epilepsy in staffies

my staffie moats has epilepsy. He is now two and half his first fit happened on the 26th june 2012.It was out of the blue took him to the vet who gave us some tablets for him but he also said that the tablets would affect him so i have not give him them. moats has had five fits now and yes it is horrible watching your dog go through it. As u are helpless to do anything for them. I talk to him and stroke him. untill he starts to come around then i have to leave him as he doesn't know us.when this stage is over for him he gets hyper and doesn't know whot he wants he just runs around untill he is fully out of his fit.The vet told us that they normaly fit when they are sleeping that has been true for moats up untill today as he was playing with my daughters dog when he went into one.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear you and your dog are going through this.

I've never had any experience with epilepsy in dogs but one of our other members may be able to help you soon

Personally I would use the medication your vet has given you. It can't be nice for your dog to go through this, and one day he might bite someone - yes, even your child - and have to be pts.

That sounds like a horrible thing to watch is the medication really that bad? All medication has side-effects, but you have to weigh out the pros and cons. Like Caryll said, when he's like that he may bite someone, and it wouldn't be his fault of course, but it might be able to be avoided.

You should use the medication, my mate's Japanese Akita has got epilepsy too and they have to give him daily medication to keep it all under control, as far as I know, it's really worked for them.

hi all thanks for all your comments but as yet i dont need to use the tablets. but am still not willing as for moats biting a child that would be impossible as there are no children in my house. if it got to the stage where i would have to give moats the tablets yes i would but if it was making him worse with other health issues i would stop them.

Bless him I hope you come to the best decision for you and your dog. All medication has side effects and like someone else has said it's about the pro's and con's and what you ultimately decide.

On a recent walk I was chatting to a woman with an epileptic staff. She works at a rescue centre and rspca had said pts. She took him home, has him on lowest dose meds and he's fine. What effects did the vet say the meds would have? Is it worth giving them a try?You could always stop them if you didn't like the side effects. Like others have said, pros and cons. Good luck

the vet just said they would affect his internal organs which is not a lot of information. but if it came too it that it would be a hard choice for me to make. but he is happy and is not having the fits that often yet. but time will tell.

If he has had five fits in nine months, then that's quite a lot.

What medication did the vet sugest, and have you looked up the official site for it to see what the side effects are, and how many dogs are actually affected?

Are you sure it epilepsy?

A friend of mine, her dog has fits/seizures and they think it was due to using advocate. It causes a neurological problem which does get better over time. She has now totally changed her dogs diet and her dog very rarely has these fits now.

I would recommend a homoeopathic vet.

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of homeopathic vets around. I must admit, I'd love to have one round here, although my vet is very good.

It's worth looking into though...

It certainly is!

hi all just a quick update about moats he is doing good all has been quiet

Great! Thanks for the update!

Aww that's good to hear

I was doing some reading about epilepsy in dogs and stumbled across this website - http://www.canineepilepsy.co.uk/default.htm

Wanted to know which drugs are used as I am studying Pharmacy and because you mentioned that the vet said something about the drug damaging organs

That's great

[quote="otisthestafford"]Aww that's good to hear

I was doing some reading about epilepsy in dogs and stumbled across this website - http://www.canineepilepsy.co.uk/default.htm

Wanted to know which drugs are used as I am studying Pharmacy and because you mentioned that the vet said something about the drug damaging organs :redfac


hi otisthestafford
thanks for the link u sent it was a great help there was things in it that i would never had thought of. moats is doing good i had him at the vets the other day all is well. he needs to lose a bit of weight so he is on a diet now no more treats for him

My staffy ruby is on phenobarbital for fits due to L2HGA, she started off on 4 tablets a day as she'd had 5 fits over 3 days. She's now reduced to 1 tablet at 8am and 1 at 8pm and still no more fits. When she was on the higher dose she was like a zombie but gradually her old self now. I know long term can cause liver damage.

Janemiles13 wrote:My staffy ruby is on phenobarbital for fits due to L2HGA, she started off on 4 tablets a day as she'd had 5 fits over 3 days. She's now reduced to 1 tablet at 8am and 1 at 8pm and still no more fits. When she was on the higher dose she was like a zombie but gradually her old self now. I know long term can cause liver damage.

Yes, maybe it can cause liver damage, but without it the poor dog would have no life at all, so the lesser of two evils.

How's she getting along now?

She's still bloody windy lol!! And right on cue as I'm typing this.
She's ok ATM, no episodes. Greets us in a morning and when we come home. Runs round in garden like a loon. Still no smiles thou.
Been research family dog tree and have dug up some interesting things...
I thought about starting a new thread on health issues so owners like me can be more aware.

hi all just an update to moats his fits are now getting more regular he had one this morning. it lasted about two mins but he is back to his self now. was readding the bottle of tablets the vet gave me for him and it said that he is to get them only if he starts to fit one after another so we just have to grin and bear it the now. hopefully he willn't get that bad.

I would personally go back to the vet and ask for tablets that control the fits like phenobarbate. Every fit he has will do some brain damage. I can't understand why your vet has said only to use if one after another.
When dogs have fits they can become aggressive and are obviously agitated and can be a risk to someone who gets too close. They also can overheat while fitting.
Hope moats gets sorted

Sorry i cant help, but i do think you have to weigh up the pro's ans con's of the meds. Personally, I'd give them to Kenny. Im sure fits can cause other problems if left untreated. Sending big hugs and kisses xxx

hi all.
i have rang the vet to get moats seen again as i am worried about him now that has been three fits that he has had this month alone. will post an update when we get back from vets tomorrow

Sorry to hear about Moats, will be thinking of you tomorrow,

Aww poor moats, hope you get it sorted. We've had to put Ruby's dosage up by half a tablet every 12 hours as she had 2 more little fits last weekend. Touch wood there's been no more.

so very sorry to hear of Moat's and Ruby's epilepsy. One of Kuchar's friends is a large collie-type, and his medication has prevented him from having any fits for the last 9 months. The key seems to be in establishing the correct level of medication for each case, which I imagine is a careful balancing act involving some trial and error.

Hoping both Moats and Ruby find their best stabilising dose (((HUGS)))

Poor Moats. This is so sad! I feel for both you and Moats as I'm sure this is tough and scary for you both. I really would get him on the medication..all meds have side effects but usually when they are prescribed the benefits outweigh the risks! Obviously this is a personal decision though and I understand it is a difficult choice to make. I hope you can get this figured out and a find a good medication that can stop him from having the seizures. So sorry you guys are having to go through this.