Seizures
 

My 3 year old Yorkie just started having seizures, her first was on 10/28/10 lasted about 7 minutes. She had two small one again today, I had taken her to the vet last week for the first one cause I was in such a panic. Her vet said there are medications that can be given however they would need to do x-rays and blood workup before anything can be prescribed. My question is has anyone else experienced seizures with their Yorkie's? :eek:

Bumping this up for you. I'm sorry to hear your baby is having seizures. There are medicines that can help control the seizures but you will need to have regular bloodwork done to monitor how well the drug is working and any effects it may be causing.

Lots of dogs have seizures; hopefully, your vet will be able to determine the underlying cause of the seizure activity and treat it.

Seizures are a symptom not a disease and the underlying cause needs to be determined. Has she had a bile acid test completed? Seizures are a huge symptom of liver shunt.

While this may be true in most cases, it is not with me. After running neurological tests on my puppy Max including an MRI, spinal tap and all bloodwork, he was diagnosed with idiopathic seizures. There is no cause.

I definitely agree that testing needs to be done to try to find an underlying cause, if there is indeed one.

To the OP - my puppy is on phenobarbital and has not had any seizures since we regulated his levels. However, seizures cannot be treated until you know why they are happening. In my case, idiopathic was our answer. I hope that you are able to get some answers soon and start whatever treatment is necessary.

Rhianna had her first seizure on July 3rd. I thought it was because we went for a walk and it was too warm outside and she got heat exhaustion. She had a second seizure on August 24th and we rushed her to the vet. She had a full blood panel done (her previous panel was done before spay surgery in April) all of her blood work came back very good. My vet suggested that I keep a diary of her seizures and if they became regular then medication would be discussed. My vet said because her seizures at this time are not coming daily or weekly that medication would not be a "cure all" and that since she was only 2 they wouldn't want to start her on a medication that she'd have to take for the rest of her life. After time, medications can do damage to the liver.

Rhianna had a 3rd seizure on October 26th. She went 2 months without one. I really think her seizures have something to do with a fall off the couch a year prior. She smacked the back of her head pretty good and seemed to go into shock. I rushed her to the vet and they checked all her vitals, etc and sent us home. We joke and say Rhianna needs a helmet because it seems that if she gets the slightest bump to her head from playing rough or rolling around after her bath, you can almost guarantee the next day she'll have a seizure.

Having a dog with seizures is very upsetting. I wish that fall never happened. I'm constantly walking on eggshells over here so she doesn't hurt herself for fear of another seizure. The one on October 26th is a good example of what happened the day prior. She was on the couch with my husband and jumped off, she landed on her chin . . .not hard, but she didn't brace herself. Sure enough the next day seizure time.

Just remember you aren't alone. There are many dogs that have seizures.

Actually, in a three year old dog seizures are most commonly idiopathic epilepsy, not a symptom of a disease. In dogs under one year old, seizures are usually a symptom of a disease.

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF SEIZURES BY AGE

Lady was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was four years old. She is now (almost) 15. Her seizures are very well controlled with medication.

You vet is right. A complete physical and bloodwork is needed to rule out any underlying cause for the seizures. Make sure a bile acids test is done since Yorkies are so prone to liver disease.

I agree. My Becca was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy when she was 4 years old, after a great deal of testing ruled everything else out. She was on Phenobarbital for 7 years and it controlled her seizures very well. She did have to go in for regular blood work and exams but she lived a full, happy life during that time.

My little guy has seizures too. He hasn't had one in almost eight years. He takes phenobarbitol and Potassium Bromide (KBR). He was having alot of them and it is the most heart breaking thing to see. I also read somewhere not to let them eat anything with the preservative BHT in it (alot of cereals have it). So I'm very careful to read labels of everything. I rarely give him table food but I still read all doggie products ingredients. Good Luck!!

Lady gets both Phenobarbital and KBr, too. We added the KBr about 7 years ago when she started having cluster seizures. Knock wood, she hasn't had a seizure in several years now.

Here is an extensive list of potential seizure triggers besides preservatives:

Seizure Triggers