Caring for a Dog with Epilepsy

 Our little furry friends count on us for everything in life. When we adopted Shellie the Sheltie we had no idea the ride it would be. This little cutie got diagnosed with epilepsy at only one year old. The disease doesn't stop her from living her best life!

We got her as an 8 week old puppy months after losing our first Sheltie, Fred.

One day she started shaking, drooling, and would fall backwards. The first day this started it literally happened 12 times in that day. After a quick trip to the vet we were given some phenobarbital pills for her to take. Luckily, she is a pretty laid-back dog and will eat the pills right in her food. Our previous dog would sniff out pills and spit them out or leave them in the bowl, so we had to get creative whenever he needed to take one.

Unfortunately, the seizures didn't stop. Our vet tried adjusting the medication dose however it wasn't enough. We were sent to a neurologist. (Yes, they have a neurologist for dogs)

The neurologist ran some tests on Shellie and also offered an MRI. Unfortunately, an MRI costs thousands of dollars and ultimately you need to decide what you are going to do with the results. Will you subject your puppy to brain surgery? Given her age and her breed the neurologist agreed that an MRI was not required and instead try to control the epileptic seizures with medicine. At worst if we couldn't get the seizures to stop, she would need to be admitted to the hospital to give her an IV and get them under control.  We were also told that her blood would need to be checked regularly to check her kidney function and if the phenobarbital was in a therapeutic range.

The neurologist provided us with a new medicine called clorazepate which is a rescue drug. This is meant to stop clusters of seizures when they start. We started giving one pill right away and every 8 hours until they stopped for 24 hours which luckily was right away. Her brain needed a bit of a reset to stop seizing.

She started doing much better. We knew that the meds would not stop the seizures entirely, but the frequency was less. We also now knew the telltale signs. If she wasn't right next to us and we found her with her white fur under her mouth all wet she probably had a seizure. One day she had a very major seizure that lasted a few minutes. Even with giving the clorazepate she was stuck in a cluster. She ultimately got to the point where she could not stand for a whole day. Off to the vet we went, and the prognosis didn't look good. This happened to be the week my Dad passed away also so I was a mess and back and forth to the hospital with him too. I couldn't lose them both.

We headed back to the neurologist who put my mind at ease, and we added another medication, potassium bromide. This medicine is a liquid that we squirt on to her food. She also gave us another rescue med, Valium. This could be used in extreme circumstances like what had happened.

Luckily, she started walking again normally and recovered. I have joined many Facebook groups on dogs with epilepsy and learned a lot. It really is trial and error trying to find the optimal medication combination to control the seizures. An ice pack on the back during a seizure helps and calming words. I even hold her when she has them but is only advised if they aren't too violent. Now her seizures are quite mild and monthly, and we give her clorazepate when they start. During the last few years, she has had ones where she has bit her lip and been bleeding or peed/pooped on the floor while having it. 

The meds also have side affects. Phenobarbital causes excessive hunger so she wants food all the time. We have to monitor her food intake so that she doesn't get overweight. The clorazepate at the beginning would cause her to act drunk. She would sway side to side and sometimes fall over and be very sleepy. Those side affects have lessened but she does sometimes whine would putting her food like she is so hungry she can't wait.

I also learned we have to watch ingredients in treats. Specifically, things like rosemary extract which can trigger seizures. I read the ingredients on everything we buy her.

Despite her disease she lives a very full life. Here she is living her best life tubing on the Saco River in NH.

She loved the waterfalls.

She went to see the sunflowers.

She even went on the Conway Scenic Railroad for her birthday in NH.

She always dresses up for Halloween.

And she loves to ask Santa for gifts.

Here's to many more birthdays for this sweet girl!

They really are part of the family and we hope she is part of ours for a long time. We know she is a little extra work, but we have all learned to help her during seizures and respond quickly.

If you want to follow her adventures she even has an Instagram handle: shellie.the.sheltie

4/13/17: Bark at the Moon Dog Treat Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED: CONGRATULATIONS HALEY C FOR WINNING!
We all want the best for our pets.  They are part of our family and deserve good tasting and high quality treats.  Recently I learned about Bark at the Moon treats from Green Butterfly Brands.  It is a line of all-natural dog treats made in the USA!  Not only am I offering my readers a giveaway to win these wonderful treats but I also have a discount code.  Read on to learn more.

We got to try out Bark at the Moon All Natural Chicken Jerky Treats, Wild Caught Salmon Treats, and Freeze Dried Chicken Hearts.  Here is a discount code to save 10% off your first entire order!  Use code: BARKIN10 Plus they are sold exclusively on Amazon so get free shipping on purchases over $35.

Shellie was intrigued by all of the treats but seemed the most interested in the Chicken Jerky so we had her try that first!

