thinking of rehoming arthur

Kieron854

I may have to rehome my 2 yr old itialan spinone not happy about this but his epilespy is causing me concern .i feel i cant have him in the house at all because if he has a fit which isnt that often (1 day of 5-6 fits eyery 6-8 weeks)he comes out of the fit very confused and frightend . sometimes id be afraid to go near him in case he reacted by snaping ,he growled and barked a few times . im sure id be able to handle any agression but hes to big for my wife to push around and we have small kids . the problem is he has a kennell outside but id like to let him in when were there but that means i have to stay near him all the time if the kids are in the room (my son would lie on him or in his bed with him) we have had him castrated and he's on meds and i don think a vet would give stronger med on that rate of fits .im startin to think were being unfair to him leaving him outside
even with good wakls/runs he gets ,i think he needs more interaction .any advice welcome

sudzs

Have you tried a vet??? I'm sure you could get him on the right meds to control his seizures.

toadfly

OP I doubt very much anyone would be willing to take the dog on knowing he has fits. Have you spoken to your vet about better managing it?

Inexile

Kieron - very sorry your dog is not well. However, I think Arthur would be very hard to rehome. A rescue may not be in a position to cover the costs and potential new adopters may have similar concers as yourself.

Could you not contain him within in area in your house, perhaps by use of a child gate so that when you dont have sight of him you know that your children cant have unsupervised access to Arthur.

I have only had limited experience of epilepsy in dogs. The rescue I volunteer for had one dog with it which was rehomed abroad. The lady who adopted him switched the dog to a raw/natural diet. She reckoned that any additives in food were not beneficial to the dogs. She recokoned the incidences of seizures reduced when the diet was changed. Im sure there are good articles on managing epilepsy in dogs on the internet. I think you may just need to do a lot more research and, as someone has suggested discuss with your vet.

Others here may be able to offer more concrete advice. Good Luck and pls keep us updated.

sudzs

The rescue I volunteer for had one dog with it which was rehomed abroad. The lady who adopted him switched the dog to a raw/natural diet. She reckoned that any additives in food were not beneficial to the dogs. She recokoned the incidences of seizures reduced when the diet was changed.

Actually my dog used to have an occasional seizure. I believe they were triggered after he was treated with organophosphates for mange mite when he was a pup. But anyway, when he was a few years old he developed terrible itchy feet! Constantly gnawing between his toes. Vet suggested steroids but first I changed his diet to a very natural one and funnily enough the feet got better and an added bonus, his seizures became much less severe and much much less fruquent.

portgirl123

please, i know it must be hard on you and your family but please recondsider giving him up.im sure with more help and as others suggested a better diet you might be able to get things more under control. maybe see if you could talk to someone who has had a dog like this and gets some practul advise. please dont give your dog away just because he is sick, and 1 day of fits in every 6-8 weeks, in all fairness aint that much. im not be smart or horrible but would you give a child up for adoption if it was sick? please think again as others have said he will be very hard to rehome

suziwalsh

My dog has epilepsy and I've worked with a few dogs with seizures. I would recommend trying the raw food diet (either made yourself or a commercial brand). Also get in touch with a vet who is willing to change around his medication to allow you to see can his seizures improve. I know my guys have drastically improved depending on the combination of drugs. I know its very difficult but its highly unlikely you'll be able to rehome him, though not impossible. I have rehomed an epileptic dog (not my own) but it took time and a very special family.

Kieron854

the reason im thinking like this is not lazyness or money the meds hes on are cheap and the fits are rare enough but we gat no warning so in a peroid of 6 week i get relaxed and go upstairs leave the kid and dog together he has a fit and bits the kids through no badness on his part just cofusion .hes a big dog 35 kg and looks my 4yr old in the eye so damage could be severe and he would be pts . i know the vet well and have talked over the meds options its a balance between having him doped up all the time or the ocasional fit .in an all adult home this wouldnt be a problem but kid safty comes before dog

suziwalsh

I completely understand your situation and until you see a dog react from a seizure I doubt many would. Its horrible to see your dog confused and act aggressively and there is no warning. I certainly wouldn't want children near when my guy has a seizure, the situation is too unpredictable.

