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[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Over the years we have had MANY dogs. Previously only 1 had seizures. That was a miniature wirehair dachshund who only had about 3 seizures in the last year of his long life. (He lived to be almost 17 years old).  We never had him on meds because his seizures were typically less than a minute and had several months between seizures.

But this morning, I woke to a frightening noise - Cody was having a pretty violent generalized seizure. It lasted (estimated time) just over a minute. He was totally confused, but even the post-ictal phase only lasted about 5 minutes or so, then he was back to his normal self. As soon as the vet opened, we were there. He checked him over pretty good. He called later today and said all blood work was normal. His suggestion is just to watch him. He doesn't want to start him on meds unless he has more seizures. He said he has seen dogs that have a seizure and never have another one. Cody is 3 ½, so he is in the right age group for epilepsy to begin. Thankfully, my medical education kicked in and I was able to stay calm and keep him from hurting himself while my husband was freaking out.  He was very frothy in the mouth, and did lose a bit of urine, but did not have fecal incontinence. Poor baby has been pretty close all day. 

[Debbie and Toby]

I am so sorry to hear about Cody! Sounds like a grand mal. Toby has almost all grand mals. He falls over and his body just thrashes all over until he comes out of the seizure. They can be confused after the seizure. That is the best thing you can do .. stay calm and keep him safe. We also rushed to the vet the first time Toby had a seizure, which was a grand mal. I had never seen a dog have a seizure before so needless to say I was terrified! I would suggest keeping a journal of anything going on recently, or the day of the seizure, we note meds, if he had vaccines, anything different he might have eaten, how he acted that day, anything that would have been out of the ordinary. We have been keeping a journal for several years, just trying to find a trigger, the only thing we have come up with so far is we know Toby has had seizures 3 out of the last 4 years within a week of getting his lepto vaccine. But that doesn't explain the rest of them all year long. We still keep the journal, though.  WIll say a prayer for Cody. I hope this was an isolated incident, but at least you know now to always be aware. Hopefully he won't need to be on meds. Keep us posted.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Yes, it was definitely a grand Mal. He seems to be doing fine. I was a bit worried last night because he seemed to be overly affectionate and wouldn't get out of my lap - but he made it through the night without any problems. I fear that my biggest problem now may be to be a bit overprotective. I've watched him like a hawk since Saturday morning. I tend to follow him when he goes outside, etc. I know that I'll get over that in time - it's just so scary. Thanks for your support.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

We had 11 days between seizures, but today Cody had 2 more - one at 1:30 this morning and the second one at 7:30. The vet says if he has any more, he will start him on meds. Is anyone giving antiseizure meds to their dogs? If so, what side effects do they have in dogs?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I was hoping Cody wouldn't have another seizure.

[Debbie and Toby]

I am so sorry to hear this about Cody.  Usually more than 1 seizure in a 24 hour period is considered to be a cluster. Our Toby is on Phenobarb, Potassium Bromide and the vet just recently added Gabapentin as a third med. Toby has clusters a lot so he requires a bit more than some dogs would. We were informed that the meds could make him drowsy, but Toby has no effects from all of these. Toby gets additional doses of phenobarb when he clusters,  and will get very wobbly and unsteady extrs doses of Phenobarb. On a regular basis, he usually acts very normal during the day, despite all the meds he is on. I would definitely start a journal. Meds can have different effects on different dogs. So if you and your vet decide to start anti-seizure meds you will need to monitor closely for awhile for side effects so meds can be adjusted accordingly.  (((HUGS))) Keep us posted.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Thanks so much for the info. As you are well aware, it is SO hard to watch your baby seizure. I am trying hard to not become overprotective of him, but I find myself not wanting him out of my sight. When he and Casey start running, playing, and tussling, I am quite nervous - but let him do pretty much what he wants. So far, all 3 of his seizures have occurred while he is in his crate and I leave him in the crate after the seizure until he becomes more aware. We typically give them a bedtime treat about 10 pm and put them in their crate for the night and let them out in the morning about 6. Then they are also fed in their crate - breakfast about 7 or 7:30 and dinner at 5. I was afraid that after these seizures in the crate that he would he hesitant to go into the crate, but it hasn't seemed to bother him at all. When he wants to take a nap, or ready to go to bed, he heads for his crate. Unfortunately we have to keep it closed during the day because if it is open, one of the dachshunds loves to go in and investigate - and Cody doesn't want any other dog in his crate. I sure hope that he doesn't have any more seizures, but after 3 in just 11 days, I don't have real high hopes. But whatever - he is my baby-boy and we will do whatever he needs. I will keep y'all informed.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Following his 4th seizure, our vet decided it was medication time. He conferred with the neurologist at our state vet school and they made the decision to put him on Keppra XL. He has been on it for just 3 days, and so far we haven't noticed any side effects.