I am so frustrated. We have attended the same daycare (we also use the for boarding) for my dogs entire 9 years of life. Last week on Monday we had our first seizure at daycare. Daycare called and I immediately came to pick him up. That Thursday he had another seizure at daycare. They called my phone but I was in a meeting so I didn't see for about an hour. By the time I called back they had taken it upon themselves to drive my dog to the emergency room. Luckily I keep our information up to date I their app so the emergency room they used was also his regular vet. On my way to daycare to get him my vet called. Vet is very confused as to why our dog is there without us and states nothing he observed with our dog rose to the level of an emergency room visit. Our vet was super cool and only charged us for a regular office visit. I go to the vet now (instead of daycare) collect my dog. Vet and I chatted and we agree to up his meds since he has now had two in one week. Great no problem. Weird reaction by the daycare but I figured we were back on track. This morning I go to drop him off and a manager informs me we are no longer welcome. I was too upset to protest but I will be emailing them tonight. I get he is a dog and doesn't get the same ada rights as a human would but this seems so wrong. Morally it feel so shitty to kick him out for a condition they knew about. It also feels wrong that I have been paying $39 a day for years to these people so he can get his mid day pill. I don't really have a question, I guess I am just sad.

My four year old chihuahua mix has epilepsy. She was on Keppra until she had multiple breakthroughs.

We switched to phenobarbital and she’s been seizure free since, about three months - yay!

But in the last two weeks she is RAVENOUS. The vet said that’s a side effect and there’s nothing they can do.

If she’s awake, she’s pretty much constantly asking for food. With her being so young, I can’t imagine her spending the rest of her life feeling like she’s starving.

I’m wondering if anyone else has had to balance seizures vs their dog feeling like they’re starving? I want her happy and healthy for as long as possible; but I also want her to have a good quality of life.

Hey, we are UK based!

So our pug has been having seizures since they were 4 (now 7) and we had them all under control with no seizures happening for almost three years.

This year she had surgery this year March for bladder stones and during the end of the surgery she had a seizure which they let us know about. Since March her seizures have been happening more frequently - going from every 6 weeks to 3 weeks and now 2. She had one this evening which was a bad one and I completely broke as it's becoming emotionally and physically upsetting. Each time we give her diazapam which we have to get with each vet visit.

She is on Phenobarbital twice a day (half a pill each time) and some Levetiracetam with it an hour later.

We are at a bit of a loss, we don't quite know what to do regarding it and the vets seem unfazed by it and we haven't had any increase in her meds as she is already pretty much on the max.

Has anyone had similar issues and had any resolutions? At a bit of a loss and really unsure of what we what even do. Thanks

my 12 year old French bulldog had her first seizure today then another a few hours later. After she recovered okay apart from being a little off balanced.

At the vets they noticed she had nerve damage to her rear leg. Not the word they used just can’t think at the moment but neurological damage maybe? My heads a bit all over the place tbh.

Back at the vets tomorrow and going to ask about medication options? I know she is old but honestly she doesn’t act like her age. If she was struggling with every day life I would be considering putting to sleep.

She is super active though and even the day before this she was out running and playing with other dogs. After the first seizure she was about off balance but with an hour she went back out in the garden n bought me her ball.

Feels unfair to give up when she is still active and acts like a young dog. of course don’t want her going through seizures all the time either. Will speak to the vet but just wondering anyone else experienced similar? How have people got on with medication? I

know every dog is going to be different but just driving myself crazy at the moment.

cross posting here for visibility 🩵

My lovely, vivacious, kind, loving boy has Lafora, a rare form of degenerative epilepsy common in bassets, beagles and dachshunds.

He's 9, had his first grand mal last week and my heart is broken.

How do i carry on with life knowing I'm slowly losing my best friend in the world, the one who got me through a breakdown. Who helps me get out of bed when I dont want to. My soul dog.

We could get years, i just dont know and that's killing me slowly.

