My dog had a seizure last night!

[IrishAngel7982]

Hey Monnie...I just saw this thread.

I''m so sorry about Milo. I hope his seizure was a one-time thing.

I know what it''s like to deal with crazy pups...our husky thinks she''s the queen of the household when in reality our german shepard/collie mix is the dominant dog...it''s hard not to lose it with her b/c you''d think she''d learn by now. But, she''s 5 now and still can''t get it straight.

Good luck and keep us updated!!!

 

[partgypsy]

I just wanted to reaffirm, let the vets do the tests to rule out any other cause, which could include anything from lead poisioning to cancer, but also if Milo starts having repeated seizures, best to get him treatment (medication) quickly. If a dog keeps having seizures they could go into status epileptis (sic?) and that can be fatal.

Despite how that sounds, I want to say a diagnosis of sezure disorder is NOT the end of the world. Its an adjustment but your vet will tell you all the things you need to do to take care of him.

 

[AndyRosse]

Oh poor Milo!! Please let us know when you get the blood results back!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Monarch, I''m so sorry to hear about Milo! I hope he''s doing OK now and it was just an anomoly. Let us know how the test results come back. Big hugs outgoing to Milo from The Demon Dog!

 

[monarch64]

Well, it''s official...Milo has epilepsy. I spoke with the vet this morning and she said all the testing done came back normal so that means the diagnosis for his seizures has to be epilepsy. If he has any more seizures, we have to document them by marking the calender and noting the duration, then if we notice he has more than 3 per month or if they are longer than 15 minutes we will start giving him medication. For now we have the Valium she gave us for after he has a seizure to keep him calm so he doesn''t have another right after.

It''s very sad, but definitely not the end of the world, and we will make sure we do whatever we can to help him live a long and happy life. He''s only 3, so hopefully he still has many good years ahead! Thanks again everyone for your concern and advice--your words helped us through a weekend of uncertainty before we got the official diagnosis this morning.

 

[FireGoddess]

Monnie I''ve been sick and just saw this thread...so sorry about the seizure. I hope he doesn''t have any more, even though he was diagnosed with epilepsy I hope it''s mild enough that they don''t recur often. *hugs*

 

[fire&ice]

Sorry to hear this. If it is any consolation, a friend had a min pin that developed epilepsy. She lived many a years w/ meds.

Give him some extra hugs!

 

[Kaleigh]

Aww I''m sorry Monnie. I''m sure with proper medication Milo will do just fine!!!

 

[Gypsy]

Oh I''m sorry honey! ((HUGS))

He''s got you as a Momma, though, which is lovely, he''s young... and he''s got his meds, which I understand are good at controling it. I hope that his seizures are mild and infrequent. Give him a squeeze for me.

 

[Sundial]

Oh I''m so sorry to hear that it was epilepsy, but at least you know what to do for it now. I''m sure Milo will do just fine.

 

[Mara]

Date: 1/29/2007 6:20:21 PM
Author: Sundial
Oh I''m so sorry to hear that it was epilepsy, but at least you know what to do for it now. I''m sure Milo will do just fine.

Ditto, it''s never fun when our precious pups are sick but at least you know what it is and if it gets worse there is help. Hugs to Milo!

 

[monarch64]

You are all right...it''s good to know for sure what we are dealing with here, and of course anytime you have a pet you know that you could potentially be dealing with health issues and I think that while we weren''t quite prepared for this we knew it was a possibility with this breed.

I did want to give a little more background on Milo in case it will help anyone else contemplating the breed. We found him through my SIL''s church friends whose parents have a farm in Indiana and breed beagles for hunting. We had various reasons why we wanted a beagle, and although he did not come with papers we were told that there were no known defects in any of the dogs and that they had been breeding for something like 20 years. We basically had no guarantee that his health would be defect-free, though. Typically a good breeder will recognize something like this in one of their dogs and spay or neuter so that animal cannot pass along such a defect. Obvioiusly that didn''t happen with Milo''s breeder, they either missed it or ignored it (let''s hope they just missed it.) I will be trying to get in touch with that breeder this week so we can let them know about milo''s diagnosis...I just think they should know, and whatever they choose to do with that knowledge is up to them. I don''t mean to imply that I''m angry with the breeder or pointing fingers, but I feel like they should know that one of their dogs (at least) has a genetic defect. Actually one of Milo''s littermates was adopted by the couple whose parents we got him from and they live about 30 minutes from us, so I may alert them as well. Does anyone think this is not the right thing to do?

