Dog allergies and epilepsy

[bagofpucks]

Since this forum has such a great knowledge base, especially regarding dogs, I figured I would see if anyone had experiences with dog allergies and epilepsy.

We adopted our dog Ringo last May from the Humane Society and he has been an awesome dog so far. He is a pekingese and is 3 years old. He doesn't bark or whine, but he snores like a lawn mower! A couple of months ago, Ringo started to get seizures and has four total. Only one has been serious, but it is very difficult to see him have one and I'm sure it isn't much fun for him. We did go to the vet after the most serious one and after some blood and urine tests we have ruled out liver and heart issues.

Ringo also seems to have issues with itching. He is always itching his face or licking his paws, which I understand can be an indication of allergies. With his seizures and itching we have switched his food to something with only one protein source and no grains, but it doesn't seem to be helping so far. We have his annual check up in May, so we are keeping a seizure diary and will address it with our vet again then.

From the literature I have read it is common, especially pekes, to suffer from seizures. There seems to be a whole bunch of different theories about what can trigger seizures, but I have found it very difficult to wade through all the information and figure out what might help.

Has anyone had any experience with small dogs and seizures? Or even better, with pekes in particular? Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

And of course, the obligatory picture...

[Loob]

Try going to a raw diet.

[Rerun]

What is his current scource of protein?

The most common allergens are beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish. And, most dogs are usually allergic to more than one thing.

I would try another scource of protien.

My dog is allergic to either chicken or dairy products... or maybe both. All I know is that when we took him completely off those two products, his allergies went away (he was constantly licking his paws... so much that the fur turned red... which is a reaction to his saliva)

[bagofpucks]

Originally Posted by Rerun

What is his current scource of protein?

The most common allergens are beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish. And, most dogs are usually allergic to more than one thing.

I would try another scource of protien.

My dog is allergic to either chicken or dairy products... or maybe both. All I know is that when we took him completely off those two products, his allergies went away (he was constantly licking his paws... so much that the fur turned red... which is a reaction to his saliva)

His previous food had chicken, egg, and fish as its sources of protein. His new food has only duck has a protein. Another issue we thought was his old food may have had too much protein in it. He is definitely not the most athletic dog (pekes seem to be a "go for a short walk dog" rather than a "go for a jog dog") so he probably wasn't able to use all the protein in his diet, which I guess can cause issues. His new food has a significantly lower percentage of protein.

Loob: We have looked into raw food and that may be the next step. Do you have any recommendations for brands or types?

[LGA]

My Shiba had some issues with itching as well, and it turned out that he had allergies to chicken. We switched over to venison as the source of protein and he hasn't had issues since. Switching over to a single protein is a smart choice, it will help to eliminate potential allergens.

[cKy]

A co-worker had an issue with his dog having seizures. 2-3 a day. The vet gave him some medicine to take and they have completely stopped. I'll get more info from him on what they are giving him

[Rerun]

Have you tried giving your dog Benadryl (sp?).

It comonly used on dogs to combat allergies. I've had vets recommend it. ... 4-6 pills per day. Apparently, from what I;ve been told by a vet, there's no risk to using it... you can't overdose on it... for dogs anyways..

[burn_this_city]

Our old dog got phenobarbital twice daily when he started getting seizures.

[LGA]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Have you tried giving your dog Benadryl (sp?).

It comonly used on dogs to combat allergies. I've had vets recommend it. ... 4-6 pills per day. Apparently, from what I;ve been told by a vet, there's no risk to using it... you can't overdose on it... for dogs anyways..

I'd also recommend Benadryl, I've had to use it for my dog and it works pretty quickly. Mind you, it may be a struggle if your dog isn't used to taking pills (I had to open his jaw and shove the pill in his mouth)

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by LGA

I'd also recommend Benadryl, I've had to use it for my dog and it works pretty quickly. Mind you, it may be a struggle if your dog isn't used to taking pills (I had to open his jaw and shove the pill in his mouth)

We coat the pills in peanut butter ! He LOVES peanut butter. Its a piece of cake giving him pills that way.