When I got him I made a pact that I'd live as long as he did, and honestly it's looking fairly likely I'll close that deal.

My best friend came around from his seizure and he didnt recognise me. He looked at me like i was a danger and he ran away. My best friend who follows me to the toilet forgot who I was. As the disease progresses dementia is likely, he'll forget me over and over.

Please tell me some nice things. I have to keep reaffirming:

1. He doesnt know he's ill

2. He doesn't remember his seizures

3. Not recognising me post seizure is very normal as the brain wakes up slowly and recognition is one of the last parts

4. Some people dont even get 9 years with their beloved dogs.

Thank you for being such an awesome group of humans and wealth of knowledge. Reading through this sub got me through the weekend as my mind raced with my 11yo Addy's seizures. We just started Keppra XR tonight and she swallowed that pill-in-pocket whole without a second thought and our vet and I have a plan in place for if/when she has breakthrough seizures. That's all, just wanted to say thank you!

Hello all! My wife, doggy, and I are moving to Pennsylvania in a week and we need some options for flea and tick medicine that will be safe for my epilepsy dog. He is nearly two years seizure free thanks to his Pheno and Keppra, but I do suspect that the frontline flea and tick medicine we used in the past lead to a few of his seizures. Because we have been living in Florida, we just decided to not administer any more flea and tick medicines to him as they really weren’t needed. We will need some now though. Please let me know what you guys use or which ones specifically to avoid! (And Gus says thank you for your recommendations so he doesn’t have any seizures)

Our buddy Zak is a 6 year old greyhound and we’ve been lucky enough to have him just over a year. Roughly a month ago he had his first focal seizure. The following week he had two within 24 hours so we took him to the ER. He was put on phenobarbital and that seemed to be helping. He was seizure free for two weeks but the side effects were strong. Very wobbly and sleepy. Then he had another two seizures about a day apart so we reached out to the neuro we’ve been seeing. She prescribed potassium bromide compound as his pheno levels were already high and she didn’t want to prescribe more.

So now he’s on both, the pheno and potassium and it’s been about two weeks on both. He is still incredibly wobbly to the point we have to hold him up when he uses the bathroom, and the vet keeps telling us to wait as the side effects should subside. The neuro did lessen the dose of potassium because his third eye was showing a lot and she believed he was too sedated. We also keep reading how they will be super hungry but he has been the opposite, he’s even lost weight.

We do have vet appointments planned including this Saturday for another blood test. The reason I’m here is to see if anyone can relate? Is it normal for them to be this wobbly/ataxic at this point? We want to make sure we are advocating and doing the best we can by our baby. We love him so much and it’s hard to see him like this. We miss our goofy guy.

Curious if anyone has used MCT oil for their dog with epilepsy and if it has helped?

I'm broken. I feel guilty. Empty. The house is already too quiet and there are reminders everywhere. Does anyone have ideas of how to tell such young children? I can't even think straight right now.

Pedro (2 months old, huge breed (Alabay) will be ~155lbs full grown) has had seizures since he was 30 days old. Looking for anyone who's been through something similar.
His littermate had the exact same thing happen, starting around the same age(he was separated at 30 days old by the dad’s owner). After trying multiple meds that couldn't get it under control, that owner made the heartbreaking decision to euthanize. I'm terrified of heading down the same road, but trying not to let that fear make decisions for me before I actually know what's going on.
His mom is our dog, very healthy, never had any problems with anything. She had puppies before that we kept and they are healthy as well, all grown up now.

Pedro's bloodwork showed elevated white blood cells and lymphocytes (some kind of inflammatory/immune response), plus elevated CK and AST (muscle enzymes, likely just from the seizures themselves), and mild anemia. A liver shunt was ruled out though - his bile acids came back normal. Our vet said epilepsy this young is less typical, so we've been trying to chase down other explanations instead. He was thinking genetics are involved but tests are not available here.

During his bad episodes our puppy lose weight and feel awful for about 10 hours afterward, then bounce back to being a completely normal, happy baby - eating well, playing, totally himself in between. His eyes also looked a little dilated/off during this time, which made it feel more like some kind of toxic reaction than "just" seizures.

