Treatment for Dog Seizures

Treating the Cause

It's very important for the cause of a dog's seizures to first be identified or speculated before treatment begins. For example, if a dog is experiencing seizures in reaction to a specific household chemical, the treatment will involve a combination of seizure suppression therapy and the removal of the chemical from the household.

If the seizures are being caused by a viral disease such as Distemper, treatment for this disease should begin immediately, and may be combined with anti-seizure medication. Identifying the cause of your dog's seizures is a huge step towards finding the right treatment. If no cause can be positively identified by your veterinarian, they may prescribe one or many anti-seizure medications to help suppress the occurrence of future seizures.

Medications for Seizures in Dogs

Phenobarbitol

This type of seizure medication is among the most common types of medication prescribed by veterinarians for dog seizures. However, there are many potentially severe side effects. These side effects include sedation, weight gain, severe liver disease, difficulty standing or balancing, and extreme lethargy.

Chlorazepate (Tranxene)

This type of anti-seizure medication is more closely related to the drug Valium (diazepam). The problem with Chlorazepate is that a dog will eventually develop a tolerance to the effectiveness of this drug. This means that a higher dosage will be necessary as time goes on. Chlorasepate also has a high risk of dependency. This means that dosage must be gradually withdrawn when treatment is stopped, to prevent possibly severe withdrawal symptoms.

Felbamate (Felbatol)

The side effects of Felbamate are relatively mild. However, this seizure medication requires a dosage schedule of three doses per day. It can also be relatively expensive, and does not work well with puppies or some younger dogs. However, Felbamate does not cause sedation, which means that it's an excellent choice for treating seizures in dogs that are experiencing lethargy-inducing brain conditions.

Levetiracetam (Keppra)

Just like Felbamate, Levetiracetam requires a dosage schedule of approximately three doses per day. It can also be slightly expensive, sometimes costing pet owners from $200-$300 per month (depending on the size of the dog being treated). The dosage is different for each dog, so it may require an "experimental dosage" procedure to find the proper beneficial treatment level of this medication.

Other Treatment Procedures

Surgery

This is a very expensive treatment, and should only be used when a dog is experiencing a potentially life-threatening medical condition that can only be treated with a surgical procedure. Brain surgery on dogs is relatively uncommon, though is still possible. Also, since the potentially life-threatening risks of brain surgery are extremely high, many dog owners choose to engage in a less invasive and safer method of anti-seizure treatment.

Kindling

This is a treatment procedure for dog seizures that is still in its experimental phase. It involves the frequent application of a low-voltage electric stimulus to certain parts of a dog's brain. The results of this treatment procedure for dog seizures have not yet been officially confirmed.