~Anne~

Any documents or links to back this one up? I'd be interested in reading them if there is. Epilepsy has nothing to do with inflammation as a rule. Seizures caused by known causes perhaps but certainly not with epilpesy.

I wouldn't give anything to your dog Melbel without discussing it with your Vet first. Many additives can play havoc with the drugs used to treat epilepsy, even a change of diet can alter the rate at which his body will absorb the Pheno. If anything, the Canine Neurologist that Monte sees suggests giving fish oil caps daily.

I understand the difficulties in keeping to the 12 hours. I stick to it as best as possible and for the greater majority of the time we hit our target. There is always exceptions though. On the rare ocassion I have had to go out at say 4pm (we medicate at 5.30 am/pm) and I will not be back until say 7pm. I will give Monte half of his dose at 4pm and the other half at 7pm. On other occassions when I have been late home and no-one else has been able to get there we just medicate late. However, as Lillysmum said, you sometimes have to cancel plans or rearrange them if need be. If you have a friendly neighbour you may be able to leave some tablets with them for emergencies and have them medicate.

Hi Melbel, His pheno tablets can probably be increased. How heavy is he? My Pug weighs in at approx 8.8 - 9.1 kilos and he is on 90mg of Pheno per day. His last tests revealed he was just on the lower level of therapeutic range (the correct levels of the drug in his system) which means we could up his dose a little more if need be. When the Vet starts you on pheno there will always be an adjustment phase and they always start you on the lowest dose. The idea is to get the seizures under control on the lowest dose of drugs. Usually, the Vet will suggest a blood test to check the levels 3 months after treatment commences and then every 6-12 months or so throughout the dogs life while they remain on medication. If your dog is heavier then mine then I would think your Vet will suggest you up the dose and test in three months. If you reach the therapeutic level of pheno and the seizures continue then they can add another drug or 2 to the mix. The most common second drug is Potassium Bromide. Edited to add: As per above, it is vital that you medicate every 12 hours precisely. If you are sparodic in the time that his meds are given then the drug will not stay at a constant level in his system.

Maybe a big pump type bottle would be better??

Hi, I came home once a few years ago to my then 14 year old daughter screaming and crying about our Pug pup, Boofy, chewing on the pet guinea pig's head. I raced outside to find my adorable 6 month old Pug happily laying down gnawing on the head (still intact) of our now very dead guinea pig. There was guinea pig fur all over the lawn. To this day I have no idea if it was him or my cat that suddenly decided to killed him when they had never worried about him before. I think perhaps it was the cat that intiated it anyway. Boofy has never attacked anything else. He never shows agression either. Being a Pug I wouldn't think he would either but I guess I am saying that it hasn't altered his personality at all. I put it down to puppy play and a cat that became a hunter.

Good news! ;)

I can see Rappie reading this thread and I am sure she will have some ideas.... From my personal point of view it doesn't sound like the dementia that I know. It sounds like a neuro disorder due to something happening in the skull like and injury or a disease of the bone and or brain in the area?

What are the dogs symptoms?

Apart from 2 DOL threads with varying opinions on Woolmix I can't find a great deal of factual info. Can anyone point me in the right direction??

So far we haven't had any issues and I wash my dogs weekly. I'll certainly look into it though. For the mean while it has been making their coats really soft and shiny.

OMG! How fantastic!!!!!!! I am so happy for you. I must admit to being incredibly amazed too though.

OMG! I'll have to do some research. Thanks.

I now use Woolmix on my dogs. Gentle and smells beautifully of euclayptus. Incredibly cheap too!

:D We also have one like this... and we liken it to a Mr Whippy ice-cream machine..............

Usually diet related... sometimes it can be related to medical problems and sometimes it may be just that he has a dicky digestive system. What do you feed him?

I have my fingers crossed for you and am sending all the get well vibes I can. Good luck. ;)

I am surprised the dog was not treated with vitamin K immediately after it was noted he had ingested rat sack regardless of him not showing any symptoms. ;) As a Vet nurse we had several come in after ingesting rat sack. Their survival tended to rely on the amount eaten and the time before treatment commenced.

It sounds very much like it is related to his penis. It also sounds like it could be some kind of antibacterial infection and that it is spreading. In which case, Bepathen probably won't do much good as it is akin to 'closing the door after the horse has bolted'. The Betadine, while great as an antispectic, will not kill a fungal or bacterial infection either or though it may slow it some. If the two B's don't begin to make a difference within a few days or it actually gets worse I'd be off to the vet. If it is fungal then something like Neocort would be more suitable.

Great job BMP! He looks like he is a real sweetie. I though I must have missed something *lol*

Wrap a gauze swap around it and bandage it. Elastoplast would be good but coban would be better.

Dry eyes :D Seriously though you can usually tell by them having 'mucky' eyes. Because there isn't enough mucous coating the eyes the dirt and rubbish is not washed away when they blink. The can also easily become infected. Edited to add - the will develop a brwon film over the eys as well. It usually starts at the corners on the white part of the eye.

Ultrasound? Reconstructive surgery? For dry eye? Huh???? If it is just dry eye then you don't need a specialist and you don't need any 'reconstructive' surgery. Am I missing something here?

westielover, you got in before me and said exactly what I was going to say! In some cases, dry eye is an immune issue, and the cream Optimmune reverses the conditon in some but not all dogs. Pugs also frequently suffer from this. If the condition is not treated they will develop keratitis which is where the eye (all of it including the white area) is covered by a brown pigment. It is like the dog having a brown gauze curtain across their eye. They see some movement and shadows (depending on the severity) and that si all. Their night vision is the worst. As someone above said it would feel like the dog has sand in its eyes all the time and so, even though it is expensive to treat, non-treatment is not an option.

Be prepared for a bit of a changing road with the tablets. They usually need several adjustments beofre you get them right. Also be prepared that many dogs still have seizures after they have commenced medication. The medication is not a cure but simply a control. He may zonk out for a bit here and there and he may sleep far more soundly. All this will depend on the levels he is taking. If the pheno doesn't work on it's own they may intorduce a second drug called Bromide. This will increase the side effects and also has a set of it's own side effects. It can take up to 3 months beofre the body adapts to the drugs sometimes and this is where you need patience. One of the main problems happens when people see the initial reaction to the drugs (lethargy, depression) and do not ride it out for the 3 months. The body will adjust after a while and a lot of the symptoms will dissappear a great deal, but usually never completely. Some of the symptoms you might notice will be; Increase thirst (and resulting urination) Pacing and restlessness Lethargy and depression Increased appetite Heavier sleeping patterns Weakness in the hind leg area (aka ataxia) Some or all of these may be noticed. It really depends on the levels of drugs he is given. If he is on a low dosage you might not notice anything. Don't hesitate to pm me if I can help in any way.