Cory’s Story

In England they often call them “fits” – what happens when the brain loses control of the body. In America, they are more commonly called seizures. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief summary as to some of the many causes of dog seizures.

EPILEPSY. The primary cause of dog seizures is epilepsy, but it is important to make the distinction that not all seizures are attributable to epilepsy. The most common form of epilepsy was made known to the world by a group of idiots walking through the woods one day and they all found themselves on the same path, and collectively observed a wolf in a clearing doing the hokey-pokey. They reported this unusual sighting to the forest rangers and the term “idiopathic epilepsy” was coined. Well, that’s not exactly true, but the scientific reason is a bit more boring and doesn’t make any more sense. In short, the term “idiopathic epilepsy” is a catch-all for when the experts just don’t know what is causing a dog to have seizures.

TOXINS. Unfortunately for dogs, there are all kinds of toxins in their environment, many of which can cause seizures. These toxins range from poisons to get rid of rodents or slugs to flea powders or chemicals that are actually meant for dogs to wear as collars. Antifreeze, insecticides and paint products are also known toxins which can not only induce seizures, but can kill the unwitting animal that ingests them. With early treatment and intervention, most animals have a good to fair prognosis of making a full recovery if they have a seizure as a result of an environmental poisoning.

BRAIN TUMORS. Obviously, one of the easiest things to rule out, as a cause of dog seizures, is whether there is an abnormal growth in the dog’s brain. Growths cause pressure on the brain tissue, which in turn can cause seizures and other neurological abnormalities. Fortunately, there are diagnostic tests (MRI or CAT scans) that can determine if that is the problem; however, only a very small percentage of dog seizures are caused by tumors or head injuries. In either case, anti-epileptic drugs would not be effective for dogs suffering from seizures caused by either of them.

TICK INDUCED DISEASES. The bite of the bloodsucking arachnid known as a tick can cause Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, both of which can cause dog seizures. If the tick is discovered within the first 24 hours after it has attached itself to the dog, the chance of infection is greatly reduced. There are antibiotics that can kill Lyme Disease, and most dogs respond quite well in general to antibiotics.

DISTEMPER. Distemper, in which a fever develops, then diarrhea and dehydration, can cause seizures in dogs, especially puppies, when they lose their maternal antibodies at about the age of 3 months. Only through the use of vaccinations can this debilitating disease be prevented, and once a dog has acquired it, they have a fight ahead for their very lives.

Hello everyone! Here’s part 3:

Rescue Remedy and Ice Cream. I found the Bachs Flower Essence called Rescue Remedy, which is sold in most health food stores, to be very useful in lessening the severity of a seizure if you can get 4 or 5 drops of it into the dog’s mouth as soon as the seizure starts, and after a seizure, a spoonful of Breyers All Natural vanilla ice cream (preservative free!) can help to quickly restore blood sugar levels which are compromised by the tremendous amount of energy it takes a little body to experience a seizure. My dog got to where he would go to the refrigerator after his seizures and look happily up at the freezer, wagging his tail expectantly.

My next blog post is going to be a big one; it’s called “Health Considerations for the Older Dog.” I think many of you will find super valuable information in it! Stay tuned for it…

Hi again! Here’s part 2, as I promised earlier.

•    Acupuncture or Gold Bead Implants, involve the placement of needles throughout the dog’s body, or placement of gold bead into the acupuncture points. I would try acupuncture before AED’s, but gold bead implants would be a last resort for me, to be considered only if everything else failed.

•    Diet, Homeopathy and Vitamin Therapy. I believe that diet plays a critical role in the treatment of canine epilepsy, because many commercial dog foods are full of chemical dyes and preservatives. Preservatives have been known to cause seizures in dogs that have a lower seizure threshold, and should be eliminated completely from their diets.

I believe that the benefits of feeding fresh, raw food and fresh pulped green leafy veggies actually stopped my dog’s seizures without us ever having to use AED’s. I recommend that you work with a holistic veterinarian to ensure that you are providing the right balance of food, vitamin and if recommended, homeopathic treatments. Serving filtered water may also be helpful, especially in states where the water has fluoride added.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this article coming soon! And don’t forget to sign up using the form over there on the right sidebar to get a sneak-peek at Chapter 1 of Cory’s Story, which is currently in the publishing process!

Hello everyone! Last week it was my pleasure to bring you a 5-part series on causes of dog seizures. This week I’d like to talk about some of the treatments available for dog seizures.

If your dog starts having seizures it is important to get him in for an evaluation by a veterinarian as soon as possible.  If the reason for the seizures is a diagnosis of epilepsy, the following are some of the ways that the seizures can be treated.  It is important to understand that epilepsy is not the cause of all dog seizures, however.  For example, certain kinds of brain tumors or an injury to the dog’s brain can cause seizures, as can certain toxins in the environment.  In such cases, treatment for epilepsy will be completely ineffective.

