My dog is a 6 years old, 100 lb golden retriever, and she is spayed. When she was 1 ½ years old, she had her first seizure. One month later, she had 2 in the same day and was put on Phenobarbital. She then had 8 months with no seizures. So, I reduced her by ½ tab and within 3 days she started having seizures again and I’ve never gained that control over them again. Around 4 years ago, the vet we were using then, told me Anna wouldn’t have a long life and I better prepare myself for that. She was having a grand mal seizure every 21 days. So I changed vets. New vet put her on Potassium Bromide also. He also placed her on Purina OM food. She still was having 6-8 seizures a year. I subscribed to Whole Dog Journal and read about the dangers of commercial dog foods. I don’t understand how a vet can sell expensive prescription food that is crap, corn & soy husks, garbage!
I found a new vet closer to home now. But Anna received a rabies shot on April 30th, and now she can barely walk. It’s getting worse every day. On Monday afternoon, I stopped by my new vet to talk to him about Anna’s declining condition and he looked at me in the waiting room and turned around and went in his office. So I told my concerns to his tech so she could go in his office and hear it 2nd hand. They said it’s probably the homemade diet that I’ve been supplementing her dry food (Wellness Simple Solutions) with. That’s crazy, it’s a crock pot recipe I’ve been cooking for her on the weekends with organic chicken and veggies. Recipe I got from the Epi-Guardian Angels Website.
After researching Anna’s symptoms, I believe she is having a reaction to her Rabies shot or possibly Cushing’s Disease. What can I do to help Anna? I live in Collegedale, TN so I can make an appt at your office.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your golden’s seizures, this is a difficult condition to manage.
I totally agree with the food concerns, the majority of commercial pet foods are poor at best. Home cooked diets do help many seizure dogs as long as they are balanced and contain enough calories.
There is a lot to discuss especially if you are also concerned with Cushings disease. Also, hypothyroidism is found concurrent with seizures disorders, especially in Golden retrievers. She also may very well be having a vaccine reaction to the rabies vaccination.
I believe it would be more productive to examine the dog and possibly test her for Cushings and low thyroid. We can also talk about offering even more of a home cooked diet. I have also seen very positive results with acupuncture in dogs with seizure issues.
If you would like to make an appointment, please call the clinic at 423-886-7387, Animal Hospital of Signal Mountain. Regards,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA