The boy is 3 years old-he has had 3 episodes months apart where when he wakes up he shakes, is unable to stand, fully conscience and able to wag his tail, lasts about 1 minute and afterwards he is completely normal....thought the first 2 were episodes were isolated, now after the 3rd we are running full blood work to include thyroid and tick panel. Has anyone else had this type of seizure-if so did these progress to full seizures? I have 2 labs-both eat the same food-get heartworm meds and flea/tick meds at the same time none of which have coincided with the episodes-no exposure to lawn chemicals house chemicals etc. thank you for your time

Yes - appeared about that age (classic age for first symptoms to appear) - turned into full-blown grand-mal seizures that are adequately controlled with pheno.

I had a similar experience but the seizures remained fairly mild but increased in frequency. They were well controlled by pheno and the boy lived to be 13+.

Sounds like the seizures we had years ago. 5 out of 15 puppies had them. All were mild & my vet cautioned about using pheno as he said it changed the seizure threshold. None of the 5 were ever medicated. When they got to be around 9-10, they rarely seized. You may want to check the seizure link. To get there, just click on the link. directly under this.

Joan, do you mean do not use Pheno on dogs who only have mild seizures ? Our boy has Grand Mal seizures since he was under a year old, now almost 8 yrs old. His previous owners didn't put him on meds until a month before they relinquished him back to us 4 yrs ago. If our boy was not put on meds for his seizures, I believe he would be severely brain damaged and or dead. His seizures progressed to multiple, back to back grand mall seizures by the time the family returned him to us. Pheno and Potassium Bromide kept his seizures at bay for 9 months then the vet had to wean him off these 2 drugs since his liver panel revealed him at his max on these meds. He was put on Zonisimide for 8 months. This was horrible meds. Our boy stopped eating his kibble after his last seizure and before being put on Zonisimide. I figured it was more brain damage from his seizure. I had to feed him canned dog food for 8 months then he had another bad seizure. Once he woke up from his seizure ..2 hours later when he was back to normal, he couldn't get enough kibble. It's like a light switch came back on and he was back to normal. It was then that I had my vet get him off Zonisimide and back on Pheno. He's been on Pheno for 11 months now, seizure free. One time when he was weaned off Pheno and off of that horrible Zonisimide, I decided to keep our boy off meds altogether..he went 4 months then had horrible back to back seizures. My vet put him back on Pheno that same day. She said Labradors is one of the breeds that need to be on meds when they have grand mal seizures or it will kill them or sustain horrible brain damage.Managing the meds is the challenge cause dogs will eventually build up a resistance on Pheno and the other seizure meds. I keep liquid valium on hand at all times and when our boy has a seizure, I use a pipette to get valium rectally. This prevents him from having back to back seizures. He almost always has them in the middle of the night or early in the morning, sleeps in the same room as us so we catch them every time.

I have no experience with grand mal seizures. And yes, my vet was opposed to putting dogs with mild seizures on pheno.

As you go forward looking for ways to control your boy's seizures, don't rule out holistic "cures". My mom had a Lab/Chessie mix years ago who had fairly frequent seizures. We consulted a doctor in New York (I believe?) and, in addition to a few dietary changes, the doctor taught us how to "prevent" the seizure by applying pressure to a point on the back of the dog's scull.

Good luck, hope all is well soon. Seizures are a hard thing to watch a beloved pet go through:(

I also had success many years ago with a lab that was diagnosed with epilepsy. I used a holistic vet who used homeopathy. I also stopped vaccinating him. I have no idea where you are but many of the vets will do phone consultations and will work with your local vet. I have used the following with good results:

Dr. Marty Goldstein
Smith Ridge Veterinary Center
South Salem, NY

Dr. Christina (Tina) Aiken
Kilshannagh Veterinary Clinic
Ancramdale, NY

I hope you have good results no matter how you address this!

Our boy eats a " No Grain Kibble ". He gets daily supplements of Calcium, Milk Thislte, Vitamin D3, B complex and Joint supplements. When a dog is on seizure meds, it tends to deplete their calcium supply. The vitamin B complex helps his his central nervous system and the D3 is because we live in the Northwest, cloudy all the time. My vet suggested I start giving all my dogs the D3 in small doses so it's part of our daily routine.