Our 11 year old Black Lab cross, Buddy, just had a seizure. He has a lifelong history, and is on Phenobarb for it, but it's been a year and a half since his last one, darn it. It's unsettling and hard not to worry. He came out of it, and seems fine now. He was out on the deck when it happened, just after going out to greet (bark at) a neighbor who drove in the driveway. It only lasted a minute but seems like an eternity, you know? Afterwards, we went back in the house, and after getting toweled off from the rain, he headed for the dog bed and chomped down a dog biscuit he'd left there earlier. Now he's in Don's room, laying on the bed and getting his belly rubbed and soaking up the sympathy Whew, didn't need that, ya know?

I hope things settle down there. we will send good thoughts your way.

Nate, sorry to hear this. I know exactly what you mean, with every one they have to go through, you pray it will be the last. Glad to read he had a quick recovery though.

Sounds like you're used to dealing with this, so you know the drill. Start logging the incident, duration and all that in case you have to re-evaluate meds.

Do you watch for the full moon cycles or have you noticed any correlation to the full moon with any of the seizures?

I have a little gal here who is not on medication as her seizures are not frequent enough in nature to warrant it. But I have noticed IF she's going to have a seizure it will be during a full moon period.

Thank you so much! We're settling down, and Buddy seems to be a bit quiet, but fine. As I said, not like we haven't seen it before, but unsettling all the same.

Nate I'm so sorry about Buddy. That had to be horrible to watch. At least he seems okay now though! I'll be keeping Buddy in my thoughts and prayers

Soooo sorry that Buddy and you had to go through that. It truely is unsettling to put it mildly. Glad all is well now and that you have another chance to spoil him!

Interesting, Karen. Hadn't really considered the lunar cycle, but I figure we're just about at half moon right now. Yes, we log it. Can't say we're exactly used to dealing with it though. We've had him for about 2 years (he was rescued by one family, then rehomed with us), and he had probably 3 or 4 seizures after we first got him, then as I said, nothing for a year and a half.

One interesting note: Buddy is quite "fly phobic". Houseflies, bees, hornets, etc. can drive him nuts in a hurry. We know he spent his first few years chained out year round to a dog house, and speculate that he must have been driven wild by all the biting flies in the spring and summer around here. The last day or so we've noticed that he's been more focused and phobic about flies than he has been for a while. Wonder if there is any correlation? If not a trigger, perhaps a predictor?

Nate would you elaborate on this? Seizures have so many variables. A snap of the mouth, licking the air, a shake of the head can all be seizure activity in the brain, if the dog is prone to them.

Sure. What he does is really fixate if he spots a fly, particularly in the house. Sometimes he'll just lay there and stare at it. He may react by charging at it, but often reacts in an agitated and almost fearful manner, sometimes leaving the room. I've seen the sight or sound of a fly literally drive him out of bed, or prevent him from getting into bed and he'll go sleep in the hallway or another room for a while. Then again, there are times when he doesn't seem that bothered, but I question whether it isn't just because he doesn't always notice them.

Perhaps there are times when there isn't a fly there at all, is that's what you're getting at? These "fly" incidents are very different in nature from his full blown seizures though, and have never (to my knowledge) been followed by a full blown seizure.

Awww Nate, for your little friend there. Keeping fingers and all kinds of other things crossed for him.