Epilepsy
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is simply the recurrence of seizures or fitting due to abnormal brain activity of an unknown cause or reason. Seizuring can occur due to some medical conditions commonly seen in the dog, however this is not epilepsy.
What does a seizure look like?
In most cases you hound will act differently for a short while before a seizure, and with time you will learn to recognise these signs. During the seizure itself, your hound will become unconscious, fall to the floor, shake and make paddling motions with their legs. They may well also loose control of their bowels and bladders during this time. Most seizures only last a couple of minutes, but they can feel a lot longer, so it is worthwhile making a note of the duration to keep on record.
What to do if your hound has a seizure
If you hound starts to seizure keeping calm is the most important thing to do. Darken the room if indoors by drawing curtains, shutting doors and turning off lights. Turn off any televisions, computers or music systems as these provide a stimulus that may heighten the seizure. Do not touch your hound during a seizure unless it is danger of harming itself. Your hound will not aware of you and cannot respond to you so may well inadvertently bite.
When to see veterinary advice
If your hound has a seizure take note of the time and allow him to come round. Make an appointment with the vet at the next available consultation slot. If your hound seizures for more than five minutes or has clusters of seizures in a close time interval, call the vet as soon as possible as they will want to see your hound to start treatment to stop the seizure.
Can Epilepsy be prevented?
Currently epilepsy cannot be prevented from occurring. In some breeds, including Bavarian Mountain Hounds, epilepsy is an inherited condition and normally appears in hounds between the ages of 1-5. The only prevention at the moment within the breed is by researching pedigrees prior to breeding.
The future of Epilepsy and the breed
At present the Animal Health Trust is conducting research into Canine Idiopathic Epilepsy to pinpoint the genes that code for the condition. This is a lengthy and time consuming process involving many breeds. The AHT are now accepting samples from Bavarian Mountain Hounds.
How do I get involved?
If your hound has a seizure or is diagnosed with epilepsy please contact the society so that we can add your details to our health database. You can now request a kit that is available via the Animal Health Trust to contribute to their continued research into finding a genetic mutation that causes epilepsy.
Hounds that are eligible to be involved in the research at present include:
1. Hounds who are affected by idiopathic epilepsy (i.e. those that have had a full diagnostic work up at their vets, including blood tests, physical and neurological examinations and ideally an MRI or CT scan and CSF tap)
2. Hounds over the age of 6 years that have never had a seizure.
Kits can be requested from [email protected] or [email protected]
How do I find out if epilepsy is in my hounds pedigree?
The BMHS are aware of which blood lines have greatest prevalence of epilepsy therefore please contact us if you are at all concerned: [email protected]
RETURN
Epilepsy is simply the recurrence of seizures or fitting due to abnormal brain activity of an unknown cause or reason. Seizuring can occur due to some medical conditions commonly seen in the dog, however this is not epilepsy.
What does a seizure look like?
In most cases you hound will act differently for a short while before a seizure, and with time you will learn to recognise these signs. During the seizure itself, your hound will become unconscious, fall to the floor, shake and make paddling motions with their legs. They may well also loose control of their bowels and bladders during this time. Most seizures only last a couple of minutes, but they can feel a lot longer, so it is worthwhile making a note of the duration to keep on record.
What to do if your hound has a seizure
If you hound starts to seizure keeping calm is the most important thing to do. Darken the room if indoors by drawing curtains, shutting doors and turning off lights. Turn off any televisions, computers or music systems as these provide a stimulus that may heighten the seizure. Do not touch your hound during a seizure unless it is danger of harming itself. Your hound will not aware of you and cannot respond to you so may well inadvertently bite.
When to see veterinary advice
If your hound has a seizure take note of the time and allow him to come round. Make an appointment with the vet at the next available consultation slot. If your hound seizures for more than five minutes or has clusters of seizures in a close time interval, call the vet as soon as possible as they will want to see your hound to start treatment to stop the seizure.
Can Epilepsy be prevented?
Currently epilepsy cannot be prevented from occurring. In some breeds, including Bavarian Mountain Hounds, epilepsy is an inherited condition and normally appears in hounds between the ages of 1-5. The only prevention at the moment within the breed is by researching pedigrees prior to breeding.
The future of Epilepsy and the breed
At present the Animal Health Trust is conducting research into Canine Idiopathic Epilepsy to pinpoint the genes that code for the condition. This is a lengthy and time consuming process involving many breeds. The AHT are now accepting samples from Bavarian Mountain Hounds.
How do I get involved?
If your hound has a seizure or is diagnosed with epilepsy please contact the society so that we can add your details to our health database. You can now request a kit that is available via the Animal Health Trust to contribute to their continued research into finding a genetic mutation that causes epilepsy.
Hounds that are eligible to be involved in the research at present include:
1. Hounds who are affected by idiopathic epilepsy (i.e. those that have had a full diagnostic work up at their vets, including blood tests, physical and neurological examinations and ideally an MRI or CT scan and CSF tap)
2. Hounds over the age of 6 years that have never had a seizure.
Kits can be requested from [email protected] or [email protected]
How do I find out if epilepsy is in my hounds pedigree?
The BMHS are aware of which blood lines have greatest prevalence of epilepsy therefore please contact us if you are at all concerned: [email protected]
RETURN
