[DHarrison]

Hello, I believe that my dog is beggining to have seizures. He is almost four years old and he was born deaf. About a month ago while we were sleeping I felt a vibration in my leg and woke up to find Pigs head and jaw vibrating. I woke him up, but it took a while. I thought that he was dreaming because after he woke up he jumped out of bed and it stopped. That was about a month ago. The whole thing lasted about five minutes. Then last thursday night it happened again but this time it lasted for almost 15 mins. It would stop and then start again. His jaw also vibrates and his teeth click. It happend again last night lasting about five min. He seems responsive when this happens and if he takes a drink or scratches his ear it seems to stop, but then starts right up again. He's due for his shots so I'll make a vet appointment tomorrow but i was wondering if any body could give me any info. Trying not to worry, but it's in my nature. Thanks for any input.
Dan

 

[ames]

I am glad you are going to the vet. I am sorry you are having to deal with not knowing what is wrong. I don't blame you for worrying, I would be too. Sorry I do not have experience with diagnosis or seizures. Please keep us updated.

 

[angelbaby]

its weird that it stops and then restarts usually seizures dont stop { stop meaning when moved or pushed or get up to drink , they dont usually have the ability to get up and drink when having seizures either} and they arent usually responsive. I would deffinately bring this up with the vet and see what he says. the ones when he is asleep sounds like dreaming, my dogs get pretty active they twitch and whine and mouth will sometimes move it can look like seizures but its a dream and when i move them or wake them up they stop. And 15 minutes is a pretty long seizure that would have me going to the ER vet if necessary. Sounds more like dreams especially if they are only happening while sleeping. Could be some sort of twitch or something. let us know what the vet says.

 

[ames]

that's true Angel, didn't think of that. my pup does some crazy things in his sleep, here is just a short version, but he shakes and eyes roll in the back of his head and scare the heck outta me. He also has sleep apnea, so it could just be the dreams. Especially if he stops and goes right back to it.

 

[DHarrison]

They start while he's sleeping but continue when he wakes up. He's definitly awake. ??

 

[angelbaby]

they only start while he is asleep? or does he ever have these out of the blue during the day while he is awake? could be some sort of muscle spazzam ?

 

[DHarrison]

Well last night when it happened we had just gone to bed. I don't know if he had fallen to sleep or not. Don't know if its a spasm (fingers crossed). I had done some looking online before I found this site and other people had described similar symptoms that had benn labled as seizures. Don't know for sure. It seems a bit pronounced to be a spasm though. It's more like he's nodding his head really fast and his jaw/teeth clack. He's had other health problems so I just want to get it figured out if I can.

 

[angelbaby]

yeah thats understandable,if he is having long seizures like that and just out of the blue I would get him in ASAP ,you dont want to leave seizures be , bad ones can cause brain damage and other issues. There is a couple people on here who have dealt with epileptic dogs and maybe they can come in with some info for you. Hopefully it isnt that and is something minor , let us know what the diagnosis is.

 

[DHarrison]

I really hope it is some thing minor. Thanks for your replys. I'm hoping to get him in by the end of the week and will definitly post what they say. Thanks again.

 

[DHarrison]

Went to the vet today. He believes that they are localized petite mal (sp?) Seizures. He said that at this point I can just keep track of them, since he is responsive and recovers from them with out incedent. If they become cluster seizures or if they become more intense that they can do UA and blood work. If nothing is found there then CT and MRIs can be done. He said that Pig is healthy but wasn't too surprised that this could be happening due to his "pigment dillusion"-Pig is pure white but not albino. I guess this is good so far. We'll see what happens.

 

[angelbaby]

Well glad you got some answers, Is this the only health issue he has had? I have heard all white dogs can have a few issues known to be related to that pigment. so the vet did he do any blood work ? is there any actual results he was able to tell or is this something he just took the best guess ? Would this be considered epileptic at all? Hopefully they stay how they are and dont get worse, But its good you know what to watch for and seem to be on top of this.

 

[ames]

hope they stay the same or get better! Glad to hear the vet went OK.

 

[DHarrison]

Thanks. No they are not epeleptic. He said that if it became epileptic it would be a whole new ball game I will take him back for blood work if they continue and or worsen. He has had bladder infections before. I stopped giving him any thing with food coloring and haven't had those problems since. Hopefully he won't need meds for this. The vet was concerned about his kidneys.