# Golden Retriever Seizure & Hind Leg Weakness



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I have no advice for your but I am so sorry you are going through all this. Oh and welcome to the forum. Hopefully someone will have some suggestions for you.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Welcome and I am sorry you had to find us due to your boys problems. Reading your post, I felt you were me talking about my Beau. He was 10 when he started having seizures. His are full grand mal seizures where he is laying on the floor eyes rolled back, running in place and loses his bladder and drooling. It is very hard to watch him and like you had all kinds of tests run. The only test we did not have run was a MRI but our vet feels that it is a brain tumor. His seizures have gotten stronger but with the phenobarbital they have lessned in number but not severity. He has lost alot of his mobility in his back legs and now wears a harness. Without it he couldnt get up by himself. It has been a lifesaver for him and me. The vet said the muscle loss is caused more by the seizures than the phenobarbital because it started not long after he started the seizures. He has also lost alot of his vision. His thyroid was low and now with the thyroid meds gotten better. Alot of the thyroid tests run by the vet are not the full panel and that is the best to diagnose it. Goldens will be low with thyroid even if their test shows low normal and need suppliments. I had my test sent to Jean Dodd who is a leading authority on thryoid testing and can help your vet to get the right dose of meds including the phenobarbital. 
Here are a couple of websites that were a life saver for me. 
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/CanineEpil.htm This one has tons of information on causes, what to do and things to help improve their life. The pacing and panting were greatly helped with giving him a couple of tablespoons of natural vanilla to help get their blood sugar back in line. And now Beau goes back to sleep in less than an hour after the ice cream.
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM How to get a blood test done by Jean Dodd and some other articles. 
For the harness http://helpemup.com/
If you have any more questions or just need to talk you can PM me. It is hard to watch, but it can be helped.


----------



## BryanB55 (Dec 30, 2008)

The vet just gave us some very strong steroids to start him on and phenobarbital to stop the seizures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_SqivONro


----------



## BryanB55 (Dec 30, 2008)

Thank you, that was helpful, I will look at those sites. Best of luck to you and Beau.


----------



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Do you live in a tick area? There are so many tick borne diseases that cause seizures and muscle weakness.


----------



## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

My Sam too had seizures and weakness in his back legs. He started having them at age 6 and was put on pheno. He didn't start to show weakness in his back legs until 4 years later, at age 10. I don't know if the weakness was related to the seizures or pheno, but the pheno did not cause Sam to become drowsy, as it does in some animals. Right after his 12th birthday I started using a harness to help him climb stairs. He never needed help getting up though, just the stairs. A brain tumor was not suspected in Sam's case and his thyroid was not an issue either. We never did figure out what caused Sam's seizures. Luckily, he never had one when he was alone. He could sense them coming on and would run to me and collapse. They lasted about a minute. He would lose his bladder and then come out of it in a hyper state, very puppy like and excited. We started keeping bath towels around for an easy grab to throw under him when his bladder went. Fortunately, the last year and a half of his life he didn't have any seizures. I was worried what the strain would do to him. Good luck with your boy. I hope he's fine and the seizures are easily controlled.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I watched the video of your pup. His look like some of the little ones that Beau has. Just that staring off and shaking alittle. Beau has some of those some days and then large ones seperately. The only difference is that Beau will be staring up at you when it happens.


----------



## BryanB55 (Dec 30, 2008)

BeauShel said:


> I watched the video of your pup. His look like some of the little ones that Beau has. Just that staring off and shaking alittle. Beau has some of those some days and then large ones seperately. The only difference is that Beau will be staring up at you when it happens.


Does he have a lot of trouble walking? The main problem is he can hardly move anymore, the seizures might be able to be controlled but unfortunately his legs are so weak I try to take him out for a few minutes but its very difficult for him to even stand to go to the bathroom.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Yes Beau has alot of weakness in his back legs. That is why I got him the harness, it helps to hold him up and keep him steady without putting alot of strain. There are days he cant even get up without me helping up and will stay in one place until me or my husband can help him up. The price of the harness is totally worth.