[LGA]

Originally Posted by Rerun

We coat the pills in peanut butter ! He LOVES peanut butter. Its a piece of cake giving him pills that way.

Haha, wish that worked. For whatever reason my dog hates peanut butter. We've tried hiding pills in food, but he just eats around the pill.

[Eric Vail]

I had a border collie who had seizures growing up. When he got real excited, like when someone rang the doorbell, it would often trigger a seizure a few minutes later.

He lived like that for about ten years, and eventually dies having a heart attack during a seizure.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Rerun

What is his current scource of protein?

The most common allergens are beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish. And, most dogs are usually allergic to more than one thing.

I would try another scource of protien.

My dog is allergic to either chicken or dairy products... or maybe both. All I know is that when we took him completely off those two products, his allergies went away (he was constantly licking his paws... so much that the fur turned red... which is a reaction to his saliva)

Dogs also lick their paws a lot if they have a fungal infection in their ears. First they scratch their ears with their paws because their ears are itchy and then they start to chew and lick their paws because they have spread the fungal infection to their paws.

Are your dogs ears somewhat smelly? Are the insides of your dog's ears wrinkly, like prunes? where wax can accumulate in the crevices?

We had to put an ointment in our dog's ears daily, to dissolve the excess wax and dirt build up, making it easier to clean and remove. We also used fungal drops weekly. She got so used to the treatment that when she saw us coming with the drops, she went to her blankie and laid down so we could put the drops in.

[redforever]

[QUOTE=bagofpucks;3579979
Has anyone had any experience with small dogs and seizures? Or even better, with pekes in particular? Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

QUOTE]

Our first Springer started having seizures the last year and a half of her life. It might seem odd, but about the only time she would seizure is if there was a full moon.

Our vet put her on phenobarbital. I just stuffed the pill in a bit of cheese or piece of sandwich meat...no trouble getting her to take the pills. Prior to being put on phenobarbital, the vet had me give her valium to stop the seizures.

Her bloodwork had to be checked every 3 months. I am not sure what they were checking in the blood, but it had to be within a certain range. it got out of that range, her medication had to be increased. She lived to be 13 years old.

[bagofpucks]

Thanks for everyone's replies!

redforever: He is groomed regularly and the groomer says his ears are clean, so I don't believe that is an issue, but those are good questions to ask. We check his ears regularly for abnormalities, but we haven't found anything so far.

Our game plan so far is to try everything else (diet etc) before we move to medications. Our biggest concern is most of the epilepsy medications are sedatives and he is already very quiet, almost timid. I think with a sedative he would be very lethargic. I am going to discuss benadryl with our vet as I have heard it can work well. I have also read about phenobarbital and that sounds like that will be our last step if the seizures get worse. Currently, our vet does not want to use medication unless his seizures are more frequent than once every three weeks or they are very serious, which I agree with.

Again, I am very appreciative of everyone's advice/experiences!

[redforever]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

Thanks for everyone's replies!

redforever: He is groomed regularly and the groomer says his ears are clean, so I don't believe that is an issue, but those are good questions to ask. We check his ears regularly for abnormalities, but we haven't found anything so far.

Our game plan so far is to try everything else (diet etc) before we move to medications. Our biggest concern is most of the epilepsy medications are sedatives and he is already very quiet, almost timid. I think with a sedative he would be very lethargic. I am going to discuss benadryl with our vet as I have heard it can work well. I have also read about phenobarbital and that sounds like that will be our last step if the seizures get worse. Currently, our vet does not want to use medication unless his seizures are more frequent than once every three weeks or they are very serious, which I agree with.

Again, I am very appreciative of everyone's advice/experiences!

Phenobarbital never affected my dog's energy level at all...but Springers are known for having a lot of energy anyhow.

The only thing I noticed was that she liked her food more and would eat more if I would have let her. It was not an issue though as all my dogs have always been on a regular diet with regular exercise.

Our Springer with ear issues would equate to a person having swimmer's ear. The ear is all wrinkly inside, like dried prunes, and dirt and wax is hard to remove from all the nooks and crannies. Consequently, they are more disposed to having fungal issues.