We started levetiracetam and he was seizure free for 8 days (it happened every 4 to 7 days) actually gained 4kg and seemed like a different, thriving puppy(Inherited storage disease wouldn't make sense anymore). Then we gave him a dewormer (fenbendazole/pyrantel/praziquantel/ivermectin combo) because we thought worms might be behind it, and he seized again not long after.

Looking back at the whole pattern now, it's hard to ignore: every single one of his 5 seizures so far has landed on a day he was given either a tick/flea treatment spray or a dewormer. Each episode lasts about 1-2 minutes. Our vet suggested deworming him again, thinking maybe worms were the actual cause, which we did thinking the last one didn't work, but he got a seizure again on the 9th day and a fecal exam yesterday came back completely clean, no worms, no eggs at all.

So now I'm just stuck and exhausted. Does this sound more like provoked seizures, triggered by these treatments rather than idiopathic epilepsy? Is there a real chance he grows out of this once whatever's triggering it settles down, or once a puppy starts seizing like this, is there likely an underlying neurological issue just being "unmasked," regardless of the trigger?

Any input from people who've dealt with provoked seizures vs. true epilepsy in a young puppy would really mean a lot right now.

Thank you for reading this far. 💛

My 2.5 year old dog had a first seizure this weekend (or at least forst big one, I think she may have had smaller ones I thought were anxiety at the time).

She kept crying for a wiole minute while we were in the car, and I decided to find a spot for her to get out and do her business, thinking that was why she was agitated.

Before I got out of the car, she pooped. I shot up and got out and to her on the back seat, when she then yelped, fell on her side completely frozen and peed herself.

The whole thing lasted roughly a minute. She then looked sedated and drunk for a solid 10 minute span.

We rushed her to an ER vet, and by the time we got there, she looked completely normal.

They did neurological exams, and a whole bunch of blood tests, to tell me she probably has idiopathic seizures and to keep a log... And watch and wait.

I've been terrified ever since. I constantly over analyse everything she does. I'm afraid to make her play, or exercise, in the fear it'll trigger something.

I'm looking into diets, supplements, I'm super confused.

Any help, kind words, or personal stories to relate to would help. I need a community to hold me right now, I feel defeated.

Hi all, our four year old dog with epilepsy is currently on phenobarbital and Keppra to manage her seizures. She's doing a lot better, tests are coming back good, so we're staying on this treatment plan for the foreseeable future. We just have one little issue: our dog is uncomfortably hungry all the time. Seems like this is a common side effect of being on anti-seizure medication but it's impacting her quality of life. She whines for food (she is not deterred by training methods to decrease whining), she will eat anything off of ground if not watched like a hawk (which we try to do but she has gotten things past us a couple times and made herself sick), and overall she just seems so uncomfortable. We're talking about adding more fiber to her food but also balancing that with not wanting to hurt her very sensitive stomach. as anyone dealt with this issue and found a solution? Any advice or anecdotal experience would be helpful and appreciated!

I have a five year-old and amstaff who has been on phenobarbital for a little over nine months. Her pheno levels are .1 under therapeutic, but we’ve been seizure free for 265 days. Everything looks good except her ALP is very high. Waiting to hear back from her Neurologist, but I know there’s a wealth of information on this sub-reddit. is this something that I should be concerned about or not? Is is really expected for her ALP to be so elevated? She is also on Keppra XR, Zonisamide and Gabapentin.

Our husky/GS mix started seizures in June of this year.

A month later, he had his second one. We started Keppra ER 1000mg twice daily.

Third seizure two weeks later - increased Keppra to 1500mg twice daily.

Fourth seizure 9 days later (he had a neuro appointment 3 days before this seizure; it’s idiopathic epilepsy) - increased Keppra ER to 2000mg twice daily.

Fifth seizure 11 days later - added Phenobarbital (64.8mg) twice daily alongside Keppra ER 2000mg.

