Seizures and our geriatric eskie Doodle

[Stealthecrumbs]

Hey ya'll.

Our geriatric Eskie (Doodle) is 17. He is the sweetest, most wonderful little creature you will ever meet. He is a spry guy but has some age related health issues... we are treating him for congestive heart failure, chronic bronchitis and arthritis. Everything is under control and he gets around pretty well and has a lot of zest for an old guy. His appetite is good and he is alert and happy. I am a light sleeper and he sleeps right next to my side of the bed. This morning he woke me up because he was having a pretty bad seizure. Daniel and I got up and sat with him through it. It was a classic seizure- legs paddling, jaw smacking- lasted just a couple of minutes. After, he had some post-ictal symptoms- stumbling into things, temporary blindness. These things lasted for a couple of hours. Then he was pretty much back to his normal self. He has been sleeping on and off all day but he did get up to eat this afternoon and he walked around the yard. He seems a little wobbly but is getting around okay.

I called to get a vet appt and our vet (I ADORE OUR VET) is out of town. The vet tech said she did not think it was essential to get in right now and that we could continue to watch him for a day or two. She said that just one seizure does not usually prompt a full work-up. I do not like the other vet in the practice and would prefer to see our vet so her suggestion was comforting. But given his age and lack of any history of seizures, I do worry that this is a big deal and somehow ominous of his inevitable mortality.

Do you all have any experience with seizures in really geriatric dogs? Are there things I should be looking out for? Do you think it is okay to watch him for a couple of days until we can see OUR vet? He had a full wellness blood panel recently but I know things can change quickly...

[eskilady]

My older dog, not as old as yours tho, would have the occasional seizure but I never really worried about them because they were occasional.  If Doodle has had only this one or just has them occasionally like Milo did, I would probably not even call the vet.  I did have Milo checked out once when we were at the vet and found he did not have epilepsy so I didn't worry much.  Sounds like this was an "only" so I would just write it on the calendar and if he had more, called the vet.  IMHO

[Stealthecrumbs]

Doodle had a good thorough work-up and they found nothing definitive. Our vet thinks the seizure may be related to his rapidly worsening congestive heart failure. She explained how but it was really technical so I am not sure I could summarize her explanation. He has been more or less his normal self this week, though a bit wobbly and all of a sudden he has decided he needs with his head under something... at night under our bed and during the day,he pushes himself up under the armchair in the den. So we are just taking it day by day and trying to shower him with as much love and as many cuddles as we can.

[Geno]

Poor little Doodle, God bless him. I hope he feels better. My Mom's dog went through this and had maybe 3 seizures in the last 2 years. Mom's Vet told Mom to give her 1/2 an asprin after a seizure, seemed to help her recover faster.

Eskies have good energy right to the end. My last one passed at age 17 with Kidney failure. Up to her last 2 weeks, she would still do zoomies through the house as if she were 2 years old.

Take care!

Geno

[gigigal]

My 17yr is just like Doodle...she sleep.  (she refused to sleep elsewhere from day one.  Go figure, huh? )  She has seizures from time to time, but much more frequent now.

 She practically went thru it at least 5 times last night...all I could do was be next to her and gave her comfort.  Read somewhere that couple of spoonful of vanila icecream right after her seizure.  She has that eskie stubborn streak and bounces right back as if nothing to it.

Gigi has demantia, severe arthritis, and losing her eye sight and hearing...last health check found nothing wrong with her besides that
I didn't know about aspirin thing...think I will give it a shot.

Have a fun week with your beloved eskies.

Huggies,
Jazzie