Why does my jack russell/ rat terrier mix have seizures?

And while you are out on the net, check out vaccinations as the cause of seizures.

I have a 10 yr old mixed breed.

Nikki started out at age one having 1 seizure per yr. By the age of 5 she was having 4 seizures a yr. That is when I stopped ALL of her vaccinations. Also check out the durations of immunity studies done by Dr. Ron Schultz of Wisconsin University. Vaccination are good for years. Here's a link..

http://smvweb.vetmed.wisc.edu/articles/68/5/39

Nikki is now 10 and just went 9 months and 3 weeks since her last seizure. They are getting further apart.

I keep tract of all her seizures and write down the dates on my calendar. I've done this for the last 5 years.

My full blooded Rottie started to have seizures when he was 6 years old. The first time (June) he a grand mal one. The vet thought that it might have been either something he ate (frog, poison berries), a bee sting or the change in the barometric pressure. We got Valium to keep "just incase". After the first one, he didn't have another till 4 (Oct) months later and then another one 3 (Jan) months. All 3 of them were grand mal. We decided to put him on potassium bromide and phenobarbital.

After 2 years of being on both, we tried to wean him off the phenobarbital. When he was done to just 1/2 pill every other day, he started having 2-3 grand mals a day. So back on he is. It has been another 2 years, and if he misses a dose, he has a seizure.

I feel that the pros of the medicine out way the cons. When a dog has a grand mal seizure, they can't catch their breath, this can lead to a heart attack. All I could think of was he is had one when we were not home and not their to give him his Valium. That happened on the last one and he almost died.

Talk to your vet, he should be able to advise you of the best thing to do for your dog.

Good Luck

Remember that puppies are similar to human babies in their eating ,sleeping and bathroom habits, frequent and spooradic. And Jack Russel Terriers as with any Terrier breed will have a certain mischevious spunk almost their whole entire lives. My advice is daily walks and lots of outdoor excercise, terrier breeds instinctivley like to chase rodents. With some stern training and adequate physical activity your Jack Russell will be enjoyable for years to come.

My old JR Brutus (RIP!) did get seizures late in life, after we gave him his heartworm medication, turns out ivermectin is a poison and it was trying to kill him.

Try looking at her daily/monthly routine prior to the seizures and see if you can find a pattern like we did, there are a lot of external factors that dogs inhale/eat/drink that are toxic and will cause this reaction.

Good old dog, give her a hug for me, it's been years and I still miss Brutie.. :)

I would get on the Internet and check into why dogs have seizures. I also think if you're not getting answers from the vet you're taking her to, then take her to another vet. Good luck.

Wow...the only person who can answer these questions correctly is YOUR VET.

You really need to be asking your Vet these things, and take her in.

She needs to be on medication. Seizures are very dangerous, and she can die if left untreated.

Shedding, is a dog thing. Dogs shed. She doesn't need to be on "anti-shed" pills.

What exactly are the "pros" that outweigh the "cons"?