{"id":104,"date":"2024-01-18T11:27:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T11:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/?page_id=104"},"modified":"2026-07-31T18:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:23:23","slug":"epilepsy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/?page_id=104","title":{"rendered":"Epilepsy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
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EPILEPSY<\/h2>\n

SEIZURES AND\nEPILEPSY     <\/b> 
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Seizures or epilepsy is known to occur in both Petits and Grands.
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If\nyou have a dog that has been diagnosed by the vet as having idiopathic epilepsy\nand have not yet submitted swabs for DNA analysis, then we would like to hear\nfrom you. Please contact the BGV Club Breed Health Coordinator, Fiona Buchanan; tarmachangbgv@gmail.com or 07795068860
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The following\nmay help you to understand a little about seizures.\n \nWhat is a Seizure or Epilepsy?  <\/b> 
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Seizures<\/b> are one of the most frequently reported neurological conditions in dogs. The\nscientific term for seizure is \"ictus\" though, put simply, it can be\ndescribed as an electrical storm within the brain which translates into a range\nof physical symptoms depending on the severity of the attack.  A seizure\nmay also be called a convulsion or fit and is a temporary involuntary\ndisturbance of normal brain function that is usually accompanied by\nuncontrollable muscle activity.  Mild symptoms may show as a\ntemporary loss of consciousness and awareness from which the dog slowly\nrecovers, appearing somewhat dazed.  At the other end of the\nrange, the dog may have a fit with severe convulsions and loss\nof control of bladder and bowels.  This may last several minutes followed\nby a slow dazed recovery.
 
Epilepsy<\/b> is used to describe repeated episodes of seizures.  With\nepilepsy, the seizures can be single or may occur in clusters, and they can be\ninfrequent and unpredictable or may take place at regular intervals.
 \nWhat causes a Seizure?\nThere\nare many causes of seizures, such as:\n \n* \nAdverse reaction to medication\n* \nStress\n* \nEating poison
*  Liver malfunction or disease
*  Low or high blood sugar
*  Kidney disease
*  Electrolyte problems
*  Anaemia
*  Head injury
*  Encephalitis
*  Strokes
*  Brain cancer or tumour\n* \nSome tick borne diseases\n \nSeizures\noften occur at times of changing brain activity, for example during excitement\nor feeding, or as the dog is falling asleep or waking up. Affected dogs can\nappear completely normal between seizures.\n \nWhat is Idiopathic Epilepsy?\n \nOnly\nwhen all the above have been eliminated as possible causes can the diagnosis of\nIdiopathic Epilepsy due to a genetic abnormality be determined. \nIdiopathic epilepsy is the most common cause of seizures in the dog.  As\nan inherited disorder, its exact cause remains unknown.    
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What happens when a dog has a Seizure?    
Seizures\nconsist of three components:
1.  The pre-ictal phase, or aura, is a period of altered behaviour in\nwhich the dog may hide, appear nervous, or seek out the owner. It may be\nrestless, nervous, whining, shaking, or salivating. This may last a few seconds\nto a few hours. This period precedes the seizure activity, as if the dog senses\nthat something is about to occur.
2.  The ictal phase is the seizure itself and lasts from a few seconds to\nup to five minutes. During a seizure, the dog may lose consciousness or may\njust have a change in mental awareness (\"absence\" seizures or\nhallucinations such as snapping at invisible objects). If the dog experiences a\ngrand mal, or full-blown seizure with loss of consciousness, all of the muscles\nof the body contract spastically and erratically. The dog usually falls over on\nits side and paddles its legs while seeming to be otherwise paralysed. The head\nwill often be drawn backwards. Urination, defecation, and salivation may occur.\nIf the seizure has not stopped within five minutes, the dog is said to be in\nstatus epilepticus or prolonged seizure. Status epilepticus is considered an\nimmediate emergency and medical help should be sought for anti-convulsant drugs\nto be administered.
3.   During the post-ictal phase - the period immediately after the end of\nthe seizure - there is confusion, disorientation, salivation, pacing,\nrestlessness, or even temporary blindness. There is no direct correlation\nbetween the severity of the seizure and the duration of the post-ictal phase.\n \nIs a Seizure Painful or Dangerous for the Dog?\n \nDespite\nthe dramatic and violent appearance of a seizure, they are not painful,\nalthough the dog may feel confusion and perhaps panic. Contrary to popular\nbelief, dogs do not swallow their tongues during a seizure.  If you put\nyour fingers or an object into its mouth, you will not help your pet and you\nrun a high risk of being bitten badly or of injuring your dog. The\nimportant thing is to keep the dog from falling or hurting itself by knocking\nobjects onto itself. As long as it is on the floor or ground, there is little\nchance of harm occurring.
 
