Our little mini dachshund, Chopper has had seizures since he was about 2 years old. He is now 7. None of the other 4 dogs from his litter, nor the ones following have this issue, that we know it. We had him tested and his thyroid was low, in addition to the hair on his back not fully growing out. He's a long-haired dapple dachshund and we just never really thought about it because his belly and tail hair was long.
Anyway, we moved to a new area and found a new Vet. He immediately suspected Chopper's thyroid was low. His blood levels confirmed it. We put him on Soloxine that is 0.1mg. He gets one every morning with a little bit of cheese. The seizures slowed down, but they do get triggered when he gets overly excited - mostly when people come to visit. We tried to cut the pills in half, as instructed by the Vet, but his seizures picked up again. So, he takes a full little pill.
Chopper's seizures are not grand mal, but they are scary. When it hits, he immediately pees where he is and falls over onto his side. His front legs go straight out stiff, his back legs curl up like he's crippled. Then his little head goes straight back and he begins to shake and silently whimper. He gives us such a scared little look. Sometimes we lay on the floor with him and sing or pray. Other times, my husband picks him up and sings to him or talks softly to him. They have lasted anywhere from a minute to three minutes. Sometimes, they are longer - at least the effects last longer before he can walk again. It's so sad to watch and we feel helpless. One time, a bad thunder storm set him off.
Fleas were a blessing in disguise ....
Last year, he picked up a few fleas from my sister's dog when we went to visit her. For the first 3 days, he was fine and no fleas got on him, but the last day, they did. I bathed him and when we got home, I re-bathed him, made sure the fleas were gone and within a couple days, we had no trace of any. Even though he was fortunate to not become totally infested, his skin was irritated. A friend suggested we squeeze a fish oil capsule onto his wet food in the morning and that it helped her dog's skin. So, we did and his skin cleared up. However, we noticed that Chopper's seizures stopped too. I talked to the Vet and his said it was highly possible the fish oil was also helping - after all, it's good for the brain, so why not?
This coming April will be a year that Chopper has been on fish oil, in addition to his Soloxine. He will always have to take the Soloxine. I can honestly say that he has had maybe 5 seizures this past year! Compared to having that many in a 2-3 week time period - that's incredible. And they have not been like the past ones. He will begin to go into one or get a little disoriented, but not go into a full seize. It has only happened when someone he knows comes over and doesn't acknowledge him right away - he is an attention hog.
) Whether it's attributed to the addition of the fish oil or our change in moving to a less stressful home - it could be both. But, we will continue to squeeze a capsule of fish oil onto his morning wet breakfast food. If anyone has not tried adding fish oil to your dog's diet, give it a try. It does not seem to matter which brand or concentration, but I have used both the 1,000 MG and 1,200 MG, which he is on now. Chopper responded almost immediately.
My parent's have a Maltese that experiences grand mal seizures and they have her on Opium when it occurs. The poor little thing walks through her food and water, walks into walls, etc. They have to contain her to her dog carrier so she doesn't get hurt. I am hoping by them adding fish oil every day that their Angel will be a little better.
I hope this helps someone out there. I would never have thought the thyroid would contribute to seizures, but in Chopper's case, there is a connection. And he is doing SO much better than before. We are quite happy.