# Seizures!



## BeauShel

I have my Beau as most of you know. Having been thru it dozens of times, I would not hesitate to adopt a dog in the future with seizures from a rescue. Yes, they are scary when it happens but I just sit and hold his head petting and talking softly to him. And when he comes awake, my face is the first one that he sees. 
I do pray that he doesnt have anymore but I know that when he does have them, I can handle it. Beau takes 4 phenos twice a day and hopeflly that will be the largest dose he has to go on. Beau's seizures are very strong and painfull to watch as he foams at the mouth and usually urinates on himself and releases his anal glands. His whole body stiffins up and he does the running in place. They last anywhere from 2-8 minutes and then it takes at least 10 minutes for him to come out of it. He goes into the (I call them) baby seizures, with laying in place staring out in space and twitching. And then just sits up, like what happened? Why am I wet? And then gets up slowly. I walk him around alittle bit and then I get him his soft vanilla ice cream 1 tablespoon. He goes outside and pees (dont know how he has anything left) and then drinks some water. He then walks around some and will settle down after about 15-30 minutes. I do notice if I dont give him the ice cream he takes longer to settle down. He has gotten sick a couple of times after the seizure but I think only twice. 
Hope this info helps.
PS This is the website that I constantly read and share with everyone that has a dog with seizures. That is where I found out about the ice cream
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/CanineEpil.htm


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## Gwen

Oliver, who was 3 in July, had his one & only seizure one August 3/08 while we were camping in the interior of Algonquin Park. It was a grand mal seizure and scared the "crap" out of me and my granddaughter. After the seizure, he went away & hid from us. He would growl if I tried to get near him. After about 1/2 hour, he came down from behind a large rock with his tail wagging as if to say, "Ok, let's go.... we WERE in the middle of a walk!" He then licked my hand - the hand that I foolishly tried to pull his tongue out when he was in the middle of the seizure. He couldn't have known that he "bit" me but he licked that hand continuously for the remainder of the weekend. I must say that Oliver was ravenous for his evening meal!

My hand & finger, well, it's still swollen & I get very sudden pains that feel like a 1000 bee stings - I might have to see the doctor about this one.


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## Mandy's Dad

Hey Gwen,

Mandy started her's when she was about 2 years old. I sure hope that Oliver doesn't have any more!!! You might want to get your finger looked at! It has been almost a month, so your shouldn't still have that strong an after-effect.


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## Maxs Mom

Seizures sure are scary to witness. My lab Belle has had 2 the last one being a year ago. I hold my breath we never see another. 

I would rather have a dog that seizes than some of the other problems I have run into. However I would want to have some "idea" of the root of the seizures. For instance Labs can get exercise induced seizures. This is a bad thing, the dog literally can not do anything or it will start to seize. That I could not live with. However most are ideopathic, and there is a way to manage them. The dogs have healthy active lives.


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## Mandy's Dad

Hey Ann,

Mandy's seem to be caused by over-excitement. The strange thing is that it doesn't happen while she is over-excited, but a few hours later. Happens sometimes, but doesn't happen at other times when she gets over-excited. Going to the groomer or vet or similar SOMETIMES seems to cause them, but not always. Other times she has one without being overexcited. Can't truly put my finger on it, but there seems to be some connection.

.


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## paula bedard

My Sam had seizures for 6 years. The first one happening on Halloween when he was 6 years old. I thought he was dying of a heart attack and took him immediately to the Vet. Scared me to DEATH. I then learned to deal with them. Luckily he would run to me every time one was coming. They lasted about 3-4 minutes in total, then he was like a puppy, fully energized for the rest of the day. His became so frequent that he was put on Pheno. 2x daily. In his last year, Thank God he didn't have any. I think they would have been too much for him then.

...His were random, no cause. He could wake up out of a sound sleep and have one. I also read in Canine Journals that seizures are becoming more common in Golden's especially, and a cause is being looked for.


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## Maxs Mom

Mandy's Dad said:


> Hey Ann,
> 
> Mandy's seem to be caused by over-excitement. The strange thing is that it doesn't happen while she is over-excited, but a few hours later. Happens sometimes, but doesn't happen at other times when she gets over-excited. Going to the groomer or vet or similar SOMETIMES seems to cause them, but not always. Other times she has one without being overexcited. Can't truly put my finger on it, but there seems to be some connection.
> 
> .


The exercise induced as I understand happens all the time they exercise. Apparently in labs there is a genetic test for it too. I have been paying some attention as I plan to get another lab pup within a year. I want all the "necessary" health clearances. Not sure what I yet deem necessary other than excellent OFA. That part I am still learning about. 

When Belle seized she had been playing frisbee. We took it easy as it was still hot though we had a break in the temps. We were just walking, the dogs were doing the doggy sniff around thing and Belle collapsed. My vet tested her for EIC but she came back negative. I don't know if there is much connection with that with Goldens. If you are concerned you could ask your vet. I have some vet friends I can ask them too.


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## Ljilly28

Mandy's Dad said:


> Hey Gwen,
> 
> Mandy started her's when she was about 2 years old. I sure hope that Oliver doesn't have any more!!! You might want to get your finger looked at! It has been almost a month, so your shouldn't still have that strong an after-effect.


