Friend Dahua raised a Beagle terrier, and one night Dahua encountered something that made him feel at a loss. He was sitting on the sofa watching TV, the dog snuggled at his feet, and suddenly the dog lost control of his body, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness.
The dog’s lips were twisting on his teeth, his legs stretched out very straight and stiff, and his head twisted and twisted, as if an invisible hand was holding its neck. This condition was maintained. After more than two minutes, the dog's body relaxed, and his consciousness gradually recovered. After an hour, the dog appeared exhausted.
Dahua’s dog had never had this condition before. Later, he informed the doctor of the detailed process of the matter and was judged that the dog suffered from epilepsy .
Epilepsy is mainly caused by hypothyroidism in dogs. Some dogs will not have seizures, while some dogs may have seizures very frequently, even within a day. Several times, long-term development will be life-threatening, so in extreme cases where seizures cannot be controlled, some doctors will recommend euthanasia for the dog.
Signs of epilepsy have been found in all breeds of dogs and hybrid dogs. Some breeds are genetically caused by this type of illness, such as Beagle, Dachshund, German Shepherd, etc., and epilepsy Dog breeds with a high incidence of disease are: Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Labrador, Miniature Schnauzer, Poodle, St. Bernard, Siberian Husky and other dog breeds.
In most cases, dogs bred after crossing with bulldogs and Labrador can also be inherited epilepsy. According to statistics, the probability of epilepsy in general dogs is 0.5% to 0.7%.
Usually what we call "epilepsy" is a rather vague term, because some people use this word to describe any recurring disease, while others use this word to designate brain diseases Or if the underlying disease recurs, the following definition will help distinguish the types of epilepsy.
Types of canine epilepsy
1. Primary epilepsy
primary epilepsy Also called idiopathic and hereditary epilepsy, dogs with this type of epilepsy usually have their first seizures between 6 months and 5 years old, but the diagnosis of primary epilepsy does not prove to be a genetic defect. If there is a family The history of epilepsy, its breed, age and medical history may have the genetic basis of primary epilepsy.
2. Secondary epilepsy
Here refers to epilepsy that can determine the cause, the most common epilepsy in dogs under 1 year old The causes of attacks can be divided into the following categories: degenerative (storage disease), developmental (hydrocephalus), infectious (canine distemper, encephalitis, etc.), metabolism (such as transient hypoglycemia, enzyme deficiency, liver or Renal failure), nutrition (thiamine, parasites), trauma (acute injury).
In dogs aged 1 to 3, genetic factors are most likely to exist. In dogs aged 4 and above, seizures usually occur in the metabolism (hypoglycemia, cardiovascular arrhythmia, hypocalcemia) Disease, liver cirrhosis) and tumor (brain tumor).
Types of Canine Epilepsy Symptoms
The following are the most common types of canine seizures. If your dog has epilepsy, then you Attention should be paid to all details so that the matter can be described in detail to the veterinarian.
Including:
1. General seizure
tonic clonus (can be severe or mild seizure): in In a severe seizure, when the dog falls, he loses consciousness and stretches his limbs stiffly, accompanied by a brief breathing stop. This stage usually precedes the onset of clonusLasting for 10 to 30 seconds (clonic movements include strokes of the limbs and chewing of the mouth), when entering the clonal phase, other physical symptoms will occur, including pupil dilation, drooling, urination and defecation. Mild seizures rarely or do not have limbs strokes or stretches, usually without loss of full consciousness.
2. Minor seizures (also called absence seizures)
This symptom manifests as a brief (a few seconds) loss of consciousness, decreased muscle tone, and eyes Do not move or rotate your eyes upward.
3. Partial episode
Symptoms are limited to a certain part of the body, such as muscle twitching, limb movement, head rotation, or turning the torso toward one side Side curvature and facial twitching. Partial seizures can develop into tonic-clonic epilepsy, and partial seizures are usually related to secondary epilepsy.
4. Complex partial seizures (also called psychomotor or behavioral seizures)
Dogs with partial seizures usually do There are these actions: mouth biting the tongue, chewing, making noises, running hysterically, shrinking or hiding, and other symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, drooling, blindness, thirst or loss of appetite, and teeth clenching. These abnormal behaviors may last for minutes or hours, and then lead to generalized seizures in the dog.
5. Cluster epileptic seizures
has multiple seizures in a short period of time, during which there is only a brief consciousness.
The stages of epileptic seizures
Seizures are divided into four basic stages:
1. The first stage can be observed over hours or days. Changes in the mood and behavior of dogs, human patients with epilepsy will experience emotional changes, headaches, insomnia, and whether dogs will experience these changes in humans is currently unknown.
2. In the second stage, dogs will exhibit abnormal behaviors such as restlessness, nervousness, tremors, drooling, hiding, hysterical running, and fear.
3. In the third stage, there will be movement of muscle groups, usually tonic or clonic seizures, and the duration is 1 to 3 minutes.
4. The main seizure of epilepsy is at night or early in the morning. Within a few minutes or a few days after the seizure, the dog may feel confused, disoriented, restless or unresponsive, and sometimes transient blindness. At this stage, the dog is conscious, but cannot control its behavior through consciousness.
Diagnosis of epilepsy
For dogs with only one seizure, a comprehensive physical and neurological examination is required. If no abnormalities are found, future medical Continue to observe in life. For dogs with more than one seizure, a small database needs to be established, including the dog’s breed, age, gender, and related medical history, vaccination, diet content, behavior changes, etc., all related to the dog Everything needs to be recorded in detail. When further testing is required, a complete database should be completed, including MRI, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, skull X-ray and EEG.
Treatment
It is usually recommended to treat dogs with epileptic seizures one or more times a month. Successful medication depends on whether you follow the professional doctor’s instructions. The doctor's advice to give the dog medicine, random administration or sudden change of the medicine will have worse consequences and lead to prolonged seizure duration.
What you need to know is that the goal of treatment is to reduce the frequency and severity of epilepsy.It is impossible to prevent seizures.
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If your dog has a seizure, what you need to do is to determine the duration of the seizure, and keep the dog as quiet as possible In the environment, loud or sharp noises may prolong the duration of seizures and increase the severity of seizures. If there are other pets in the house, they should be removed.
During the dog's epileptic seizure, you should stay by its side until it regains consciousness. At the same time, you can gently stroke its body with your hand to maintain close contact with it.
