My Dog's Name
Ruger
My Dog's Age When Seizures Began
2 years old
My Dog's Breed
Rottweiler
My Dog's Diagnosis
Epilepsy
About My Dog's Seizures
Ruger had his first seizure when he was 2 years old. It happened in the middle of the night while he was laying in bed with me. It lasted about a minute although it seemed like hours. He was wobbly after it ended and very disorientated. I rushed him to a critical care facility in the area where I knew they had a neurologist once he got his bearings back. The seizures he had were bad. Convulsing and stiffening of his body. He also had some foam come out of his mouth.
My Dog's Diagnosis and Treatment
They did blood work and all came back fine. We stayed there 5 hrs and he was fine. I brought him home and within an hour he had another seizure. I ran him back to the neurologist and they kept him overnight to observe him. He had a cerebral tap and MRI and more blood work and was started on Phenobarbital that day. For the last 2 years he is seizure free and still on his meds twice a day. I also have rectal diazepam to give him if he seizes again. He was very quiet after starting the meds. We had to stop training for about a month. I had to even postpone his therapy dog test as he always seemed tired. After about 4 months he got his energy back and he went back to training and passed his therapy dog test. He is back to normal now and has blood work done every 4 months to make sure there are no complications from the meds he is on.
Advice
I would tell anyone with a pet with seizures to see a neurologist. Yes, it can be costly but our pets mean the world to us and I would do anything for Ruger. It is very scary when it happens. My regular vet is good with his checkups for his meds but a neurologist is the best vet to see. I feel I did everything correctly. Also make sure your pet is safe during a seizure. Make sure he can not fall or have anything fall on him. With Ruger being so large his second seizure caused items to fall off a wall unit on top of him as he seized next to the wall unit. I learned to treasure each moment with your pet.