Finn had his first seizure at two also. He only has a few bad ones a year, usually when woken from a deep sleep or if he eats peanut butter. Instead of being on daily medication, he has a Diastat plunger of valium for an emergency.


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## Mandy's Dad

Ljilly28 said:


> or if he eats peanut butter...


WOW!!! I never dreamed that Peanut Butter might be a connection. But Mandy eats peanutbutter almost every day! She takes her pills with a dab of peanut butter!

Anyone else have problems with peanutbutter???

.


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## Ljilly28

Mandy's Dad said:


> WOW!!! I never dreamed that Peanut Butter might be a connection. But Mandy eats peanutbutter almost every day! She takes her pills with a dab of peanut butter!
> 
> Anyone else have problems with peanutbutter???
> 
> .


I actually learned about peanut butter as a trigger from this forum, and then followed it up with my vet who had lots of anecdotals to back it up . Finn only had peanut butter once in a great while, and sure enough, once I paid attention, there was a seeming cause/effect. I tried everything- even tested his lead levels- but there's nothing wrong with his labs/bloodwork except that he titers for Lyme with no symptoms(had doxy just in case). Good luck with Mandy. It is scary, for sure.


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## Sparky's Sidekick

My Sparky has seizures. My vet just put him on phenobarbitol. The most frustrating part is that I can't comfort him, he is very aggressive when he is coming out of a seizure. The vet says to just leave him be as long as he is safe because even in that state he would be capable of a serious bite. Ordinarily, he never shows aggression; he is just a love bug. So sad.


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## Debles

Max , my golden at the bridge, had grand mal seizures for 6 years. I am sure they were hypothyroid related. He took phenobarbitol and only had them every so often when startled awake from a deep sleep. The first few he had, when he came out of it, he growled and was very stumbly and confused. It seemed the longer he was on meds, the less severe they were when they did happen. he did accidentally bite me the first time when I thought for sure he was having a stroke.

Our family became very adept at dealing with them. We all went into action when he fell over. Grabbing a towel to lay over his penis which sprayed like a sprinkler shooting across the room. We were lucky that he slept on our slate entry as it is cool so he only got the carpet a few times.

Has anyone experienced the awful indescribable odor of the urine during a seizure? It's a smell I'll never forget. Much much stronger than normal and very bad. 

My daughter's golden has petit mal seizures. He doesn't lose consiousness, but shakes and seems paralyzed. Their vet thinks they are stress related but I recommended he be thyroid tested.


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## BeauShel

Beau has a strong smell but it is from his anal glands but not the urine. I know that he does urinate a ton while having it and then can go outside and urinate even more.


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## Gwen

Sparky's Sidekick said:


> My Sparky has seizures. My vet just put him on phenobarbitol. The most frustrating part is that I can't comfort him, he is very aggressive when he is coming out of a seizure. The vet says to just leave him be as long as he is safe because even in that state he would be capable of a serious bite. Ordinarily, he never shows aggression; he is just a love bug. So sad.


Oliver was the same...... he growled @ me & snapped & growled @ Nygel. He then dragged himself (he didn't have full control of his hind legs after the seizure) up a hill & behind a large rock and just laid there. Whenever I tried to get near him, he bared his teeth. I was scared to death thinking that he had suffered brain damage & we'd have to put him down. After about 10 minutes, he came down from behind the rock wagging his tail & lots of kisses. Again, Oliver is just a love bug as well. 

Hey, would we be pleasant if this happened to us - I don't think so. It was just his way of saying "Stay away from me. I just need some time!"

I also just read the comments about Hypothyroid & possible relationship to seizures - Oliver is hypothyroid & on daily meds. Hmmmmmm


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## Debles

Gwen,
Here is where Dr. Dodds discusses the connection between hypothyroid and seizures.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/InterviewDrDoddsAndJoanneCarson.htm

It is in the website that Carol links above also.

I believe Max's seizures were the result of untreated and then poorly treated hypothyroidism. I didn't know any better back then. The vet I had then never once told me they could be related.
He didn't do yearly checks of his thyroid after he began treatment and never increased his meds. My Max ended up developing megaesophagus due to the inadequete treatment of his hypothyroid.


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## norabrown

My 2 Golden's have not had seizures, but my Lab used to.


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## T&T

SHARING 
http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/feed_program_for_dogs_that_seizure.htm


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## T&T

ABOUT PEANUTS ...
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/...e-contaminated-but-there-are-safe-sources.htm


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## Ljilly28

Interesting seizure idea: Tango's new vet had an interesting theory about Finn's seizure threshold. When Finn and his littermate Gus(who belongs to my good friend Brian) came to us at 7 weeks, they had giardia. They were treated with Flagyl for quiet a while. The vet said that, anecdotally, he thinks Flagyl predisposes young puppies and kittens to develop focal seizures later in life. He said there is new research backing it up. (?)


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## GoldenOwner12

None of our dogs had seizures not even in old age. Einstein is 10 years olds at the moment and hasn't had a seizure yet and i hope he doesn't.