I would get in contact with the IKC or the breed club in the UK to see if they might have a home waiting that would be willing to take him on or offer advice.

I would also make it known to a lot of vets to see would any of them be willing to take him on.

ISDW

Best of luck with the situation, it will be very hard to rehome a dog with epilepsy, but hopefully if that is the decision you make, you will be successful.

Can I ask if you have contacted the breeder and told them, as other dogs from the litter, or from the same parents may also have the condition, it may not have shown itself yet, so they need to inform anybody they have sold a dog to, so they can keep an eye out for it, and inform their vets.

TooManyDogs

As ISDW said, have you contacted the breeder? Most decent breeders will take their own dogs back or at least help you rehome him. It will be difficult to home him though so best of luck

Kieron854 wrote: »

i get relaxed and go upstairs leave the kid and dog together he has a fit and bits the kids through no badness on his part just cofusion

Just as an aside, a kid should never be left on their own with a dog anyway, regardless of whether they have epilepsy. Things can happen so quickly it's not worth the risk.

maggiepip

Hi, I understand this is difficult for you but I think you should seriously try to rehome your dog. You seem to be implying that you are frightened to have the dog in the house - therefore you will be leaving him outside all the time - this really is not fair on your dog.

If you contact some rescue organisations and chat to them - see what they think, there are a lot of good people out there and some would like to take a dog with a problem out of compassion as they would find it very rewarding.

Good luck anyway.

portgirl123

op just wondering what area you are in. if we know, there might be ppl on here who could recommend a rescue to you, pm the details to you i should say as i dont think we are allowed to name rescues. i know of one rescue that deals more with sick and injured dogs, mauybe they might be able to help

Kieron854

not sure where last post went so ill do it again med not expensive dont want to give him to much have him doped up and not enjoying life but if we get relaxed after say 8 weeks or more of no fits and leave the room at the wrong time kid could get bitten and arthur would end up being pts his level of fits would not be a problem in an adult or even teenager house where every one knows what to do but my kid are 4&2 and the argument of adopting kids if there sick is stupid as kid trump dogs every time ther safty is paramount that why i liked the spinone a real gental giant and he is great with them only maby knocking them over in excitment but if he bit them post fit that would be it for him he couldnt stay and wouldnt be rehomeable at all then so im thinking of him here as well before somthing happens hes a great dog but needs contact more than a back yard and walks so keeping him cofined isnt fair either im still only venting ideas here need to talk things over with wife ect

Tranceypoo

I know your kids are only 4&2 but would it be possible to teach them that when the dog has a fit to immediately leave the room and call out to you or your wife and not to go near the dog under any circumstances? Sorry I don't have kids so I don't know if that's actually possible to do as they may be too young to understand but surely the ratio of the dog having a fit to the kids being on their own with him (which as another poster pointed out shouldn't be done as a general rule) is very low anyways so if they were aware of the situation and knew what to do, surely that would help? It would also teach them responsibility towards animals maybe?

TooManyDogs

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Sorry I don't have kids so I don't know if that's actually possible to do as they may be too young to understand

The 2 year old would certainly be too young to remember day to day with enough accuracy to be certain they wouldnt go near the dog, but regardless of what medical condition the dog has young children should never be left along with a dog, even to go to the loo. And it's because you can't reliably trust children not to go near a dog until they're far far older that no child should ever be left alone with a dog,

OP if you implemented that strategy then you never have to worry about your kids getting bitten

portgirl123

the way i look at it is, where ever a dog is sick or not, is that at the end of the day a dog is a animal and no matter what CAN NOT be trusted 100% and therefore NO child should be left unsupervised. all it takes is a dog to be disturbed or a child stands on a sleeping dog and the dog could snap. now before anyone says. yes i have kids and grand kids and i have not and would not leave a young child alone with any of my dogs.

