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  1. #1
    Senior Dog
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    Update on Mulder

    So, they ran bloodwork just because he hadn't had it in done in almost a year, but the vet felt that overall, he looks to be in very good health for his age. We didn't really get into what is causing the seizures too much, it was more about what to do about them. He said that as long as they stay as mild as they have been (usually less than 30 seconds), that the seizures themselves are probably less harmful to him than the meds would be, so didn't recommend medicating him at this point. He told us what to watch out for in terms of them getting worse (he was less concerned about frequency than about how long each seizure lasts and how long it takes him to come out of them), at which point he said there is a new med that is safer than the traditional phenobarb (which he wouldn't recommend to such an elderly dog who is already on Rimadyl because it is so hard on the liver). He also said that with dogs like this, sometimes they go through a period where the seizures become more frequent for a bit and then go through a period with no seizures, so the fact that his have increased recently doesn't mean it will always be like this.

    So the main things going forward are to see what the bloodwork shows, keep him calm (as excitement/stress is a trigger for him), and start keeping a log of when they happen and how long they last, so we can be aware of any progression. We went over what would constitute an emergency situation so we would know when to rush him in, and what the plan would be in that case, etc.

    Overall, I'm feeling a bit relieved that he didn't seem hugely concerned about it, and that we now know what to look out for in terms of when to really worry, and that there is a med we can try if/when the time comes.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  3. #2
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
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    Glad to hear the vet wasn't too concerned at this point. Good thoughts & prayers for Mulder.

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    Annette47 (09-24-2014)

  5. #3
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    What's he eating? His seizures are probably completely different than Jack's, but I can completely eliminate them for Jack as long as he's not eating a chicken based food. Fish, beef, bison work for him. Just a thought.

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    Annette47 (09-24-2014)

  7. #4
    Senior Dog Blackboy98's Avatar
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    Sounds like a good vet visit. Hoping for things to smooth out.

    Still sending MOJO and prayers.
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  9. #5
    Real Retriever EmmaJo11's Avatar
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    Sending mojo to Mulder!
    "The dog was created specially for children, he is the God of frolic"
    -Henry Ward Beecher
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  11. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    What's he eating? His seizures are probably completely different than Jack's, but I can completely eliminate them for Jack as long as he's not eating a chicken based food. Fish, beef, bison work for him. Just a thought.
    He's on Sierra Mountain (Taste of the Wild) which is lamb based, but he's been on it for 5+ years without issues. Chloe eats from the same bag he does, so I doubt it's the food itself, plus this has been going on through multiple bags. I know TOTW has a bad rep, but we tried a whole bunch of other things and none worked as well for them as the TOTW.

    Glad you figured out how to keep Jack's under control! Mulder doesn't do well with chicken, either - gets hot spots and loose poops, so we avoid it for the most part. I suspect it's either a slow growing brain tumor or just the effects of being a very old man .... There's no way to be sure without an MRI and we're not putting him through that since there's nothing we could really do differently as we wouldn't put him through brain surgery (the only effective treatment for a brain tumor) at his age.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  13. #7
    Best Friend Retriever Snowco Labradors's Avatar
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    Glad to hear the vets thoughts and praying the seizures do not increase.

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  15. #8
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    So, the bloodwork came back normal or are you still waiting for the results?

    In any case, sure hope the vet is right and there will be no more seizures for Mulder! Keeping my fingers crossed.
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

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  17. #9
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by Berna View Post
    So, the bloodwork came back normal or are you still waiting for the results?

    In any case, sure hope the vet is right and there will be no more seizures for Mulder! Keeping my fingers crossed.
    We're waiting for the results - should be in tomorrow, but he shows no clinical signs of problems (e.g. not jaundiced, maintaining his weight, etc), so we have our fingers crossed that the bloodwork will be ok.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  19. #10
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    relatively good news, considering.

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    Annette47 (09-24-2014)

 



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