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## goldensmum

When we took Ralph on as a rescue - we were not told, but soon found out that he was epileptic.

Fortunately he suffered very few, and never got to the stage where we have to have medication for him. He would loose control of his bladder and being disorientated when he came out of one, but during the fit we just made sure that he was kept quiet and in a semi darkened room and the other dogs were kept out of the way.


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## Bubba

First Post here,
Our dog, Jake a.k.a. Bubba, is an 8 year old golden and recently underwent acl surgery on his back left leg. He has been out of it for about 2-3 weeks and the other night he had a seizure. This was out of no where and he has never had any problems like this before. We then took him to the vet in the morning and he had his blood taken and brought him home. About 15 mintues after we got home he had another seizure. Then was fine for the rest of yesterday. 
Then this morning at about 5:30am. He had another one prolly while he was sleeping or just as he woke up. We got the blood results back from the vet and they all came back normal. 
Has anyone had anything like this happen to their golden after surgery. The vet thinks it may have something to do with the anesthesia they put into his back that is messing somehow with his spine. But we are not sure. 
THis mornings seizure was the worst one. Lasted for about a minute and he did urinte during it. Then in the kitchen while on the way to go outside. 

If you have any information or could help in any way that would be great. Thanks

Bubba


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## Jackson'sMom

None of my goldens has ever had seizures, but Jackson (Jack Russell/cattle dog) had one during the 14+ years he was with me. Julia was home with him after school. She was in the back yard with the dogs, and when I got home she said "Jack fell down in the grass." Her English wasn't very good at the time, so it took a couple of minutes to figure out what had happened. She picked him up and carried him inside to my bed. By the time I got home, he was fine. Took him to his internist the next day, and she wasn't able to find the cause. He never had another one.


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## Ljilly28

Did Bubba get Acepromazine/Promace to keep him quiet? That can REALLY cause seizures. Our Finn cant take Ace, and it is usually a safe , first-choice sedative, but does cause seizures in some dogs.



Bubba said:


> First Post here,
> Our dog, Jake a.k.a. Bubba, is an 8 year old golden and recently underwent acl surgery on his back left leg. He has been out of it for about 2-3 weeks and the other night he had a seizure. This was out of no where and he has never had any problems like this before. We then took him to the vet in the morning and he had his blood taken and brought him home. About 15 mintues after we got home he had another seizure. Then was fine for the rest of yesterday.
> Then this morning at about 5:30am. He had another one prolly while he was sleeping or just as he woke up. We got the blood results back from the vet and they all came back normal.
> Has anyone had anything like this happen to their golden after surgery. The vet thinks it may have something to do with the anesthesia they put into his back that is messing somehow with his spine. But we are not sure.
> THis mornings seizure was the worst one. Lasted for about a minute and he did urinte during it. Then in the kitchen while on the way to go outside.
> 
> If you have any information or could help in any way that would be great. Thanks
> 
> Bubba


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## BeauShel

Welcome Bubba,
I am sorry that you have had to go thru this with Jake. When they did his bloodwork did they do a full workup for his thyroid? Ask them to do a full blood panel with all levels including t3 & t4. Some dogs that are low on thyroid can have seizures. If you havent checked out this site http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/CanineEpil.htm. It has some good information about the thyroid. I hope he doesnt have anymore seizures but look thru that site and it will tell you about how to take are of him during and after the seizure. 
Good luck and welcome again


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## darlah

*Giardia & Seizures*

I have 2 goldens. 1 is 14.5 years old and has seizures and one is 7, almost 8 years old and doesn't. I have never read any study that giardia is the cause of seizures.


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## FeatherRiverSam

My bridge girl FeatherRiverSam, Sammie, had seizures when she turned twelve. I've had or been around dogs all my life and never had experienced anything like it before. On the bed one evening she just went into a seizure which lasted just over a minute. It scared the hell out of me. She was fine after the seizure and didn't eliminate or anything like that during the seizure. I called the ER vet and talked with them...they said to keep her in a dimly light area with no noise and if she had another that night bring her in. She was fine for the rest of the night and the next day I brought her to my vet.

He did a blood test and sent that in - it came back with an extremely low blood sugar - somewhere around 26. So I went in and did all the tests and ultrasounds and she was diagnosed with an insulinoma. The surgeon said he could go in and try and clean her out but said it was doubtful they'd be able to find all the cancer and at her age it would be very tough on her. There was also some medicine which might help but it was relatively new and might do more damage than good.

They gave her about 30 days...I was devastated!!! She'd always been so healthy this was a total surprise. The things that set off the seizures were activity and stress. I decided to keep her home where I knew she was comfortable and do everything I could to extend her life. We put her on a very high protein diet which she received every four hours 24/7 which was designed to increase her blood sugar. And prednisone to help decrease her insulin output. 

The seizures continued but they weren't really that bad, they lasted for about 2 minutes and after she'd get up and want to go outside. She might have one or two a week but that was about it. She was a tough old girl. The vets told me if a seizure lasted more than five minutes there was a good chance there would be severe brain damage so be prepared. They told me if she didn't look like she was coming out of it to rub corn syrup on her gums but to be careful as the corn syrup could cause too rapid an increase in her blood sugar level which could increase the length of the seizure. And they said there was a possibility she might not come out of the seizure. All the vet's said this was a really tough disease...

