How terrifying that must have been......poor Quincy,and poor you to have to go through it with him.

I know how awful it is to witness seizures, and can only imagine what it's like for the dog. I hope Quincy's seizures will prove to be a temporary phenomenon, as they were for my Angel. With Angel, seizures came regularly for a time, and then disappeared forever.

Poor Quincy. My DSis's Doberman had seizures. Started out of the blue one day. Bear was SUCH a loving dog I felt so darn sorry for him too. He wasn't himself for awhile after the seizures either I remember her saying. It was upsetting for him as it was for her.

Hugs for you Moonie and Quincy!

(((((((Moonie/Quincy)))))))

My brothers English bulldog has them too. at one point he was getting one a hour for a day and a half. they changed his med dose, and now for the last 6 months gets them one day every 8 weeks, and then it's only 2 or 3 seizures.and not as bad as they were at first.
Good Luck with Quincy.

My son has come and gone. I might have to call him back but right now Quincy seems to be resting comfortably, if I could keep from disturbing him. Just walking past will rouse him and he'll try to get up. You'd think with all the drugs in his system he'd be zonked out. But, this is usual behavior.

And could be coincidental, but, Quincy had seizures last November, as a nor'easter was moving in. Now, a hurricane off the coast. Barometric pressure change could be a trigger for him.

susan - I remember your sweet dogs very well. Have you given any more thought to getting another?

nodakgal - It's the same for Quincy... he's not quite himself for awhile.

jackie - Every 8 weeks... Wow! That's pretty often, isn't it? Poor doggy.

Thanks for the hugs and good thoughts, ladies. They are appreciated!

Oh, I am so sorry to hear he is having seizures. I have been with Harley, Amber's Jack Russell when he has had so many seizures. She has had him to two different colleges for them to treat him. The last time was Purdue. Of course he has been to the local vet hospital many times and to her vet's also. He is doing better with not having seizures and is now on only two medications. They want to get him off the Phenol Barb as it is causing him liver damage. Sometimes when Harley has had bad seizures he will get out of place and the vet will have to do a spinal manipulation on him and after that plus acupuncture you can tell he walks better and feels better. Harley has had seizures for many years now. Yes, when there is a weather change, it does cause them at times to go into seizures. Best of luck. Get him on some medicines as soon as you can.

Hugs to you both.

Sue

Check his thyroid;
do not let your vet talk you out of it.

Vets almost always say that thyroid disease is rare & the dog is young blah blah blah, which just isn't the case.

Goldens especially are susceptible to thyroid disease.

It's easy & inexpensive to treat, & the seizures will stop.

If thyroid disease goes untreated, it's fatal.

I lost my beautiful Golden for just this reason.

I wish you & your beautiful dog the very best.

marilyn sue - I am so sorry for poor Harley having liver damage. So far, Quincy's liver is okay. He will have it checked annually and a pheno blood level twice a year, so he is on the pheno now. You said Harley is on 2 meds... what is the other one? One of our vets mentioned another med along with the pheno we may try and possibly wean him off the pheno. It scares me, either way.

hi sylvia. I am almost positive that they checked his thyroid with his first bout of seizures. Sometime today I am going to have to go and get more diazepam to keep on hand, so I will double check that.

Thanks.

How scary for you both. I have only seen one seizure in my pets. We were living with DH's parents and they had a Siamese who loved to sleep on a quilt hung over a staircase railing. Well, she rolled off one day and landed on the Mexican Tile Pavers a whole floor down. DH and I were the only ones home and saw it. She started seizing as we got her on the table to look at her. We rushed her straight the emergency vet. She is fine now and living with us. Never had another. Sending warm thoughts to you and Quincy.

Trish

My Jake had mini seizures and then was diagnosed with thyroid problems. The thyroid meds helped the seizures. He died in July of a congenital problem.

That must have been awful for you. I never had seizures with a dog but one of my cats, now deceased, had them and it is truly scary to watch. Hope they soon stop. Barometric pressure could maybe trigger it.

Oh gosh, Moonie, I'm so sorry that you are going thru this. I'm keeping you and Quincy in my prayers.

Thyroid disease often comes on suddenly in Goldens;
Sunny's thyroid test was negative 3 months before she began having seizures.

Of course, by the time the dog has seizures, the thyroid level is dangerously low.

Please get this test done for your dog.

Your poor doggie.

My dog had them for the first time last month and I've never felt so helpless and scared in my life. I thought I was watching him die and called the vet 5:00 in the morning and he convinced me that he was having a seizure.

He spent the day in the vets and had another one, so the attending vet put him on the barbituates. He warned me that it would make him hyper and boy did it ever. It took a good week or two for him to get back to his normal self.

The vet said that he hoped that there wouldn't be cluster seizures, because that's a sign that he could suffer from them on a regular basis. And I read that if they do continue to suffer like that, it's best to put them down. Luckily he hasn't had any more (at least not in my presence).

Oh, and even though it looks pitiful to us, he said that the dog is unaware of what's going on during the episodes. If you notice your dog being clingy to you and circling, they could be signs that he's about to have another.

He and another vet got together and decided from experience to start my dog on the 30mg first, for five days, and then down to the 15mg for the next week. My dog is only 9lbs so the dosage will be different for yours, but it's just an example of how the medicine was allocated.

