Hi,

My boy has been having strange episodes where he will have what we term as "invisible friends" there really is now other way to describe it.

He will be sitting or laying around as he does and then will sit up and start staring all around him and then look up and "watch" whatever it is he thinks he can see, come down to the ground. At first I thought it might have been a bug or spider but this has been discounted. Then he will spin his head around and "follow" these illusions with his eyes, if you didn't know better you really would think that there WAS something/somebody there.

Somebody mentioned to me that it may be epilepsy, are these the symptoms? I realise that it is very hard to diagnose over the net but just would like some general advice. Has somebody out there had/has a dog with epilepsy? If so, can you give me any pointers? I will be taking him to the vet on Monday as my normal vet gets back from holiday then and I don't trust the other vets due to some misdiagnosis in the past, so would rather see my trusted vet.

He is 2 years old, unneutered and has had the odd episode in the past but recently it has become a little more common. He generally does it when he is hungry, there is a lot of commotion in the house, or he is stressed. This instances may be coincidental but that is when I have noticed them the most.

What tests should I expect my vet to do? And what is the long term propects if it is epilepsy? I really am very worried now and am getting into quite a state about it.

I've had a dog with epilepsy, and it doesn't sound anything like her condition. Although your boy's the classic age for idiopathic (of no known cause) epilepsy to show itself there are many other things that differ from the usual. For instance, in classic epilepsy the fits occur when the dog is relaxed (or even asleep) - settling down after a meal is a typical time for a fit.

He may however be suffering from 'petit mal' seizures; they're certainly not the major 'grand mal' fits. There are no easy tests for epilepsy; vets usually rely on the owner's description of what happens to make a diagnosis, because in between fits the dog is perfectly normal. It will help the vet if you can note in a diary the time and duration of any 'episode' and also the circumstances. It all helps to get a clearer picture.

There are several things about epilepsy that are important to remember. Epileptic fits can be triggered in all dogs (and all of us) - it's just that in some individuals the trigger threshold is lower than usual. It is a treatable condition (and occasionally appears to be curable) and epileptic dogs can live long, full, happy lives. (Of course, they should not be bred from.)

Hope this reassures you a bit. Let us know what the vet says, and inthe meantime, try not to worry.

Hi Jeangenie,

Your good advice has put it all into a little more perspective for me :)

I have started noting down the times when these episodes occur so that should help, as you say. I try to talk him round when he is displaying this behaviour and some times it works. He does have a lot of hair over his eyes at moment, being the breed that he is, I wonder if this has got something to do with it? I cut it short at the start of the summer for his comfort and to stop the great lummox banging into all and sundry :D   He definitely seems more "paranoid" when the hair starts to grow. I will see the vet anyway.

Once again, Thank you for your usual valuable advice :)

Poor pooch. I have no experience of Epilepsy in dogs but my eldest daughter has it. Hers is triggered by stress or being overtired and being woke up suddenly eg. telephone ringing or loud noise when sleeping. She has both Grand Mal attacks ( completely unconcious) and Petite Mal ( just looks like she is dreaming although fully awake and even mid sentence). During the later she does not move atall but freezes this she is unaware of and if in mid sentence, will continue with it when she comes out of the trance. When we first took her to the hospital they asked her if she saw patterns in front of her eyes, but in her case she does not but this must be possible for them to ask. Her condition was diagnosed by an e.e.g. test (painless recording of brain patterns). She has been on various medication some good some bad but medications have made her have mood swings and very irritable. She has had a lot of accidents involving the fits but it seems to have settled down now, 20yrs later (only one or two a year)

Only your vet can give an accurate diagnosis but from experience your notes of when and for how long will be invaluable. Let us all know how you get on.

Hi gaby, sorry to hear that your daughter has epilepsy, it must be rotten for her. At least it has subsided now that she is older.

From the sound of it I think that he has petit mal attacks, if this is what you can call them. He does go into a trance like state, sort of a dream world, but because he is very laid back.....bless him :) we put it down to him being his normal self until it was suggested that it may be something medical.

