My Maltese/Bijon puppy has a history of siezures. But...?

Question

Mickey is 1.5 years old and has been diagnosed by our vet as having Idiopathic Epilepsy, he has been placed on Phenobarbital and has been taking this medication for the last 6 months, during these 6 months he has not had any seizures at all and has resumed to being his happy go lucky self; playing and getting into mischief.
However, over the last 2 weeks he started having random seizures (small facial seizures that lasted 5-15 seconds). These only seem to happen at night while he is sleeping. My wife and I seem to think it may be triggered by dreams he may be having. We took him to his vet who pretty much told us that Mickey is a seizure dog and will have the occasional seizure even while on phenobarbital.
I can understand that, but i cant help but feeling that i need more of an explanation. Why was he fine with no seizures for the first 6 months, why is he all of a sudden having small seizures while he is sleeping? Will they subside with his continuing medication?

Thanks to all those who've answered so far. I can assure you that he is having small seizures at night as when they are through he pops out of bed and is disoriented. During the seizure his eyes open and he starts snapping at invisible flies, sometimes he drools due to this, but not always.
I have done some research and feel that maybe a good vitamin supplement is in order. I also have read that certain vitamin deficiencies can cause seizures so i will start giving Mickey some of those as well as his medication and then just hope to see a decline in his episodes.
Thanks again to everyone that has answered.

Answer 1

Have you asked your vet about increasing the dose of his meds slightly? As in people, dogs bodies are forever changing. We can "outgrow" ailments and we can "grow into" them. His body probably has gone through or is going through a change and that may have triggered something.

Answer 2

It's possible that the dogs body could just be getting used to the medication. (This is not to say that the dose should be increased or the medication changed.) Seizuring is a very common trait that Bijon's have, unfortunately. And while there is medication to alleviate these symptoms, there may not be an ultimate solution to this condition. As hard as it may be, try not to feel bad for the dog. He doesn't feel bad for himself, he accepts it and lives with it. As must you. The best thing you can do for it is to ensure that it lives a happy and healthy life. Daily exercise and pleanty of affection for good behavior will keep the dog stable and as healthy as possible, both mentally and physically. I realize that this isn't necessarily an acceptable answer, but I'm finding it hard to think that there will be a suitable one regardless. We're all born with some sort of defect, be it mental or physical, this truth is no different for dogs. But we make the best of what we're given and try to be happy. Once you realize your dog has already done this, it may be easier for you to get past this stop sign and work on making what you Do have as good as possible. Your dog needs and deserves your affection, though your sympathy it could do without.

Answer 3

It could be that his body has built a tolerance to the phenobarbital and needs to be adjusted. When he is sleeping the rest of the body is at rest so you may notice seizures that go unnoticed during the day. You may want to seek out a vet who specializes in seizures. (Yes, for those who question, there are animal specialists just like humans have specialists).

My friend has a dog that had epilepsy and took medication. She was okay for several years, then had to have the medication changed to something else. You may want to see what other meds are out there for her disorder.

Good luck with your little fur-ball.

Answer 4

I don't think I answer the question fully as I am not a vet and have not had a pet who has seizure. Could the dog get used to the dosage of meds so he needs a stronger dose? You could ask the vet about that.

Are you sure he is actually having seizures and not just muscle twitches? My dogs frequently have twitches when they are dreaming, especially around their lips - I am assuming they are barking at something.

Answer 5

i had a dog with a worse prob as she kept getting then often even on the meds. seems that u r doing your best and there cant reall be much more. my dog got her first seizure at about 4 or 5 years of age and she got bettter for a few years and then worse as she grew old but she lived to be 11. nobody seems to know what triggers the brain to work this way. love yur dog and give it the best u can, u seem to be doing that anyway.

Answer 6

My guess is that his system has built up some sort of small immunity to his medication. However, the good news is that the medication he is on is keeping his major seizures in check.

The small seizures he is having in his mouth don't seem to be threatening to his well-being, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

There are a bunch of things you should know about dog training but we are going to discuss what I feel are some the most important. Keep in mind that these are only some of the things you should know. Go here http://OnlineDogTraining.enle.info/?y1dI

1. Repetition is the number 1 principle of dog training. Dogs just like humans learn by doing things over and over in order to get better.

2. Dog Training can and should be fun for both you and your new pet.

3. Training sessions should always be short but sweet. I never work a dog more than 15 minutes in a session to keep from losing the dog's attention. You should train you dog at least once a day but never more than three formal sessions a day.

4. Your goal should be that each training session is just a little bit better than the last one. You need to always strive to make the training better, slowly. I mention this because quite often I see people who do daily training sessions but the dog never gets better and it is not the dogs fault.

5. Having patients is very important in dog training. Losing your temper does not work with a canine it simply makes things worse.

6. Exercise is very important in the training process to get rid of all the dogs nervous energy.

7. Taking your pet for walks is very important because it develops serotonin which gives your dog a feeling of well being.

8. Always be sure to give your dog a bunch of praise in your training. It is your dog's paycheck for doing a great job.

9. Never hit your dog. I have heard people say I never hit my dog instead I roll up a magazine and swat it. It's the same thing... hitting is hitting.

10. After each training session be sure to do something that your dog will enjoy. Take it for a walk, throw the ball or maybe even rub its belly. Just do something that makes the dog look forward to the next training session.

These are things that I teach my dog training students as well as my dog training clients. I hope these things will give you something to think about when training your dog. Spend some time training your dog daily and you will both reap the benefits.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

even humans on anti seizure meds still have them from time to time, it might just be that his body just reciently got used to the meds. are you sure they are small seizures tho? my dog makes funny faces when she's dreaming, it looks like shes chewing on something (usually after it looked like she was running after somehting).