# Epilepsy???



## CSF (May 19, 2017)

I can't even believe I am having to post this- We have a 16 month old Vizsla named Piper. She has been a challenge, to say the least- from the very beginning. Just within the last few months- have we really seen the great dog she might become. She is my constant hiking companion and snuggle puppy for our 5 year old human child. 
She started having some odd moments where she would lose her balance when she was getting sleepy or maybe after a long period of playing with other dogs and she was getting ready to rest. 
One night when she was 8 months- I took her to the ER Vet when it seemed like something was really off. They only conclusion they could come up with was maybe she ingested some marijuana somewhere on a walk. All of their tests- only told us she was healthy. They said to let her sleep it off and she should be fine. I think this day was the start of some small seizures. 
She will be fine for quite a bit of time and then it will happen again. Last month- It happened again and I decided to video what happens to her and I made an appointment to show our vet and do a full blood panel work up. The vet said it really looks to be neurological- and all of her blood work came back normal. He suggested CBD oil and a trip to the neurologist. She was great for a full month- we hadn't started the CBD oil yet- exactly one month later- she had another attack. 
We had come home from being gone for a few hours and she was running back and forth between us- getting lots of love and snuggles and then she just laid down and went blank and got really calm and had an accident on her bed. Scary for all us- because she wasn't Piper at that time- for the next few hours she acted upset and her balance was off and it was so hard to see. I did video some more of what was happening. 
The following day- I picked up some CBD oil and made an appointment with a neurologist for next week. 
I have contacted the breeder and let them know what is going on and they said they haven't heard that any other of their dogs have had issues. I know that Piper's Mom and Dad have had at least 2 more litters since Piper was born. 

Has anyone else had experience with epilepsy in dogs- particularly this young?? 
This feels like a cruel joke. Hopefully we will know more next week. 

Christine


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I don't have experience with it in dogs.
I know others have found with the correct medications, it can be controlled in a good many dogs. There is some trial in getting the dosage right, for the individual dog. 
My great nephew has had seizures since he was 3 years old. He's now 18, and for the most part his meds do a good job of keeping them at bay.


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## trentbarter (Jul 13, 2018)

My Viszla has epilepsy, and is supposedly relatively common for the breed. She started fitting at about 1 1/2 yoa. On medication to sedate her slightly. This is supposed to calm her down and stop the fits. It hardly touches the sided, she is still very active. We still see her fitting maybe once a month. We are supposed to keep increasing the dose till she completely stops fitting but reluctant to go too high as it will damage her liver.

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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

@CSF
Any updates on how she's doing?
Just hoping the CBD oil has helped her.

Trentbarter
I don't think it's real comon in the breed. Although it does happen, and more so in some bloodlines. 
Any chance either one if these dogs are from Rex Spiess? I know he has had a problem in his bloodlines for a while.


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## trentbarter (Jul 13, 2018)

texasred said:


> @CSF
> Any updates on how she's doing?
> Just hoping the CBD oil has helped her.
> 
> ...


No to Rex Speiss, we are in Australia. But continuing on from my earlier post, my beautifully girl had a very bad seizure this past weekend. Not your normal one, it started with her constantly shaking her head like something was in her ear. 30 min later she could not walk. This lasted all night so a visit to the vet in the morning after a sleepless night. Her pupils were fixed and dilated. We decided to leave her at the vet for 24 hrs to see if she would come out of it. Went back next day thinking we would be saying goodbye, but she was back 100%. We will now be trying her on new medication.

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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

How horrible for you, and her. I know that would scare me, and the dogs must be scared when this happens to them.


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## CSF (May 19, 2017)

No- Piper comes from a breeder in Washington state. 
We started the CBD oil on June 13th and we still have seen or noticed 5 episodes- including one this evening. I know the CBD oil can take a while to build up in their system- but I will probably speak to my vet and see what we can add in next. 
Her episodes are ones we really can't see-(except maybe the one on June 10th)- we just see the after effects. Her head can gets wobbly and her balance can really be off. She sometimes starts to drool and get nauseous. She mostly wants to sleep it off. 
It really is hard to see your dog not be themselves.


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## CSF (May 19, 2017)

Also- we did see a neurologist and he looked at all of Piper's blood work and I showed him the videos of her behavior. He said they are a couple more test that he could run- but we could just call it epilepsy and treat it as such. Especially since she is so young and they started when she was 8 months old. He said if it was a tumor- we would probably see other issues.
Any MRI would run around $2500 and it still would just rule out other issues- but would not confirm epilepsy. 

This is no fun.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Man, MRIs have when up in price, over the last few years. I was quoted $1200. seven years ago. 
It seems like a high price to pay, just to rule out something that's unlikely. 
Hope you find away to get the seizures undercontroll.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

So very sorry for Piper. Hope the CBD oil will help. While it may not be very common in the breed anymore, this has been one of the issue breeders had to deal with after the gene pool has gone down significantly after WWII and you will find in Hungary some with this challenge too. Just like with hip dysplasia, hopefully the genetical part will disappear at some point, however you cannot exclude environmental factors (i.e. certain pollens or allergens are know to possibly cause seizures, or a pup not feed or exercised properly may lead to hip issues) can contribute too. let us know how it goes, i heard about cases where it became pretty controllable. either way, praying for your Piper.


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## Amanda_Maybesmom (May 13, 2021)

CSF said:


> Also- we did see a neurologist and he looked at all of Piper's blood work and I showed him the videos of her behavior. He said they are a couple more test that he could run- but we could just call it epilepsy and treat it as such. Especially since she is so young and they started when she was 8 months old. He said if it was a tumor- we would probably see other issues.
> Any MRI would run around $2500 and it still would just rule out other issues- but would not confirm epilepsy.
> 
> This is no fun.


 HI there, 

We have a one year old vizsla who exhibits the exact same episodes--dizzy, wobbly, drooling, groggy, sometimes throws up. Since this post was a few years ago, I wondered if you learned anything new or were able to find a treatment for your pup? We are scheduling a visit with a neurologist soon. 

Thank you!


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## Puppy<3 (10 mo ago)

CSF said:


> I can't even believe I am having to post this- We have a 16 month old Vizsla named Piper. She has been a challenge, to say the least- from the very beginning. Just within the last few months- have we really seen the great dog she might become. She is my constant hiking companion and snuggle puppy for our 5 year old human child.
> She started having some odd moments where she would lose her balance when she was getting sleepy or maybe after a long period of playing with other dogs and she was getting ready to rest.
> One night when she was 8 months- I took her to the ER Vet when it seemed like something was really off. They only conclusion they could come up with was maybe she ingested some marijuana somewhere on a walk. All of their tests- only told us she was healthy. They said to let her sleep it off and she should be fine. I think this day was the start of some small seizures.
> She will be fine for quite a bit of time and then it will happen again. Last month- It happened again and I decided to video what happens to her and I made an appointment to show our vet and do a full blood panel work up. The vet said it really looks to be neurological- and all of her blood work came back normal. He suggested CBD oil and a trip to the neurologist. She was great for a full month- we hadn't started the CBD oil yet- exactly one month later- she had another attack.
> ...


Did the CBD oil work? Or did you try other meds?


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Puppy<3 said:


> Did the CBD oil work? Or did you try other meds?


She hasn't been on the forum for a year, so she will likely not see your question. You could try PM'ing her.


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