MaryJane

My Lucy has seizures. She has had them since 2011 and they started before she was 5. There are no blood tests to diagnose seizures - they usually look to see if there is anything else that might be causing a seizure as a result. For example, when Lucy had her first seizure I was adding an addition to the house and there was a chance of lead paint and lead can cause seizures - they tested for that but she was negative. I was part of many seizure groups and while people want to use "natural" methods - many of them wait to long and at the best, they didn't seem to help and at the worst, many dogs went into non-stop seizures (status epilepticus) and died. There was one person that had success in keeping her dog from having any more seizures while using both meds and acupuncture. The holistic vet wanted her to take the dog off the meds but, luckily the dog is still on meds and acupuncture and doing well. One of the problems with holistic vets is that they want you to get off the meds even though all the holistic vets that I know of have never had a dog with seizures that did well with just holistic methods. AND I love alternative medicines, but in this case, not really ... MEDs work. There is a gold bead treatment that has seemed to work very well for a small sample of dogs in keeping the seizures under control. They put gold beads at acupuncture points but, not many vets are able to do the procedure and it is not a common procedure. From my experience, you don't need a greyhound savvy vet for the seizures - you need a neurologist and the sooner the better. Although, if your vet put your dog on zonisamide that means that your vet is up-to-date on the newer treatments which is great. There are so many different drugs and combinations that you need a specialized vet for this and the neurologist knows the meds and can give you the pros and cons. Zonisamide is what Lucy started on and while in works great in most dogs, some dogs have a honeymoon period of about 1 year and then then need another drug added. This is what happened to Lucy, after a year we had to add on keppra (generic). Yes, to whether you need to go to a neurologist. You probably want to find one that does not require that you do the MRI and spinal tap and while these are nice tests to have --- even if they find something, chances are the treatment would be the same. Also, if there is a tumor, it's usually evident after about 16 to 18 months. I went back and forth with having the MRI and spinal done (cost about 2 to 3K) and finally decided that I wanted to save the expense for later if needed. You also need to get what is called a "cluster-buster". You may never need this and that would be great but, it is what you would use if your dog every goes into a seizure that doesn't stop. It is also used if your dog ever has more than 1 seizure in 24 hours which is called a cluster. Lucy has clusters. We use rectal Valium which is the fastest acting but does not last long in the system. Some people give extra doses of medicine. If you are looking for advice, stay away from the FB canine seizure groups - too many dogs dying from seizures on those groups. That's why I left them. The yahoo group is great - very careful and measured responses from pretty knowledgeable people. This is a link to that group's web page -- http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ There is a FB group that is using hemp on their dogs - the results are still out on that.

I was shocked to see her name. I'm so sorry that this happened and my thoughts are with you during this time. She was well-loved and had a good life with you.

Sounds like they are grieving. I've found that slow walks with no particular place to go seems to help. Keeping expectations to a minimum also helps to get past this. Should be an uptick in attitude after about 3 months - you'll notice that they get more active and hopefully less clingy.

Did he lick the Gold Bond Powder - they should be only used externally.

Try Manuka honey.

This is actually a hemp product. A few people that have seizure dogs have been trying it. There is a group on Facebook that has been using it probably close to a year now - try them for more information. https://www.facebook.com/groups/617990034955972/

