Our precious Laci... A seizure dog.

We have three very wonderful dogs (Hungarian Vizslas) and love them more then anyone could ever imagine. It is very difficult to share a movie like this, but it is done out of love and hope that we might be able to find a answer or maybe even a solution to why one of our dogs has seizures.

Laci, our epileptic dog, has had seizures since she was just over a year old. We have done everything that has been advised by the various veterinarians from complete blood profile to checking her kidneys and liver to adding natural supplements to her diet. She has been on a vegetarian diet to eliminate the chance that animal protein may be swelling her brain and exacerabating the problem. We noticed early on she had allergies and eliminated flour, eggs, and gluten from her diet as well as corn, BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin and propylene glycol. The change in diet has cured her allergic reactions but not her episodes. We have spayed her in the hopes her hormones would change and stop the seizures. So far nothing has been effective.

We have been able to witness 8 full seizures within 10 months and we do suspect there have been more. Although it is very hard on us, it is her that we worry about most. She is very weak and disoriented for several hours after a seizure. Having had a seizure myself I know how hard they are on ones body. We have not put her on medication yet because the side effects seem harder than the seizures.

After observing her closely we have come to a few conclusions. First off, many times she will vomit right before having a seizure. It happens about 20 to 30 seconds before an episode. Second, she does not have control of her mind after she wakes up. It takes her anywhere from a few seconds to 30 seconds to realize where she is and that we are not a threat to her. She normally growls and has even tried to bite us after she an episode. I made the mistake early on of trying to hold and cuddle her while she comes out of it.

On 2-7-2006 early in the morning we awoke to the sounds of one of the dogs vomitting. We knew immediately that it was Laci and that she would be having a seizure in less than a minute. We jumped out of bed, got the other dogs out of the room and took out a blanket we have nearby to put her on. When she has an episode she looses control of her body and most of the time will deficate and urinate which is why we put her on a blanket. We then sat with her and waited.

The movie picks up about half way through the seizure. You can hear her growl at us when she comes out of it. You will also notice she hits her head against the wall when she jumps off the bed, this is due to partial temporary blindness. By sharing this movie we hope to learn from you. Maybe you've had a dog with a similar condition and can give some advice/direction. Maybe you can be the one to help us help our precious Laci. See for yourself and let us know....

Movie of Laci's Seizure