Yelled. Spoke loudly. Have you ever tried to get through to an epileptic dog whose brain cannot cope with anything but strong instructions?

You cannot just whisper to them because it does not register. And I never try to get through to her during a Grand Mal because she is totally blind and deaf during one.

She was having a Psychomotor seizure and was not blind and was not deaf, but she was "conveniently" deaf, so yes, I had to yell/shout to get through to her.

And yes, Ram has told me not to humour her when the crossed wires in her brain cause her to think she is hungry when she is not, but to be ultra strict with her.

Which is, believe me, very difficult - especially as she will attack me when she thinks she wants food because her brain does not know what it is doing.

At the moment I am sitting here, having had very little sleep, following Pereg's major full-blown Grand Mal seizure at around 12 noon yesterday, followed by the Psychomotor seizure, and then up most of the night because the epilepsy and her medication means that she needs to pee during the night - and then she had another full-blown Grand Mal seizure at 7.30am today. Which meant my bed had to be stripped and all bedding washed. Because she lost total bladder control.

Jenny - it is bdooly difficult looking after an epileptic dog, especially for me, so please do not have digs at me.

Thank you

Oh I am so sorry to hear that and hope that it isn't epilepsy. Loki took her first fit at 11 months old and was diagnosed straight away as epilepsy by the vet. Eventually she was put on very high dosage of Phenbarbitone and then added to that Potassium Bromide. They helped keep them down and from taking 40 Grand Mal fits in two days, she took her last one in January and it only lasted a couple of seconds. It was the high dosage of meds that went for her liver.

I do hope it may be something else - not serious though - that the vet finds but fits can be controlled with drugs.

Thinking of your daughter's dog and sending healing vibes.

So sorry to hear about your daughter's dog I have no experience with this, but what I do know from experience, is that it can be a one off situation too, and I sincerely hope that it is.

My spaniel puppy was down the beach with us on a hot day, she would have been about 5 months old. My stupid boyfriend thought she was getting too hot, so he picked up the bottle of water and drenched her over her head She immediately started fitting, because the water had got boiling hot in the sun, and not only that but the mere shock of it to my dog I rushed her back to the car and into the vets and he told me that the dog's brain is so very close to the skull that what my boyfriend did would have caused the fit. Just throwing in an idea here, that maybe the dog might have been lying with her head against a hot radiator, or perhaps banged it on something? My dog lived to 12 years old without ever having another episode like that in her life. As June says, it would seem a bit unusual considering her age, but then is it, I couldn't say cos I don't know.

I do know that it can come on a bit later on in life after giving birth. If its the litter I'm thinking of, then there have been a couple of cases of cancer, but don't know if I am on the right track here, but the description of the eyes sounds very familiar, only one dog I have heard of with those particular markings, they were eye tested to ensure there were no sight problems, so it does tie in with that.

What you said Malka was

Nothing about just 'speaking loudly'. I too was very surprised, shocked in fact that you'd yell at a dog who didn't know what they were doing. It's one thing to yell at her when she isn't in that state. Quite another when most people would just be feeling so sorry for her. So I can quite understand how Jenny felt when she read that.

Also about your vet telling you to 'just ignore her'. I was pretty shocked by that too.

Hi Rose,

Thanks for your input am I reading it right that Loki once took 40 fits in two days!?! Gosh you must have been beside yourself

We are keeping everything crossed that she doesn't have any more.

Helena - My old Saluki X had one seizure years ago just after we moved house, she was hugely stressed at the time so I think that might have brought it on, she never had another. Scared me to death!

It's so hard to watch them knowing they can't tell you anything

I remember the occasion with Rose's Loki, she was hospitalised for a couple of days, absolute miracle they brought her round again in my opinion.

Except for what you find on the internet, what exactly do you know about canine epilepsy?

Do you know more than my vet does - he who is epileptic himself?

When Pereg is in the throes of a Grand Mal seizure she is deaf and blind. And I just wait until she is conscious agait. But when she has a Psychomotor seisure she is conscious and she can hear me - but not if I whisper. She needs to be told not in a whisper. but so that she can hear and understand what she hears.

I know what I am doing.

My Vet knows what I am doing.

You do not, therefore I ask you to please lay off me.

Now - you try, if you can, to put yourself in my position.

You have an epileptic dog who is screeching for food when they are not really hungry but the crossed wires in their brain tells them they are.

And your epileptic dog attacks you while she is screeching and bites you and rips your clothes.

What are you going to do Tang? Whisper sweetly to the dog?

Or do you so what your Vet tells you to do.

Yell, shout, raise my voice - when my epileptic dog needs to calm down then yes, I will follow my vet's instructions, and if that means yelling to her to calm down then I will do so.

BECAUSE IT IS EITHER YELL AT HER AND GET HER TO CALM DOWN OR RISK HER GOING INTO ANOTHER FULL BLOWN GRAND MAL SEIZURE WITH THE RISK OF HER GOING INTO STATUS.

Or, of course, I could always phone Ram and ask him to come and euthanise her.

Asha has an MRI booked for next Wed , the insurance people have said to go ahead and she doesn't have to worry about the cost.

That's GREAT news. What a relief. Everything crossed for a good prognosis.