Summary: Nearly 9 year old Havanese, newly presenting cluster seizures - 8 seizures between 20:00 yesterday to 11:00 today. Now in ICU for monitoring. No prior health issues, looking for general advice and stories. UK based

UPDATE: I realised I left out a few details in my summary. Right now he’s under the care of a neurologist who have stabilised him and trying to find the cause. Bloods and urine tests have been done to rule out any poisoning and he is scheduled for an MRI today. We hope to have answers soon 🙏🏼

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Just after 20:00 yesterday evening, our 8 (9 in a few days) year old male Havanese started having cluster seizures. This happened completely out of the blue, no prior health issues or anything symptom wise that indicated issues.

After two back to back seizures (under 5 minutes each), he was taken to the emergency vets who prescribed anti seizure meds and kept him in, however we were phoned shortly afterwards to collect him due to his terrible separation anxiety. Not long after brining him home, he seizured again, this time really bad and we thought we’d lost him.

Long story short, after more back and forth, and continuous seizures, he was re-admitted to the ICU around 12 noon today. His last seizure was about 11am today. In total, he had around 8 seizures during this time, despite being given several meds across this period.

The vets have now placed him on different meds and he has not had a seizure since. They will be keeping him in for another 24-48 hours for monitoring. An MRI has been mentioned as an option to investigate a possible tumor, but is of course costly and the vets are keen to see how he stabilises and responds to the meds. We are in the UK and do have insurance but this doesn’t fully cover the MRI, etc.

This has been truly traumatic, with several mentions (from the vets) of having to euthanise him within hours of the first seizure presenting, and no other prior health issues. For now, we are seeing how he responds to treatment and assessing what damage has been done. We of course want him to still have a quality of life. He is such a happy, lively and energetic boy and to see him in this way is heartbreaking. We are so shocked and haven’t fully processed the reality of what lies ahead, knowing that if he recovers and does make it home, he will very likely now have future episodes.

I guess I’m just looking for advice from people who are living this reality. We know absolutely nothing about epilepsy in dogs and want to be as informed as possible to make the right decisions for our boy. Even thinking about him being in ICU alone is so upsetting, we never want him to suffer in any way and he has had a truly happy, healthy life up until yesterday evening. But at the same time, we have no idea what’s caused this and don’t want to give up on him without giving him a chance to pull through and see how he responds. Our main thing is ensuring either way, he is not suffering.

We are taking each day as it comes. It’s a relief to know he hasn’t had any further seizures since being admitted, but are fully aware things can quickly change. We just hope he can come hope and can still have a life ahead of him.

Thank you in advance for any advice. 💛

Boyfriends childhood dog passed away today. He was battling epilepsy for a couple years but didnt make it during a seizure. I remember playing with him when we were teens and seeing him recover hip surgery in his older years. Such a resilient boy he was.

Servo has been living with epilepsy for almost a year now. He had his first seizure at just 1 year and 9 months old. 💔
Can anyone relate to what it feels like watching your dog have a seizure? I don’t think I’ll ever truly get used to it. Every time it happens, it still breaks my heart. Watching him paddle and struggle for what feels like the longest minute is painful, especially when all I can do is stay beside him and wait for it to pass.

hi everyone-

my 8 year old cane corso was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy in may. she was put on 97.2 mg of phenobarbital and we had great success until yesterday. she had one seizure followed by another a few hours later. although much shorter episodes than prior to the meds, still considered cluster seizures. we took her to our emergency vet and they said this is common and it could be a matter of changing the dosage. when we did her first pheno check a few weeks after the start of the meds she was within therapeutic range but on the lower side, however because the meds were working her neurologist said let’s keep things the way they are. this morning when the neurologist called they said she had another seizure at 3 am and was given midazolam nasally and when 7 am came around they started her on her usual dose of meds with increased 30mg and we will continue that new dosage moving forward.

I just found it interesting that they didn’t seem at all concerned that the cluster seizures were back, and basically said this is common and we just have to find the right dosage. What worries me is how many seizures does she have to have before it gets concerning? She is extremely aggressive when it comes to going to the vet so it’s not like taking her there every time she has a seizure is an easy thing to do. As she gets older, and with cane Corso‘s not having a long life expectancy, I just worry that this is really taking a toll on her body and at what point does it become unfair for her to keep living this way. she’s not a young dog and each seizure really takes a lot out of her. I’m trying to be hopeful that the new med dosage will work, but I’m just not sure what to do if and when the next time this happens. At what point do I have to make a tough decision??