You mentioned that you use having him play and use his mouth -- maybe stop that and redirect it. From what you have said, it doesn't seem that he is biting to hurt rather to stop actions but, it is still a bite and there have been too many. I'm surprised that Animal Control has not yet been notified and that is a concern. Please be aware that towns usually define what is a bite maximum before they will take a dog. You really might want to talk to the adoption group and talk about this concern as there might be a situation where you need to get him out of the house to keep animal control from taking him. You also want to have the contact information for a group called the Lexus Project - they take on cases of dogs that have been taken or have issues and are "in the system". If you want to work with the dog and attempt to get this under control, it will probably take about a year to work through this. I arrive at that number because it has been going on at least 6 months and working to correct an activity may take at least twice as long as it took for the dog to develop it (my opinion). As I noted in my other post, you have to be aware of the signals your dog is giving AND CATCH HIM BEFORE HE ESCALATES. Once you see a signal, remove him from the activity that is causing it (or have the person stop doing that activity)... pretty simple but, you have to see the signals first. If the dog is not calm enough to be moved out of the situation, then the dog has escalated and you need to catch the dog's signals earlier. Once you are able to see the signals, you will be able to understand what is setting him off in the actions of others and correct how people approach him. Some dogs will get upset if there are too many people around or if people are walking too fast by them. Each dog will have their own triggers for escalation and that is what you need to recognize.

It sounds like there might be too much stimulation in your house for this particular greyhound. He had the injury and it seems like after his cast was off he started being anxious and watching the space and trying to control it. it sounds like you have a renter, son, walkers, and other guests and it just might be too much too soon for him to be exposed to so many people and experiences. It also sounds like he spent time at someone else's house for awhile which likely unsettled him even more. To me, it sounds like he has his guard up all the time, again - just my opinion. He hasn't had a chance to relax and trust. I might suggest calming the whole house down and not having people over for awhile - let him get used to his space in his own time. Spend time walking and forming a bond - walk with a purpose and keep a firm grip on the leash. Stop a few times during the walk and let him do his business but otherwise, act like there is a purpose to the walk and talk to him while walking. Pick up some books on the signals that dogs give - you might be surprised to know that he is probably letting you know that he is uncomfortable but, the signals are going unseen. This is not a slight, many people cannot read these signals.

Try toast with butter - my dogs love it. Also, if you are giving rice, you might want to increase what you are giving.

Doesn't mention anything about what plants they are taking over. Wouldn't that be where they get the "ingredients" for the dog food? If yes, I would assume that it would be included as part of the sale since they would expect to source the ingredients from the same place .... at least for awhile.

See link -- http://www.merrickpetcare.com/news-center/news-releases/merrick-pet-care-announces-purchase-agreement-by-nestle-purina-petcare-company

The symptoms from Lyme can be hard to decipher and mimic other causes and because of this, I decide to vaccinate all my dogs yearly against Lyme. This was a big decision for me and so far, one that I have not regretted. I was never sure that I would be able to spot what might be a Lyme problem and if I was unsure, it could be weeks/months before getting treatment and the longer the disease is active, the harder it is to get rid of. I'm also in an area considered to be a hot bed of tick activity. I did a massive amount of reading on Lyme a few years ago and I was pretty shaken up by some of the research that shows that even when treatment is started at a reasonable time, sometimes the spirochetes (spiral organism) are able to cocoon themselves into areas where the antibiotic does not reach them (either from the cocooning or the placement) and because of this, some people had re-occurrences later in life when they had some other issue that lowered their immune system. Don't beat yourself up ... life happens. The antibiotics should take care of it.

I expect that this might turn into a lively discussion .....

He's still very new in the house (2 months) and is feeling very nervous. Having so many people coming in and out is hyper-stimulating him and making him anxious. Can you have your daughter go to her friend's houses rather than them coming to your house. Give him time to settle in and calm down.

Find out what type of cultures were done - they should have done an anaerobic one (no air) along with aerobic ones. If this was a deep wound, there may be bacteria growing that only likes to grow in an air-free environment. If they tried to culture it in the normal way, which would be on a petri dish, nothing would grow. They would need to use a tube with a broth for initial culturing of anaerobic bacteria.

This is a link to data on Proteus - it's s student presentation but, easy to understand for a lay person. You can do a search on Proteus and hospital acquired infections and pick up even more interesting data. http://web.uconn.edu/mcbstaff/graf/Student%20presentations/Proteus/Proteus.html

If it is Proteus mirabilis, it could possibly be a hospital acquired infection. My Lucy was running E.Coli UTIs when they were doing bladder draws and on the last one, they cultured Proteus and a 2nd bacteria. My first thought is that the procedure/equipment was not as clean as it should have been. Needless to say since then I have been getting her urine by free-catch.