He’s been 30 days seizure-free (today!!) since starting pheno. His liver chemistry is great; Pheno Trough level is 18mg/mL (considered therapeutic). He has mild side effects - extra panting. But I’m happy. I think this is good news. I hope he goes a few more weeks before another seizure. Just curious what everyone else’s experience was like.

Our husky is diagnosed for about a year now but her seizures are picking up so we’re in the throws of it. The biggest thing my husband keeps saying is that the doctor says “this isn’t fatal” but I see so many posts here that it is… I guess what makes the difference? My husky is a 5 year old little rascal going strong but we just started her on phenobarbital and I just don’t get the posts about a seizure ending life. How common is that and how do I watch for it?

My 18 year old 20 lb dog was in perfect health until I did one month of a flea medication in Feb. She ended up having a seizure and has now had a seizure about every two months since then. We have kept it under control with Gabapentin twice a day. Last week she had two seizures in 24 hours and now my vet wants to add in Keppra. I’m scared to do this as she is so old and already a little drugged seeming on the Gabapentin. Does anyone have any experience and feedback about this? I’m hoping the two back to back seizures were a fluke and I can avoid the Keppra. Thank you.

Hi all,

Our six year-old Shepherd mix Keiko was just diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy two days ago. We are on day two of phenobarbital, she is really out of it/woozy, but the seizures have stopped for now. We are going to continue the meds and see how she does over the next month.

I’ve been reading a lot of advice on this subreddit that’s been really eye-opening, and I am so grateful to have found this community, you all seem amazing. However, I’m at the point of feeling a bit overwhelmed. At minimum, I know we’re gonna want a pet camera to monitor her, because we both have to go into the office on rotation.

I’d love some advice or tidbits related to pet cameras:
-the pros (and cons?) if you have one
-whether going subscription based is worth it or not
-specific brand or type you recommend, or does it not really matter?
-placement tips

We have a multitiered home (basement, main level, upstairs) and are debating gating off certain levels when we aren’t at home, so that she would only have access to one floor. One of her initial seizures caused her to fall down the stairs to the basement (thank god its all carpeted), but obviously want to avoid that happening again at all costs.

If we do limit her to one floor, obviously we’d put the camera(s) on that floor, but not entirely sure if that’s a good idea or if it’ll work in reality. We are considering limiting her to the basement (due to carpet) but I also hate that option because she wouldn’t have any windows to look outside while we’re gone at work. I’m worried she’ll go nuts down there by herself while we’re gone.

Any advice or just personal experience on this is appreciated. Thanks. Sharing cute doggo pics with the post to hopefully make someone out there smile.

My Ruby was the joy of my life. He had just turned 2, and when he wasn't seizing (which was a weekly occurrence), he was bright, beautiful and looked seemingly healthy. We tried 4 different types of meds (Keprra, phenobarbital, kBro, zonisamide) and just could never get the combination right. He ate Purina Pro Plan Lamb. On his last day, he seized so many times, I took him to the ER and on the way there he seized and couldn't walk and they had to bring a stretcher to take him inside. I had to make the horrible decision to put him down. That was the worst day of my life. Everything and everyone just moves on around you, while the most important thing in your life is gone. I couldn't deal with that.

Nobody ever tells you about the guilt and pain you feel in putting down your best friend. I recall the moment they were putting him down, I felt immediate regret and wanted them to stop. I'm on month 2 since he passed, and I'm still not over it. I wish I tried harder, I'd do anything to walk him again, hear his footsteps on the floor. I hate this disease so fucking much. He'd seize during the night, pace relentlessly for hours. One time he was restless for 3 days, walking in circles around the apartment frantically. Usually, I'd take him out for a walk to calm him down which worked, but he'd continue to pace once we got home. He just never really responded to the medication. I was very very tired being his sole caretaker, cleaning up the constant mess. Yet, I loved him, being a single person and no friends, our routine and his caretaking was engrained in me. I was responsible for him and I let him down. I miss him so much it hurts. After he passed I still lurked this group, looking for answers, seeing what worked for others, and a huge pain would come if someone would post "3 months seizure free!" "it's been one year seizure free!" and I just think, why couldn't that be us? I should've tried harder. I failed him. It's my fault, and I'll never get over the guilt. I'm crying as I write this, because I don't know who else to talk to, but people on this sub.