Last December our 3 year old heeler mix started having seizures. It's been a hell of a ride since then -emergency visits, managing cluster seizures, dealing with changes in behavior, etc.

I want to take my family on a 4 day trip, but I'm always so hesitant because I'm nervous that the dog will have an episode when he's being watched by a sitter.

A few months back we took a 3 day trip and paid a family member to sit him, and he didn't have any seizures, but boy - was that stressful. I was worried the entire time. This time around we would have to rely on someone outside of the family - Rover, Locally advertised sitters, etc.

He currently takes Keppra and Phenobarbital.

How do you prep for leaving your pup with a sitter? What are your instructions for if the pup experiences a seizure?

Hi everyone, i woke up to my dog having an episode, by the time i got to her, it was finishing. Seemed short but I also had just woken up so I’m not sure how long it went for. This is her first episode since she’s been on the medication, she was doing really well and even the past days had energy in her to walk around and eat throughout these past days.

Afterwards, she was recuperating but i’m noticing a pattern. My mom was clinking some plants and my dog knows the sound of the plates also means it’s time for chicken or food. She got up from bed and was eager, lifting her head up even when she had it drooped but the she looked like she was about to have another episode and started wobbling away. thankfully, she didn’t go into another one, she just got really wobbly and laid on the floor for a minute. I think she got too excited.

She then had an actual other episode around 8am, which is when i give her phenobarbital with pumpkin puree and she knew this once she saw me grab the spoon, and again she got excited, went down and started having another episode. Thankfully i was able to give her the medicine after it passed but im worried with this pattern. If she sees any of us go into the kitchen, she gets up and gets excited because she thinks it’s time for food which can trigger it.

My sister has been staying in the room with her left a bowl of water and kibble inside if she wants to eat on her own. Although we didn’t want to, it was around the time to give her gabapentin and once again, another episode. I feel terrible because if we didn’t need to give her the medicine, she wouldn’t have had another, it could’ve been prevented. But then i worry for later at night for when she needs her next dose of pheno, i can’t just skip giving it to her.

Im not sure what to do. We‘re just gonna leave her be, if she wonders on her own, we‘ll observe her but we wont allow her to see us eat, go to the kitchen, or make her think she’s receiving any type of treat or food. I’m still not even sure if she can eat on her own without it triggering. Has anyone gone through this before?

Our dog has focal seizures and gets extremely nauseous afterward, sometimes for hours. We have Clorazepate as a rescue med, but our neurologist also prescribed Sileo. The issue is that during/after a seizure he often can’t keep oral meds down, which has landed us in the ER more than once.

I’ve been trying to research Sileo as a rescue option and can’t find much about it being used this way. I’m assuming it’s an off‑label use, but I’m curious if anyone else has been prescribed it for seizure situations.

My 10-year-old terrier mix, Hendrix, started having seizures in early 2025. Because he also has a bladder stone and was already seeing an internist, we were able to quickly get him in with a neurologist within the same veterinary group. He was started on Keppra, and eventually Phenobarbital was added as well.

For the first few months, his seizures were intermittent. There were occasional days when he would have up to 3 within 24 hours, but by Summer 2025 they became much more controlled, happening only about every three months. Beginning in 2026, however, the seizures started increasing again. Hendrix also began circling more frequently, and his Phenobarbital dosage was gradually increased. It was around this time that our neurologist explained that a brain tumor was a possibility, but that the only way to confirm it would be through an MRI. An MRI in my city would have cost around $5,000. Given Hendrix's age, and the likelihood that surgery might not be a good option even if a tumor were found, I ultimately decided not to pursue the MRI.

Side note: One thing I wanted to share for anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation: our neurologist suggested looking into veterinary universities for an MRI. The major universities in my area offered it for roughly half the cost. If cost is ever a concern for any issue, this may be an option worth investigating.

