Seasons and epilepsy ..any link?? Urgent-UPDATED !!

Hi peeps
Urgent question for a friend -she has a 8 month bitch she is 'running on' for the breeder -she's just finished her season and today has had two massive epileptic fits ..she's currently at the vets under heavy sedation
The breeder seems to think its linked to the season -what do you think ??
does anyone have any idea what the future could hold ?? could it affect the dogs temperament ?? she has young children

Please peeps any ideas at all

sorry I've not worded this well at all it sounds very cold and uncaring bit there are other issues going on as well which I can't go into on the open board

Hi Murphy
have posted a couple of links

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

http://www.canineepilepsysupport.co.uk/

Hope they are of help
Hope its a one off and the little one is fine

Hi Murphy yes... here is a link with a quote.

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:6...ason&hl=en

Can I do anything to prevent epilepsy?
If you have an epileptic dog, it would be unwise to breed from him or to repeat the mating that produced him. The same applies to an epileptic bitch. With an epileptic bitch, the frequency of fits may increase around the time of her season. Thus, it may be advisable to have her spayed.

I did not need to check really as I was almost certain having a friend who's collie had this problem..Jill had three little girls and was very scared. She had Sally spayed and she went on medication to control the problem and was ok, her temperament was unchanged.. sweet and gentle

Thanks -will pass it on and keep you posted -one more thing does anyone know if it can be controled homeopathically ( sp)

would not like to say..usually controled with similar thing to epilyn(sp) that humans have...my late sis was ep too.

Snorri-dog is epileptic; he's a he, so obviously no link to seasons in his case. I wouildn't have thought seasons would make a lot of difference, but you can't really rule out anything , as the previous link shows.

I'd agree that repeat matings, or using this bitch for breeding is NOT a good idea. Snorri's is the last litter from one particular dam, and he has at least two epileptic older brothers that I know of. It is definitely heritable.

I have never tried homeopathic remedies on him; when he had his first cluster fit, the vet put him straight on phenobarbitone and it works. We have carried on with the drug as we are not prepared to risk him on something which has not been fully tested.

Snorri has had only one fit in over three years, and that occurred only when we tried to wean him off the stuff. This is extremely good control; usually one attack per month is considered good control.

The treatment has made no observable difference to Snorri's temperament. He was 3 when the first fit occurred, he's the same good boy he was before - but it is possible that epilepsy which was "lying in wait" may have had a formative effect on his nature, but there's no way to check that. High dosages may, however, make the dog a bit more "dopey", certainly for a few weeks after treatment starts.

Another helpful site (also with a forum) can be found HERE. It helped me a lot when the first spells occurred.

HTH
Snorri

Thanks Snorri - I Knew about Snorri dog from 'other places '
But I'm sorry to say its been decided to let her go to the bridge
she's been fitting non-stop since early this morning and isn't responding to meds at all -the vet feels there may be some permanent damage done - so they feel its better to let her go
but thanks for the input peeps

Aww sorry to hear that
Run free little one

OH no ..... a peaceful journey over the bridge little one ....

murphy has this bitch resently had pups? the reason why is it could be pre or post eclamsia (sp) which causes epiletic type fits (sp)