To Scrabble’s Mommy from ArrBee’s Mama
Hi! I truly hope that Scrabble is alright!! I know those feelings! Steve did the right thing by talking to him calmly Real quick, I will tell you and everyone else about Snitzel. Snitzel, too, started having seizures when he was close to 3. He had them til the day he died. I read in a dachshund magazine that sometimes the dr prescribes phenobarbital (sp, excuse, it is 4 in the am) but it is a daily maintenance. It seems to affect alot of our little babies. His seizures usually were quick and then out to go poo. There is something you may want to look into…a chiropractor for pets. My ex son in law is a chiropractor and he gave Snitzel a quick adjustment and he didn’t have another seizure for almost 10 months!! Which truly pleased me to no end! I actually sang “Du, du, liegst mir im Hertzen” very softly and held and rocked him til both of us got thru it~crying myself. My heart goes out to you and others who all face this fright, having lived with it for 9 years. Good luck and give the singing a try…our little loves don’t care if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket…they just love us unconditionally.
Take care,
sandi (snitzel)
November 10, 2006 @ 7:41 am
Dear Sandi,
Although your advice is addressed to Rita, it is information we can all use. It is a very special person who can remain calm when their beloved pet is in distress. Scrabble really does have a guardian angel that had Steve working from home the other day. He and Rita are truely a good match because he was strong where she couldn’t be - a real team! Of course who can blame Rita for being distraught - she has already been through so much with her precious Scrabble.
Thanks for sharing your words of help and encouragement with Rita and ALL of us.
Laura
November 10, 2006 @ 7:41 am
Dear Sandi,
Although your advice is addressed to Rita, it is information we can all use. It is a very special person who can remain calm when their beloved pet is in distress. Scrabble really does have a guardian angel that had Steve working from home the other day. He and Rita are truely a good match because he was strong where she couldn’t be - a real team! Of course who can blame Rita for being distraught - she has already been through so much with her precious Scrabble.
Thanks for sharing your words of help and encouragement with Rita and ALL of us.
Laura
November 10, 2006 @ 9:53 am
Rita
We only recently found out that my daughters doxie JR has epilepsy. He has had 4 seizures in 6 months. She now lives with me where before she was in Tallahassee going to school and living with her Fiancee. Jr. is 4. The last seizure which I have never seen I was just walking in the house and luckly she was home with her Fiancee Adam at the time. It is very scary but you do have to remain calm. Jen my daughter was so scared and freaking out so Adam and I took care of him while she called the vet and they took him right over. He put him on pheno which we are not thrilled with since it zonks him out. That suggestion about a chiropractor is interesting and will look into it.My heart goes out to scrabble and all those who have this. Our babies don’t really know what is going on and just soothing them seems to help and knowing we are with them.Take care and if anyone has any other advice please let us know.
Cheryl
November 10, 2006 @ 10:35 am
I was clam while it happened, or I think I was…I mean the tears were definitely flowing, but in the car I couldn’t stop…and my husband was an angel while all of this was going on…he did his crying later in the night…we both did just out of worry…the good thing is we don’t seem to fall apart at the same time…I’m there for him when he needs me to be, and he for me. Thinking about it now, that’s not a bad deal.
It isn’t something I ever expected to have happen, but then again, who does?
My vet said there are so many things that can trigger seizures…and Dachshunds (from what I was told) can be pretty prone to them. I expect I’ll be learning more about this…from my vet and from all of you here that are already experiencing it with your babies…and I’ll take all the advice I can get.
Once thing I know for sure…the love of a dog certainly is unconditional.
November 10, 2006 @ 1:46 pm
Just athought…
Dillon was 7 Y/o when I got him as a “retired” show dog. I had him for alittle more than 6 months when he had a seizure at 5AM. I talked to him while it was happening, but it scared the dickens out of him and me. He had another one the next month and the month following that. 3 in 3 months. Then I read somewhere that HeartGard can cause seizures in some dogs. I checked my calendar (with the HeartGard remionder stickers on it) and then noticed that the seizures were 2 or 3 days after I administered the HeartGard, (My vet told me to track when the seizures ocurred.)