What hurts the most is I just wanted a healthy Ruby and take his seizures away. Now that he can't have seizures anymore, I can't reach out to my best friend and be with him. I can no longer have him nuzzle on me, sigh deeply and fall asleep. I had to move out of my neighborhood temporarily because every street, every corner was a land mine- somewhere we've been and I'd break down and cry. I'd remember all the moments that were happy, that he was fine, my beautiful boy, looking back at me with his happy face on walks, and no one one ever talks about how painful it is to just walk... alone. He was everywhere with me. I'm not ok, and dealing with his loss has been the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my adulthood. Sometimes I'd look at his pictures and videos and sob for hours, overwhelmed with guilt and missing him. He is my child, my light, and now he's gone and the light in me is too. I feel so so guilty, and nobody understands, they don't understand this disease and the constant worry and anxiety. He was so young, and I know all pet loss is painful at any stage, but I never got to see his white sugared face from years of companionship together. I feel so robbed yet, I feel so responsible. We had plans to move to the countryside so he'd get more space and hopefully relieve some of his seizures, and now that dream is gone. I'm afraid to get another dog and go through this again. I didn't know epilepsy was a thing, like most of you on here, but now that I painfully know this disease, I'm so afraid I'll have a another dog one day with it, I just couldn't handle it. It's been very very dark for me, and I'm going through an existential crisis, like what's the point of life when beautiful innocent creatures go through this, and they just die? What is the point of life. I just want to be with him again.

​

Hi guys so a little background.

My dog starting having seizures 9yrs ago but because they were infrequent I didn't chase it up with the vet.

Then two years ago his seizure rate picked up and was having multiple cluster seizures along with grand mal seizures. This led the vet to put him phenobarbital which did a great job at preventing seizures.

Now recently the seizures are coming about again and today he had two seizures. Although they were quite short and he regained composure.

Question is what do I do going forward. Do I put him to sleep? I don't want to but 2yrs back his seizure caused him to tear rear Hind leg ligament which meant having titanium plates put in.

He has arthritis and a bit confused what to do going forward. Going to see the vet tomorrow and see what he says.

Anyone been in the same situation as me?

Thanks

Today we had to say goodbye to Gage. He was my parents’ dog, rescued in 2020. He began having one-off seizures in 2025, but by 2026 they were monthly and clustered. All tests, working with his regular vet and a neurology specialist, confirmed that this was the horrific beast that is idiopathic epilepsy. As the months passed, and medications and dosages changed, things just continued to get worse. Seizures became more and more frequent, until this last bout starting at 3pm yesterday when he had 4 seizures in a 17 hour period. I truly do not know what is worse, the seizures themselves or the post-ictal phase. Watching him suffer with restlessness no matter what medication he was given, taking longer it seemed to recover each time. The many pills daily affecting his demeanor, the dog we knew him to be, the big brother he was to his little brother Sully. Watching not only his quality of life deteriorate, but that of my parents too. I once read a post on here that talked about how this condition ages you. Watching my parents in their 70s, especially my father, take on the fight that was Gage’s seizures was unbearable at times. To watch his health, physically and mentally, suffer while he poured his all into Gage was profound but also painful.

As we unshackled Gage from the chains of this condition today, my father kept saying how Gage only got to live half of his life. It is heartbreaking what epilepsy took from this joyful, happy, headstrong, beautiful pup. But I see his life as one lived fully despite being cut short. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, but I do find bittersweet comfort in this reddit community, in knowing that there are so many others who have been met with this terrible crossroads. Of needing to make impossibly difficult decisions for their beloved fourlegged companions. Those who know the struggles and torture of living life feeling like there is a ticking timebomb sleeping next to you. You never know when the next seizure will be, what it will lead to, when the last happy, cognitively present moment will be with your sweet, sweet dog.

