Seizures from anxiety

[Janie Doyle]

4 Yrs ago we adopted a 8 yo female Yorkie . Her health has been good except she was diagnosed one year ago with seizures brought on by anxiety.

She came to us beaten up and fearfull of men. She came to us in a small cage. Every day for 3 months I would spend some 1:1 time with her so she could gain confidence and trust. In the begining Robin would not come out of her cage at all and the only way I could get her out to go potty was to "pull " her out of the cage. She would only eat inside of her cage and then the door had to be open and a small bowl of food was put down and she would peek her head out of the cage long enough to eat. Finally after 3 months she started to come out of her cage on her own for short periods.

Today she is happy, fairly normal but does have issues. Robin has seizures brought on by anxiety and just to get her groomed we have to take her to the vet when he is in , and he gives her a small dose of valium by injection before the groomer cuts her. We give her a half of phenobarbital 2 times a day to help reduce the number of seisures. The medicine help alot and we are not exactly sure what brings on a seisure because sometimes it happens when we are sleeping and the sound of the seisure wakes me up so I can care for her.

Now it is getting to the point where even when I comb her head and top knot it causes a seizure. That hapened the past 2 times I combed her head.

Does anyone have any sugestions on what I can give her maybe 20-30 min before I comb her hair to try to help prevent a seizure. ????

Robin's Mom

[nvnvgirl]

I just read somewhere something about dogs who have extreme anxiety during grooming...Oh I remember where it was...a vet magazine...it was actually an article about Addison's disease....I think I threw it out, but it might still be in the recycling bin....I'll check and see if it says what they suggested in there.

[nvnvgirl]

Dang! Sorry, I dug it out of the recycling (of course it was at the very bottom) but it wasn't that article where I read it....now I just have to think about where it was that I read it.....it was something about dogs who experience extreme anxiety related to vet visits or grooming appts. Drives me crazy when I can't recall where I saw it!

[Janie Doyle]

I will google it (addison disease in dogs ) , thanks

[nvnvgirl]

Originally Posted by Janie Doyle

I will google it (addison disease in dogs ) , thanks

No....the article I was reading was on Addison's and I thought that's where they mentioned it but it wasn't there...it must have been something else I was reading on the web somewhere. Not related. I know I've got this bookmarked about seizures (someone else just posted this somewhere also recently), maybe there's something in there that might help you~!

Canine Epilepsy and Dog Seizures Table of Contents - Canine Epilepsy Guardian Angels

(these are other articles you might find interesting):

Take a practical approach to the management of seizures in dogs - - DVM

Epilepsy: A Cause of Seizures in Dogs

Good luck with your little one! What a blessing you are for her! Please let us know anything that you learn or find out that helps or hinders her in this...I think it would be helpful to anyone who might be going thru this or has it happen in the future! Thank you!

[Shelby&Seymour]

Awe, Janie...... hope that you find something that will help Robin cope better. I know that it may not be enough, but here's something that may help a little.
When Shelby had her LP surgery, we went to physical therapy (At a rehab center for dogs). The therapist used lavender oil (the PURE stuff) on the tips of Shelby's ears and also on the crown of her head. (she rubbed a drop between her 2 fingers and just touched on these 3 places. It was to help "soothe" Shelby before her session. AND IT WORKED wonderfully. Within a few minutes Shelby was much more relaxed. I purchased some lavender oil from the GNC near Thomas Moore college. I think it was under $8. (a small bottle goes a LONG way)
We also put it on Shelby & Seymours ears in the evening for a nice relaxing night of sleep........ not to mention how GOOD it smells on them. (I think that the lavender helps me sleep, too )