Family dog and seizures

We have a 4 year old, black and white Siberian Husky named Misty. She’s absolutely wonderful and healthy other than the fact she has one problem. She suffers from seizures.

Living with seizures isn’t easy however it can be controlled with medicine. The most common medicine is Phenobarbital. Even though it doesn’t eliminate it, it does help control it. We’ve found the longer she has been on it then she has less seizures. At first she had 2 per month except now we are finally going on five months with no seizures!

When it first happens it can be very scary. Majority of the time there is no warning. With our dog I have noticed her left eye will twitch first before she goes into it. Just from experience with our dog, she has what’s called, grand mall seizures. She drops suddenly, her entire body stiffens up, shakes, mouth locks shut and it sounds like she is breathing very hard. Her eyes become unfocused, sort of lost for a while. When she comes out of her seizure she will slightly move her mouth a bit or look up with her eye and not always her head. This is when I know it’s almost over. She’s never lost control of her bowls thankfully and seems to be breathing through it.

I have been told by several veterinarians that there is nothing you can do during this other than to make sure the animal is safe.

This is exactly what myself and my family do for her when it happens. even the little ones can help out when this happens. one thing that is important, do not put your hand in their mouth. They can accidentally bite you, at this time they have no control and can clamp down on you.

First thing we do is turn off any lights, if we can’t do this, if we are outside I will cover her eyes during it. Their eyes become sensitive to light during seizures and helps to keep light dimmed or dark. Also I make sure nothing is around the outside of her mouth, neck and that she is in a safe place (flat surface) where she won’t fall and injure herself during it. I always talk very calmingly to her, sit close to her and rub her belly with my one hand. I’ve found personally with Misty, her seizures are shorter when I do this versus just darkening the room and waiting for her to break out of it. not all animals will experience the exact same symptoms to the same degree. 

It’s very important to get your animal tested to make sure the blood level is not becoming toxic while on medication. We bring her in at least twice per year to get tested and so far has been fine. The rest of the time she’s perfectly healthy, playful and rarely runs out of energy. She eats well and is very clean. Even though we personally have a chaotic schedule, we make sure her meds are given at the same time every day.