Sammie and I got through another 8 months well beyond the 30 days given to her by the vets. It was so hard, as I'm sure you all know and making that final decision was the toughest. I scheduled it one day and decided to drive up to the lake where we spent so much time together which was also on the way to the vet's office. I got her up there and in the back of my car she stood up and started wagging her tail...I called the vet and canceled the appointment. But the time finally did come and with her in my arms I finally had to say good bye. I sure miss her and I'll admit I'm tearing up a bit as I write this but I wouldn't trade those last 8 months for anything - she was quite the girl.

Pete


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## Pammie

My first GR, Apollo, started having seizures around age 8. Very sporadic and he always snapped back to normal immediately. But, after about 2 years the recovery phase changed. He seemed confused and did not know who we were or who our other dog was. It would take about a hour for him to come back to us. Finally he had a seizure that he did not come out of. He died during it. It was Christmas eve morning. RIP my pretty Apollo


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## NJMomma

We have a 4yr old golden and he started having seizures last year around the time the seasons started to change.His very first seizure was the worst he had 2 or 3 in a row It was horrifying no one knew what was going on and he looked as if he had a massive heart attack and died.He was doing so well for a year until once again this year as we started to come into the fall weather his seizures have started again and with it being winter he seems to be having one every time a storm comes upon us.

Has anyone else ever had a dog who had seizures with the change of weather?


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## Maggies mom

My Abbie had her first seizure last Jan. at the age of 3. it lasted 1 min, she got up and ran over to me and bit my hand. The second one she had lasted about the same time, I was about 5 feet away from her and kept talking to her while she was having it and when she came out of it she ran over and licked my hand and went to her food bowl wanting to eat. The 3rd one was the same as the second one. The 3 seizures she had were 3 weeks apart, and she always had them between 5-5:30 am after we had got up for the day. she has been on Pheno- 1 gram and Im happy to say its been a year since her last one. The vet had said if she went a year on 1 gram and had no more seizures we could drop her dosage, but Im leaving it as it is.


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## iheartgoldenretrievers

*Bananas help seizures*

Our 3 yr old Golden has seizures. We started feeding him 1/2 a banana every morning, and he hasn't had a seizure in over 5 months! I blog about this, you can check it out at Bananas & Seizures | i heart golden retrievers


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## ozzy'smom

My last golden, Lucy, has seizures starting when she was about 2. She had a couple and then we put her on pheno. She probably only had 1 or 2 after that. The last one she had (at least when I was around) was when she was about 5 or 6. She lived to be 15. They are scary when they happen the first time or two!


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## Ivyacres

Years ago we had a mixed breed who had her first seizure at three. She was on pheno. We never figured out what caused them. Unfortunately, she died in my daughter's arms on the way to the vet during a grand mal (sp?) seizure three yrs later.


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## kpswd

Cosmo had seizures from the time he was about 20 months until the day he passed.

They were semi frequent (5-10 per year) and fairly mild most of the time. It seemed as if they were mostly induced by stress and when they happened, I would just go over and put his head in my lap, gently stroke his face until the seizure was over. Doing this seemed to have a calming affect on him and thus reducing the severity of the seizure.

He actually died in recovery from surgery to remove a piece of a dog toy that he had swallowed and couldn't pass. He started to have seizures, and his temp shot up because of this. The were able to cool his body down by giving him an ice bath, but his body just wasn't able handle it.


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## Masons mom

I had two dogs-my golden and a cairn terrier. Last year, my 8 yr. old cairn began having seizures. Pheno worked. Whenever he would have one, I would put an ice pack on his bag. This seems to lessen the length of the seizure. Also, there are holistic products that produce calming effects for dogs. After the seizure, I would administer some of the medicine and that seemed to help calm him down so as he didn't feel the need to pace for an hour afterwards. When your dogs starts to seize, get them on the floor in a safe spot-do not hold them. Their bite can be bad. 

Believe me, I know how bad seizures are. After 4 months, my cairn started having multiple seizures a day. After every test known to man and $4000 later, they found no apparent reason for the seizures. Not to scare anyone, but his seizures eventually took his life because he was having them every 5 minutes constantly. No medicine worked.

The good news is that seizures are very common. Jack's neurologist who worked with seizure dogs for the past 14 years said that Jack was only his second death ever. Epilepsy in dogs is easily controlled...most of the time. I will say Mason, my golden retriever probably went through the most stress during Jack's seizures. He became extremely upset and tried to help Jack by licking him during and after the seizure. So if you have another dog around, be sure to remember they may be very frightened by the experience as well


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## Masons mom

One more note---be very aware of what is in your dog's diet. Look at the dog food-there is a high correlation between commercial dog foods and dogs that have seizures. The highly processed food seems to cause seizures in some dogs.

Also, I was told to feed my dog a low protein diet..

Hope this helps and no your dog had no idea that he bit you.....


