Our dear 2 year old lab Benji has recently had his first seizures – twice in a span of 15 days. So your experience is really helpful.thankyou and good luck to Max!

Hi, My 3 year old lab ‘Prince’ has similar seizures. Yes it takes 20 minutes to come out of it. His whole body freezes and he ok after a bout of vomiting. The Vet recommended Gardinal 30mg for a month. I need to watch the frequency now.

Hi, Puki has had three seizures in the past 6 months so sadly the problem did not go away totally. It looks it is something we are going to have to live with. The thing is i am not even sure if he has epilepsy, it is extremely difficult to diagnose it. I went to see three different vets none of them could confirm it even after showing them videos of his seizures. First he may have brain cancer
but that is unlikely given his age, labs don’t have brain cancer at age 2-3, though it may develop at later stages. To be 100% sure you would have to have a brain scan done, here in Ireland there is one damn place that does it, and the price is astronomical. If i exclude cancer what is left is a muscle spasm
that is probably caused by genetical inherited epilepsy or something else. In my case during a seizure Puki never loses consciousness he’s awake just can’t control his muscles. The seizure does not effect his appetite either. We have done blood tests too his kidney is fine. The vet suggested that we give him medication for his muscle spasm. I checked what he wanted to give him and the side effects were worse then the actual seizure, brilliant idea! No way!
See the problem is even if Puki or Bob diagnosed with epilepsy the medication is so strong that it will sedate them to the extent you won’t be able to walk with them or do anything with them, they will literally lose the will to live, not to mention the side effects. And all that is going to achieve is to reduce the frequency of the seizures. For me it is not worth it and i suppose Puki agrees with me.
In any case you are not alone with this. Epilepsy is widespread among labradors due to overbreeding, i doubt Bob fighting with another dog can cause a seizure, Puki has had some fights
himself, but that is nature for them nothing unusual win or lose. If Bob has seizures every six to eight weeks i wouldn’t worry too much dogs in severe cases have seizures daily. Try different diets and make sure he gets enough exercise. Good luck!

Peter, I was curious about Puki. Is he seizure free? I have a black lab, Bob. He will be three October 27th, 2017. He has been having seizures for nearly a year. They seem to happen about 6-8 weeks apart. I believe they may be associated with stress but Im not sure. He was definitely overweight 135lbs….he is a large lab and should probably weigh in at about 110. I have had him on a “diet” less kibble more sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, squash….whatever I cook up. I am trying to keep his appetite satisfied as I never realized how much labs love to eat! Also I was giving him raw beef marrow bones which he just loves. I am trying to get him to one a week of these bones due to fat. His kibble is limited ingredient, no grain. I am just beside myself constantly worrying about the next seizure. They’re awful. Seems like they last forever but no more than a minute or two. The stress comes from a VERY alpha border collie who has attacked him more than once. I just want to get some more information and support.

Hi Mike,

interested in how Keppra is working out for you, we have a 3 yr old chocolate lab and our vet just prescribed this for him, we haven’t started it yet, very hesitant on any medication

Thank You!

As an epilepsy sufferer I have read of people who are under control using food and diet rather than medication so I don’t see why it can’t be the same for dogs, anything is worth a go. I’m not sure about raw diet but perhaps I ought to try the nettles myself????. Good luck and I hope Puki continues to be seizure free ☺️