It was then that I called the breeder I got him from and she said she never used HeartGard she used (sorry-I NEVER get this name right) Interceptor -something like that. I told the vet the next time I saw her and she had never heard that before. I switched to the Interceptor brand and Dillon has NEVER had another seizure in over 6 months.
So check if your Doxie is on HeartGard and WHEN you administered it. Maybe THAT’s whats cauising the seizures!
Sue-Mama of Mattison and Dillon
November 10, 2006 @ 1:51 pm
I wouldn’t be so quick to medicate Scrabble with the usual seizure meds, not at this point anyway. Those seizure meds are extremely tough on the liver, and you will have to have his liver checked each month. My vet told me unless Louie has more than one seizure a month, or has multiple seizures in one day, they wouldn’t put him on seizure meds. I guess it matters what the diagnosis is first, if he has epilepsy then seizure meds might be required, but I would really discuss options with your vet first. Louie’s seizures were likely due to his hypothyroidism, but I guess we’ll see if he has anymore, he hasn’t had any for many months now:) Keep us posted on what is happening.
November 10, 2006 @ 3:25 pm
I too pray that Scrabble comes out OK. At least you and your husband were there for him and are getting him the proper care. I give you and everyone else that has said their doxie experienced this kind of thing a lot of credit. I pray that this affliction never comes to my boy Baxter, and I know that I would probably step in front of a moving car to save him from getting hit if necessary. I would go to the ends of the earth to protect him from harm or illness, and I pity anyone who tried to harm him. Good luck with Scrabble! Baxter and I are sending out positive thoughts for his recovery!
November 10, 2006 @ 5:26 pm
I used to have a Cogri that had seizures and it scared the h e double toothpicks out of me the first time. I also like those of you above stayed calm and gentled him and tried to calm him down and it seemed to help. Unfortunately Bernies were so bad he had to take phenobarbitol for his and it still only helped a little.
Whatever you do keep his temperature down when he is seizing. It is very important. My corgi had a seizure on Thanksgiving day and my vet was out of town and by the the time I found a vet to come in to his office and meet me and I drove from my rural home to town to meet him Bernie had been seizing for over 20 minutes. His body temperature got so high it caused permanent brain damage and ultimately I lost him becaused of it. So keep an eye on the body temperature when he is seizing. I hope it never happens again to you and Scrabble he has been through enough.
Know that our prayers and pawyers are with you both.
Terri Lexie and Logan
November 10, 2006 @ 8:29 pm
I agree with Bobbi. this may be a very isolated incident and may never happen again. I would never medicate with phenobarb unless epilepsy is diagnosed. Somethings to consider the day of the seizure: Did you happen to use any household products that day? Oven cleaner? Floor cleaner? etc…etc…etc…Are there any house plants you may have around with chewed leaves as many are toxic? Perhaps just the incident with the stranger was enough to trigger this bout. We have had dogs in our office that get so excited when their owners get home that they hyperventilate and pass out. *my husband does this when I walk through the door after work
I hope it is an isolated incident and just the stress caused by a person Scrabble was not comfortable around.
Love
spanky
November 11, 2006 @ 6:18 am
What I wrote was to everyone of course!! And believe me, I was a wreck each and everytime. Snitzel would actually come up to me and I could see it in his eyes it was about to happen. I held him because he would try to walk and stumble. I could hardly bear seeing him like this. Thanks for the info about pheno…didn’t give it to him. Guess sometimes home remedies and being a Mama helps out better than a drug that has side affects that could be worse than the disease.
November 11, 2006 @ 6:14 pm
Thank you so much
for this information.escpecially if this is a domineering trait.. We can all be informed and ready to react as Rita & John did!!
I luv this site!!
Luv,
Fancy