----------



## BryanB55 (Dec 30, 2008)

Ljilly28 said:


> Do you live in a tick area? There are so many tick borne diseases that cause seizures and muscle weakness.


He had a few ticks years ago when we lived in a different house but nothing that ever made him sick.

I haven't seen any on him in a long time, would a tick related disease show up in blood work?


----------



## RonnieM (Jan 5, 2009)

Bryan

My Maggie had the same identical thing happen last night. She has had seizures since she was one and is eight now. But they only happen about once a year, twice at the most. They last maybe 60 seconds, and then she is fine. Jumps up and plays like nothing happens. 
Last night she had 3 or 4 small ones. She didn't shake as much as usual and we always hold her till it stops. She had one, went outside to urinate, and then came back in. 5 mins later she had another small one. Then 10 minutes later another. All 3 times she could not stand up. Scared us to death. I read what another member said about ice cream, so I gave her a bowl full and then she was fine.
Today she has been normal.
The Vet has seen her for this before but never found anything. I just worry because these 3 small ones were so unlike those she had the previous 7 years.
She also has a bad ear infection and very flaky skin. I have tried every food there is. I have her on Omega 3 now and feeding her cooked chicken. 
Any advice is appreciated.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

RonnieM,
I am sorry you had to find us due to Maggie having seizures. But glad you are here now and maybe we can help you. I posted those two websites in the above thread and if Maggie has not been tested for hypothyroidism, I highly recommend getting a test done because low thyroid can cause seizures and some of the other things you describe. 
My Beau has seizures also and the they keep getting stronger (grand mal) and now has some small ones (petite mal) but it is just shaking and staring off in space and nothing will make him aware until it is over. It can go on for hours but not as severe as the grand mal seizures. 
The guardian angel thread has alot of great information on what can cause them, what to do during them and other great information. In fact that is where I found the ice cream to help bring their blood sugar back up. I usually give 2-3 tablespoons and warm it alittle in the microwave to soften it. Also it is important to use a all natural like Haigan Daz. They get the expensive stuff and I get the cheap stuff. LOL If you have any other questions you can pm me if you want. Hope it helps.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Also to both of you RonnieM and BryanB55 keep a journal describing the seizures, things given to the pup and anything done in the house or yard (like cleaning). Also any meds given like heartguard or frontline. I did and noticed that Beau always had a really strong seizure after his Heartguard pill within 48 hours. So my vet switched him to Interceptor. There is a ingredient in the heartguard Ivermectin that can set off the seizures. 
The journal also helped me to actually see that Beau went 8 months once between grand mal seizures and had the petite mal seizures. Hope it helps yall as much as it has me.


----------



## daisydogmom (Feb 26, 2007)

I am so sorry that you are going through this with your Golden. The video you posted of the seizure brought back memories of my old girl Sadie. That looks *exactly* like the partial (petite mal) seizures she would have from time to time. I found that keeping a journal (just like Beaushel wrote about) helped tremendously. I kept track of the length of seizures, any changes in routine, different foods, new meds, etc. Stress seemed to bring on her seizures sometimes, so the journal helped me to figure out what to avoid. We ended up giving my dog steroids which seemed to help her a bit. She didn't have them often enough to put her on anti-seizure meds. We never did find out what caused her to have the seizures. She ended up passing away from a lung disease about a year later. I hope you are able to find something that helps to control your pup's seizures. Your dog is absolutely beautiful, by the way.