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## Maggies mom

Abbie has been seizure free (on Phenbarb) for 18 months untill today, she had a mild one this morning..


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## Master_P

Greetings everyone. I found this forum while searching for information about Goldens and seizures, and this thread came up. Yesterday evening, my 6 year old baby boy went into a full on seizure for the first time in his life. As others here have said, it one of the scariest things you'll ever see. The worst feeling is that sense of helplessness... knowing that something serious is wrong, there's nothing you can do to help, not knowing what will happen, and of course preparing yourself for the worst. I thought I was going to lose him in my arms last night and felt completely lost.

His symptoms: at first I thought he was scratching his ear with his back leg, until the scratching went on for too long, and got very loud. When I saw him, his body was rigid and going through quick bursts of violent spasms. All his major limbs were moving wildly and with high force. I looked at his face to see if he was conscious, and saw his right eye with the pupil full blown, and the left eye was 90% closed with the eye looking off to the side. He had tons of foam at the mouth, urinated a little bit, and his chest always seemed full of air. I thought he wasn't breathing normally.

I took him to the e-vet (that's emergency, not electronic :doh: ) once I was able to get him in the car. The poor guy was so disoriented when he came to, so he was VERY VERY aggressive and defensive. It wasn't him. I couldn't risk him biting me while driving, so I tossed a blanket over his head, and secured it around his neck with some plastic zip ties - leaving them loose enough so he could still breathe. That worked to help keep him calm the way a calming cap would. He came full around by the time we got to the vet, and by then he was back to himself. It was about a 20 minute drive... in part because I got on the wrong freeway while panicking. The seizure itself was probably around 2-3 minutes, though it feels like forever.

She did an eval and said his heart sounded good, his breathing was good, and pupils were ERL. Temp was 104, but that's normal post-ictal. After we were done, he took a massive #1 and #2 in the parking lot. I sincerely hope he didn't seize because he had to go outside!! The e-vet doc and I talked a lot about possible causes and treatment options. We went home so I could have my vet do a full blood panel in the morning. Once home, he ate fine, and acted perfectly normal up to and including today.

I do agree with one poster that the scent of urine from a seizing dog is so distinct and just sends shivers up my spine... I'll be using lots of Nature's Miracle on my floor mats 

Suffice to say, this morning I was doing A LOT of reading on this subject so I can engage the vet with appropriate questions. Here's my take away from everything the e-vet, my vet, and online articles have said:

-It can either be something inside the brain or outside. Easier to test/treat outside for obvious reasons.
-He's getting a blood panel done. I am expecting results for liver, thyroid, and kidney function, and parasite/viral testing hopefully this evening, or tomorrow at the latest.
-GR's are known to have epilepsy, however in this case the first seizure usually happens before age 4. It is possible he had a seizure at that age when I wasn't around, so there's no way to know for sure.
-There is no known way to predict frequency or pattern. He might have one tonight and every 3rd Tuesday of odd numbered months in even numbered years for the rest of his life... or he might never have one. Asking for predictions/odds/time lines or limits gets you nothing because there are none.
-The chances of it being a neural condition is higher given his age. My vet bases this on his post-ictal aggression.
-I'm debating if I want to deal with a neural consult, or just go straight for a CT with contrasting agent. The specialist won't be cheap, and would either direct for an LP, CT, or MRI anyways. CSF infection is not likely since his behavior is otherwise normal. There is no head trauma which reduces the chances of hydrocephalus.... so I don't see much value in an LP. MRI's cost a lot, but would only help if you knew where to look and what to look for. The contrast agent in a CT _should _(I hate using that word...) attach to any masses or tumors.... of course, this is all if the blood work comes back 100% normal.

-and finally... the stress of all this is so freakin exhausting. I'm so wiped out.

If you've made it this far, then thanks for taking the time to read our story. We appreciate any advice or input you all can offer!! Gratuitous pics as an introduction. Hope you like em!

Demanding dinner:










With his BFF:










.... doing what they do best. Screaming *UNCLE!!!* 










Snuggle Request...










Very tired and with a hungry foster weiner puppy. I call this one, "Patience"


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## caseypooh

Welcome to you, many of us found this forum looking for help with our golden's seizures. Seizures at 12 thread has a lot of good information while Lucy was taking care of her Charlie. My 13 year old golden (same beautiful red as yours) started having seizures at almost 13. Our emergency vet did an ultrasound and a chest x-ray as well as the other tests. Ultrasound showed splenic tumor in my girl.

Glad you are here, there are a lot of kind and loving people here with a wealth of knowledge. They will come on board soon.