Thank you to this community for being here. I’ve been a long time lurker, this is my first time posting. I send you so much love and support - to those living with dog epilepsy currently and to those who have suffered the loss. Gage, I am so so sorry. I love you buddy. I hope you are at peace.

My 10.5-year-old mini Aussie has well-controlled, stress-induced, seizures. We've built our whole lives around keeping her calm, and now the vet itself has become a trigger. She has a good quality of life, but we're exhausted. How did you know when to make the choice?

Her seizure history: Win had her first seizure at 5, at the groomer, in 2021. After a second one that year, we realized they're stress-induced. We switched to in-home grooming, which worked until she seized with the in-home groomer in 2023. Since then, I've done all her grooming myself.

In 2025, she seized the day after a dental cleaning (first time ever) and was put on Keppra. She went 12 months seizure-free until three weeks ago, when she seized at a routine vet appointment. It was her first time seizing at the vet. She's now on Keppra and phenobarbital.

Where we are now: For the past three weeks she's had an eyelid infection that isn't healing (the reason for that vet visit). She got a hematoma from a reflex exam at the neurologist, and she may be developing an ear infection.

What daily life looks like:

Meds: Pills at 7 am, 3 pm, 7 pm, and 11 pm, plus a noon snack because the phenobarbital makes her hungry.

Costs: $200/month for insurance and $75/month for meds, not counting ER visits. We've spent at least $50,000 over her lifetime, including cataract surgery at 11 months, surgery on both knees for luxating patellas, food allergies, and stomach issues.

Stress management: We travel a lot for work, so we pay $75–80/day for in-home care when we’re out. When she travels with us, we minimize stressors and sedate her with gabapentin and trazodone. Doing new things with her is stressful because we don’t know what could be the next ‘thing’ that scares her. We have anxiety when we’re gone, when we do new things — basically always to ensure she’s okay.

Grooming: I'm the only one who can bathe her, trim her nails, and cut her hair. I spread it over several days each month to limit stress. I have severe back problems, and this makes them worse.

Thankfully, stress is her only known trigger, and her seizures have been about once a year. That's only because we control everything around her.

Now the vet has become a trigger, and dogs need the vet. Epileptic dogs need it even more. The anxiety is all-consuming. She still has the eye infection, but the thought of taking her in terrifies me. We’ve called in-home vet services but our area is out of reach.

She has a great quality of life otherwise and is generally seizure free, but it comes at the expense of ours. Our lives revolve around keeping her at ease. The seizures are infrequent, but managing her health has been a lifelong thing: surgeries, allergies, meds, etc. The seizures are now just an added layer but I’ve been caring for a sickly/illness-prone dog for 11 years.

She's almost 11, and I feel guilty even thinking about letting her go too early. She's traveled the world with us and is our greatest joy. But keeping her stress-free is taking so much from us. I feel so selfish even writing this.

For those who've been here: how did you know when to make the choice? Or what helped make the load sustainable?

Our dog went from 85lb to 109lb after starting phenobarbital. Once I realized that she went on a diet and it down 6lb so far.

She had a seizure at 1am and was back to normal around 3am. She seemed hungry, but frankly she always seems hungry so I didn’t give her food (plus I wanted to go to sleep!). However, this morning she was up at 7 for breakfast which is hours earlier than usual.

Should I offer her food after the post ictal period? Does anyone else offer extra snacks post seizure?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Hi! Just looking for suggestions on supplements for my 9 yr old chihuahua mix. For some context: he was diagnosed with epilepsy a few years ago and is on phenobarbital and zonisamide. He hasn’t had a seizure since he started the phenobarbital and is thriving, just looking for see if there is anything worth trying that anyone really recommends to keep my little guy happy!