My dog is driving me crazy!!

[keyna]

My dog Freckles is making me crazy!!! I've been having a really bad week, It's Thursday and so far I've had 8 seizures. Today was the only one that didn't send me to bed(Thank God, my son really needed my attention). Anyway, Freckles has been acting nuts all week, he gets like that when ever I'm having a bad time. He gets really agitated, and annoying,and nervous. He is not an epilepsy dog. Does anyone else have pets that act strange or can sense when the are going to have a seizure? Does anyone have any ideas how I can help him relax a little? He stresses me out and the stress is no good for me!

[alivenwell]

My dog Freckles is making me crazy!!! I've been having a really bad week, It's Thursday and so far I've had 8 seizures. Today was the only one that didn't send me to bed(Thank God, my son really needed my attention). Anyway, Freckles has been acting nuts all week, he gets like that when ever I'm having a bad time. He gets really agitated, and annoying,and nervous. He is not an epilepsy dog. Does anyone else have pets that act strange or can sense when the are going to have a seizure? Does anyone have any ideas how I can help him relax a little? He stresses me out and the stress is no good for me!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...izuredogs.html

does describe dogs that can sense seizures really well. Freckles sounds like a very sensitive and intelligent animal who may be able to detect a seizure long before it happens.

I have a border collie. She probably could detect a seizure, but I'm not sure if she would do anything about it. She needs to have a long play session every day and a long walk every night. I found the long walk to be very good for reducing her high energy level. It also helps me reduce my stress level. I didn't know exercise had a beneficial effect on stress like that until I read more information on it. I personally find stress to be a really big factor in my seizures. My dog and I are very close. She is always by my side, she stays up with me at night and she does not get out of bed until I also get out of bed. She's kind of like a barnacle, but very affectionate.

Freckles needs a good play session and a fun workout. Maybe he would like soothing music from Sperber's Auditorium? Do you have animal videos or access to the Animal Planet TV channel that he could watch? My dog likes that one as well as the cooking shows. She loves food!

I know that dogs are very routine oriented, and it's really difficult to build a regular routine around a disability like this.
Can you teach him some new and challenging tricks? We've been doing some agility on a regular basis. She loves the jumps, but she really barks at the weave poles. We were concerned about her getting injured during agility, so we acquired a few of the swimming noodles that are really flexible and put them across two lawn chairs. That gave her a safe place to learn how to jump. She loves the high activity and is very athletic. Freckles sounds like he needs a good distraction or relaxation music.

[brain]

Some dogs are naturally active and
hyper and they have the need to
get all the energy out. You may have
a dog that is highly spirited and is
one of the breeds (even mixed breeds
can carry the gene).

Some dogs just are demanding and
requires more attention than other
dogs. Do you give your dog "play time"
periods? Do you have a fenced back
yard where the dog can play and romp
around safely? Just sitting down and
throwing a ball or a stick to play fetch
can be fun for the both of you without
stressing you out.

There are also "runner lines" for those
who do not have fenced yards but where
it's a wire that's typically attached to
either a house to a tree or from a post
to another post where the dog can run
back and forth and get exercise. There
are also "invisible" fence as well.

Rawhide toys to chew on, a ball stuffed
in a man's sock then tied into a knot
can be a fun game, then there's cheap
toys at a local pet store. But consult
with your Vet of what toys would be
best for your breed.

And yes - it is TRUE that some dogs
can sense their Master (Owner) when
something is wrong. I had a fully train-
ed Hearing Guide Dog (not a Seizure
Dog); and no one had trained her at
all, but she was able to discern and
detect when I was going to have an
episode before I knew it or anyone
else for that matter. Since she was a
Husky (Samoyed), it was unusual.
She reacted to it - putting me into
a safe zone, and if I had a seizure,
she would not let anyone near me
(except my family members) and
it was a problem when the Medics
came by attempting to treat me,
she almost became disqualified for
that reason, but they made an
exception. She was short lived due
to ill health, eventually passed away.

I had another dog (Timber Wolf - 80%)
who was like her, and he could sense
when I was going to have a seizure
and he would be right by my side
and he was huge, one thing about
him was, he kept me warm.

Nearly all my cats I've had would be
with me if I had a seizure, they stay
with me, the only exception is the
current elderly cat I have - she knows
when I'm going to have a seizure, when
she gets really close to me and won't
leave me, even when I'm asleep in bed,
she will stay with me until it is over.

If a "big seizure" is coming - she panics
and meows. Many times I get confused
I think she's hungry, and there's food,
water, and I don't know what she wants
and she's going nuts and begins to run
into the bedroom and naturally I follow
her there and that's how I often end up
in bed asleep if I hadn't hit the floor
yet.

So when Scientists are claiming it's
"psychological" - I am not so sure; I've
had dogs and cats - that didn't react
to it, and I've had some that did, and
to me, it seemed that my cats were
more sensitive than the dogs were.

Why or How? I don't know - that's why
I like having a pet here, especially a
sensitive one, after so many years with
them - having trained them (dogs),
I think animals DO know more than
what we think we do or perceive.

[keyna]

Thanks for the input, Freckles is a high energy dog, and we do have a "regular" routine that doesn't get followed when I'm not doing so good. I've been trying to encourage my son, but if I'm sick the only place he will go is to his nana's, and sometimes she is able to play with the dog(she loves it!!), but she right now she gets home in the dark, and because it's so cold right now she has trouble with her arthritis. He also likes to stay by my side, he's very protective of me, and he doesn't get out of bed until I do, I find he is always under foot. I love him, and we have had more fun in the snow than we ever had in the summer!