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## Shalva

there is also a facebook group called epi pets and a good group there... My cuinn has had seizures since age 2 not a golden but a flat coat... I agree with your vet regarding it is probably not idiopathic epilepsy and has an underlying cause... I would honestly rule out less expensive stuff first.. ie blood chem done, full thyroid panel and full tick panel and then if it is important to you then the CT or MRI but that is just me... with my cuinn is wasn't as vital as we were fairly sure it was just epilepsy considering his age and honestly we knew he could have a brain tumour but if he did it wouldn't change our treatment plan so we opted to not have some of the expensive diagnostics and here we are 8 years later and we know its not a brain tumour. 

good luck wiht your boy 
S


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## GoldensGirl

Master_P said:


> Greetings everyone. I found this forum while searching for information about Goldens and seizures, and this thread came up. Yesterday evening, my 6 year old baby boy went into a full on seizure for the first time in his life. As others here have said, it one of the scariest things you'll ever see. ... If you've made it this far, then thanks for taking the time to read our story. We appreciate any advice or input you all can offer!!


Welcome to the Forum! I am glad that you have found this community when you need help.

Everything that I learned in more than a year of fighting my Charlie's seizures is captured in this thread: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ard/85243-seizures-starting-12-years-old.html. If you have questions about anything you see there, please either post to that thread and I will respond.

The GRF has a lot of members with experience in handling seizures. The best way to tap their wisdom is to start a new thread of your own, copying into it the material that you put into your first post in this thread. I suspect you'll find a warm welcome and a huge amount of support.

All of us know that it is exhausting, both physically and emotionally, to help a beloved dog with seizures. I hope you can get them under control quickly and that you have some ways to get away and take care of yourself meanwhile.

Your photos are wonderful!

Sending healing thoughts and prayers your way,
Lucy


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## jsjjkelly

*New member here*

Hi all!

It is such a relief to find a group like this when we have never experienced this before.

My GR Hercules is 7, will be 8 in June. He had his first seizure in the yard in August '10. We thought he was choking on some wood, since he liked to carry logs around the yard (we were up in Alaska then). Took him to the ER who said he had one particular liver enzyme that was low, but that enzyme could be off for any number of reasons. They kept him for observation with fluids overnight and he was fine. We followed up a month later with a whole series of blood panels and our normal vet said if he hadn't seen the other lab work, he'd never have known he had a seizure. He was otherwise a healthy dog. He advised us that he can have up to 4 a year before another vet may even consider this a problem. My aunt had a St Bernard that was epileptic, and we got to see the negative side effects of phenobarbital. We just weren't sure we wanted that for our sweet guy.

Then we moved to FL and he's had 3 since then. There's about 4-6 months between seizures. 

He's now had 3 in FL. Dec 10, May 11 and Nov 11. After the May seizure we took him to a vet here who ran all these tests only to say they couldn't find the cause and to take him home and have him be comfortable. It was so frustrating to spend that money only to be told "It happens" 

Another side note to this is our old neighbor has his brother. He started having seizures 2 years before Hercules did, and they're convinced it's a low blood sugar issue. So they feed him every 4 hours or so. He still has them sporadically, but he was having them weekly to begin with.

So, my question is, should I keep pressing and find another vet? Or just keep watching them since they aren't daily, weekly or monthly? What would you do?

Thanks so much!
Shawn


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## GoldensGirl

jsjjkelly said:


> Hi all!
> 
> It is such a relief to find a group like this when we have never experienced this before.
> 
> My GR Hercules is 7, will be 8 in June. He had his first seizure in the yard in August '10. ...We followed up a month later with a whole series of blood panels and our normal vet said if he hadn't seen the other lab work, he'd never have known he had a seizure. He was otherwise a healthy dog. He advised us that he can have up to 4 a year before another vet may even consider this a problem. My aunt had a St Bernard that was epileptic, and we got to see the negative side effects of phenobarbital. We just weren't sure we wanted that for our sweet guy....He's now had 3 in FL. Dec 10, May 11 and Nov 11. After the May seizure we took him to a vet here who ran all these tests only to say they couldn't find the cause and to take him home and have him be comfortable. It was so frustrating to spend that money only to be told "It happens"
> 
> Another side note to this is our old neighbor has his brother. He started having seizures 2 years before Hercules did, and they're convinced it's a low blood sugar issue. ...So, my question is, should I keep pressing and find another vet? Or just keep watching them since they aren't daily, weekly or monthly? What would you do?
> 
> Thanks so much!
> Shawn


Hi, Shawn. Welcome to the Forum! And I offer you a sad welcome to our seizure community.

The first thing I'd encourage you to do is to start a new thread of your own about Hercules' seizures, since that is most likely to attract comments from the many GRF members who have experience in this area.

My own experience was with my Charlie, who was almost 12 years old when he started having seizures. The story of our year-long battle with his condition is told here: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ard/85243-seizures-starting-12-years-old.html. I did a lot of research about seizures in dogs and recorded what I found in the thread, in hopes of helping others who face this nightmare with their dogs.

If you haven't already done so, please start a log book in which you record details about the seizures - time, duration, characteristics, what he was doing beforehand, how he behaved afterwards, and anything you remember about what he ate, meds he took, and other circumstances that might trigger a seizure. The log will help you recognize patterns and perhaps identify triggers that cause the seizures. For Charlie, Frontline Plus definitely triggered grand mal seizures, but that was not the only trigger and probably not the underlying cause.

