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Seizures

20 11:37:11

Question
My Little Yorkie, he is about 5 (a rescue dog so we are not too sure) appears to have seizures maybe 2 to 3 times a year although he has had two recently. He was sitting asleep by my wife and suddenly tried to sit up and fell over to one side, he then went rigid and his eyes were staring. I held him close and talked gently to him and after about 15 minutes he returned to normal. This morning after getting up he went into the corner of the room and after sitting down again started to fall to his left hand side I quickly picked him up and held him very close and talked gently to him but he did go rigid and again it lasted for about 15 minutes, he is OK afterwards as he is now growling at people walking passed the window. We suffer as much as he does but wondered if there was anything we could do as these attacks come on when he is calm and not excited.

Answer
Dave,

The first thing you need to do is take him to the vet to be examined.  While he may be having seizures it is also possible that he could have some other ailment such as a brain tumor. Therefore, before you can accurately treat the problem you need to find out what it is.

If it is seizures there is very little that can be done.  The vet can prescribe phenol barbital tablets that can be given daily to help lessen the occurrences of the seizures.  Also, you should ask the vet for a muscle relaxer which can be given as soon as you see the signs that a seizure is going to take place.  This will sometimes help the seizure to be less severe.

I can totally sympathize with you because I had a Yorkie that had seizures.  She always knew when one was coming on and would come to me.  She would look at me as if to say; mommy I'm scared help me.  It broke my heart each and every time it occurred.  The seizures started when she was about four years old and soon became severe.  Her little body would twist and contort in unnatural positions, she would foam at the mouth, shake and be unable to stand up.  I would give her the muscle relaxer and then wrap her in a towel (because of the drooling) and hold her until it was over.  Her seizures would sometimes last for 30 minutes.

Seizures not only cause the external pain and suffering that you see but they damage the heart muscle as well.  Over time that damage weakens the heart.  My baby girl died in my arms from a heart attack while she was having a seizure at the age of nine.  It was a gut wrenching experience that I will never forget.

I do not tell you these things to upset you but because you need to know what the future holds.  It will be a tough road but I suspect that since you take in rescue dogs you are a very caring person, and your baby is fortunate that he has you to care for him.  Talking to him and assuring him that he will be fine and holding him until the seizure is past is the best thing for him.  Speak to your vet about seizure medication and if he does not bring up the muscle relaxer suggest it to him.

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