If the vet rules out epilepsy then I will have to think again. My OH thinks that he may be eating something in the garden (I have been round the garden with a fine tooth comb and found nothing harmful) and is hallucinating, my Shepherd doesn't suffer from any of his symptoms so that makes it unique to him.

I will let you know how I get on :)

Hi HairyPooch

Lets us know how you get on. Friends of mine had a lab with Epilepsy, and they treated it with homeopatic remedies that they got made up in the UK. 

Hi ManxPat,

I am a great believer in homeopathic remedies and have used them successfully with my dogs before, this, if it is the case, could be an option. :)

Hairypooch,

I owned, for a short time, a Presa Canario with Epilepsy. We rescued her but unfortunately she died after just 6 months due to her Epilepsy.We weren't aware of the problem when we rescued her although it wouldn't have made a difference.

What you describe is the first sign of one of Phoeny's 'fits'. she would then go into a 'full blown' seizure.
If your dog isn't having a full blown seizure it could be a 'lesser' form of epilepy.
We were told, after autopsy, that our dog had a really severe case of epilepsy. With a lesser form I am sure the medication our dog was on would work wonders. It did for her until the seizures became worse.
Your vet will know what is best for your dog. We were, initially, told that if the 'episodes' were only once a month or so then we didn't need medication. Only when our dog had a 'cluster' of seizures did the vet put her on medication.
If your dog is put on medication it is a lot cheaper to get a prescription and then get the medication from the like of Hyperdrug.com on the internet. I live only 7 miles away and I was saving in excess of £30 per month on the vet costs.

Don't assume your dog has epilepsy, he may have a visual problem, like the "floaters" people sometimes get which are completely unrelated  to epilepsy.  

Stacey

Hi,

Well I took Murfee to the vet yesterday and the vet has given him a clean bill of health. He had a look at the diary that I have kept of these episodes and he said that they didn't point to a dog with epilepsy.

He asked me if when the Murf was in one of these trances, wheather or not I could coax him out of them.
I have been able to on every occasion without a problem,by me usually offering food to him :D So the vet said that this is another posititive sign. He did the usual health checks and couldn't find anything wrong and couldn't really offer another reason as to why he does this.

Of course I am very relieved that it has been ruled out but I still would like to know what causes him to do this. It is probably something that I will never be able to get to the bottom of. perhaps he really does have "invisible friends"

Thank you for all your posts :)

Hi Hairypooch,

Could Murf be getting bored??
My OH's son, who has learning difficulties, does this. If he isn't interested in what's going on around him he just 'goes into the zone'.
As soon as we speak to him he's 'back among the living' as we put it.
Our Phoenix had 'definite' seizures I'm sure you'd know if it had been epilepsy.
Were his eyes checked by the vet? He may have 'floaters' and think they are outside.
So long as he's not having aggressive episodes when he comes out of one of his turns I wouldn't really worry if the vet says he's fit.

Hi D4wn,

I also thought that he may be getting bored :)

Inbetween being the most laid back dog in the world, ie, read, complete and utter laziness :D he plays with Ella (GSD) they drive me mad with their non stop antics :D I take him down to the beach every morning and afternoon (school runs permit this) eating, drinking, destroying Nylabones and being brushed (every single day because of his "wonderful coat") I don't think that he has time to get bored :)

The vet checked his eyes and said that everything was fine. As I said in an earlier post, I think it is time to give him another hair cut as I am sure where the hair is growing down it must look like something moving, but in saying that, he still did it when the hair was shorter, I think it has got worse recently though. Must say though, I am getting a little impatient with friends mocking him, bless. OH reckons as he's soo happy and obviously healthy to just leave him to it. :)

In Terry Pratchetts books he talks about things that only cats and wizards can see - Maybe Murf's a wizard :-D Don't embarrass him with the idea that he might be a cat :-D

bullphi, I wouldn't dare insult him in such a way!!! :D :D :D.......Meow :D