Re: epilepsy

In Reply to: epilepsy
Posted by:  Susan Thomas
Posted on:  August 31, 2001 at 12:51:10

: Mattie is 3.5 years old and a wonderful little girl. Lately, she's had a few seizures and the vet and I are monitoring their frequency etc. to see if we can avoid the medication.
: My question is if you have ever had experience with epileptic JRT's. I have an Aussie who is epileptic (how unusual that I would have 2) but he isn't as bothered by them as she is. She seems so traumatized afterwards and will let me hold her for extended periods afterwards, but it takes her awhile to get back to feeling like herself. The vet thinks this is because she is a JRT and since they are a bit high-strung, they are very sensitive to this kind of trauma. Any ideas on what else I can do to help my little girl calm down after the seizure? They aren't grand mal, they are pretty mild and short, but she's just so nervous afterwards it's pitiful. Any suggestions on helping her calm down would be appreciated.
: Thank you!

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Hi Susan,

I have a JRT diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy however he has grand mal cluster seizures but they are under control with medicine.

What your girl is experiencing is called postictus. My guy goes through this right after coming out of a seizure and he will pace around the house, sometimes bumps into things, generally being very agitated. I can't say that this happens because they are JRTs as this is pretty common in all dogs that have seizures, some just are more severe than others. Postictus can last from minutes, to hours and in severe instances days.

The best thing to do is get her to a quiet, dark spot. Crate her if you need to but sometimes when they run around they cannot see so you don't want her to hurt herself.

I am providing you with our medical link and there are several very good links about canine epilepsy for you to read, I think you will find them very useful.