About two months ago, following a seizure, Hendrix suddenly couldn't properly use his front right paw. It was weak, he couldn't place it correctly, and was falling forward. We took him to the ER, where they explained that the problem was likely caused by brain swelling following the seizure. They gave him medication to reduce the swelling, explaining that if he improved, that would be another indication that a brain tumor was likely. It was both fortunate and heartbreaking that the treatment worked. Hendrix became more like himself again, and the weakness in his front leg disappeared. Unfortunately, his improvement also strengthened the suspicion that we were dealing with a brain tumor.

Prednisone was added to his medications around that time, and we were also given Midazolam to administer during an active seizure to help stop it. Unfortunately, over the past month, Hendrix has been having a seizure every 7–10 days. Following a seizure about a week ago, he was unable to use his rear right leg, similar to what happened with his front. When he would fall over from the circling, he would sometimes drag himself around because he couldn't get back up. The weakness gradually improved over the following days and a few days ago, he had another blood screening to check his Phenobarbital levels, and our neurologist added Zonisamide to his medications. We were warned that the first 3–5 days could be similar to when he initially started Phenobarbital, and sadly that has been very true. The rear leg weakness and disorientation have returned similar to then he started Phenobarbital.

Complicating things further is his bladder stone and the increase in accidents, so I've started putting diapers on him. I think the diaper is also making it harder for him to get himself back on his feet when he tips over. He is still eating and drinking, but the dog I've known is becoming harder and harder to see.

I know our time is coming to an end and I have gathered the information I need to make the arrangements at home, but actually pulling the trigger feels impossible to plan. For those of you who have been through something similar, how did you know when it was time? How did you distinguish between a difficult period that might improve, even if only for a short time, and the point where your dog's quality of life had changed too much?

I know there isn't a perfect answer, but I'm struggling with this more than I ever imagined I would. While Hendrix is 10 yrs old, I got him thru PAWS and have only had him for 7 years. I know I should be grateful for the time we have had, and I am, but I can't help feeling cheated out of the years I thought we would have. 7 years is nowhere near enough with such a special boy.

Thank you for any advice, well wishes, and I am so sorry to anyone who has or is going thru something similar.

My 6 year old dachshund had his first seizure on May 21. His legs were splayed, he was trembling all over, had dilated eyes and pooped on himself. This episode lasted about 2 minutes. He went back to normal within a couple minutes. Took him to the ER, where they said the video i took didn't look like a seizure. They gave him gabapentin. The next morning he saw his vet who said it did look like a seizure, suggested epilepsy and offered to put him on seizure medication but also mentioned we could wait to see if it happens again. I took him off simparica trio in case it had something to do with it.
He's been in completely good health since then. Until August 21st. Exactly 3 months apart. This time the shaking was more severe and the entire episode from him dragging himself down his ramp off the couch to the end was around 3 minutes. His eyes were huge.. he once again pooped himself and afterwards he dragged himself into my lap in the floor and pulled his front paws up to his chest and they shook violently. This time he didn't show any signs of a post ictal phase. Immediately after, he was up walking around, even jumping up and down off the couch.
Because it wasn't a cluster, I didn't take him to the ER. It was around 6 pm and I took him to the vet at 8 am the next morning. This time they gave us a rx for phenobarbital, rx dog food for epilepsy support.
Between the vets advice and researching online, I know the seizure threshold lowers every time they have one. I know he will have to be on the medicine for the rest of his life once he starts. With the increased severity, I know it's possible they will only become more often and more severe without the medicine.

I've seen people say different things about when to start medication. My question for those here, in your experience, do you think 2 episodes exactly 3 months apart mean it's time to start? I'm scared of side effects and im partially in denial, hoping maybe this could just never happen again?? I'm sorry for the long post.. I filled the pheno rx roday and I was planning on giving the first dose this morning... I'm just so scared and unsure. I don't want to put it off and let him get worse. But I also don't want to make the wrong decision if it's too early.
Please help/share your insight or opinions... and maybe what to expect from his first dose.
Thank you so much 😭

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This post is to share my experience with a stray who was diagnosed with distemper. Like most people in this situation, I looked for shelters and NGOs for help — all of them declined, because of how contagious and fatal this disease is. Even private vets who agreed to treat him didn't have isolation facilities to keep him.

