Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I'll try to bookmark that epi website as well, for any future need.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I'll try to bookmark that epi website as well, for any future need.

Good info so far. My Tori was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy just over a year ago.

Most vets start with Phenobarbital (PB) because it gets into the system and reaches full effect faster compared to Potassium Bromide (KBr). The downside of PB is that it harms the liver and can decrease liver function over time. KBr does not have this side effect, but it takes longer (about 4 months) to get into the system to take full effect in helping to control seizures.

Tori started on 60mg PB twice per day in April '08. At first, it seemed to work well, and she went about 2-3 months without another seizure. After that, the time between seizures started to decrease, and eventually she was having seizures every 2-3 weeks. She is also known to cluster, so if she has one seizures, we always expect more to follow.

My vet has no problem prescribing liquid Diazepam (valium) for me to keep on-hand at home. Anyone who owns a dog with seizures should have this. It takes immediate effect when administered rectally. It is next fastest when injected. Don't get it in tablet form. That takes at least 20-30 minutes to take effect. When you have a dog that clusters, you need it to work right away. Once Tori has a seizure, I immediately give 2ml Diazepam rectally, hoping to stop another seizure from following. Most of the time, it has worked, but there have been a few times where she has had a second seizure, but usually not more. In the couple times she has had more than two, I have followed up with an extra dose of PB and Diazepam.

Clusters are scary, especially for bulldogs, due to their brachycephalic makeup. Tori isn't the best breather to start with, so she can get pretty worked up sometimes after having just a few 1-minute seizures. I've had to take her in to the vet a couple times after a cluster because she was having trouble breathing and couldn't settle down.

We finally had a big emergency last November that landed her in the emergency clinic for over 24 hours. She was clustering and nothing we did could bring her out of it. I kept thinking it would stop, but I eventually decided to take her in. Thankfully, we have an awesome emergency vet here (the owner/vet owns four bulldogs and has been a friend and member of our local bulldog club for the last 8-9 years). I knew Tori would be in good hands. Tori ended up having cluster seizures every 1-2 hours for 24 hours, but they finally stopped.

After that scare, I added KBr. So, Tori now takes 650mg KBr once per day and 60mg PB twice per day. The goal is to eventually try to decrease the PB, and maybe even wean her off completely. She doesn't have any liver problems now, but I'd rather not face that problem later down the road either. After she was on KBr for a couple months, I tried decreasing her PB very slightly (per my vet's instructions). The first day of the decrease, she had one very mild seizure. I shook it off and continued at the decreased dose the next day. She had another fairly mild seizure. My vet and I decided to go back to the original medication dosage and we haven't tried decreasing again since. Tori hasn't had a seizure since then. It's been almost 3 months (knock on wood), the longest she has gone in a long time.

There are other medications out there (Keppra, Zonisamide, Sodium Bromide, Gabapentin, etc.), but these are best saved for later if you find that PB or KBr don't work. There is a lot of good information on the internet about seizures and canine epilepsy. My favorite website ishttp://www.canine-epilepsy.com/. They also have an excellent email list called Epil-K9. You'll see a link on their website to join. It's a wonderful place to ask questions and share experiences with people who can really relate first-hand. I've learned so much in the last year.

Most important, make sure you have a vet that has both good bulldog knowledge AND experience with canine epilepsy and seizures. You need a vet that you can trust to work with you and help you develop a good treatment plan, and also be experienced enough with the bulldog breed to know how to help in emergencies. I've had to switch vets during the last year and I was thankful to find a new vet that I really like (they see most of the bulldog rescues in our area). I also have my emergency vet friend when needed.

Sending best wishes to you and Spike.

Good info so far. My Tori was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy just over a year ago.

Most vets start with Phenobarbital (PB) because it gets into the system and reaches full effect faster compared to Potassium Bromide (KBr). The downside of PB is that it harms the liver and can decrease liver function over time. KBr does not have this side effect, but it takes longer (about 4 months) to get into the system to take full effect in helping to control seizures.

Tori started on 60mg PB twice per day in April '08. At first, it seemed to work well, and she went about 2-3 months without another seizure. After that, the time between seizures started to decrease, and eventually she was having seizures every 2-3 weeks. She is also known to cluster, so if she has one seizures, we always expect more to follow.

My vet has no problem prescribing liquid Diazepam (valium) for me to keep on-hand at home. Anyone who owns a dog with seizures should have this. It takes immediate effect when administered rectally. It is next fastest when injected. Don't get it in tablet form. That takes at least 20-30 minutes to take effect. When you have a dog that clusters, you need it to work right away. Once Tori has a seizure, I immediately give 2ml Diazepam rectally, hoping to stop another seizure from following. Most of the time, it has worked, but there have been a few times where she has had a second seizure, but usually not more. In the couple times she has had more than two, I have followed up with an extra dose of PB and Diazepam.

