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Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Canine Epilepsy

by Tony
(Southern Calif.)

My Aussie has idiopathic canine epilepsy. We have been struggling with this for a couple of years now. Currently we have been fortunate to have some good 3 to 4 month runs with no seizures, however when he gets them, they often cluster up, sometimes as many as 15 or more within a 2 to 3 days.

We have him on a drug regimen of zonisamide, phenobarbitol, and keppra.

When the seizures start, we add in a regimen of valium to try to break the cycle, this seems to be helping, although it is a brutal week of seizures and heavy drugs when he does have them.

My question is, does anyone else have any success out there? Or is there something more I could be doing.

We have him on a grain free diet/ partial raw food diet. No flea medications. I believe our Aussie was susceptible to the medication. Limit vaccinations to a minimum, just the rabies, I believe I wrongly promoted the vaccinations of rattlesnake, and lymes disease, I believe these could have contributed to the seizures as well.

Thanks for your help on this, Tony



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Comments for Canine Epilepsy

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Aussie with epilepsy
by: Anne

I am sooo sorry. How old is your aussie?
As responsible breeders we do not breed aussies with epilepsy. Do you know if his parents had it?
Some lines in our Aussies are known to carry it.
Anyway there is a really good research study going on and they need all the samples they can get , samples from aussies with and without epilepsy. They are trying to find a genetic marker for it.
This is the link for the study & a lot more info on aussies with epilepsy. Toby is an aussie with epilepsy.
http://www.tobysfoundation.org/

Some other info on epilepsy in Aussies
http://www.ashgi.org/articles/epilepsy_road_hell.htm

Unfortunately, I can't help you in the dealing with epilepsy, except to have compassion for what you are going through. Fortunately I have not had any aussies with epilepsy. Knock on wood.
Good luck and if I can help in any other way
please let me know

Anne Calmes
Gold Ring Aussies
Louisiana, USA
goldringkennel@aol.com

my heart goes to you
by: Anonymous

I am so sorry that you and your boy are going though this. we went throough the same, our boy Luke started getting them at age 2, we went through many years of suffering. we tried all the meds, as you are, and we finally found a holistic doctor who was able to treat his liver, which when it gets clogged, cannot filter out, and can cause seizures. we had many good months. she also used an manipulation type of message(like a chiropractor) and also lazer theraphy. he was doing great. Unfortuantley, I was running out of the meds for his liver, so I gave him fewer, thinking, after all he was doing so well, I could cut back, but he started showing signs as the weeks progressed, by the time I was able to get the money, and get him the meds, take him back to the holistic dr., and get him the theraphy he needed, he was badly clogged again. that evening he had a cluster, and never came back to us. I hope and pray this doesn't happen to you. I now keep extra money aside, should this ever happen again, I won't have to wait.

We now have a toy Aussie, because we love the breed so much, and I pray neither he nor us have to go through that again.

I would really look into the liver pills, they also sell them at health stores, but not quite the same as the one the holistic dr., will give you. I pray the best for you and yours.
I too learned about Tobys website, great website, they are trying hard to find a cure.

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