If you have come here in search of help and answers because your dog has been diagnosed with epilepsy my heart goes out to you. The first thing I want to tell you is that you are not alone! I have been that person to receive the crushing diagnosis, I have sat up night after night watching my precious dog seizure, I have helped her learn to walk again when the medication rendered her a whimpering pile on the floor, I have watched my previously perfectly trained and behaved dog rip my house apart, loose control of her bladder and be unpredictable with other dogs. I have also come out the other side. That same dog lives a full and happy life, is fit, active and sociable. She has way more energy than me, and finds joy in everything she does.
The road to get there was not easy. My vet is amazing. I trust him with my dogs 100%, I couldn’t say that about many people, and he has been there for all her medical needs. BUT, that is not enough. What people don’t tell you, what vets don’t experience is everything else that goes along with an epileptic dog and their management. The actual seizure is the ‘easy part’ of the fit. The hours of recovery time where dogs can lose their sight and bladder control, when they are in a heightened agitated state, when they have chronic touch sensitivity and then their muscles are full of lactic acid is where most owners need to reach out to someone. When the dog’s desperation for food due to the medication drives them to tear apart a house to find anything close to edible, when the dog is often misdiagnosed with ADHD as a side affect of medication, or when the attitude to other dogs alters there is no help to turn to. Or there wasn’t, my intent is to change this. To bring hope and peace to households with epileptic dogs, and to educate other behaviourists and vets in the complexities of working with epi dogs. I don’t want anyone to feel alone again.
I have worked or lived with epi dogs for 15 years. In this time I have picked up a number of management techniques to make life with an epileptic dog easier for all concerned. I hope to release a book on this topic in 2019, full details will be advertised here as available.
I also offer one to one consultations where I come to your home and assess the dog and your normal routines and offer help and guidance to bring a bit more calm and relaxation to the house when working with the dog, as well as reducing owner stress. I also provide a free owner’s guide, a booklet full of advice, just
If you have an epileptic dog and are having behaviour issues either day to day, or immediately following a seizure and would like a consultation with Claire please email claire@ownersbestfriend.com