When we decided to get a little sister beagle for Milo, we probably looked for a breeder for over a year. I''m so glad we did, especially after this. Daisy has papers, a health guarantee, and we got a chance to talk with the breeders in depth about their kennel this time. That''s not to say that nothing will ever happen to her, but I feel better knowing we really researched her breeder before adopting her.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Monarch, I think you are right to tell both the breeder and the people who have one of Milo''s littermates. Hopefully the breeder just didn''t know, but now that they do they should do the right thing and not produce any more epilepsy prone pups. And the people who have Milo''s sibling might not know what the heck was going on if he/she ever has a seizure so at least you have prepared them with information they can use in the unfortunate event that it does happen.

 

[FireGoddess]

Monnie I think it''s absolutely a good idea to contact the breeder and the person you know who adopted a littermate of Milo''s. I would also send a ''follow-up'' letter in writing to the breeder so that it is documented that the breeder has been alerted to the situation. I would hate to find out that the breeder did nothing about it and more litters are produced with this issue in the future. I would hope that''s not the case, but I like to hope for the best while I''m planning for the worst.

 

[AndyRosse]

Oh Monarch, at least you have a diagnosis and a plan. Even if Milo requires meds in the future, he will be just fine!

 

[golden]

Pierre and I hope Milo gets through everything just great!!

 

[monarch64]

Thanks again everyone for your kind words and thoughts. I talked to DH tonight, who said he talked to my SIL (his sister) today, and she said the other couple (whose parents were Milo''s and the beagle they adopted''s breeder) said that their dog had had a seizure about a month ago. So apparently we all found out kind of at the same time. DH and I were discussing it and since the couple who adopted Milo''s sister have gone through this as well, we are assuming they have told the breeder since they are related (I''m not sure if it''s the guy or gal whose parents are the breeders). It''s kind of an interesting development...I wondered before, but am very curious now to know whether the entire litter is susceptible to a genetic defect such as epilepsy. If anyone can weigh in on that, please advise...

Thanks all, you guys have been great ears to vent to and have given us some great info. Milo appreciates all the care, concern, and hugs! Have you hugged your fur baby today??? LOL!

 

[Beacon]

Sorry I saw this so late. I am glad you got a firm diagnosis for a treatable disorder. Much better than some other possibilities.

Very interesting that this problem seems to be running in the family. It does seem like that breeder should have some knowledge about this. Anyhow, you can love your doggie just the same and hopefully he''ll only have these episodes once in a long while.

Sorry you are experiencing this stressful thing and I hope Milo stays stable.

 

[fire&ice]

Ticking time bomb with alerting the other littermates owners. Perhaps let the breeder know in a non comfrontational way. What one thinks may be the right thing to do can get you into quite a bit of trouble. Been there & took A LOT of heat.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/30/2007 12:23:12 AM
Author: monarch64
Thanks again everyone for your kind words and thoughts. I talked to DH tonight, who said he talked to my SIL (his sister) today, and she said the other couple (whose parents were Milo's and the beagle they adopted's breeder) said that their dog had had a seizure about a month ago. So apparently we all found out kind of at the same time. DH and I were discussing it and since the couple who adopted Milo's sister have gone through this as well, we are assuming they have told the breeder since they are related (I'm not sure if it's the guy or gal whose parents are the breeders). It's kind of an interesting development...I wondered before, but am very curious now to know whether the entire litter is susceptible to a genetic defect such as epilepsy. If anyone can weigh in on that, please advise...

Thanks all, you guys have been great ears to vent to and have given us some great info. Milo appreciates all the care, concern, and hugs! Have you hugged your fur baby today??? LOL!

Monnie, I think you would have to research to see about the ' behaviour' of the epilepsy gene, to see how it is passed to offspring etc, but it would be interesting to have that knowledge. I am sure Milo will be fine!

Try this link for more info.

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/epilepsy.html

 

[larussel03]

I''m so sorry about your pooch, but I''m sure he''ll live a wonderful, long life with you b/c you care about him so much!

HUGS to you and your doggie!!!

 

[Mandarine]

Monarch I''m so sorry to hear this!

Your little one is very lucky to have a family like yours and I''m sure he will continue to have a great life because you have a great attitude about all of this and there is treatment for this condition...so he can still continue to have his great happy life!

Hugs,

M~

 

[Catmom]

Monarch, I''m sorry to hear that it is indeed epilepsy but at least it is something that is treatable and I know Milo will be fine because he has you and your husband to take care of him. Hugs!!