Riley had a seizure :(

S

SKNerissa

Forums Enthusiast
Yesterday afternoon Riley was in his bed and when he went to get up he was shaking and had lost coordination. I found a video of a sheltie on YouTube that was experiencing episodes very much like Riley's.

The vet thinks Riley had a focal seizure and said it could be the beginning of epilepsy :( Now I am worried about letting Riley continue working as my service dog since there is no way to know if this is going to progress.

The other posibility being considered is that although unlikely it could be in part to neem oil that was in a dental spray I had just started using. I have stopped the spray so I guess only time will tell.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Riley's seizure. This happened to our Pixie when she was a young puppy. We weren't sure whether she reacted to flea and tick repellent or a vaccination. I eliminated all chemicals and titered her before vaccinating for the rest of her life and we were able to control her seizures without medication until just this past year when she was 11. You're right that the neem oil could set it off.

I also learned that diet is important in controlling those type of seizures as well. I switched Pixie to a duck-based formula and kept her off of turkey and chicken. Apparently they can also affect seizure-prone dogs. It took a few years but the seizures did taper off by the time she was four and she was seizure free until this past spring when they began again and we found she had a brain tumor. But we had years of good health with her by being careful about what we fed and used on her. I hope you can do the same for Riley.
 
Yes, absolutely, essential oils are on the list of triggers. I love essential oils, but they never go on my dogs. I have one who had three seizures within 20 days, and changing the food stopped the progression. He has had two since then, but they were months apart. He also has a water issue (drinks a ton after eating, pees a ton 15 minutes later) that we can't seem to get diagnosed, and seems to be behavioral as he doesn't do it at my friends house when she keeps him.

But interestingly when I took him in for the first seizure the first question my vet asked was about topical pesticides, which I haven't used in years.
 
Poor Riley...I you have ever dealt with this you KNOW it is awful. My former girl started seizing after a change in diet. I had her on a brand that wasn't available so I picked up another thinking it would work until they got back in her regular food. I can trace her episodes to that food. 20 mins after ingesting it, she had a full seizure. And it continued until I made the connection. It had rosemary, something the previous kibble did NOT. For some dogs rosemary is a trigger, a BIG one. But after that it was an uphill battle to try to have her not seize. She was older and the new Vet that took over the practice I used was NOT helpful at all. He thought being a senior it was just her destiny. It wasn't. I learned and studied up on EVERYTHING I could to try and recreate a quality of life for her. I refused to put her on meds for that because I don't agree with that philosophy at all. I agree with Ann, get Riley off poultry and turkey, that can be a trigger. Food is crucial in fighting it. Get Riley on a limited ingredient diet if that isn't being done now. All my girl could tolerate was lamb, fish, and game meat. I went completely organic with her. Watch for chemicals, fragrances, anything that Riley can get on his paws and ingest later. I would highly recommend doing paw baths after outings. Be a detective and try and pinpoint when and what the triggers are. If you can eliminate those, the battle isn't near as difficult. There is life after seizure it just takes adjustments to find out what makes it worse and avoid that. I would cut out the neem oil as well. I suffer with allergies and I find if it makes me sneeze, don't get it near my shelties, they seem to be as sensitive.
 
That video was just heartbreaking. Poor Riley! I hope you eliminate all the triggers that I had NO IDEA about! Thank GOD for this site! I hope he gets better soon! Chance had several seizures near the end of his life and I hated feeling so helpless!
 
April went through a period of about 3-4yrs where she experienced seizures, if I recall correctly roughly 4-6 weeks apart. Hers were more like this one (this isn't her, just similar seizure) (
). It's gut wrenching to see your loved one going through this, and knowing they're not there to hear you. A few times she'd get in a disoriented, uncoordinated state like the video you posted, she'd walk around the house bumping into stuff, and then go into the full on seizure. After her episodes, she'd be incredibly restless, and super clingy, she'd need to stick to me like glue, then wander around, and come back and climb on me, over and over. That lasted for several hours after each event.

Eventually, they stopped, without knowing the cause. I had her to the vet, and noted each episode, date, how long it lasted, her state, etc. etc. Was happy to see them end for her.

Good luck with Riley, hope they can get diagnosed soon, and cleared up.
 
gut wrenching is so true. I can not imagine standing by and doing nothing! Just to let it happen and not try and comfort is beyond my soul to understand. When Chance had his I hugged him and told him it would be OK. I know my dear ones episodes were age related. The fact that I was there to comfort him made us both feel better. I rocked him slowly and it seemed to calm him. Maybe I'm nuts and have no real experience with this. I feel so sorry for any owner and their beloved pet to experience it.
 
I was there to comfort April as well when they happened while I was around, but while the seizure's going on, there's no response from them to your comforting. They're inches from you, and not there.
 
Thanks everyone! Riley is on a very strict diet as he is allergic to potato, carrot, parsley, wheat & corn. So far the best diet I have found is a combination of Rayne Clinical Nutrition Sensitive GI dry and a homemade diet of salmon, zucchini, sweet potato, pumpkin, and brown rice. I add Dr. Mercola's Digestive Enzymes, coconut oil, and a veterinary herbal tincture for allergic dermatitis that contains Astragalus, Burdock, Cleavers, Nettle Leaf and Red Clover. For treats, Riley gets freeze dried beef liver. I changed kibble about 6-8 months ago from Royal Canin Hydrolized Protein as I felt that was too processed and wasn't comfortable feeding Riley a diet with hydrolized soy protein as a main ingredient. Everything else has been used for over 2 years.

There have been two recent changes however. 2 weeks ago I used pork instead of salmon in his homemade food and he just ran out of that batch today. Prior to this Riley had never had any pork products to my knowledge. On the direction of our vet I also started adding a 1/4 teaspoon of cod liver oil to his morning feeding (he seems to be experiencing night blindness and the vet said it could be due to a lack of vitamin A in his diet). The day of Riley's seizure I forgot to add the oil.

The only other triggers I can think of are the dental spray, stress, and the bitterly cold weather we have been having. The weather has been questioned by another vet as Riley was shivering when we were out earlier that afternoon. We were in and out of stores several times and when we got home Riley went into his bed and the seizure occured about 20 minutes later. This other vet wonders if Riley's core temperature had started to drop and if the warming up triggered the seizure. Another possible trigger is that I have been under enormous stress for 2 days leading up to Riley's seizure. He is a very sensitive dog and probably was very aware of this and stressed himself as a result.

So lots of possibilities but nothing definite. Fortunately he has been fine all weekend and is loving being allowed to sleep on my bed at night (I have been worried about sleeping through a seizure so this way I know I won't miss anything).
 
I would happen to guess that it was the neem oil. That is powerful stuff to those with sensitivity. Stress does aggravate it. I know for my previous girl she seized worse during full moons. I didn't notice temp being a trigger but of course every dog is different. She never had a seizure outside, it was always indoors. Once I understood more about triggers, they weren't as intense. I always picked her up during an episode, once she came out of it I wanted her to know she was ok. As the poster of April said, they come out disoriented.

My heart goes out to you because seizing is hard on them and us.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top