also a dog is a living creature and in my opinion should not be got rid of because it is sick, like others have said things can be done to prevent accidents happening. yes i know your kids at the end of the day is your no,1 priority but if they are not left unsupervised at all times with the dogs, and at 4 and 2 they shouldnt be anyway, i cant see how your kids could get bit. but if the poor dog is been left outside just in case it does have a fit maybe then a new home would be best

Kieron854

its not that the kids would be alone whith arthur but my wife dosent think she could handle him in a cofused state .normaly she can tell him off or put him out no problem but shes seen me having to take him outside after a fit and dosent think shed be able like i said hes 35 kg and very strong so its me that has to be in the room whith him and he cant come in when im in work confusing him and probably adding to his anxity = more fits .also his training seems to jump back after eyery episode any body with an epileptic dog notice this.i will be talking to the vet this afternoon about ajusting meds ect but its the unpredictable nature of the fits that causes the problem

TooManyDogs

Kieron854 wrote: »

my wife dosent think she could handle him in a cofused state

What kind of handling do you mean? Could he not just be left where he is until he fully comes out of the fit?

maggiepip

If your dog is going to be outside all day, on his own, with no interaction or company- bored, lonely and frustrated you need to rehome this dog.

It is extremely unfair. I have to admit I find this upsetting as I feel very sorry for your dog.

I have 3 dogs now - and grew up with dogs all through my childhood. They live for company, love and affection. It is no life for a dog banished outside all day on his own.

I can only be honest.

suziwalsh

I sympathise with the OP sometimes when dogs have epileptic seizures they jump up are confused and can become "aggressive" and snapping out following an episode. You cannot control when a dog will have a seizure so its hard to be able to manage 2 small children with a large dog when it happens. Depending on the dog there is no telling how long a fit or series of fits will take place. I certainly wouldn't even consider placing an epileptic dog in a home with children under 15. It is not a nice experience for the dog and also a helpless one for the owner.

I would look to rehoming your dog as keeping him outside is not the answer.

Kieron854

id like to thank suzi ,i dont think people realise how confused a dog is pot dictal he dosent know where he is or who we are this can last for 5-10 mins the only option is to carry him out mid seisure or risk being able to cotroll a large confused and posible agressive dog in your living room the only time this has happend in the house he was at the back door
and it wasent to bad but from the living room to the back garden could be a problem for me let alone my wife

planetX

Kieron854 wrote: »

id like to thank suzi ,i dont think people realise how confused a dog is pot dictal he dosent know where he is or who we are this can last for 5-10 mins the only option is to carry him out mid seisure or risk being able to cotroll a large confused and posible agressive dog in your living room the only time this has happend in the house he was at the back door
and it wasent to bad but from the living room to the back garden could be a problem for me let alone my wife

sounds like a very dangerous thing to do. Why not leave the room and close the doors until he recovers.
Just to echo what others have said about diet - have you researched it, cos I knew someone I used to petsit for years ago who cured their dogs epilepsy by diet, I don't know the details unfortunately.

Smeefa

Hey OP Just thought I'd add my thoughts, although I'll probably just be re-emphasising what everyone else has said!

My dog is/was epileptic, we figured out that it was artificial colours in his food that triggered his fits. Changed his food and he hasn't had a fit in about 5 years.

We always hated having him on the meds, they made him so depressed and dopey!

From my experience, I'd advise you not to move the dog unless they are in immediate danger, as waking up in a completely new place really does add to the confusion.
Also you risk doing damage to yourself trying to carry a twitching/squirming dog and the fact that he may wake up while you are carrying him!

We used to get my brothers out of the room and maybe move any objects like chairs or tables that could cause damage.

I know how scary it is to see your pet in a fit and to see the confusion when they wake up.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do

Wizard01

I just wanted to add that by chance I came across a page on Facebook called "Canine epilepsy awareness".

Hopefully you can get some good advice from owners who are in the same position as you with their pets.

I hope this helps!!