Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Wondering if there are others of you who have to deal with epilepsy with your Sibes. My boy is epileptic (inherited it from his mom) and I was reading online today and came across a statement that Sibes are one of the top ten breeds affected by epilepsy.

We now have had two purebred huskies who have had seizures. It is really commonplace for them. Unfortunately our first husky has passed away (not from seizures). But my second husky that I actually found on the streets has seizures. They are controlled with phenobarbitrol (?). She gets her "medicine time" each morning and she rarely has a seizure now. I was told if they go untreated for too long that it could have a detrimental effect on her. But we knew the signs from our first husky and right after her first one with us she was placed on the medicine. She is doing great!

When Bandit first started having seizures, at about age 2, he had maybe 2 per year, always coinciding with the blowing of his coat in the spring and fall. The vet did not want to put him on medication because of his age. She said that the meds are hard on a dog's liver and since he'd have to take them for life, she didn't want to start him on meds any sooner than she had to. Back in 2006, I tried him out on KBr (potassium bromide). The side effects were just disastrous for Bandit: extreme thirst, extreme hunger, ataxia. The hunger was the worst. Not only did he gain about 20 pounds in 3 months, despite my efforts to supplement his food with low-calorie fruits and veggies, but his hunger altered his behavior. He began counter-surfing and getting into the trashcan and chewing random stuff up around the house. Also, his temperament changed and he became more unpredictable -- edgy, snappish, difiant. I couldn't trust him around other dogs. The KBr was $48 per month, could only be purchased from one compounding pharmacy (that was no where close to my house, and which kept hours like M-F, 10-4). I was probably spending an addition $30 per month on fruits and veggies, on top of his $25 per month kibble. And then he had to have a blood check-up every three months, to the tune of $150. All of that, and the medication wasn't controlling his seizures. So we took him off the KBr. Within a couple months, all his side effects went away, he lost the weight, and went back to being his usual cooperative, good-natured self.

I just started him on phenobarbitol. My vet had been really resistent to the phenobarb because while Bandit's blood tests always come out normal, an x-ray from a couple years ago revealed that he has an abnormally small liver. Since phenobarb is hard on the liver...well, she was concerned. But I don't feel like we have much choice. Bandit's seizures are more frequent. He had 3 in November (including 2 grand mals), 0 in December, and so far 3 already in January. Mostly he has petite mals -- that's what I call them; they're not the full-body convulsions that are the grand mals, and he's much more conscious and aware during the PM seizures -- but they just occur too frequently. And I'm spooked these days because Bandit's brother Bodie (who belonged to my brother) died from his seizures back in October. He went into status epilepticus and his body temperature went up to 116. The vets euthanized him.

Anyway, so far Ban's doing okay on the phenobarb. He's very thirsty and I'd say his hunger has increased as well, although I haven't increased his food allotment. He's also incredibly wobbly on his pins, poor guy. He moves like a drunken sailor. I think he feels weird because he's crying a lot. He gets in bed with me, puts his head on my stomach, and just whines. But the vet told me all this should pass in a couple weeks. I hope so.

Oddly enough, my family always has epileptic dogs. Of the 10 dogs we've had in the last 30 years -- 2 Shelties, one lab mix, and 7 Siberians -- 6 of them (2 Shelties and 4 Siberians) have been epileptic. The vets always told us it was a "pure-breed" thing. I've only just learned that it's more prevalent in Sibes than in a lot of other breeds. (Our 4 Sibes who have the epilepsy are all related: Mama and her 3 puppies. Mama passed on the gene.)

Yes, you'll see a remarkable difference in a month or so! Lexi had the symptoms that you are describing at first. Lexi was 3 when we put her on the meds (that's the age the vet thought she was when we found her). My vet is awesome about the phenobarb and every 6 months we take her in to have her "levels" checked to make sure that everything is fine. Lexi, luckily, since we have had her has only had small seizures. But enough to scare the beejeezers out of you when they happen!! Lexi's appetite is still pretty strong but she is good about it and she's gained some weight due to the meds. But I'd rather have her have an extra 15-20 pounds than have her life shortened due to the seizures. The meds are cheap - I only pay $12 for a month supply and they seem to be working. She's been on them now for a year and half consistently. And since she's been on them she's only had about 2 seizures. And one of them was my fault because I had forgotten to give her her meds one morning. Talk about making a dog mom feel bad!! But hang in there. Seizures are treatable!

Our first sibe, Tasha, had 2 petit mal seizures and then no more ever. It's possible that it could go away, depending on the severity. Now, we only had Tasha for 5 years and had to rehome her due to roughness (not aggression) with our first daughter as a toddler (10 months). We probably would have worked through it now, but were real nervous with our first child.

The second sibe, Nikki, is now 8 years old. When she was young, we thought she may have had minor seizures, but weren't sure. She would occasionally stand like a statue around the deck of our pool and wouldn't respond to calling. Then she'd just come out of it. We weren't sure if she was just caught up in a wonderful scent, or if it was a petit mal. Again, nothing since.

Our third sibe, Maya, is now about 7 months old, and we haven't noticed anything like that yet...

Walt

I think Bandit's seizures are here to stay. In my larger, extended family (parents and brother's families), we have 5 Siberians, including my dog's mother, father, and sister. Bandit's brother Bodie was also in the family, but he died of his seizures last fall. (He had cluster grand mals and couldn't pull out of them. By the time they got him to the vet, his body temperature was 116 degrees, so the vet euthanized him.) Anyway, of the 5 Sibes in our family now, 3 of them are epileptic -- Bandit, his sister Zoey, and their mother Dakota.

The good news is that Bandit has been on the phenobarbital now for about 2.5 months, and he's doing GREAT! He's had one very small petite mal since being on the meds, and it was so small as to be hardly noticeable. Also, the side-effects have pretty much disappeared. He's no longer as hungry and thirsty as he was when he first went on the drug.

The phenobarb has worked SO MUCH BETTER in so many ways than the Potassium Bromide that he was on a couple years ago.