Mariner Update

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Since around Thanksgiving Mariner's problems with the seizures have been presenting more difficulties. After about 3 months being seizure free he started to have frequent seizures. This started after giving him the Heartgard Plus and Frontline Plus. We think that the Frontline may be lowering his seizure threshhold. But even as recently as this week he has had a seizure. They are becoming less frequent. We did all the medical workups and although there were some abnormalities right after the orginal seizures they resolved themselves. We are still hoping that it is the long acting effects of the Frontline that lowered his seizure threshhold, so we are discontinueing it and will see.

Mariner is a happy smart dog!! We have learned not to let his seizures control what we do or what he does. He is a confident - quite different from the scared BLIND puppy we brought home. Marineer is now 2 1/2.

A little background on Mariner:
At about 7 weeks old Mariner had an accident, he suffered a fractured skull. This left him blind and with a seizure disorder. At the time of the accident he was with the breeders. They gave him all the veterinary attention that was needed and cared for him after. He had to be retrained on how to do everything, from eating to peeing. The breeders were unable to keep Mariner for the long term. We became aware of Mariner's situation from Ann's Doodle Chat, the "unofficial" forum from the breeder. We started following Mariner's plight. Mariner and our older Doodle, Boomer (our first Doodle) are biological brothers. We decided to adopt Mariner when it became obvious that if he wasn't adopted soon there was not going to be a happy outcome.

Since we adopted he has gradually regained much of his eyesight, although he still has some difficulties. We have struggled to control his seizures. There are times when they are under control and then there are times that things go haywire.

The interaction of the three dogs has been amazing. There have been times that Boomer or Shayna (our female Doodle) have alerted us to Mariner's seizure. When Mariner could not see they would always stay close to him, keeping him out of trouble.

Mariner is the reason we started the "Special Needs", "Medical Issues" and "Seizure"  groups. The "Special Needs" group was original called "Doodle's with Disabilities" but we realized that the do NOT have disabilities they are just SPECIAL.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

You are so inspirational....you truly understand what it means to "unconditionally love".  Thank you for what you do every day for Mariner and for sharing your story.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

May 2015 be a happy and healthy year for Mariner and his wonderful, loving family. 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Mariner is lucky to have such a wonderful family. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. It is through love and the sharing of information that we learn so much. You are an example to us all. Doodle hugs to Mariner and to Shayna and Boomer too.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Thank you thank you thank you for giving Mariner a wonderful life. My last Husky, Thor, had seizures beginning about 18 months. It can be very difficult, so I really appreciate your caring. Ask your vet about Vectra for flea, etc. control. My vet recommends Vectra over the others for which I am grateful. Also Sentinel for heartworms, but if you don't have much heartworm in your area, you might skip this with Mariner who might be sensitive. Also watch for raisins, grapes, onions, garlic, chocolate. Normal dogs can sneak a bit of these with usually no problem. But seizure prone dogs may not be able to tolerate even the smallest amount.

I noticed that you mentioned Mariner is on pheonbarbitol. Is he also on KBr ( potasaium bromide)? Thor had to take both to control his seizures.

Stay with it, and hopefully it will steady out. It took us about 9 months to get Thor "seizure free" meaning no more than one breakthrough seizure every 3 months. He actually had several years very nearly seizure free once he stopped growing, and everything got adjusted and we were really vigilant about the routine.

if you have to use KBr, it tastes really nasty and I had good luck squirting it onto a small piece of bagel and then covering it with peanut butter.

You guys are awesome!! Head up and heart forward, you will get it!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Today we gave the dogs their Heartgard Plus. Well Mariner just had another seizure. We are going to keep a close eye on him for the next few days. Perhaps it is the Heartguard Plus and not the Frontline Plus. I found this while looking up the Heartgard Plus and seizures:
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What are the side effects with Heartgard Plus Chewables?

Side effects seen with Heartgard Plus Chewables include depression, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, staggering, incoordination and seizures. Stop giving the Heartgard Plus Chewables if you see these types of symptoms in your dog after administration and notify your dog’s veterinarian.
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[Adrianne Matzkin]

Andy, I am thrilled to hear that Mariner's seizures are less frequent! Mariner is very lucky to have all of you!!

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Thank you for the update,I do think of him often. I have been reading so many "bad" things about frontline lately. Do all flea treatments lower his threshold?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I'mglad to hear that the seizures are decreasing.Heis lucky to have such caring owners and siblings.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Andy, Mariner is the luckiest doodle in the world to have you and your family caring for him! He is indeed "special", and I know the love that all of you give to him is returned ten-fold.
I hope he continues to do well. All of us who "know" Mariner through your discussions are rooting for him.

[LG & Sadie]

Ah, we recently had what our Vet referred to as a "break through" seizure with Sadie on the phenobarb....so we had a blood level drawn and found she was in the low-normal therapeutic range for the phenobarb blood level. With the wiggle room we were able to add an extra 1/2 tablet to her night dose-and so far so good. Seizure free since the change. Except her voracious appetite & thirst stepped up a notch-and I thought it couldn't possibly :-) I assume you have probably already done the blood level thing....but just wanted to throw it out there in case it's helpful info. Best of Luck!