The purpose of this article is to explore treatment options so that you will have a better understanding of them once your veterinarian has determined that the cause of your dog’s seizures is epilepsy.  Generally no treatment is recommended unless the seizures are occurring at least once a month.  You should keep in mind that the purpose of treatment is to reduce the frequency and intensity of the seizures, and that in many cases the seizures will continue in spite of the treatment, so don’t give up and don’t get discouraged.

• Anti-Epileptic Drugs, or “AED’s” are usually the first choice of treatment options, with Phenobarbitol and Potassium bromide being the two most commonly prescribed drugs, sometimes independently and sometimes together, if administering just one of them does not produce sufficient seizure control.  Diazepam (a/k/a Valium) is used for treatment if the seizures go into what is called “status epilepticus” or “cluster seizures” which is where the seizure goes on for more than about 5 minutes, or one seizure quickly follows another.  In my research for this article I was surprised to find that Primidone is still on the list of potential treatment options; however, because of the high concentration of liver enzymes that have been reported and other side effects such as lethargy and excessive hunger and thirst, I was always told that this drug should never be considered, and I knew it by the nickname of “Primadon’t” among my fellow owners of epileptic dogs.  There have been studies done in the past 5 to 10 years that have shown that Neurontin (a/k/a gabapentin) can also be useful, and anyone considering using AED’s should do further research about these studies.  The caution about using AED’s is that they can cause liver enzymes to become elevated, and dogs on these drugs need to have regular chemistry panels done to be sure that their livers are not being damaged.

Stay tuned for Part 2 soon!

Yesterday I covered the 4th cause of dog seizures: Tick induced diseases.

Today I’ll cover the 5th and final cause in this series:

DISTEMPER.  Distemper, in which a fever develops, then diarrhea and dehydration, can cause seizures in dogs, especially puppies, when they lose their maternal antibodies at about the age of 3 months.  Only through the use of vaccinations can this debilitating disease be prevented, and once a dog has acquired it, they have a fight ahead for their very lives.

Stay tuned to the blog for my next series: Canine Epilepsy Treatment!

Yesterday I covered the 2nd cause of dog seizures: Toxins. Today is the 3rd cause:

BRAIN TUMORS. Obviously, one of the easiest things to rule out, as a cause of dog seizures, is whether there is an abnormal growth in the dog’s brain. Growths cause pressure on the brain tissue, which in turn can cause seizures and other neurological abnormalities. Fortunately, there are diagnostic tests (MRI or CAT scans) that can determine if that is the problem; however, only a very small percentage of dog seizures are caused by tumors or head injuries. In either case, anti-epileptic drugs would not be effective for dogs suffering from seizures caused by either of them.

Check back again tomorrow for the 4th cause of dog seizures! And don’t forget to sign up for our fan club on the right sidebar =) You’ll get a sneak-peek at Chapter of Cory’s Story as our thank-you!

Yesterday I covered the first cause of dog seizures: Epilepsy. Today I’ll cover the next cause:

TOXINS. Unfortunately for dogs, there are all kinds of toxins in their environment, many of which can cause seizures.  These toxins range from poisons to get rid of rodents or slugs to flea powders or chemicals that are actually meant for dogs to wear as collars.  Antifreeze, insecticides and paint products are also known toxins which can not only induce seizures, but can kill the unwitting animal that ingests them.  With early treatment and intervention, most animals have a good to fair prognosis of making a full recovery if they have a seizure as a result of an environmental poisoning.

Come back tomorrow for the next cause in this 5-part series! And in the meantime, if you’d like to get a sneak-peek at Chapter 1 of Cory’s Story, just sign up using the form over there on the right sidebar, and you’ll be able to read it instantly. I hope you like it!

In England they often call them “fits” – what happens when the brain loses control of the body. In America, they are more commonly called seizures. Over the next few days, I’m going to blog about some of the many causes of dog seizures.

EPILEPSY.  The primary cause of dog seizures is epilepsy, but it is important to make the distinction that not all seizures are attributable to epilepsy.  The most common form of epilepsy was made known to the world by a group of idiots walking through the woods one day and they all found themselves on the same path, and collectively observed a wolf in a clearing doing the hokey-pokey.  They reported this unusual sighting to the forest rangers and the term “idiopathic epilepsy” was coined.  Well, that’s not exactly true, but the scientific reason is a bit more boring and doesn’t make any more sense.  In short, the term “idiopathic epilepsy” is a catch-all for when the experts just don’t know what is causing a dog to have seizures.

Check back tomorrow for another cause of dog seizures!