A single seizure is rarely dangerous to the dog. However, if the dog has\nmultiple seizures within a short period of time (cluster seizures), or if a\nseizure continues for longer than a few minutes, the body temperature begins to\nrise. If hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) develops secondary to a\nseizure, another set of problems may have to be addressed.
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When the Seizure is over, can I find out what happened?\n \nAfter\na dog has a seizure episode, your vet will begin by taking a thorough history,\nconcentrating on possible exposure to poisonous or hallucinogenic substances or\nany history of head trauma. The vet will also perform a physical examination,\nblood and urine tests and sometimes an ECG.  These tests rule out\ndisorders of the liver, kidneys, heart, electrolytes and blood sugar\nlevels.  
 
If results are normal and there has been no exposure to poison or recent\ntrauma, further diagnostics may be undertaken, depending on the severity and\nfrequency of the seizures.  An MRI of the brain is likely to look at the\nstructure of the brain.  Occasional seizures (less frequently than once a\nmonth) are of less concern, unless they become more frequent or more severe. \nIn this instance, a spinal fluid analysis may be performed. 
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Can Seizures be Treated or Prevented?\n \nTreatment\nis usually begun only after a dog has:
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1.    more than one seizure a month
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2.   clusters of seizures where one seizure is immediately followed\nby another or
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3.   grand mal seizures that are severe or prolonged in duration.
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The two most commonly used medications to treat seizures in dogs are\nphenobarbital and potassium bromide. Research into the use of other\nanticonvulsants is ongoing, and combination therapy is often used for dogs that\nrespond poorly to standard treatments.
 
Once anticonvulsant medication is started, it must be given for life. There is\nevidence that, if anticonvulsant medication is started and then discontinued,\nthe dog may have a greater risk of developing more severe seizures in the\nfuture. Even normal dogs without a history of seizures or epilepsy may be\ninduced to seizure if placed on anticonvulsant medication and then abruptly\nwithdrawn from it. If anticonvulsant medication must be discontinued or changed\nfor some reason, your vet will give you specific instructions for doing this.
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HOW THE BGV CLUB CAN HELP YOU IF YOUR BGV HAS A\nSEIZURE<\/b>\n
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The BGV Club have been collecting cheek swabs from clinically diagnosed dogs and submitting them initially to the AHT but now to Canine Genetics. If you have a dog that has been diagnosed by the vet as having idiopathic epilepsy and have not yet submitted swabs for DNA analysis, then we would like to hear from you.
Swab kits can be obtained free either from the BGV Club or direct from Canine Genetics, both are GDPR compliant.
Free cheek swab sample kits can be obtained from Fiona Buchanan BGV Club Health Officer or directly from Canine Genetics at;
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THANK YOU
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<\/b>\n <\/p>\n request a sample kit<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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What is the size of the problem?   
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The\nfollowing number of cases have been reported within the UK in the past few\nyears:\n \n2011  \n2  -  both GBGVs\n2012   5 \n-  all GBGVs\n2013   4 \n-  2 GBGVs, 2 PBGVs \n2014   7\n -  5 GBGVs, 2 PBGVs\n2015  \n7  -  5 GBGVs, 2 PBGVs\n2016\n  6  -  5 GBGVs, 1 PBGV\n2017\n  1  -  1 GBGVs, 0 PBGV\n2018 \n 3  -  3 GBGVs, 1 PBGV\n2019 \n 5  -  2 GBGVs, 3 PBGVs\n2020 \n 2  -  0 GBGVs, 2 PBGVs     \n
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Looking\nat the current population of BGVs of 6 years and under, epilepsy is occurring\nat the rate of 1 dog in 200 or 0.50% per annum.  This rate has been\nremarkably constant over the last 5 years. <\/b>Canine\nGenetics at the AHT confirmed that, as at early 2016, they had\nupwards of 60 Epilepsy cases sourced worldwide in their data bank and held a\ntotal of 664 DNA samples for BGVs. <\/b> 
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Seeing your BGV have a seizure is an\nunpleasant and upsetting experience.<\/i>  \nLet us know - we are here to support you.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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WE WILL HELP YOU  ......<\/h2>\n

If you have any concerns about your BGV's well-being which appear to be related to any of the known health problems in the breed, let us know.  We are here to support you.<\/p><\/use><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n \n \n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPILEPSY SEIZURES AND EPILEPSY       Seizures or epilepsy is known to occur in both Petits and Grands. If you have a dog that has been diagnosed by the vet as having idiopathic epilepsy and have not yet submitted swabs for DNA analysis, then we would like to hear from you. Please contact the BGV Club Breed … Continue reading “Epilepsy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-104","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=104"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1916,"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/104\/revisions\/1916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgvclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}