----------



## jackiemengel (Feb 14, 2009)

I'm new to this site, how do you get to the Guardian Angel thread? My Golden is 5 1/2 yrs. old, he had his first seizure in April, 2008 then another in November of 2008. He had three earlier this year, and now three in a month. I have read so much and talked to different Vets, I have changed foods, I've stopped rawhide treats. The one last week was when we were out walking and the one today was after I bathed him. I'm thinking overheating, but I am at my wits end.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

here is the guardian angel site http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/CanineEpil.htm


----------



## Cam's Mom (Apr 13, 2007)

Jackie if you haven't yet had your Golden thyroid tested I 'd do that. Sometimes, not always, seizures can be caused by low thyroid, and supplementing with thyroxine will stop them. Despite this being very common in Goldens many vets still do not automatically do the thyroid test, and some are even resistant to considering it.


----------



## jackiemengel (Feb 14, 2009)

Hi Bryan, I just had two of my three Golden's start on Phenobarbital for seizures, and they are having two different types. They took blood and urine samples from both. The blood work rules out any other medical issue that they may have causing the seizures. My dogs are not even related in any way. From what I've read, and it's been alot lately, about epilepsy, is that it cannot be determined in dogs, unless they are having a CAT scan at the moment they are having the seizures, so medicine is the only way to go. I have been reading more tonight about the side effects of the PhenoB, and as long as you constantly monitor their blood levels to make sure that their liver is not being damaged by the medicine, they may have side effects such as increased hunger or thirst. It is scaring me to have them on this, but watching them go through the seizures is even more scary. I totally understand what you are going through, these are my kids.


----------



## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Hind-quarter weakness after a seizure is not uncommon. Dakota did that exact thing every seizure for some 6 years. It cleared up after about 20 min.

But to have hind-quarter weakness ALL the time? I fear there is more going on here than epilepsy.

I'm afraid that's as far as I can take this as it's different from what we experienced with Daki. I believe the neurologist route is your best bet though.



BryanB55 said:


> I have an 8 year old, male Golden Retriever that began collapsing when walking and now his hind legs are very weak an he can not stand up on his own or walk for more than 5 minutes.
> 
> He also started having small tremors with his head but last night he had a bad seizure that tensed all of his muscles and rolled his eyes back in his head, he eventually came out of it and looked confused but then would not stop panting and trying to walk in circles for hours. I stayed up with him for 4 or 5 hours until 4am until he finally fell asleep.
> 
> ...


----------



## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

You know, it's sad that more well-informed breeders pay attention to Dr. Dodd than Vets do 

I agree completely with Dr. Dodd's thoughts on Vaccinations (that we over-vaccinate) and in fact Gilmour is on Dodd's vaccination schedule as recommended by his Breeder.

The Rabies vaccination can be a wiggly point, but if you have a good vet they will allow you to follow it. Quietly 



BeauShel said:


> Welcome and I am sorry you had to find us due to your boys problems. Reading your post, I felt you were me talking about my Beau. He was 10 when he started having seizures. His are full grand mal seizures where he is laying on the floor eyes rolled back, running in place and loses his bladder and drooling. It is very hard to watch him and like you had all kinds of tests run. The only test we did not have run was a MRI but our vet feels that it is a brain tumor. His seizures have gotten stronger but with the phenobarbital they have lessned in number but not severity. He has lost alot of his mobility in his back legs and now wears a harness. Without it he couldnt get up by himself. It has been a lifesaver for him and me. The vet said the muscle loss is caused more by the seizures than the phenobarbital because it started not long after he started the seizures. He has also lost alot of his vision. His thyroid was low and now with the thyroid meds gotten better. Alot of the thyroid tests run by the vet are not the full panel and that is the best to diagnose it. Goldens will be low with thyroid even if their test shows low normal and need suppliments. I had my test sent to Jean Dodd who is a leading authority on thryoid testing and can help your vet to get the right dose of meds including the phenobarbital.
> Here are a couple of websites that were a life saver for me.
> http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/CanineEpil.htm This one has tons of information on causes, what to do and things to help improve their life. The pacing and panting were greatly helped with giving him a couple of tablespoons of natural vanilla to help get their blood sugar back in line. And now Beau goes back to sleep in less than an hour after the ice cream.
> http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM How to get a blood test done by Jean Dodd and some other articles.
> ...


----------

