Prayers needed for Shelby
I just got home from the emergency vet. Shelby is there for the night being observed. Around 6:00 pm this evening she came in to my home office and looked at me really weird and then couldn't walk towards me and was half falling over. I got her to lay down in the hallway on the carpeting where I held her and her muscles tensed up and she foamed at the mouth. She had that glazed-over-looking-right-through-you look in her eyes. She then was OK, but vomited up all her kibble and rabbit treat. Then I got her to walk to the kitchen to lie down on her rug and she was still drooling profusely. I got a towel, held her and called my mom with the words "You need to get over here now. Something is wrong with Shel." Shelby then tensed up again, legs straight out and her eyes totally dilated. I held her head so she wouldn't bang it on the floor or cabinets and told her it wold be OK, grandma was comng to take us to the hospital. My parents got there and she was fine again, jumping tail wagging, giving kisses, etc. I still took her in. I am pretty sure she had a couple of seizures. The vet is also pretty sure of it, but she appears to be totally fine now. They are running blood work on her to check for pretty much everything and if that is OK, I then have the CT scan/MRI option if I want to go that route.
I am just in shock right now I guess. She is the most healthy dog I know, I swear! I have no idea what triggered this. The vet promised to call me in the middle of the night if she had another seizure, but when I left she was happy as can be (although she did NOT want me to leave her). They already are in love with my meathead and she is really at the best hospital in the southeastern part of WI. So just a few prayers are neeed that it is nothing serious. I honestly was a total basketcase taking her in and if something were to happen to her I would lose my mind.
Thanks.
I am just in shock right now I guess. She is the most healthy dog I know, I swear! I have no idea what triggered this. The vet promised to call me in the middle of the night if she had another seizure, but when I left she was happy as can be (although she did NOT want me to leave her). They already are in love with my meathead and she is really at the best hospital in the southeastern part of WI. So just a few prayers are neeed that it is nothing serious. I honestly was a total basketcase taking her in and if something were to happen to her I would lose my mind.
Thanks.
Comments
Nemo has seizures every now and then, although the one Shelby had last night sounds a bit worse than the ones he has had. A few of my other friends have dogs that have seizures like Shelby's and one friend has a Border Collie that will suffer from 10-15 minute violent seizures.
You will want to start doing research on how you want to approach handling Shelby's seizures. If they are infrequent, you might not need to treat them at all, if they become frequent there are prescription meds and then some alternative ways of trying to deal with them. One of my friends feeds her dog heavy cream with his food everyday as she has read some information that keeping a diet higher in fat can keep the chance of seizures down, I could ask her were she read it.
If Shelby is on Heartgaurd for heartworm protection, I would think of switching her to Interceptor. There are no confirmed studies about it, but some people believe Heartgaurd can trigger seizures. Nemo is on Interceptor now, and he has had less seizures on it than on Heartgaurd.
If you need to go with prescription meds, be aware they are hard on the liver. However if the seizures were going to be common, and the meds could stop that, it might be the best choice as seizures can cause mental degeneration. You would have to decide how you want to approach your dogs aging. Possible long life but with less cognitive ability at the end due to seizures, or full mental capacity with a possibly shortened life due to liver problems from the prescription meds. Sorry if that sounds kind of depressing, but it's a decision that some people have to make.
I would not start any prescription meds yet as it has only been one seizure. You should however keep a log of the seizures. Date, time, temperature outside, temperature inside, what food the dog is on, what treats the dog has had that day, any information you can think of. That way if they continue to happen you can possibly pick up a pattern.
Please keep us updated once you know anything, or pick Shelby up!
Brandon gives great advice, I second the Heartguard to Interceptor switch - a former foster was seizure prone and we took every precaution including that one. Dogs can live long happy lives with seizures, my mom's dog is 14 and has had cluster seizures her whole life, she hasn't had one in a few years though thank God! Do some research, talk to your trusted vet and be hopeful!
As Brandon suggested, keep a journal so you can track things.
Snf
As suggested if she continues to have one make sure you keep a journal(date, time, how long it lasted) that way the vet is aware of how often it is happening. Also, when she has a seizure, take her to a place that you can hold her still(so she doesn't hurt herself) but also a place that you can clean up very easily(because there will be urine and defication)
I would also check with the breeder you got her from, to see if there is a problem with the blood line, and if you have a health warrently on her(which some breeders offer) then make them aware she was at the emergency vet.
Good Luck with everything!
Hugs from the humans and licks from the pups.
Thanks again everyone for everything. Brandon-awesome advice, a million thank you's! I should be getting her this evening from the hospital. I hope to be home before the yucky blizzard hits us -10-12" of snow predicted for tonight. Shelby will be in heaven to a) be home with her people and b) SNOW, SNOW and MORE SNOW!!!
I will update later! Thanks again everyone, you are all soooo wonderful!
LeeAnn
In the future, just like last night, if you are home when a seizure happens, she will likely seek you out for help. Every dog I know that has seizures runs up to their Mom or Dad to get their attention right before it sets in.
Seizures are really no fun, but at least when they are not happening, the dogs get to enjoy a normal life.
Best of luck, and hopefully things will continue to be all right for her.
Oh, and please spam us with some snow spam! :-D We would love to see Shelby playing in the snow.
Gosh, I am just so relieved! I have my baby girl home and as a "treat", I let my son sleep with us last night. Matthew, Shelby and I had a wonderful night's rest and woke up to 8" of snow and it is still falling. It's a snow day, I called in (can't even get out of my garage due to a 4.5' snow drift) and Shelby was running around the yard like a deranged lunatic. Life is good!
LeeAnn
I would skip the MRI or CT now. We can hope that she will not have anymore seizures, but if she does continue to have them you can go from there. I'm sure if she has another one in the future, you will be well read on the subject.
I personally would wait and see what happens too. Just keep in the back of your mind that if you do have to put her on meds it will be for the rest of her life so make sure you and your vet talk about it.
Now... Where is that snow spam??? :-P