[Amy]

hmm.... It is very interesting to learn that animals can sense the seizure coming up... I always think if the seizure act is kind of a spiritual status? (atleast the staring part with shallow breathing) etc. & some babies / little kids just staring at light (a form of seizure?)... I don't know. But Brain, you are right! Animals DO know so much more than what we think of them. I have noticed it myself when someone is about to pass away, (anyone who lives in my street), the dogs used to howl a lot in a very different crying tone. I even have heard that they can see / sense spirits or the departed souls.
I like the words of my spiritual leader who says, "10% of human brain is logic & with that we try to explain the whole world - which is absolutely not possible. There is SO MUCH more that the logic part of brain can't account for" - very true!!
Regards,
Amy

[Stacy]

I have heard much information about dogs being so sensitive. Consider it a blessing and learn what to do when Freckles goes crazy. maybe sit down and de-stress, or do yoga, take extra meds, or something. What do you guys think?

[Amy]

Absolutely right! I was just abt to say that. That is a great signal & I feel it is a blessing to have Freckles who can sense... you can get to your bed to be on the safer side, take a medication if you think that may help, take deep breaths, atleast put a word to your spouse or someone around.

[RobinN]

They are known to sense earthquakes too. This made me think of the other article connecting earthquake research and seizure research. This might be why many animals are sensitive to both.

[KAM]

When my seizures/convulsions were bad, I went to stay with my sister for about a year. She has a dalmation that is deaf, she weighs about sixty pounds and is just about all muscle. Everytime I felt one coming on I would sit in a recliner and she sat in my lap with her head under my chin, she stayed there until the episode was over. If they were just auras, she stayed by my side and followed me everywhere. Sometimes she would start to shake like a very nervous dog until I sat down. My dog was a samoyed husky/springer spaniel mix and all he did was follow me around after a seizure and nudge my hand until I came out of it. It was as if he was asking, "are you with me yet?"

[keyna]

I have been told that when I have a seizure Freckles is ALWAYS right beside me laying down with his paws under his chin, and then when (if) someone comes to help me he gives a little growl until he sees that it is someone to hepl me, but still he does not leave-he follows to the bed, couch, chair, where ever, and when I get there he gives my hand a lick a refuses to leave my side. If for some reason I have to go in an ambulance, Freckles goes nuts, and has to go in the kennal-my mom say it's really sad.
It's funny now that I think about it there have been times when I'm up doing things around the house, but I'm really shaky, and just exahsted, and Freckles will pull on my shirt sleeve and run back and forth from where I am to my bed room. I never really thought about it, I just thought he wanted to play, he would kind of whimper at me like "give me some attention". I can't say every single time because I have alot of seizures, but I can say that I probably did have seizures on those days. I think I'm going to start paying more attention.
FYI-not that it's important but Freckles is a hound/terrier mix, he's brown and white and well freckled all over, I'm 5ft 1in and he stands just a little bit over my knees. He's loveable, playful, cuddly, and strong. Between him and my 11yr old son I feel like I have 2 children, each one worries in his own way.

[KAM]

Sounds like a great dog. Do you get auras before your seizures or do they just happen? In 95% of my seizures, I felt the auras for hours and even days before a seizure. The dalmation just happened to be on my lap one night and I was joking around because I didn't have any aura and that one turned out to be a grand mal out of nowhere with no warning. My sister still has the dog, she's fourteen now. Aren't animals great?!

[keyna]

No I don't get auras, I wish I did! I shake ALL the time, I mean really shake, like a junkie who needs a fix, sometimes the shaking is so bad that people stare. I do know when It's really really bad like fully body tremors that I'm going to have a seizure, and I just say the hell with it and go lie down and watch TV with Freckles(which makes him very happy). Some animals are great, my son came home frome his dad's 2 yrs ago with a white rat(it has since passed away), Riley was very nice , but still I hated that thing, and for my son I pretened to like it, I even fed it YUCK!! But my Freckles him I LOVE!
Stay well.

[Joe]

The relationship bewteen dogs and human beings is not only extremely complex, but almost symbiotic - many anthropological schools of thought suggest that the success of the human race can be traced back to the point at which the two greatest pack hunters came together in a mutually supportive role (i.e. dogs and humans). Humanas have a physical dominance in the relationship, but the sensory capabilities of dogs is still uncharted.

Dogs are used in many aid applications (guide dogs, seizure dogs, dogs for the deaf,) as 'mere' companionship, and recently studies have shown that dogs can smell serious diseases (e.g. cancer) with a profound degree of accuracy.

I myself have two dogs - a husky/alsatian x, and an American bulldog/black lab x - when I am particularly bad, they know it.

About 8 days ago, I was feeling very strange and not at all steady...I had 1 dog either side, looking up at me, and, sounds crazy, but I'm sure they 'herded' me to the sofa: I sat down and had one to the left pushing its head onto my lap looking up at me (bd/lab), and the other (husk/als) quietly barking and with it's paw/leg over my right leg. I don't remember much else...think I had a number of absences/simple partial seizures (???).

Neither is trained, and it was not a point at which their routine was interrupted...they knew not all was right and, I think, worked to get me somewhere 'safe'.

Whatever, I trust their instincts (it's only them and me at home, so I've got to!)

Amazing creatures.

[alivenwell]

We play alpine fetch when it's really cold outside. I throw toys up the steps, she brings them back down (or they get dropped and fall down the stairs). We had a pretty intense play session for at least a half hour. Now, it's time for the walk.
I honestly think the intelligent animals who really know their owners have excellent insight when something isn't right.
See you guys later. We're going in 20 degree weather (I'm wearing 3 layers of clothing!) for our long walk before snow comes here. That will be another wild session later tonight. She loves to run in it, eat it, play with it....Woo hoo! I may take a 'snow' day off from work tomorrow.