Since Izzy is looking for his forever home we asked our primary Veterinarian – Dr. Amy Kidd of Pocopson Veterinary Station in West Chester, PA – for some information about canine seizure disorders. Izzy was treated by Dr. Kidd and has been seizure free for several weeks now. His seizures are easily managed by an inexpensive prescription medication. He is now enjoying life and is perfectly healthy. If you’d like more information about Izzy please check out his page and contact us. His sweet personality will be a wonderful addition for a lucky adopter.

Canine Epilepsy

Living a long and happy life with canine seizure disorder.

Canine epilepsy or idiopathic epilepsy is a very common seizure disorder in dogs. There are many causes of seizures in dogs so it is very important to have a full evaluation for each patient to rule out an underlying cause such as liver disease, tumor, toxins, and other infectious diseases. Once these other causes of seizures are ruled out, idiopathic epilepsy is diagnosed.

Dogs with epilepsy usually present with their first seizure between the ages of 6 months to 5 years. They can have either “partial seizures” or “generalized seizures”. Partial seizures usually only involve minor muscle spasms and the patient is usually conscious. Generalized seizures are much scarier to see. They can be very convulsive, have more violent muscle movements, and the patient is usually unaware of the episode. During an epileptic seizure, the dog is generally laying on his/her side, all the legs are rigid and paddling, and they can urinate and defecate. After the seizure is over, they can have a period of time where they are a little wobbly.

What to Do If Your Dog Has a Seizure

It is very important to know what to do if you see a dog having a seizure.

• The first thing is not to panic.
• The main thing to remember is to stay away from their mouths. Dogs do not swallow their tongues during a seizure. They can however, clamp down on your hand (without knowing it) with a force strong enough to do serious damage.
• You should use a blanket or towel to pull them away from anything dangerous like stairs or falling objects.
• Do not cover them with anything because the body can overheat and cause permanent brain damage.
• You should try to time the seizure from start to finish. This is valuable information for your veterinarian to properly treat the patient.

Seizures can occur very infrequently or they can present in clusters. Cluster seizures can lead to a severe and potentially fatal condition called Status Epilepticus. If one seizure seems to lead into another, this is a true medical emergency and the dog needs to be rushed to the closest veterinarian to be treated.

Treatments for Dog Epilepsy & Seizures

Treatment of epilepsy varies depending on the duration of the seizures and the time in between having them. The general rule of thumb is to medicate any dog having one or more seizures a month. There are many different medications we use to treat these patients. The most common ones are phenobarbital, potassium bromide, Keppra, and Zonisamide. Keppra and Zonisamide are two relatively new agents we use to control seizure activity. They do not require blood levels like the older medications do. Luckily, they are both now in generic forms which has made them relatively inexpensive and our go-to meds. We also like them because we see less side effects, if any. Sometimes we combine medications to fully control the seizure activity.

Seizures are extremely scary to see, but if you understand the disorder and seek proper treatment, dogs with epilepsy can live a full and happy life.

A strong proponent of cutting-edge medicine, Dr. Kidd prides herself in her ability to deliver high quality preventive medicine and perform both routine and emergency surgeries. She provides these services for the patients and their owners at Pocopson Veterinary Station in West Chester, PA. Be sure to visit her website for more information.

The local shelters are bursting at the seams with adoptable dogs this time of year. Some may be older or have special needs and have years of unconditional love to give. Learn about how it might be easier than you think to provide a little extra TLC to a special needs dog.

Training A Special Needs Dog

By: Jeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, CTDI

Training our dogs is all about communication. Clear, consistent cues enable our dogs to learn quickly and easily, while reinforcing the learned behaviors make the behaviors strong and long lasting. But how can we communicate to our furry, four-legged friends if they can’t see or hear us? In reality, training a blind or deaf dog is no different than you would train a dog that can see or hear. It’s as easy as ABC.

Antecedent. Behavior. Consequence.
An antecedent is something that causes a behavior to occur. A classic example is the ringing of the doorbell causing a dog to bark. When training, an antecedent can be a food lure, physical prompt, verbal cue, or hand signal that causes the dog to sit, down, come, or whatever behavior we are trying to train. The consequence is what happens after the behavior is performed. A positive consequence (reinforcement) will cause the behavior to increase, while a negative consequence (punishment) will cause the behavior to decrease.

Every behavior is always preceded by an antecedent and followed by a consequence. Some of those antecedents and consequences occur naturally in the environment, but when we control the antecedents and consequences we control behavior. The only difference between a blind/deaf dog and one that can see/hear may be how the antecedent and consequence is applied.

