear drum and the dog loses his balance. Have a vet check for this. More often though, phenobarbitol is prescribed. An aunt has a jack russel terrier that needs meds twice a day.

Re-shell · #14 09/03/04, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DayBird

At the petstore, I hear several times each week about dogs having seizures and going to the vet and the vet diagnosing ear infections. The dog shakes his head, sometimes violently, trying to clear his ear canals. Fluid builds up behind the ear drum and the dog loses his balance. Have a vet check for this. More often though, phenobarbitol is prescribed. An aunt has a jack russel terrier that needs meds twice a day.

I'm pretty sure this wasn't an ear infection, he was layin' on his side on the floor shaking, and he was drooling, the second one he had, he did **** on himslef. Thanks for the tip tho.

DayBird · #15 09/03/04, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Re-shell

I'm pretty sure this wasn't an ear infection, he was layin' on his side on the floor shaking, and he was drooling, the second one he had, he did **** on himslef. Thanks for the tip tho.

Yeah, get him to the vet as soon as possible. Sounds very serious. We'll be praying for you both.

HarleysMom · #16 09/03/04, 09:57 PM

I had a dog that started having seizures when she was about 3 years old. She started off having one or two a day and gradually would just have one a week for a few weeks and then quit for a while. After a couple of years I realized the seizures would start up after her yearly vaccinations. She didn't get her vacs the next year and didn't have seizures. She never got another vaccination and never had another seizure. Just another possible cause for seizures.

Nette · #17 09/04/04, 08:00 AM

Please, please read the information on the site I referenced earlier in this thread. Phenobarb may or may not be the answer. Harleysmom is right--see if you can think of any circumstances that might be related to the seizures. Vaccinations, flea control, heartworm meds have all been known to be a cause in some dogs. My seizure dog was very sensitive to all of the above, and I found that for her I had to just stop using them, especially considering her age, condition, and life expectancy. Don't misunderstand me--I don't hesitate to use all these things on my other dogs. Chrissy just couldn't tolerate them. And as for my other dogs, I am selective about what products I use. For example, I would never again use the Happy Jack brand of flea & tick dip, as it has lindaine (sp?) in it, which can be very dangerous. I started keeping a log of Chrissy's seizures, the intervals, circumstances, etc., and I found that particularly helpful in working with the vet to help control the seizures.

Tinker · #18 09/04/04, 06:17 PM

We had an Irish Setter who had epilipsy, and use to have seizures. It really freaked me out the 1st time it happened. I took him to the vet, and he had to take Dilantin--can't remember if it was daily or how frequently, but that did stop them. Always after his seizure, he would remain very close to me for the rest of the day. The vet said epilepsy was fairly common in setters.

When he was about 7, he wandered off, and I searched for day to find him. I worried that without his meds, he would have a seizure, and someone would think he had rabies and shoot him. I never did find him, even after putting up signs and having it put on the radio. I hope he live out his life in a happy home.