Taking care of an epileptic dog is easy. Your aim would be to give your fur baby a comfortable life while dealing with the illness. It is the best option to prevent the health of your furry friends from deteriorating as the disease progresses.
How is epilepsy in dogs diagnosed?
Epilepsy progresses in the animal’s body without you even knowing it. The disease can only be diagnosed when the first crisis appears. Dogs may have seizures between the ages of 6 months to 5 years. If your dog has a seizure, you should immediately consult a veterinarian. Early diagnosis is important for optimizing care for dogs with epileptic.
What if your dog has epilepsy?
Epilepsy is not a fatal illness, but frequent seizures can adversely affect a dog’s health. As a dog parent, there are several ways you can help your fur baby deal with epilepsy.
1. Regular visits to the veterinarian
Visiting a veterinarian is the best preventive measure for all illnesses. Dogs with epilepsy should be tested every 6 months to check for disease progression. The frequency and intensity of seizures are critical to animal health.
It is also important to have him do a blood test twice a year. Especially dogs given phenobarbital. High levels of this anticonvulsant in the blood can cause obesity and liver damage.
2. Appropriate medicine
It is best not to give our animals a lot of medicine. However, dogs with epilepsy need medications that help keep their body in balance.
Seizures are a major problem for affected dogs, especially if they occur frequently. Drug treatment reduces the frequency and intensity of seizures and protects the animal.
3. Avoid stress
Epilepsy has been shown to be emotionally related. People and animals with epilepsy who live in stressful environments tend to suffer from seizures.
The owner’s temperament is crucial to the dog’s behavior. Owners must then first change their lifestyles to reduce animal stress. Although a change of lifestyle cannot fight genetic heredity, it can, however, reduce the incidence of seizure attacks.
4. Basic precautions
Vaccines and pesticides are the basics to ensure the well-being of animals.
Right nutrition and exercise (physical activities) are very important to strengthen their immune system. Also, these factors help maintain a good metabolism and prevent other diseases that may cause harm to your dog.
5. Know how to react in the face of epileptic seizures
Treatment of epilepsy reduces seizures but does not eliminate the risk of seizures. Therefore, it is imperative that the owner be ready to help the dog.
What do you do when your dog has a seizure?
- Act calmly and rationally.
- Place the animal on a flat, stable surface to prevent it from falling and injuring. It can be placed on a pillow or mattress.
- Do not stick your dog’s tongue out or put your hand in your dog’s mouth. Animals can bite their tongue on their own or unknowingly harm people.
- If your veterinarian is prescribing anticonvulsants, follow the instructions.
- Heal the dog when the attack is over. Make room for him to breathe and regain his senses.