Training a deaf dog.
Dogs don’t understand English, or any other spoken language for that matter. How they learn is by associating a certain behavior, through repetition, with a sound that comes out of our mouths. However, dogs are masters at reading body language – that’s how they communicate with each other – so I find that training a deaf dog is rather easy using hand signals. Think of it as a form of dog sign language. The biggest challenge for training a deaf dog is getting his attention from a distance, and a vibration collar is a great way to let your dog know you want him to look at you. Once you have his attention you can use your hand signals to communicate to him. (Please note that a shock collar should never be used on any dog. And although some shock collars do have a vibration setting, I do not recommend using one this way, as they have been known to malfunction and can shock dogs at random times.)

Training a blind dog.
As stated above, a dog’s first line of communication is reading body language, so training a blind dog is more challenging. However, we can still use their other senses, especially a dog’s superior sense of smell, to teach them.

Lure-reward training, coupled with clicker training, is a highly effective way to teach your dog new behaviors. This type of training simply involves using food to guide your dog into the desired position or behavior. You then click, or mark, to let your dog know he did the correct thing, then reinforce the behavior with the food. Through repetition and consistent cueing your blind dog can easily learn just about anything you want to teach him.

Training a deaf and blind dog.
A dog that is both deaf and blind presents a more complicated training challenge, as the antecedent – the thing that makes behavior happen – cannot be a hand signal or verbal cue. So how do we ask our dogs to do what we want? We use touch. A gentle touch to a particular place on their body can be their cue to perform a certain behavior. For example, if you are training your deaf/blind dog to sit you would touch your dog on her rear at the base of her tail, lure her into a sit, then reinforce the behavior with food. With the consistent steps of cue-lure-reinforce your dog will learn behaviors in no time.

Final thoughts.
Dogs are born deaf and blind, and don’t gain their hearing and eyesight until about two weeks after birth. So dogs that are deaf or blind from birth seem to handle it quite well – it’s all they’ve ever known! On the other hand, dogs that had their hearing or sight then lost it have more problems adjusting to their disability, and more care and patience needs to be taken.

Special needs dogs can, and do, thrive, but particular care must still be taken to ensure their safety. They may not be able to see or hear cars, predators, or other dangers. Use a secure, physical fence in your yard, and never leave them outside without direct supervision. Use crates and baby gates in your home to keep them from stairs or dangerous objects in your home.

Deaf and blind dogs are no different than other dogs. They just hear and see with their hearts. As their caretakers it is our responsibility to accept them as they are and treat them with the love and respect that they, and all animals, deserve.

Resources to help your special needs dog:
Deaf Dog Education Action Fund
Deaf Dogs Rock
Blind Dog Training
BlindDogs.net
Karen Pryor Clicker Training

Jeff Dentler, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI), provides dog training and behavior modification to residents of the greater Pottstown, PA area. Contact Jeff at [email protected] or 610-505-0123. For more information and daily tips on training, exercise, health, and nutrition please visit DentlersDogTraining or like us on Facebook.

Hello! Sallie here! I want to share with you my scary near death experience so maybe your lady dogs don’t have a similar or worse experience.

When I came to my forever family, they were told that I was spayed but I wasn’t. I kept getting sick, but my new family were very good about getting me the vet care that I needed, and quickly, otherwise I may not be here right now.

When I got very sick, I didn’t want to eat but was drinking a lot of water. I was tired and kept having accidents all the time, then started having trouble getting up and was very weak and shaky. It turned out that I had Pyometra; it was scary and painful, and mom said it was very expensive to treat. She now calls me her “million dollar baby”.

Pyometra is a severe infection of the uterus that is caused by hormones and bacteria. It is a serious and life threatening condition that must be treated quickly and aggressively, because if the uterus ruptures it becomes toxic in a girl’s abdomen- kind of like what can happen with appendicitis. Pyometra can happen in any female dog who hasn’t been spayed and is common in older females, but it can happen with only 1 heat cycle. The best prevention is to have all female dogs spayed, preferably at or before they are six months old and have their first heat cycle.

I was lucky and survived, but many girls don’t. So please, help us spread the word that it’s important to spay your beautiful female pups. Not only does it prevent unwanted pregnancy but it can save their lives!

With a heavy heart we must add that Sallie lost her battle with health issues. There were complications due to her late veterinary care and she passed away two weeks ago. Sallie is forever loved and greatly missed.