Seizures

[GeekyGranny]

Can diabetic dogs get seizures? My dog has been having seizures lately. About one a week.

She is 15 years old. An American Eskimo and German Shepherd mix. She is more of the AE though.

She has diabetes, arthritis, cataracts, hypothyroidism, severe weed allergies. We give her vitamins, insulin injections, OPC for dogs, thyroid meds, and fish oils along with vegetarian foods every day.

I'm afraid to take her to the vet because of the cost. Even though he is close by, he is pricey.

Mary aka GG :cool:

[CarolW]

Can diabetic dogs get seizures? My dog has been having seizures lately. About one a week.

She is 15 years old. An American Eskimo and German Shepherd mix. She is more of the AE though.

She has diabetes, arthritis, cataracts, hypothyroidism, severe weed allergies. We give her vitamins, insulin injections, OPC for dogs, thyroid meds, and fish oils along with vegetarian foods every day.

I'm afraid to take her to the vet because of the cost. Even though he is close by, he is pricey.

Mary aka GG :cool:

Hi Mary Geeky Granny (love the name!), and a big, fat welcome to you!

First, yes, ANY dog can have seizures; there are multiple reasons for them. I simply assert this, without trying to give sources, as I've seen them in my own dogs (many years ago), and also I read widely on dogs.

Seizures can be related to multiple different situations, and often enough, the reason for them isn't apparent, and veterinarians call those "idiopathic," meaning a cause hasn't been determined.

A note about feeding - dogs aren't "obligate carnivores," as cats are; that means they can live without meat. All the same, I prefer to feed dogs at least some proportion of meat; of what kind depends very much on the dog and its physical make-up. I could suggest consulting vets about that, but consulting canine nutritionists perhaps makes more sense.

The best general source of information I've found about nutrition for dogs is a Yahoo group called "K9Kitchen." I don't have the link right handy, but I point to it from here:

http://www.coherentdog.org/links.php#monica

What is OPC for dogs?

You must be doing a lot VERY right, because 15 is a very ripe old age for a mix that includes German Shepherd Dog. And how refreshing to find "Shepherd" spelled correctly [grin]

I certainly understand about the cost of vet visits, as I am always scraping the bottom of the barrel to meet vet costs, usually, having to ask for help with those costs, too.

There are times when I think there's no substitute for good veterinary assistance. You would know better than I whether this is one of those times for your dog. It's not clear to me whether you think that vet is overpriced, or maybe not worth the price, or isn't very good.

I am EXTREMELY fortunate in that my vet is excellent - really top-notch. We have other vets in my area, and I would not go there. They cost less, but one typically loses animals to problems with anaesthesia - I wouldn't go there even for euthanasia. Vets have fairly high overhead expenses; mine does, for instance, precisely because they monitor anaesthesia throughout surgery, using a machine and an assistant competent to do the monitoring. My vet has never lost an animal in surgery unless the animal was in last-ditch efforts to save the life, and was too far gone to survive anyway. They might lose two a year that way - the animal is too far gone. Usually, they try to avoid surgery if they think there's no chance of saving the dog.

Anyway, all decisions concerning medical treatment of our dogs are solely ours; we are solely responsible, and choosing a vet is part of what is useful if we can do it well! If you go to my links page, please have a look also at the information about Dr. Nancy Kay, who wrote the book _Speaking for Spot_, because that book is very, very helpful in sorting out how to find a good vet, how to work with vets, and also, for decisions that come when a dog is very old, and not expected to last a lot longer.

I love the American Eskimos! What is your dog's name?

Wishing you lots of luck, and I'll be watching for your further reports.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:29:18 (PST)

[k9diabetes]

Do the seizures seem to be related to her blood sugar?

Low blood sugar can cause seizures and in that case is a sign that the blood sugar is dangerously low.

And then there are seizures unrelated to blood sugar as well.

How do you monitor her blood sugar?

Welcome to you both,

Natalie