Clusters are scary, especially for bulldogs, due to their brachycephalic makeup. Tori isn't the best breather to start with, so she can get pretty worked up sometimes after having just a few 1-minute seizures. I've had to take her in to the vet a couple times after a cluster because she was having trouble breathing and couldn't settle down.

We finally had a big emergency last November that landed her in the emergency clinic for over 24 hours. She was clustering and nothing we did could bring her out of it. I kept thinking it would stop, but I eventually decided to take her in. Thankfully, we have an awesome emergency vet here (the owner/vet owns four bulldogs and has been a friend and member of our local bulldog club for the last 8-9 years). I knew Tori would be in good hands. Tori ended up having cluster seizures every 1-2 hours for 24 hours, but they finally stopped.

After that scare, I added KBr. So, Tori now takes 650mg KBr once per day and 60mg PB twice per day. The goal is to eventually try to decrease the PB, and maybe even wean her off completely. She doesn't have any liver problems now, but I'd rather not face that problem later down the road either. After she was on KBr for a couple months, I tried decreasing her PB very slightly (per my vet's instructions). The first day of the decrease, she had one very mild seizure. I shook it off and continued at the decreased dose the next day. She had another fairly mild seizure. My vet and I decided to go back to the original medication dosage and we haven't tried decreasing again since. Tori hasn't had a seizure since then. It's been almost 3 months (knock on wood), the longest she has gone in a long time.

There are other medications out there (Keppra, Zonisamide, Sodium Bromide, Gabapentin, etc.), but these are best saved for later if you find that PB or KBr don't work. There is a lot of good information on the internet about seizures and canine epilepsy. My favorite website ishttp://www.canine-epilepsy.com/. They also have an excellent email list called Epil-K9. You'll see a link on their website to join. It's a wonderful place to ask questions and share experiences with people who can really relate first-hand. I've learned so much in the last year.

Most important, make sure you have a vet that has both good bulldog knowledge AND experience with canine epilepsy and seizures. You need a vet that you can trust to work with you and help you develop a good treatment plan, and also be experienced enough with the bulldog breed to know how to help in emergencies. I've had to switch vets during the last year and I was thankful to find a new vet that I really like (they see most of the bulldog rescues in our area). I also have my emergency vet friend when needed.

Sending best wishes to you and Spike.

I agree with the use of Phenobarbatol and Potassium Bromide. My vet also gave me a supply of valium to have on hand. We had a dog that had seizures. The one good thing was, his were easy to spot coming on. Our vet felt that if we saw one possibly coming to give the valium in the hopes it would get him over the episode. We did that and most of the time it did work.
Our dog was 2 years old when he started having them and he lived to be 7 years. Over the years as he got older they seemed to be less and less. And this is not what took him from us.
So you might ask your vet about the valium.
I hope this helps and wish you luck.

I agree with the use of Phenobarbatol and Potassium Bromide. My vet also gave me a supply of valium to have on hand. We had a dog that had seizures. The one good thing was, his were easy to spot coming on. Our vet felt that if we saw one possibly coming to give the valium in the hopes it would get him over the episode. We did that and most of the time it did work.
Our dog was 2 years old when he started having them and he lived to be 7 years. Over the years as he got older they seemed to be less and less. And this is not what took him from us.
So you might ask your vet about the valium.
I hope this helps and wish you luck.

I just wish I had time to respond more often. I can't keep up anymore and I really miss it.

I just wish I had time to respond more often. I can't keep up anymore and I really miss it.

and the only other thing that readily comes to mind is to suggest you do some reading about Potassium Bromide taken as an adjunct to phenobarbitol, to help control seizures. Often they work well in combination, allowing the vet to reduce the amount of the narcotic needed...but do continue the medication as your vet has prescribed. It always makes the dog sleepy to begin with, but they do become accustomed to it and after several months my adult male was able to continue with his competitive Obedience, earning his CD title while on phenobarb. I know that these epi dogs do best with a routine, for eating and medicating, and I didn't change my care habits for Honeybear but I did try to keep to our pre-established routine. Best wishes.

and the only other thing that readily comes to mind is to suggest you do some reading about Potassium Bromide taken as an adjunct to phenobarbitol, to help control seizures. Often they work well in combination, allowing the vet to reduce the amount of the narcotic needed...but do continue the medication as your vet has prescribed. It always makes the dog sleepy to begin with, but they do become accustomed to it and after several months my adult male was able to continue with his competitive Obedience, earning his CD title while on phenobarb. I know that these epi dogs do best with a routine, for eating and medicating, and I didn't change my care habits for Honeybear but I did try to keep to our pre-established routine. Best wishes.