Canine Epilepsy

[BigRed]

I have a 2 year old whippet bitch. She started having fits in Dec. They came roughly once a month/6 weeks. On Friday she had 3 in one day. The vets have now advised we start her on medication, she she started the drugs on Sat.

She is a very fit and otherwise healthy young dog, who has been speyed. Her fits last a couple of minutes and she loses control of her bladder, as she recovers, she wants to pace around after the fit, until she becomes more settled and goes back to her normal jolly self.

The vet say she may be more sleepy on these drugs, but whippets are sleep machines at the best of times and I am aware of the dangers of liver damage.

I wondered if anyone has any experience of how well their dogs did on this drug ? Epiphen.

 

[Goya]

I have a friend whose dog is on this. She has clusters of fits approx every 6 weeks or so. The drug does make her a bit drowsy at times, but she is still doing flyball successfully and has a good quality of life. Hope this helps.

 

[RutlandH2O]

I have a 2 year old whippet bitch. She started having fits in Dec. They came roughly once a month/6 weeks. On Friday she had 3 in one day. The vets have now advised we start her on medication, she she started the drugs on Sat.

She is a very fit and otherwise healthy young dog, who has been speyed. Her fits last a couple of minutes and she loses control of her bladder, as she recovers, she wants to pace around after the fit, until she becomes more settled and goes back to her normal jolly self.

The vet say she may be more sleepy on these drugs, but whippets are sleep machines at the best of times and I am aware of the dangers of liver damage.

I wondered if anyone has any experience of how well their dogs did on this drug ? Epiphen.

It all depends on how your dog metabolises the drug. I have had several Norwich Terriers with epilepsy (a serious problem in the breed). One of my Norwich was on 120mgs of phenobarbitone a day for more than 10 years, until his death at almost 16. He was perky, happy, and active. He did have break-through seizures, but they weren't as violent as before he was on the medication. I had another Norwich who was on 60mgs a day, after he had 4 seizures in one day. He, too, was active and full of life on the drug. He, also, lived to be almost 16. Both of these dogs were purchased by me from breeders in the UK. I had a Golden Retriever bitch who, at 9 years of age, started having very violent seizures where she would urinate, defecate and be "out of it" for a good 30 minutes, after which she would walk around the house or garden for about 45 minutes. When she recovered she was as normal as before the episode. After her second seizure, she was put on phenobarb at 60mgs a day. She was so sleepy at that dose that I thought she would drown in her water bowl. The drug was reduced to 30 mgs a day, which addressed the sleepiness, but, unfortunately, it was found the bitch had a suspected brain tumour and was put down within 2 years. I mention these particular dogs to illustrate the difference in drug tolerance between these three (the difference in weight between the terriers and the Golden had no bearing on the dose).

You should be able to adjust the dose up or down to come to an effective solution. In all of my cases, the drug ameliorated the violence of the seizures, but did not prevent all seizure activity. Blood tests every 6 - 8 months to monitor the drug's effect on the liver is recommended.

Epilepsy is a devastating condition. However, with supportive veterinary care and common sense, dogs can live a happy and full life.

However, if you have other dogs, do be very careful when your bitch is in the throes of a seizure. Depending on your bitch's place in the hierarchy, the other dogs can roll up their sleeves and attack her, even if they are usually the best of friends. I have found that the alpha dogs were most at risk of attack than the more subordinate ones.

Best of luck...

 

[Goya]

This site may be useful for you.
www.canineepilepsy.co.uk

 

[BigRed]

Thanks. We do have a second dog. She is very worried when the whippet is fitting. Typically the fits have happened in the early hours of the morning, until the weekend, when they happened at 3 hourly intervals.

 

[EAST KENT]

I have an ancient fell terrier who has had fits all her life ,no medication has ever been given,she sometimes used to fit daily,now less often.Roo has to be at least fourteen!She is very happy,her fits are now a bit weird..although she goes sort of wobbley and sideways she is aware all the time..and will even attempt to eat her supper.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

fits are now a bit weird..although she goes sort of wobbley and sideways she is aware all the time..and will even attempt to eat her supper.

JRTs fit are like that, he looks drunk with various ticks/twitches. He will stagger to you if called and fully recovers in a matter of minutes, hence why he isn't currently meditated. He fits about 3 or 4 times a year.