Hi all

My sisters CKCS has just been diagnosed with epilepsy, she is a very poorly girl at the moment and understanbly my sister is really upset. Does anyone have any experince with epilepsy in dogs. Is it expensive to treat, do the treatments really help the dog etc etc.
really feel for her as i have Pip's litter brother.

Thanks in advance

Epilepsy occurs in all breeds and humans too in many cases it can be controlled with various medications if she is otherwise in good health. I assume this girl has had a good health check eliminating other causes as epilepsy can be a symptom sometimes of other conditions. It can also be due to a difficult birth or a head injury too. I don't think it is overly expensive to treat but it is often a lifetime medication. I am sure others will add more info and help you with advice. Hope you are able to stablise Pip soon

Hi! I used to have an epileptic dog and I understand completely how very worrying and distressing it is, especially for the owner. If your sister's dog is fitting more than once a month the vet will probably want to try her on phenobarbitone (epiphen) to control them. This isn't an expensive drug, but it can take a few weeks to get the dosage right for each individual dog, and yes, it can make a tremendous difference.

There is a lot of information about canine epilepsy on the net; you'll find the Phyllis Croft Foundation website of interest, as well as the Canine Epilepsy website.

Hope this helps.

Has she been diagnosed by a GP Vet ? Do you know what the seizures were like ?

I ask this because unless the GP vet actually witnesses the dog in a seizure it is very difficult to diagnosis epilepsy accuracy in a breed like Cavaliers which have two other known Neurological disorders-Syringomyelia & Episodic Falling. I know of one SM sufferer that was being treated for epilepsy by a GP vet whose owner moved & changed vets to one where the vets were SM & EP aware & the dog actually had EP.

My friends Rottie "Audrey" has epilepsy once they get the meds right she should be fine. You would never know Audrey was ill ! Audrey is about 20 months now I dont know what prognosis she will have for a long life but she's a joy now!!