They say that dogs normally get them between birth and 5 years and my dog just turned five.

I hope he feels better and I wish you well trying to keep up with him, especially if he seems constantly restless.

sylvia - are you suggesting the thyroid should be checked on a very regular basis? Was there a significant reason on why you had Sunny's thyroid tested before she had seizures? In all my life I can't remember a vet doing that test without reason. Or maybe I'm missing something. I'm tired and a bit discombobulated between the seizures and the hurricane. And I have a headache. :(

zeetera - it sounds like your dog does not suffer from cluster seizures like Quincy does. I am so glad and hope that the meds keep the seizures away!

We have come to the conclusion that Quincy will have them from time to time, but with meds on hand, they won't be like that first time. He had 9 seizures in a 2 hour period, plus a couple more while at the vets office.

Although I keep diazepam for him, it doesn't seem to help him like it does many dogs. I would never have him put to sleep unless his life was greatly affected.

Awh, I'm sorry to hear he does suffer from the cluster ones. I can look this evening to see what medication they gave him, but diazepam sounds familar (I remember it sounded like the same medicine that they give to humans). If it's not the same, then maybe you can investigate another medication.

I wouldn't put my dog down either unless his quality of life was made unbearable as a result of the seizures.

Goldens should be checked twice a year or when they begin to have symptoms of low thyroid hormone.

Weight gain & sluggishness are often the first indications, & if my dog, *any* dog of any breed, had a seizure, thyroid test would be the very first thing I'd insist on.

Please do this;
it isn't expensive, & it could be the difference between life & death.

We had a dachshund that had seizures once in a while. The vet said if we started meds he'd have to take them the rest of his life. We didn't and he lived to be about 15, still had seizures several times a year.

My dog had the Phenobarbital made in England.

sylvia - Quincy has gained a huge amount of weight in the last year or so. Like 25 lbs! The vet told us he would probably gain some weight and would act hungry due to the pheno. Then this spring his skin allergies acted up and for the first time had to go on prednisone for a short period. He was like a doggy garbage disposal. Literally! LOL He got into the trash, was counter surfing... things he never did before.

But, you have convinced me. I am going to have his thyroid checked. I'll let you know.

zeetera - as far as I know, diazepam (valium) isn't something that is given as part of prevention, but rather is used to help stop the seizures after they start. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will let me know. LOL

pekemom - We were told the same thing by the emergency vet up in Virginia. At first we weren't sure whether we would start him on it or not but our regular vet was pretty insistant. Just her opinion. We decided to follow her advice. I feel that Quincy's seizures would have continued in a very bad way had we not.

Thank you, sylvia!

I forgot to add that I went and picked up more diazepam to keep on hand and spoke with one of the vets. We got to talking about the barometric pressure thing and this is something that she really believes in. Last November, during the nor'easter, our clinic sent 3 dogs to the emergency center to stay over night. Today when I went in, there were 2 dogs in with cluster seizures. My regular vet was unavailable because she was treating the other dogs. Quincy seems to be fine but I remain on my guard.

Wish I would have had a chance to talk about the thyroid thing. But, in about 3 weeks I am going to be taking him back in for pheno blood level test. Right now his levels are out of whack because I also dosed him with extra pheno this AM.

Thanks for asking, Moonie. I think about it a lot, but I don't see myself doing anything about it until next spring at the earliest.

I think I mentioned on the KT that I was going to wait until I got my cataract surgery over with, and that hasn't even been scheduled yet (and won't be, as long as I'm being treated for Lyme). Then last month my finances took a big hit from several sides, and the last thing I need is vet bills right now.

But another factor is the challenges that winter brings. I'm going to have to figure out how to deal with this issue before I get another dog. My dirt road (and much of the property) is always icy in winter, and after injuring my knee a couple of years ago I am no longer willing to fall every winter. So I can't do any dog walking. Over the years I've had dogs we could let out by themselves, but some of my neighbors up the road ruined that idea when they started letting their large, aggressive dogs run free. My property is their favorite toilet, apparently, and they once attacked Wolfy in my back yard, giving him a serious wound in the throat. I have 31 acres here, but I feel as though I don't dare let a dog out by himself.

When I had Angel and Wolfy I dealt with this by letting them out the back door in winter on a 25' horse lunge line, with me keeping watch. I suppose I would do this again. But this winter, with my Raynaud's Syndrome as bad as it is, I'll be somewhat relieved not to have to repeatedly open an outside door and unhook cold metal leash fasteners. Life is complicated. :-/

Glad to read the good advice and support you've received on this thread.

PS: As long as I'm here, did you see my mention that I was surprised this week by a childhood friend popping in to visit me at work? Her maiden name was Clark.

PS: As long as I'm here, did you see my mention that I was surprised this week by a childhood friend popping in to visit me at work? Her maiden name was Clark.

Yes, I did. And you could have knocked me over with a feather when you posted about Huguette Clark. I wondered if you had even realized it. I'm telling you, if and when you do decide to get a pup, you should name it Clark. I understand the vet bills, though. Oh boy, do I! My vet calls Quincy or money pit. LOL

Hope your health get back on track and your winter is a mild one!

Thanks to everyone for all the good thoughts and advice. Quincy is doing fine this evening. :)

Moonie, did you get my email about Harley's medication?

Sue

You should have mail, Sue. :)