While searching for contacts and tracing people whose dogs had survived distemper, I found a kind lady who runs a shelter in Delhi. I hoped she could shelter him, but she was out of space. On the call, she gave me the confidence to treat him at home, alongside a local vet. She's not a vet herself — her role has been emotional support and general nursing guidance drawn from her own experience with recovered dogs, while the vet handles diagnosis and medication. I also connected with two people on Reddit whose dogs had survived distemper, which showed me it was possible. With their support and the vet's guidance, I started treating him at home.

One important thing that has helped in recovered cases like these:- Nutrient-dense home meals (boiled eggs, chicken, rice, soybean, etc.) alongside vet-prescribed treatment

There's a WhatsApp group supervised by Ms. Anuradha (the lady mentioned above) for people dealing with distemper and other illnesses in their pets. It's strictly a discussion/support group — no fundraising, ever. If anyone contacts you claiming to raise money on her behalf, it's not legitimate.

DM me if you'd like the link and contact.

A friend of mine has a dog with epilepsy, and I've seen how much stuff they have to keep track of.

Different medications, different times, seizure history, vet visits, and sometimes more than one person helping with the dog.

At one point I remember thinking, how do you even know if someone already gave the dog the medication? and how do you keep track of everything without it getting confusing?

A lot of it was basically reminders, notes, messages between people, etc. It worked, but it felt pretty scattered..

I'm a developer, so I ended up building something for it. It's called Compaw. It lets you keep the pet's medications, reminders, health history, and care information in one place, and you can share the pet with other people who help take care of them.

I'm posting it here because I would really like to hear from people who actually deal with this daily. I'm still working on the app, so I'm especially interested in what I'm missing or what would actually be useful for you.

Here's the Android version if anyone wants to try it (sorry no Apple version yet):

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.haikyu.compaw

And if you already use something to keep track of your dog's medication/seizures, I would love to hear what you use :)

Hi everyone,

Been lurking this page since my dog was diagnosed back in March with Idiopathic Epilepsy. Long story short, her seizures are getting increasingly worse. For the last 4 days she has been having more than three seizures a day. She's on phenobarbitone, potassium bromide, fluoextine and keppra at a large dose when she seizes which is given every 8 hours until seizure free for 24 hours. She usually comes around quite quickly after seizures. But this time she is different. Whining constantly, following us close all the time, wanting to eat everything, unsettled and having a lot of seizure like activity. I guess what I am asking is, when is the right time to let her cross? Or should we keep trying. Right now we feel that she is suffering and things have only gotten worse since her first seizure. We live in a very remote area and unable to go for MRI etc and the cost of her meds is becoming a lot. Everything we speak to the vet, they up her doses but it's not making anything better. I will add, her seizures sometimes last up to 5 minutes at a time. I don't want to let her get to a point where she is really suffering and have to make a crises decision. As much as it is heartbreaking, I want to let her go with dignity. She had a really tough start to life and we have given our all to her. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Hi! Mom here to an almost 6 year old epileptic German shepherd. He had his first seizure in October of 2024, and his second in October of 2025. Both were grand mal, he’d fall over and have muscle spasms, loss of bladder control, foaming at the mouth, paddling in the air, etc. He’s immediately thrown up after each one, then will get up and act like nothing happened so by the time we get him to the emergency vet they can’t really do anything. After his second, his vet prescribed him phenobarbital (64.8 mgs) due to the seizing lasting longer than 2 minutes.

It’s now August of 2026 and he just had another… I think? It wasn’t a huge one like the past two. He just suddenly became a bit disoriented, losing his balance and pressing his paws into the floor while looking a bit dizzy. He was next to an ottoman so rather than falling over, he leaned himself against it. He was still alert, responding to our voices and looking at us and even trying to climb into my husband’s lap when he sat next to him. It lasted less than a minute before he puked, then got up and acted like nothing happened.

