distemper seizures?

Question

im back... the vet is aware we are treating our puppy at home homeopathically. she has distemper, but hasnt had any seizures yet. she was licking her lips a lot today (i was thinking that might be the chewing gum thing ... not sure) but anyway, the holistic treatments give our puppy the most hope. before any insentive morons give a "smart" answer about putting a gun to her head like my last question let me say this- if she gets bad to where she is suffering, or has any permanent brain damage that causes her to have poor quality of life- we will do the right thing and put her to sleep BUT while she still has hope of recovering (with minimal or no lasting problems hopefully!!) if she does get to the point of having a seizure is there anything i can do to make it easier for her (besides making sure shes in a safe spot, and talking to her, staying calm...) i stay home alone with her during the day and im TERRIFIED of this happening. im going to be so scared!! should i just not touch her?

or should i put my hand on her back? or... i dont know! one of three things can happen 1- she will recover 2-she will die 3-we will put her down if she starts suffering. i know those things! but how can i help her if she goes through one of these? and if it does happen, ill let her calm down for a minute or 3 after and take her right to the vet. *how can i prepare myself to take care of her through a seizure?* although... we are praying she doesnt get that bad. :(

a german sheperd puppy 8 or 9 mo. whats sad is i let the humane society know they gave me a dog with distemper-so they should check their other dogs- they didnt give a crap :( wonder how many other people are dealing with this because of their lack of concern!?

Answer 1

first I want to thank you for letting us know as i was one of the people who answered your question. yes pat her when she is not well. give her all the love you can. you have done a great job. And as for the shelter I totally understand as I took 2dogs. 1 with major mental problems the other with tumors. spent a lot of money in surgery. tons of money. Loved my babies and would pay it agian if I had to, but I have learned not to go to the shelters anymore.
thank you again and don't be scared. I know i was sad when my last one a left over tumor burst and we knew it was goin to happen. if you could have seen how happy he was. he knew it was his time to go. he was happy to go, and now that we have shed are tears we are happy for him.

Answer 2

Sadly,with distemper,once you reach the stage of seizures there is not much you can do.The central nervous system is the last place the disease hits and usually by this point the animal is so debilitated that it will not survive the strain of multiple seizure activity.
But if you do try to make it through a seizure 1) Remain calm.Animals are sensitive to human feelings and if you are stressed they will sense it. 2) Make sure the animal cannot hurt itself by falling off a bed or couch or hitting a table. 3) Seizures mean the nervous system is very over stimulated and agitated.So the hardest part is to try not to cause any further stimulus by touching or talking to the animal.Keep light and sound to a minimum. 4) Check throughout the seizure for heart beat. 5) And finally,try to remember the time the seizure started and ended and if any certain body parts were affected because that way a vet may be able to determine the possible damage you may be facing.

Answer 3

The most important thing with seizures is stopping them as quickly as possible to prevent the animal from going into whats called a cluster episode (with each seizure a pet has, it lowers the threshold in the brain at which it will seizure again). I know you are treating homeopathically, and have seen your other posts so I am aware of all you've tried, and I am not aware of any holistic treatment to stop a seizure immediately. I would ask your vet to prescribe a valium suppository that you can keep on hand at home. This can be inserted into the rectum (I know its gross, but it will be effective) when a seizure occurs to stop it and hopefully prevent another one from occuring quickly after. With every seizure a pet has close togethor the bodies temperature goes up, and the risk of brain damage increases. As for during the seizure, just make sure she is somewhere on the floor away from furniture so she cannot hurt herself. Never put your hand on or near her mouth, she is not aware at this time and could possibly bite on accident, just talk to her calmly until she returns to normal. Good luck

Answer 4

What kind of puppy is it? My grandparents have a australian sheperd and apparently with the breed, they are prone to seizures. There dog Bandit has them alot :( They rush her outside when she has them and leave her alone until she has 4, which is how many she always has. She pees when she has them, plus the inside is so small, more likley of her hurting herself. Her life is fine, not problems permantly except for the siezures. My grandpa started feeding her vanilla ice cream, it actually helps seizure activity in the brain, and he says its been working. The natural kind though, just so it isnt so bad. Also, try high quality dog food with no perservatives or additives, and no table food. Just things to try with your puppy to help it subside! Good luck!

EDITED: Must be the sheperd in the dogs! How strange! I know the other women said to call the doctor, maybe as a puppy when they are trying to figure out what the dog has, but at this point, there is nothing they can do. My grandparents dog has seizures all the time, in 4's. My husband mother was epileptic all her life until she died this year at 44 years old, and we never had to call the hospital until she had 4 in an hour. When someone is epileptic, they will have siezures, with medical intervention or not!

Answer 5

I'm so sorry your pup came down with distemper! There are a trilogy of signs of distemper, which go straight down in order:
1.) Respiratory illness
2.) Gastrointestinal illness
3.) Neurological signs

As for your question regarding what to do if a seizure occurs, lay down on top of your pup so she doesn't flail around and potentially hurt herself. Call your veterinarian immediately (or an emergency veterinarian) and have your pup looked at. Most times they will admit a dog so if another seizure occurs, they can administer medication such as valium or phenobarbital to stop or lessen the seizure activity.

Remember to stay calm!!! I know it's tough, you love your pup, and you only want what is best for her. Good luck to you, and keep us posted about how she is doing!

*In response to your added question - get her laying on her side, and lay down over her body and "hug" her... this will prevent her from thrashing around if her seizure gets bad. STILL make sure to call the vet and let them know about the seizure.*

Answer 6

It is possible, uncommon but it does happen. I used to work at Petsmart and this is one of the reasons that we won't take a dog who's had a vaccine within 48 hours of the appointment. Some vets say that once your dog has had it's whole set of puppy shots and then it's boosters around one year old they don't need shots anymore and will just do titers. Some vets recommend getting all vaccines every three years. The risk of seizures is low, so it's not really a reason to not give a shot. It's more of an allergic reaction than anything.

Answer 7

Things that are helpful when a dog has a seizure: a cooler room, place, (higher the temperature, more violent/lengthy the seizures), darkness, no loud noise, preferably only one person to stay with the dog, especially the one the dog is closer to, massage its body, stay calm, talk to it with a comforting tone.

Answer 8

The licking of the lips or chewing, can be seizures. I would have this evaluated by the vet and get her on meds for it. There are no holistic treatments for seizures that work.

Answer 9

Distemper Seizures