Hi Kenny , it isn't good news but if you are fighting a war it helps to know your enemy.
If a brain tumor is ruled out that is one positive bit of news isn't it, at least epilepsy can be managed and hopefully things will settle down when the correct medication and dosage is achieved.

Kenny there are a number of canine epilepsy forums which may be of help and reassurance to you.

Just type
epilepsy dog forum
in the search engine and a number come up

Kenny, thanks for putting the photos up of Harvey. I don't know if you realize it but far more people are following this thread and praying for you and Harvey to be ok than you could ever appreciate. You have me in tears every day! God bless and keep you both safe. xxxxx

Thanks Gnasher

Hi Meg

Your right of course

I asked his vet on Tuesday if he was still minded that it was epilepsy and he said that of course a BT can not be ruled out and cant be with out an MRI sadly but he wants to treat this as epilepsy for now and see if we can control the seizures with Medication.

Believe me, I'd take a diagnosis of epilepsy over that of a BT anyday

Hi Chris

Thanks for that and I have now book marked a couple for reading later

Oh Moyra, what a lovely post, thank you.

((((((hugs))))))

I can not tell you how supportive this forum has been, everyone is so lovely and I am so grateful to all.

Thank you again for be so kind.

We all loves ya Baby!!

xx gnasher xx

Okay, now I am blushing

Hello Kenny,

I am one of those who has been reading this thread and I feel as if I am travelling this journey with you. ((Hugs))

I have owned two epileptic dogs over the years, so what you describe all sounds very familiar to me.

When you said Harvey growled and snapped you, I think he must just have come out of a fit. With my GSDx, after a fit he would snarl at us, hackles up, teeth bared - he was a dog we didn't recognise, totally at odds with the gentle sweet soul we knew. We learned to close the door of the room he was in and stay outside it until he'd come back to himself. The change was amazing; one second he would be 'Mr Hyde' and the next, our beloved Wolfie again. He would whimper and be pathetically desperate for our attention, almost as if he was sorry!

With both of my epileptic dogs, it took weeks if not months to get the level of medication correct, and even then, it changed constantly (because the dog becomes habituated to the drug and it has to be increased).

So try to be patient - I know that's much easier to say than to do! It all looks really bad and out of your control right now, but really this is only the start of getting things balanced. Don't expect to see changes too fast - and do expect that you will see-saw between good days and bad ones for a while yet. Bad days are not necessarily a sign things are deteriorating, only settling.

Remember, no matter how bad a fit looks to you, Harvey is totally unaware of it. All he knows is that he feels a bit strange, maybe his senses are not working properly, he might have an odd smell in his nose or taste in his mouth, or hear things like buzzing, or see things distorting a bit. He feels a bit wobbly . . . and then he wakes up.

If he doesn't recognize you immediately, he may think you did this odd thing to him, hence the growling/snapping. Stay out of the room until he shows you he knows who you are, and then you can help calm and reassure him until he settles. Sometimes dogs need to reassure themselves that everything smells and tastes 'normal' again, especially you, so they lick and nuzzle and push their nose against you.

Re the idea of crating him when you need to go out . . You could try a fabric crate? That way he couldn't catch his claws in it? Just an idea.

I can only imagine how scary this must be for you to deal with on your own, but remember everyone here on Dogsey is with you, thinking of you and sending their well-wishes. Make sure your own health care team are aware of what's happening in your life so they can give you any extra support and keep an eye on you.

It sounds to me as if you are handling all of this brilliantly, making very wise and calm decisions. You have found what seems to be a very good vet. Now you just need to carry on doing just as you have been, one day at a time, and I am sure that things will start to balance out soon.

(((Hugs to you and to Harvey)))
From PONLady and Esau