I WAS wondering if you could offer me any advice? I have a male black Labrador that will be six in May. Last March I had him neutered. In June, then August, twice in December and now twice in January he has had seizures. He falls to the ground and he kicks all of his legs, foams at the mouth and urinates. They only last for about a minute. He then gets up walks like he is drunk, drinks water and then wags his tail.
This is totally freaking me out. I took him into the vet and they told me they can put him on medication but if you miss any that could cause more seizures. In this last month he has had four, so I feel they are getting more frequent, but I am not sure what I should do next? Wait for more?
Otis is generally a very active dog. I have noticed that he has slowed down a lot in this last month. Will you please give me some advice? We live in Salt Lake City, and it is so cold lately that I keep the dogs with me most of the time. I am so paranoid that something will happen to my special dog. He is purebred and Oh, he is so beautiful!
I might add, when he was four months old he had parvo, and almost died! Do you think that that could be the reason for the seizures, or him getting fixed?
Thank you for the epilepsy article. - Wendy
Hello Wendy. Just a little more on the epilepsy - I found another good website and one that explains the drugs and their effects and at the end of the article there are more links about epilepsy: http://www.labbies.com/epilepsy.htm
After getting a bit more information I can say it is very highly unlikely that the parvo caused the epilepsy. All the information I have read says that a full and total recovery is usually indicated.
To find out if Otis' ancestry line has epilepsy in it you will have to do a bit of a study of his pedigree lines. However, it is very likely that the trauma of the neutering or even the after-effects of the anaesthetic could have caused the seizures to start.
One thing that could be a problem for you - if he is outside in a run with other dogs, it could be necessary to take him out of that environment as other members of an epileptic dog's "pack" have been known to attack and kill a dog that is having a seizure.
The most important thing now it seems is to make sure the vet does test him - epilepsy can be brought on as a manifestation of a tumour, or liver disease, or quite a number of such illnesses and these must be ruled out before the dog is put on anything.
If he is suffering from epilepsy and nothing else, then the main course of action is to try as many alternative treatments or food regimens as you wish, but if they do not control the seizures and they increase, there will come a time when you will want to put him on medication at a minimum effective dosage and keep it up for life, along with a very nutritious and as natural as possible diet. - Elezabeth
Hi Elezabeth. Thank you so much. I feel so much better hearing what you have to say. I really appreciate the time you took to write me back. I will let you know in the future what happens! Thanks and God Bless! - Wendy
