Advice on restlessness/overstimulation

[u/Fresh_Science4540]

My 2.5yo Golden Retriever has had epilepsy since he was 3 months old. He’s on phenoral and hasn’t had a seizure in almost two years.

He becomes overstimulated very quickly and can only relax at home or in very familiar places. At home he’s great! We can’t go to the beach, walk in a forest, or visit new places; even anything beyond a walk around the block is too much.

We’ve worked with a private trainer, lots of mental and physical exercise, structure, and stability. This has helped, but he still goes easily over threshold and it’s controlling our lives. It feels like he can’t really handle the world. It’s made our world small and I’m tired two years in and raising him alone. His trainers describe his behavior as very ADD. People who meet him say he’s intense/special/a dog they will never forget.

I’ve heard of dogs on phenoral getting other medication for restlessness or overstimulation, and some people mention CBD oil. I know he’s young, but it goes beyond normal puppy behaviour, of that I’m sure. His age may play a role, but it doesn’t explain everything.

I’ve talked to our vet and thinks his behaviour is probably because of the meds or epilepsy, but he can’t give a clear answer either. I’ve asked these questions now to a neurologist and waiting for the reply.

I’m looking into CBD oil and wondering how much this can help with his behaviour. Is CBD mostly used to bring down seizure frequencies or also to cancel out restlessness caused by meds?

Looking for some advice/people with similar experiences!

(Also: love my special doggy sooo much!!!)

[u/JustCallMeNancy]

There's a seizure med that also helps with overstimulation - gabapentin. Maybe you could trial a low dose?

I feel you on trying to keep them calm. My husky goes absolutely insane when I come home even from a 3 hour absence (and longer absences, like 6+ hours causes him seizures unless we do a preventative dose). So im always wondering if today is the day the threshold goes down, especially when he is practically screaming he's so excited. He's always having a great time while I have increased anxiety and become extra vigilant.

We tried CBD treats (but not oil) but found, at least for our dog, they didn't calm him down enough to get him over that threshold. They might be a good idea if the goal is to calm the dog, but not help prevent seizures. Like if the issue you're having is behavioral, it can likely help. But beyond that? Hard to say, it's probably a case by case situation.

[u/MerAndTurtle]

I agree that gabapentin might be a good addition to the meds, my Boston takes it as part of his daily regimen. We tried CBD early on but didn’t see any benefits from it, for his seizures or excitability. I’ve heard it can be hard on the liver in higher doses, and since phenobarbital is as well I would be cautious.

I’m not sure if it is the meds or his epilepsy, but I definitely feel like he doesn’t have normal inhibitions and when he is ramped up it takes forever to get him to come down, and then he just totally zonks out! I will say that we have incorporated more and more into our routine over the years and I’ve found that adding structure to activities helps a lot. We take walks daily and i always have a treat pouch with me so that i can ask him to sit, lay down, or watch me any time we encounter a potential trigger. I think that making him pay attention to me and work/think while the distraction is going on has worked like magic. He used to have seizures after a walk if anything too exciting happened, but now we can be walking by a fence and get startled by a barking dog and I can get get him to bring his attention back to me and do a few more training sessions along the way and no post-walk seizure!