Heads up OP, while your pet may be naturally prone to epilepsy, seizures or other neurological disorders, it could actually be something in their diet that you might not be aware isn’t safe for your pet.
I learned quite a bit about this after the one and only time our dog had a seizure and went doing some research. The day before, a friend of ours casually gave our dog some rather tasty pork, cooked along with onions, garlic and other mystery spices he refused to reveal.
Apparently that was a BIG mistake! Onions and garlic are on the list of dangerous foods for dogs, and around half the list of dangerous foods list side effects such as seizures…
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/human-foods-dogs-can-and-cant-eat/
After studying this list and being more careful what he is and isn’t allowed to eat, he hasn’t had any seizures since then.
Of course, if you’re asking about another sort of pet such as a cat or whatever, make sure to do similar research on what is and isn’t safe for your pet in particular to eat.
Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah, my friend’s was caused by a flea medicine. Make sure you check everything OP
I’ve had 2. What do you want to know?
Thanks for reaching out. Sorry for taking so long. Here are my questions regarding dogs with seizures: what do you do while a dog is having a seizure? Do you know what they may be experiencing?
I ask because I have a neighbor with a dog that is practically left alone most of the day and most of the night and sometimes has seizures that we can hear and that my neighbor confirmed via text messages. A long time ago we reported my neighbor to the local animal control body, but they claimed that they couldn’t do anything unless we could prove the animal was suffering. After collecting neighbor testimonies and recording ourselves in our homes listening to the dog (we had to prove that we were recording ourselves and not the neighbor), we filed a formal complaint. Now we’re waiting for animal control to take action
I guess my questions at this point are out of curiosity and compassion for the dog. In case the complaint doesn’t come to anything, maybe my questions can also be fodder for future, more effective complaints.
Our experience was mostly silent. Ridgid. Spine curled backwards. Eyes unfocused unseeing. Sometimes drooling.
We would get her into a soft spot like a bed or towel. Don’t go before the paralysis is set - you might get bit. The comedown is also hard. Soothing voice. Gentle touch. Let it run it’s course.
The medication was a simple salt solution, potassium something?
Does that help?
Thanks for your response. I’m glad your dog was in your hands.
And yes, your answers help me have a clearer idea of what the experience can be like and what can be done. Thanks.
I had a dog who developed seizures. Low dose phenobarbital solved the issue thankfully. It was a little inconvenient because he required regular liver tests and also, phenobarbital being a controlled substance, I had to buy it at a regular pharmacy. But other than that it was fine, much better than the seizures. He had no issues until he died (years later) of unrelated problems stemming from old age.
Same experience however, my vet was able to sell it to me. She only had 2 seizures in the 8 years she was medicated and both times we found she had spit out her pill at some point.
Family dog was epileptic.
Vet prescribed a medicine that reduced seizures.
Don’t give your pet CBD to control epilepsy.
It doesn’t work like that and it’s not been tested on dogs to determine if it’s effective. (The kind for human epilepsy is for a specific form of epilepsy and isn’t just any old CBD oil anyway).
I can tell you that the scientifically validated medicine for the dog was cheap.
I think it was 1 pill a day. We would put it in a piece of a hot dog.
Dog would be most prone to seizure after getting super excited or scared.
We would just sit with her and rub her legs.
It always seemed like she was in pain.
The dog lived for like 10 years but she had one bad seizure where it caused a vertebrae to slip and pinch nerves and she could no longer walk and was in constant pain. So we euthanized her.
Take the dog to vet to get the medicine. It wasn’t expensive back when our dog took it. So you should be able to afford it.
Thanks for your response. I’m glad the dog lived a life with you, someone who cared about them. I’m sorry the seizures got to her.
Just to clarify, my questions weren’t for a dog of mine. They are for a neighbor that seems to not care well for their dog, and their dog has seizures. A group of neighbors filed complaints already, and we’re waiting on the resolution. In the meantime, I wanted to understand what the dog could’ve been experiencing and what could be done while a dog is having a seizure. If the dog is in pain, the type of complaint is more serious than if not, so if the current complaints don’t change anything, maybe something can be done in the future to change the complaint.
I can’t say for sure if the seizures are painful but I think, for our dog, they were.
The type she had made her muscles go rigid.
Just holding muscles that tight for a few minutes would surely be painful.
Often people don’t recall the experience of the seizure, only that they had one. I don’t know if it’s the same for a dog.
A friend of mine who has epilepsy told me that he has an insanely painful headache after he has a seizure.
I don’t know a lot of the ins and outs, but I have someone really close to me in vet med! He’s taken care of and had friends with epileptic pets. You can DM me if you want and I can try to relay some questions!
All I know for sure that CBD for pets can help with seizures.
My cat, Skippy had terrible seizures, throwing herself around the room. It was terrifying.
Turned out it was her flea collar. Heard of other people who’ve experienced the same thing