She ate it so fast and looked so happy eating it!

I loved watching her walking around with it.

Shellie loved all the treats and I love that it says right on it that they are all natural, healthy human grade treats!

I also love that they give back to our troops. A portion of their proceeds are donated to train service dogs for wounded veterans, our military heroes.

Enter below to win the three treat bags I received for your furry family member.

Disclosure:  I received these Bark at the Moon Dog Treats for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.  I also was provided with treats to giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

4/2/17: Petcube Play With Shellie

Recently we received a Petcube Play for review and it is so wonderful to be able to see what Shellie is up to when we aren't around.  This great device allows you to interact with your pet when you aren't around and see what they are up to.  It is so awesome!

The picture above was taken with the Petcube Play.
Pets are such a big part of our life.  I know Fred was my first baby and I miss him everyday and now Shellie is a huge part of our family.

She loves dressing up and looking pretty.  Isn't she adorable?

This is how the Petcube Play works.  First you download an app to your phone which is free and the Petcube connects wirelessly to your phone.  Once it is setup you can now watch your pet remotely on your phone.  While you are watching you can take pictures or video.

You can then speak to your pet and hear what is going on from their side or setup motion and sound alerts.  It also has a built-in laser toy that you can aim using the app and have your pet interact with.

You can also sign up for Petcube Care to have video cloud recording of 10 or 30 days of history.  It is the perfect way to check in on your pet.  For us it is perfect with Shellie being a puppy.  I was very impressed at the quality of what I could view on the app.  Plus the interaction of being able to talk to Shellie and use the laser pointer with her was so much fun.  She loved playing with it.  It is such a great product!  Such piece of mind when you can peek in on your furry family member.

Here is the PetCube Play as packaged.  It is comes in Silver, Black and Rose Gold.  Definitely check them out at https://petcube.com/

Disclosure:  I was provided with Petcube Play for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

5/6/16: Saying Goodbye to a Part of the Family

Some days it is difficult to be an adult more than others.  Today was one of those days.  It might have been one of the hardest decisions my husband and I had to make but we made the decision to put our first baby Fred to sleep.

It has been a long time coming for Fred.  He is almost 15 years old which is pretty old for a dog.  For about the last year he has had trouble getting up on his own.  He has had arthritis in his back legs and we have tried 4 different medicines to help him with the pain.

It has been difficult as he is still so aware and sometimes seemed so happy.  Over time though he has declined where he couldn't get up at all on his own and even would fall down sometimes outside when he was trying to have a bowel movement.  Often times we would find him in a puddle of pee because he just couldn't get up.  We would often find him under a chair or table and he would be trapped there.  

He also recently started barking out of the blue.  He never was a dog who barked much so this was very strange to hear.

If you don't know what happens when you make this decision for your pet I can step you through what happened.  We brought Fred to the Vet and I held him in his blanket.  The doctor came in and injected him with a sedative.  At this point he got very mellow and pretty much fell asleep.  I felt like at that point he was already gone.  We then put him on the table and they shaved a little section of hair on his leg.  They then injected him and within minutes his heartbeat was gone.  Here he is right before the sedative.  He was shaking and his breathing was a little strange as he always gets nervous going to the Vet.  We also had options of to have him buried in a pet cemetery, have him cremated alone and receive his ashes, or cremated with other dogs.  We chose to have him cremated and receive his ashes which will come in a picture urn.  We will take some of his ashes and spread them in our yard where we are going to plant a tree for him.

The kids have loved Fred and he was always so good with them.  I spent many hours holding Fred on the couch and talking to him.  He truly was always my baby and it broke my heart to have to say goodbye to him.

This is during this past Christmas.  He always posed with the kids for pictures.

 This is Fred when we first got him.  He was only 5 pounds and the sweetest little Shetland Sheepdog puppy.

I loved him like a baby.  I taught him tricks and trained him.  I read books to learn how to train him.  I even made a scrapbook of his pictures!

We took him to see Santa when he was a baby.

I always make it a point to have a birthday party for him.  I got Clifford the Dog party hats.

Fred was the first baby but was there for when both Evan and Lauren came home from the hospital.  I thought it was a sign when we had Evan as Carter's had a dog set that had just come out and it had little dogs and it said Fred!

He made sure to keep an eye on the kids when they were babies.

And even as they got a little older.

He went on the first walk with Evan.

He was playful.

He liked leaves and snow.

He never cared if we dressed him up, put hats on him or even costumes for Halloween.

Here was Fred as a Ghostbuster for Halloween!

With his bunny ears for Easter.

He was always involved.

He was a wonderful dog and we will miss him dearly.  I hope now he can spend time with his parents, run with sheep, meet his Uncle Rocky (my Yorkshire Terrier growing up), and catch frisbees again.