I have a little greyhound and she has had a couple of seizures and I took her to the vet and he said had hereitary seizures. I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem with their dog, The vet said that if she has to be put on medicine that it would harm her in the end if she was on it for a long time.

We took on a rescue Tervueren who had severe eileptic fits ( he was about 2 years old when he developed them) he was put on to Phenobarbitone and stayed on this until his death at 13 . It did take a few weeks to get the dosage right and stabilise him and he still had the occassional 'petit mal' but he was able to lead a normal active life up till his death. He was a wonderful dog and worked with me as a PAT dog in the special school where I teach so I am very grateful for the years that his medication gave us.

Phenobarbitone does work out quite expensive and will be a long term thing but not all dogs need to be on medication it depends on the frequency and sevevrity of the fits - you will very much need to be guided by your vet.

As a side issue - you should contact his breeder to let them know your dog has epilepsy as there is usually a strong genetic link to this and she will want to avoid producing this distressing condition in other litters.

Good luck with your little greyhound :)

Yvonne

Epilepsy has been found in very many breeds and cross-breeds, so it isn't as unusual as many people think. The fits are vry distressing for the observer but the dog is deeply unconscious when they happen and is unaware of them. I've learned that if fits happen no more than once a month it isn't really worth putting the dog on medication, but if they are very frequesnt (several a week) then medication ican be a lifesaver, controlling the fits and enabling the dog to live a long, happy, normal life. It can take several months to find the best dosage or combination of drugs, so don't despair.

Google will turn up a lot of information if you type in "canine epilepsy", and as has been said, please tell the breeder about this as the mating that produced your bitch shouldn't be repeated. Good luck.
:)