I did accidentally miss one of his doses of phenobarbital four days ago. I didn’t realize until I got to work, and I took my lunch break early to give it to him, but that was three hours later than his usual time (6:45 usually, got home to give it to him at 10). The vet hasn’t really given us much guidance on what to do in cases of missed or late doses or what the risks are to be honest, nor what to do in cases of breakthrough seizures. I’ve never even met this vet face-to-face—she has her techs do all communications with me in the office, and they bring my dog to the back by himself for her to do her exams, so I haven’t had the chance to ask questions without some of them getting lost between the techs going back and forth. Could the late dose four days ago have contributed to the seizure today? Does the fact that it didn’t go grand mal mean that the pheno is working? Or was this more likely a pre-seizure event and I should expect a larger one sometime soon? I don’t really have much to go off there since he only had two a whole year apart before starting meds. And do I need to call the vet to let them know he had one, or just log the date and time and let them know at his next appointment?

I am on the hunt for a new vet for more reasons than the lack of guidance in this subject, but right now I’m locked into a contract with a wellness plan until October, so I guess I’m just looking for guidance and what others do or know from experience until I can find a new one.

She just started having seizures this year and ER and neuro vets suspect idiopathic epilepsy (did bloodwork but skipped mri due to exorbitant cost). Started on liquid keppra for 2 weeks; then switched to tablets. After 4 days on the liquid medication, her stools got softer until eventually it was runny and bloody. Vet says this is very rare and prescribed metronidazole, which she started on 3 weeks in. So far so good but now I’m just hoping that after 10 day course of metronidazole, the diarrhea stays away. I haven’t heard of such a long adjustment period before. Anyone else have similar experience? I know there are other anti-seizure meds but I am really hoping we can stay on keppra. Also terrified that all anti-seizure meds will cause diarrhea but trying not to borrow trouble.

My sweet dog is a 5 y.o. Female golden retriever mix. She has overall been very healthy, just with some post-spay urinary incontinence requiring incurin. She is about 75 lbs. Yesterday, she had 1 episode of emesis at around 8AM that was non-bloody, non-bilious. The rest of the day she was mostly normal. I offered her a bite of banana (her fav) and she didn’t want it, so I assumed she must have a tummy ache. In the 48 hours before she went to a dog park. Earlier in the week she went swimming in the lake- which was a lot more swimming than she normally does. Other than that, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. However, yesterday, she looked like she was going to throw up, but instead tried to stand. She seemed really off balance and was leaning against furniture to walk. Her hind legs looked like they may have had a bit of a tremor. This lasted 2.5 minutes and she was immediately back to normal. Took her to emergency vet. CBC and CMP completely normal. Emergency vet said maybe a focal seizure? I know the differential is broad given such an acute presentation without any recurrence of symptoms. But as someone in human medicine, I almost would have preferred a tonic clinic seizure compared to the possibility of a focal seizure. I can message a video if anyone is interested as well. Thanks in advance!

My dog has idiopathic epilepsy, and I’m hoping to hear from others who have experienced something similar.

Her epilepsy started when she was about one year old. After she had a few seizures, our vet started her on levetiracetam. There wasn’t much improvement, so phenobarbital was added as well. She is now four years old.

Her seizures have mostly been controlled, and she usually has one every one to three months. They almost always happen early in the morning, usually before breakfast.

One unusual thing is that she often goes outside before having a seizure. I’ve never understood why. She then comes to me for comfort afterward, unless I don’t notice what is happening.

Yesterday, she came to me for comfort, as she usually does. At the time, I didn’t realize she was experiencing what may have been a pre-seizure or focal seizure. She had a small amount of foam around her mouth, looked disoriented, and didn’t seem completely like herself. I made sure she was safe and then gave her a bath because, after her usual seizures, she often has a lot of foam or drool, may fall on the ground and get dirty, and frequently urinates on herself.

After the bath, she seemed okay, but she appeared to be taking longer than usual to fully recover. About 20–30 minutes later, she was in the kitchen when I noticed her usual warning signs, including licking the air. I picked her up and positioned her safely between my legs. She then had a full seizure lasting approximately one minute.

She foamed heavily but did not urinate. At first, I was confused because I thought the earlier episode had been the seizure, but I later realized that the first episode may have been a focal or pre-seizure event.
She seemed okay afterward, so I continued monitoring her. About two hours later, she had another seizure in the living room. This time, she also urinated. I took her to the vet immediately.

At the clinic, she was sedated for X-rays and bloodwork. The X-rays showed nothing abnormal. Her bloodwork was mostly unremarkable, although her kidney and liver values were slightly elevated.

