Should I put my dog to sleep? Has seizures & tried everything to stop them. Last time had 6 in 48hs. Help plz?

Question

Has had a CT, spinal tap, been given Phenobarbital, Potassium Bromide, Valium, Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, change diet to all natural, etc. Is now off the meds completely and only on herbs. Was sez. free for 33 days & then last episode was horrible. 1 sez. every 8 hrs lasting 1-2 min. Took 4 days to get back to almost normal. Now he is 90% him self, happy, tail wagging, wanting to play, etc. But this could happen again & again. Don't want him to suffer & the sez. are grand mal (horrid to watch). Please tell me I would be doing the right thing if I do put him to sleep. Very sad, depressed, and want to know it is ok.

Thanks all who answered. The vet says only way to tell it is not a tumor is to do an MRI...$3500. have already spent way more than that. The medications have just about fried his liver that is why we weaned him off them and went with the herbs. He was on only herbs for 33 days when he had the last ones. He could be fine again for a while & then they could happen again. It is so hard when now he acts normal to put him down. I just want to be sure. Original diagnosis was a late onset of Epilepsy...he just turned 7 this month.

Answer 1

Just a thought to help you in making your descision.
A dog doesn't have a concept of how long a life should be..
A dog measures life by quality, and not by quantity,

Answer 2

I'm truly sorry that your beloved dog is going through this. The decision to end a pets life is a very personal one that only you, your family and your vet can make. When my dog had kidney failure, I did everything I could to get him better. I spent thousands of dollars testing and medicating him. The day he started having seizures, I knew I had to let him go, even though I didn't want him to leave my side. There was no question in my mind that he was not going to recover and the choice to put him down was the most humane one.

I believe that you need to be 100% certain of your decision, or else you will always wonder if you did the right thing. If you are having second thoughts regarding ending his life, then you are not ready yet.

Answer 3

My lurcher suffered from epilepsy over a 5 year period. The vet gradually increased the medication to keep seizures to a minimum. She seemed to be ok for 4 to 6 months then begin the seizures more regular then back to the vets, blood test and increase medication. the time came when her medication was 4 epiphen+ 2 epilease twice a day was not enough and 7 fits over three hours had her exhausted. the vet had sedated her the day before but did not really help. It came to the point where her quality of life was not pleasant so made the heart breaking decision to put her to sleep. I believe i have done the right thing but still miss her.

Answer 4

Oh I am so sorry! This is such a tough situation and not easy to deal with. I had to deal with a cat I'd had since I was 5 dying just last year. But before we even knew that he was sick, I was already planning to buy a puppy, and he died the day we went to go pick her up. I guess you could say it took my mind off of my kitty Oliver, I didn't forget him, but I quickly felt alive again. It was the happiest and sadest moment of my life. I would suggest giving yourself a few days, perhaps even a few weeks time to get over Gypsy's death, and during that time remember that she is in a much happier place and that she isn't in pain, but is feeling well and glad, and that she wouldn't want you to be sad. Find a new puppy, NOT A REPLACEMENT. Never consider getting a new dog as a replacement, becuase Gypsy will always be in your heart, forever. I'm writing from the heart, and I truely hope that you feel better. Smile

Answer 5

Did the vet find a cause for the seizures? What was he on for the 33 days he was seizure free?
In my experience Phenobarbital works very well. My cat was on it for a long time when she was going through this. She was tired for a few days, but the seizures stopped completely, and she returned to her old self once her body adjusted to the meds.
The herbs are likely doing more harm than good. Get your dog on a real medicine that works. He may live a long and happy life with proper medication.

Answer 6

You have an awful predicament a head of you. Whatever you decide you will be wondering if you have done the right thing. Have an indepth discussion with your vet about what he feels - I totally understand about not wanting to pay anymore for an MRI besides having the MRI is not going to make your dog all better is it?
My suggestion is (and it is only a suggestion) Is to take some extra special time out with your boy. Set a date for euthanasia and prior to that date love him like you always have. Take him speacial places. Take lots of photos of him and him and the family. Start a scrap book, do some videos and arrange for a plaque or something nice that you can set in your yard (or even a planter box) a long with a beautiful flower or bush that you can tend to for years to come. I remember how I felt when I had to make the decision to put my 18 month puppy to sleep due to cancer.. I talked it over with the vet, family and friends and people gave me ideas on what to put on her plaque... It was my decision in the end but the support I got was fabulous. Whatever you decide will break your heart. be that watching him fit or putting him to sleep. Just remember dogs love the quality of life as it comes to them... they never think about tomorrow. In my opinion putting him to sleep is the best thing to do and it is ok. Remember your going to feel more sad, depressed and cry for weeks when the time comes. Thats when you need to remember that we are here to listen and their are also web sites for grief on loss of pets.

Good Luck, thinking of you both

Answer 7

I just put my dog of 14 years to sleep. She have tremors on her hind legs for sometime and I thought it came with old age. She has gone blind on one eye too. Other than that she is healthy and have no health issues. The multiple seizures came with long interval on day one and it got worse as the day came to an end. We took her to emergency ward and put her in ICU. The vet told us the next day that the anesthetic they gave her did not manage to bring her seizures under control. She was having seizures the whole night. We made the painful decision to put her to sleep as we can t bear to see her in that state and not responding to medications. We spent some quiet moment with her but she was in no state of responding to us and we knew it s time for us to let her go.

Answer 8

I AM SO SORRY!
my doggy also has seizures and I know it is awful to watch! No offense I know you want other people's opinions but, your dog is part of the family and why do you want a bunch of strangers telling you if you should put your dog to sleep. All I can say is fallow your heart and good luck.

Answer 9

My dog had 7 seizures also in 48 hours i dont know what to do i had took her to the vet and got medicine and i gave her but it dosent work im starting to think its alot of seizures and something might be wrong

Answer 10

I had a friend that had to do that to there golden retriever. He had them on and off and then they got worse and worse would have a lot in the course of one day. They had him on meds and everything but the vet told them they would only get worse and would come more often to the point he'd have severe brain damage. So I think that putting him down would be the right and humane thing to do for him. It's going to be hard but watching him go through something like that and only to see it get worse is going to be hard too.

Answer 11

I had to put my puppy to sleep because of seizures. The vet said they would just get worse and more often and need medication for the rest of his life. I thought that would be cruel and selffish. Sorry!