I've used both Fresh Factors and Longetivity for Larry my oldest. He started the Fresh Factors a few years ago and there was an appreciable difference. I switched him over to the Longevity about 1 year ago and it helped but, not as much as the Fresh Factors seemed to at the beginning. The Longevity is a green powder and some dogs don't like it as the vendor is pretty honest about on their web page. Larry has days where he won't eat his food without the powder sprinkled on and lately, other days where he tips his dish over because he doesn't like the powder.

If they didn't turn the blood tube quickly enough, it may have formed some clots and as a result, causes the decrease in the platelet count. Also, you might want to ask if they can do a manual count - sometimes the machines do not count "clumped platelets" correctly.

When I was dealing with chronic bronchitis, lemon tea with honey would clear out the congestion. Check with the vet and see what he/she says. As above, Manuka honey might also help as well as allergy meds. While chronic bronchitis was not easy to deal with, it was not so horrible that I was not able to enjoy life .....

If they are partials, there is less urgency than if they were GMs. You might be able to get away with not having the dog on seizure meds and just giving meds after a seizure to prevent the following ones. It's very good that you have the rectal valium and Keppra - that way you will have options if you have an emergency with clusters. Levetiracetam is the generic Keppra. This is a pretty good web site for information -- http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Graves.html They also have a mailing list.

Some dogs seem to do well on Pexion as an only drug - the issue seems to be if you need to add another seizure med - it appears not to play nice with other meds. US vets are also not sure how to classify clusters. Some will not prescribe any cluster-buster med and expect you to go to the ER vet. Others (like my Lucy's neurologist), are happy if you plan to control the clusters at home if feasible to do so and will prescribe cluster-busters like rectal valium. They do expect that if there are more than 3 seizures in a 24 hour period that you will head for the ER. You can probably use the Keppra as a cluster-buster but, it takes longer to have an effect so, maybe a mixture if both rectal valium and keppra would work as I don't think you are likely to get the proper dosage of rectal valium from the UK vets.

Happens occasionally to my Larry - he is a bit over 13 1/2. It seems to happen when the weather is causing him to be hurting. We've had rain and humidity lately, both of which seem to trigger this as he just wants to go in back in and lie down. It was happening over the winter when we had so much snow and ice that he couldn't manage outside well. I have noticed that it doesn't seem to happen if I keep him outside a bit longer so he walks around more and gets the urge to go.

I just noticed that you said she was going to be kenneled July 13th. Not a great idea because she is not stable yet - could have problems. Also, there might not be anyone at the kennel overnight. Is there a friend that the dog could stay with instead or maybe at a greyhound adoption group... . edited to add -- you also have to be careful when she is with other dogs. If she starts to seize, the other dogs may attack and try to kill her. This would not be good if she goes into a kennel where there are loose dogs in a yard.

You probably don't want your dog on Pexion as there have been numerous issues noted by dogs using it especially in combination with another drug. There was a petition circulated requesting that the drug manufacturer do more testing. Check out some of the FB dog seizure pages for more information or do a google search. Your dog would be better on Zonisamide or Sodium Bromide to start .. or maybe generic Keppra. There is Phenobarb but, there is an possibility of liver damage if bloods are not monitored carefully while the dog is on the meds. Keppra as a cluster buster is not fast acting enough - you need to get rectal valium and at the correct dosage. Rectal valium is pretty much immediate effect but, does not last long in the body. My Lucy weighs about 70 pounds and she gets 16ml of a 5mg/ml solution rectally after each seizure (up to 3 per day). It is enough to zonk her out. After a dog has seizures, they may deplete some of their sugar and I usually give Lucy some real ice cream like Hagen Daas (no funny sugars) to help restore the sugar balance - just a few teaspoons.