I was woken up in the middle of the night by an almighty commotion.  Went downstairs to investigate and discovered our 12mth old lab thrashing about in her cage in a very distressed state.  Her breathing was erratic,she was 'chomping' and salivating and her eyes were bulging .  I really panicked and all I could do was hold her head and comfort her.  She then bolted up, snarled and flew around the kitchen making distressed noises.  She finally calmed down and had a complete bewildered look about her for 5 minutes.  She was then sick.   What had I given less than 12 hours earlier.............. Drontal Plus.  Is this a coincidence or could it be the Drontal. The Vet says fits are not a recognised side effect of Drontal, and it could be epilepsy. Has anyone else got experience of this?      

Sounds very much like Grand Mall epilepsy to me. The fits tend to occure when the dog is relaxed so often happen in the middle of the night. One of my Labs developed this at around 18 months old. Did the vet give any medication for it? Possibly not because he may want to see if it is a one off or an ongoing problem. Fit's can happen for a number of problems so it is always possible that it may never happen again.

Regards, John

I'm sorry to hear about this. I can only repeat what John has said. She is at the low end of the scale for developing idiopathic (no known cause) epilepsy, so that is a possibility. But it might never happen again. If it does, and becomes frequent, then there is medication which can control it. Dogs with epilepsy (if that's what it proves to be) can lead long happy lives, but should never be bred from. The breeder should also be informed, so that the breeding isn't repeated. Fits are far more distressing for the owner than they are for the dog, if that's any comfort.

My Bethany died at a couple of weeks short of 14 years old and if I could have her back I'd jump at it! Her epilepsy was never a problem. Yes, she would go down sometimes but she was the most wonderful dog around.

Regards, John

Thanks for your replies.  No John, no medication prescribed, the vet has said to monitor the situation.  One or 2 fits a year are not a cause for concern, if it becomes more frequent, say once a month, then they will look to treat for epilepsy. I am not convinced it isn't the Drontal though.  I am hoping it is as I can easy remedy it by not giving it to her again.

Epeleptic dogs tend to fit at regular intervels. With Bethany the intervel was about 6 week. She could miss a fit and in that case it would be another 6 weeks for it to come round again. My vet perscribed Phenobarb but I never gave it. I thought that as a young dog once I started I would need to give it for the rest of her life and I figured that the longer I could leave it before starting the better. In the end I never ever did start giving it.

Very simply, we are all epileptic, it is just that our threashold is above where we will ever start fitting. If your dog has a lowish threashold it is possible that Drontol just takes her over the top.

Fingers Crossed! John

My friends have a oldish lab (12) who is epileptic and they do not give the medication, for the same reasons as John has given. Instead they have a homeopathic remedy that is made up by Ainscough Vetinerary Services. The remedy is made up into a pill and once they see the dog is going to fit, they give the pill and he comes out of it very quickly.

Another friend had her lab diagnosed last year at age 6, and was prescribed medication. She duly gave the dog the medication for about 6 months but the dog always appeared very tired on the medication so she stopped, and the dog is much better. She is considering a homeopathic route.

Good luck

<<<<<<<<<<<<She duly gave the dog the medication for about 6 months but the dog always appeared very tired on the medication so she stopped, and the dog is much better. She is considering a homeopathic route.>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I know someone who is on tegretol. the human form of anti epilectic drug, and  it has that effect on her. in the evening she cant keep her eyes open and often cat naos during the day.

I rescued a dog at Easter, Lea knows about her, She developed Epilepsy after 3 months.
She was 18 months old when we got her and she was a Presa Canario Masitff.
The vet advised to 'wait and see' how often she would fit. We di and after 4 weeks she had a 'cluster' of 16 seizures in 36 hours. Each lasting longer than the last.
If the fits had been 'few and far between' we would not have started the Phenobarbitone medication but as she was having a lot of fits in a short amount of time we did.
She was given quite a high dose and after 2 weeks a blood test showed it was having the disired affect.
The treatment was working really well but unfortunately last week she began having 'clusters' again.
She had upwards of 12 fits in 1 hour. We took her straight to the vets but she was already blind, deaf and irreconcilably brain damaged.
We had to have her PTS last Tuesday.
We had only had her 5 months and they were the best few months she ever had as she had been quite badly neglected.
She had had 4 homes since January.
She would have been 2 on the 10 th October.
This is probably the worst scenerio that could possibly have happened. I know numerous dogs that live for years with epilepsy.

I hope your girl never has another seizure but if she does and they become frequent I wouldn't hesitate to use Phenobarb as it worked for our dog
Our dog has had an autopsy that we are waiting for the results from. To see if she was epileptic when we got her.

Dawn I am so sorry. But you know you did the best for her.
You know where I am.
Lea

Hi Lea

One of the guys at dog club has a similiar problem with feeling very tired on the medication. He came to dog training about 3 weeks ago and feel asleep!!!!

You do wonder what effects it all has on the body.

Yep, and the person I know doesnt take her medication sometimes as she hates the feeling. There must be another way to sort epilepsy out!!!! Luckily she doesnt have narcolepsy with the medication, but if she starts to relax to watch a programme of talk in peace in a comfortable chair, she tends to fall asleep quicker than most people would.
Lea :)

Thanks for all the replies.  Should I risk the Drontal again in 6mths or try something else?

um, dont you give Drontal ever 12 weeks?????
Well, thats what I have been told to do, so religously at 12 weeks use Drontal.
Lea :)