You might try ocular compression (Ocular Compression) to interrupt seizures when they occur. After a seizure, it is important to give your dog a full meal to elevate his blood sugar, since he burns a lot of calories during a seizure. Some sources also recommend giving two tablespoons of melted Hagen Daz vanilla ice cream. Hagen Daz is specified because it has fewer chemical additives than others, and that can be important. We found it in 2-ounce containers at our grocery store, which helped us avoid waste.

Given how young Hercules is, you might consider having him evaluated by a veterinary neurologist. The one we consulted for Charlie only charged us about $300 and what we learned from him was invaluable. A neurologist will also know the most effective medications to prescribe. Pheno is widely used because it is relatively cheap and takes effect quickly, but many GRF members have had better results with potassium bromide, which costs more but has fewer side effects of a long period of use. It's worth noting that Charlie's neurologist told us that seizures are considered to be "under control" if there is only one grand mal seizure per month, so it might be premature to consult a neurologist now.

Creating a safe environment is important for a seizure dog. For us, that meant putting gates across stairways. Towards the end of his life, Charlie was never outdoors without supervision and he went up and down stairs only when we were beside him. If you tell us more about what Hercules enjoys, someone here can advise you about any risks that need to be managed.

Best of luck to you and Hercules. Please keep us posted.

Lucy


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## Nomes

My dog Tasha had seizures, and died just last week from something related to that we're thinking. She was eating her supper, when she fell over, and looked like she was having a seizure...but then she died...  so sad....

I never knew there was a link to peanut butter...it was like her mostest favoritest treat! she didn't get it a lot, but i guess maybe a little bit would have done it.

I've also heard food coloring aggravates seizures. So, we switched Tash to a more organic food with no food coloring, and it seemed to help (along with meds) to lessen her seizures, which weren't very frequent at all. couple times a year...


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## jsjjkelly

Thanks so much for your reply Lucy! 

Well, I guess that's what we've been wrestling with. You know, if it were my child that had seizures like this, they would have seen someone by now!!! I almost feel like we've been brushed off not once but twice! But then if we've gotten used to managing them, because they are 4-6 months apart, are we bad owners?

So far, Hercules has been fine. I read on here about bananas, so he had a 1/2 of one for breakfast. I'm willing to try anything. 

As far as what he likes to do, well, at the moment he likes to catch those lizards that are here in FL!! We all think it's gross, and we even said "Maybe he ate a lizard that caused them" but he had his first in Alaska where those things just can't live! 

For now we sit tight, and keep reading, right? Thanks again!
Shawn


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## GoldensGirl

Nomes said:


> My dog Tasha had seizures, and died just last week from something related to that we're thinking. She was eating her supper, when she fell over, and looked like she was having a seizure...but then she died...  so sad....
> 
> I never knew there was a link to peanut butter...it was like her mostest favoritest treat! she didn't get it a lot, but i guess maybe a little bit would have done it.
> 
> I've also heard food coloring aggravates seizures. So, we switched Tash to a more organic food with no food coloring, and it seemed to help (along with meds) to lessen her seizures, which weren't very frequent at all. couple times a year...


Welcome to the Forum. I'm so sorry that you lost your Tasha. This is a good place to share your grief. Many, many of us have lost dogs and more than a few have lost them to seizure-related illness.

When seizures are so infrequent, it is very difficult to assess the cause - at least in my experience. With only a couple a year, I think most veterinary neurologists would have told you to just wait and watch. If the condition worsens, then you think about treatment. The reality is that the treatments all have associated risks. It comes down to choosing the best quality of life that you can for your beloved dog.

I'm sure that Tasha knew you loved her dearly. She is doubtless watching over you now, hoping that feel her love and won't grieve too long.

Many hugs,
Lucy


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## GoldensGirl

jsjjkelly said:


> Thanks so much for your reply Lucy!
> 
> Well, I guess that's what we've been wrestling with. You know, if it were my child that had seizures like this, they would have seen someone by now!!! I almost feel like we've been brushed off not once but twice! But then if we've gotten used to managing them, because they are 4-6 months apart, are we bad owners?
> 
> So far, Hercules has been fine. I read on here about bananas, so he had a 1/2 of one for breakfast. I'm willing to try anything.
> 
> As far as what he likes to do, well, at the moment he likes to catch those lizards that are here in FL!! We all think it's gross, and we even said "Maybe he ate a lizard that caused them" but he had his first in Alaska where those things just can't live!
> 
> For now we sit tight, and keep reading, right? Thanks again!
> Shawn


You are most welcome for any help that I can give.

Are you bad owners? No! As I just wrote to Nomes (also in this thread), treatments for seizures come with side effects and it's a balancing act to choose wisely for your fur person.

I would still encourage you to start a thread about Hercules and his seizures. That way you'll have a reference to turn to. I used the thread about Charlie as a kind of journal, recording what had happened and what we learned along the way. That is still a resource I can turn to, if only to remember...