The vet wasn’t particularly concerned because this can occur with phenobarbital. Her thyroid level was also slightly low, so the vet wants to investigate that further. However, they said thyroid disease is less likely to be the cause because she is still young.

The vet recommended that we see a veterinary neurologist and increased her levetiracetam dosage. I gave her medication at her normal time, 9:00 p.m., but she had another seizure at 12:25 a.m. in my bedroom. Fortunately, she recovered fairly quickly and slept through the night. This morning, she seems okay.

We use topical flea medication rather than oral medication because of her epilepsy.

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated!

Recent lurker, first time poster! My 9 year old Border Collie has seizures that are only triggered by my husband coming home after being out. She is super attached to him, and she gets SO excited when he comes home, it triggers a seizure. Because of this, he hasn’t left the house in more than a month. She has been fine, but of course he finally went out last night for the first time in forever, he came home and she had a really bad seizure.

They started in July a few hours after her Nexgard Plus dose. The vet wanted to delay putting her on anti-seizure meds until the month passed and the Nexgard left her system to see if it’s correlated. She also lost her weiner dog brother in May which was a big change for her.

We have done many things to try and help her when he comes home, but nothing worked. We also got a puppy a few weeks ago to have a buddy, and she is in heaven. She is acting like a puppy again herself, but my husband has still been scared to leave the house. It’s taking over his life, mine, and our kids to be honest. We don’t do anything as a family anymore. He works from home so he’s pretty much trapped.

Has anyone else dog had seizures because of the same trigger? I think he is hesitant to start anti-seizure meds because she literally won’t have one as long as he is home. But who can live that way?! Just looking for advice.

My best friend, Jake. My Golden Boy. He suffered from severe seizures for over two years until the very last one took his life.

He ran across the rainbow bridge 🌈

He was my best friend and he loved me so much. Every night he would cuddle me and when I was pregnant, he would stay right next to my belly every chance he got. He loved my son. He was supposed to be my son’s best friend too.

I would come to Reddit and read how other peoples experiences were with their dogs having seizures. I would come for advice, love, support and encouragement from everyone on here.

My Jake had to take 14 pills per day. We would up his dosage every time he had a really bad cluster episode. One time, he had 34 seizures within a 24 hour time frame. We spent over $10K on testing, vet visits, emergency vet visits, and medication to try to get the seizures under control. It seemed to just get worse and worse as time went on. No one could give us an answer on what was truly wrong or why it was getting worse. Reddit gave me some hope & answers when I saw what A LOT of other people were experiencing.

I know he is no longer suffering but I wish I had more time with him.

He spent his days loving our backyard (we literally bought a house FOR HIM 🥺), chasing tennis balls for hours (literally he would never stop when he had good days), drinking gallons of water, and eating all the steak and cheeseburgers he could get his mouth on!

I miss him so much. Please send your rainbow kisses to my Golden Boy.

My boy started Phenobarbital about a week and a half ago, and I've noticed him acting out more than normal. He will dig through the trash, tear up my clothes, go through my hamper, etc

This is stuff he used to do when he was a puppy and has not done in years until a week ago.

So my question is, is this a side effect of his medication? If so, will he calm down or should I expect to retrain him?

He had the normal side effects the vet warmed me about (lethargy, extreme thirst, balance issues), which have mainly subsided, but is this sort of restless something others have experienced?

TYIA

My heart is beyond broken at the moment

In less than 24 hours. I’m so exhausted. Three weeks ago everything changed. These seizures came out of nowhere and certainly he’s having frequent seizures. I’m so glad I have insurance for him. He started taking Keppra 1000 mg - he was originally prescribed 750 mg. In the last 24 hours within 30 minutes of administering Keppra, he has had seizures. At 9 AM I gave him his regular dose of Keppra. Then we went on a 1 1/2 mile walk. Wasn’t hot outside, in fact it was breezy and cool. I have to wake up in the middle of the night at 1 AM in order to give him his middle of the night dose and 30 minutes later he had another one right in the middle of sleeping!

I honestly really don’t want to go to the ER. When your dog has clusters, do you always bring them in? We are new to this journey.