Best of luck,
Lucy


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## dsJonas96

My Female Golden Retriever "Jewel" Had First Had Seizures 2 Months After She Was Born, Our Whole Family Including Our Dog Are Heading Home, Almost All Of Us Are Already Asleep Except For My Dad Cuz He's Driving, I Felt Someone Is Kicking Me, When I Looked At My Side, She Just Started Paddling And Growling/Howling, Everyone Freaked Out And We Took Her To The Nearest Vet, The Vet Said That She Was Just Dizzy After A Long Time Traveling, She's 1 Yr. Old Now And She Still Have Seizures At least 2 Each Month, He Had 2 Seizures Last Night So We Took Her To The Vet, The Vet Said She Was Having A Heat Stroke, I Told My Dad "How Could She Have Heat Stroke At Night?" , But My Father Ignored Me, So We Went Home And I Still Don't Trust Our Vet, We Gave Her Dextrose Powder After She Seizures, I Don't Know What Really Is The Cause, Cuz Ever Since She First Had Seizure, It Just Wouldn't Stop, It's Still Continuing Until Now.


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## dsJonas96

And Unlike Any Other Golden Retriever Seizures, Jewel Doesn't Feel OK After 15-30 Mins Of Her Seizure, Instead, She Can't See Anything, She's Weak, And Her Face Is Twitching(I Think She Feels Pain), It Happens At Least Every 4-5 Seconds After Her Seizure, And Lasts About 4-5 Hours Until She Recovers. It's Heart Breaking To See Her Like That


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## GoldensGirl

dsJonas96 said:


> And Unlike Any Other Golden Retriever Seizures, Jewel Doesn't Feel OK After 15-30 Mins Of Her Seizure, Instead, She Can't See Anything, She's Weak, And Her Face Is Twitching(I Think She Feels Pain), It Happens At Least Every 4-5 Seconds After Her Seizure, And Lasts About 4-5 Hours Until She Recovers. It's Heart Breaking To See Her Like That


Welcome to the Forum. 

I'm so sorry that Jewel is having seizures. The heartache you experience is shared by many of us. Our growing seizure community is here: Golden Retrievers with Seizures - Golden Retrievers : Golden Retriever Dog Forums. I encourage you to create a thread of your own there, so you have a place to keep track of discussions about Jewel and what others share with you.

What you describe is the post-ictal phase...the period after a seizure when a dog is not fully in control. Temporary blindness is common. She may also be having focal seizures.

Here's a thread with a lot of basic information about seizures in dogs: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...es/108429-seizures-101-basic-information.html. 

Again, welcome and best of luck.

Lucy


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## Tailer'sFolks

My poll answer is not correct...I should also mark off, had a previous GR with a seizure disorder.


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## jsjjkelly

jsjjkelly said:


> Thanks so much for your reply Lucy!
> 
> Well, I guess that's what we've been wrestling with. You know, if it were my child that had seizures like this, they would have seen someone by now!!! I almost feel like we've been brushed off not once but twice! But then if we've gotten used to managing them, because they are 4-6 months apart, are we bad owners?
> 
> So far, Hercules has been fine. I read on here about bananas, so he had a 1/2 of one for breakfast. I'm willing to try anything.
> 
> As far as what he likes to do, well, at the moment he likes to catch those lizards that are here in FL!! We all think it's gross, and we even said "Maybe he ate a lizard that caused them" but he had his first in Alaska where those things just can't live!
> 
> For now we sit tight, and keep reading, right? Thanks again!
> Shawn


Just wanted to update everyone on here.... I last posted in November. He had another one in December, and yet another one in January. We just rolled right through them, wrote them down in his notebook and continued.

So much for the banana thing-- he spit them out after about a week of them. Won't even touch them now.

In February, he had a mild one... no falling over and shaking. He just got up from a sitting position and was walking like sideways - like he was drunk or something. We got him to sit down and just kept talking to him so he wouldn't get up again. Then he was done and his after response was the same as for a full blown seizure.

Took him to the vet because at this point, they were monthly. He was put on phenobarbital, but we requested since we wanted it to be a maintenance kind of thing, we didn't want that drugged out loading dose as the vet called it.

So we give it to him twice a day and he actually amazed us. It's now June and he's been seizure free (knock on wood). Instead of getting that doped up dog, we get overly obnoxious puppy!!! Which would be fine if he wasn't almost 8 years old!!! We got complacent with the lazy old yellow dog. Now it's PLAY WITH ME all the time!!!! I need to take stock in soccer balls because he kills one about every week!

I never see someone post about a positive response to the phenobarbital, but we've had one so far....

I'll keep everyone updated!
Shawn


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## davebeech

that's brilliant news for you, and long may it continue !!!!!!!


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## GoldensGirl

jsjjkelly said:


> ...So we give it to him twice a day and he actually amazed us. It's now June and he's been seizure free (knock on wood). Instead of getting that doped up dog, we get overly obnoxious puppy!!! Which would be fine if he wasn't almost 8 years old!!! We got complacent with the lazy old yellow dog. Now it's PLAY WITH ME all the time!!!! I need to take stock in soccer balls because he kills one about every week!
> 
> I never see someone post about a positive response to the phenobarbital, but we've had one so far....
> 
> I'll keep everyone updated!
> Shawn


Thanks for coming back to share this lovely news! I hope that your boy continues to beat the odds and to remind you that every Golden knows that life is a party thrown just for them!


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