The main thing you need to know about epilepsy in pugs

Epilepsy in domestic dogs is a common disease that requires careful monitoring and proper diagnosis. If a pug has been diagnosed with this disease, it is necessary to quickly select an effective and competent treatment regimen that will help the animal return to normal life.

Since the health of a dog with such a diagnosis directly depends on the actions of its owner, responsible owners must have a complete understanding of what epilepsy is, know its signs and be able to provide first aid to their pet.

What it is?

Epilepsy is a disease of the central nervous system, which is characterized by a paroxysmal course and periodic seizures in an animal, which are often accompanied by convulsions.

As a rule, this disease does not pose a mortal threat to pugs, but the quality of life is greatly reduced. An attack can begin at any moment; it is almost impossible to predict when and for what reason it will happen.

There is an opinion that epilepsy develops due to a pathology of the body's bioelectrical system, in which cells of the brain and nervous system are affected due to increased electrical activity.

During seizures, which can be accompanied by convulsions of varying strength, a group of neurons in one part of the brain loses electrical stability. This leads to a powerful discharge that affects surrounding cells and prevents them from functioning normally.

Kinds

There are two types of disease.

True (idiopathic, primary) epilepsy. The reason for its appearance is currently unknown. Scientists suggest that this type of disease is caused by genetic disorders in the animal's body.

The first seizure in a pug with true epilepsy can occur between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. At first, seizures may appear once a year or even less frequently, but over time, in the absence of proper treatment, the frequency of seizures increases and turns into status epilepticus, in which seizures occur almost continuously.

There is no method by which individuals with disorders can be identified in advance. Experts believe that the likelihood of developing primary epilepsy increases significantly when closely related individuals are crossed.

Secondary epilepsy. In this case, the cause of the pug’s seizures can be determined; it occurs due to the influence of various factors that affect the cells of the central nervous system.

Description of the disease

It first appeared in 1983 in the textbook “Veterinary Neuroanatomy and Clinical Neurology” (2nd edition), written by Alexander De Lahunta, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, from Cornell University in the USA.

Encephalitis affecting pugs was diagnosed in the middle of the last century, more precisely, in the 60s in the state of California . Nowadays, the diagnosis is made not only in America, but also on the Australian and European continents.

Alexander De Lahunta, who conducted meticulous microscopic studies, claims that the symptoms of the disease differ from known forms of encephalitis in other canine breeds. That is why the scientist recognized it as characteristic (specific) only for a single breed, calling it pug encephalitis.

Doctors working in the field of veterinary neuropathology studied the data obtained in the laboratories of Cornell University and were forced to confirm that the disease is species-specific, that is, it is detected exclusively in pugs.

Important! Research conducted by A. De Lahunt did not give an exact answer to the question of the origin of this terrible disease. It is not surprising that veterinarians still cannot agree on the causes of severe brain damage in pugs.

American biologists found signs indicating the infectious nature of the disease, but failed to find the source that triggered it. Now encephalitis is called the scourge of pugs. The situation is aggravated by the lack of competent publications and the powerlessness of doctors in the fight against idiopathic encephalitis.

Nevertheless, the disease exists, as evidenced by the disappointing veterinary statistics of the countries where pugs are bred and kept.

Return to content

Causes

It is generally accepted that epilepsy is a genetically determined disease, which is especially common in small breeds of dogs, the special characteristics of which were fixed through inbreeding. Pugs are also at risk.

The main cause of epilepsy is brain dysfunction.

Secondary causes are not associated with pathologies of the nervous system; they arise due to exposure to a variety of environmental factors:

• Head injuries, including those received at birth.
• Thrombosis.
• Neoplasms of the brain.
• Infectious diseases that affect cells of the central nervous system (for example, tick-borne encephalitis and plague).
• Intoxication of the body caused by the ingestion of poisons, heavy metals and other toxic compounds.
• Various diseases of organs and body systems (for example, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases, disorders of the endocrine system, etc.).
• Parasitosis, the presence of intestinal parasites and some types of helminths.
• Metabolic disorders that develop over the years (for example, heart rhythm disturbances, acquired calcium deficiency, cirrhosis).
• Long-term malnutrition and disturbances in the digestive system, deficiency of vitamins and mineral salts.
• Prolonged nervous overstrain, stress, nervous exhaustion.

In pugs from one to three years of age, seizures are most often caused by genetic disorders. Dogs over four years of age are more susceptible to attacks caused by metabolic factors.

Are you susceptible to illness?

Pugs are a rather sick breed of dog; the diseases of these animals are very diverse.

IMPORTANT!

The most common disease is allergies, which can have different origins.

Also among the diseases quite common are obesity , breathing problems and eye disease, and colds .

Pathologies of the motor system, sores on the head and gastrointestinal disorders are also characteristic of the pug breed.

Symptoms

An epilepsy attack is divided into 4 stages:

1. Prodromal stage. The preparation phase for an attack can last from several hours to several days. Its signs are anxiety, a desire to hide, or increased physical activity.
2. Aura. This is a condition that precedes an attack. At this stage, the animal becomes restless, whines, tries to run away and hide. The pug may lose orientation in space. There is increased secretion of saliva.
3. Ictal stage. Seizure phase. Cramps occur, during which involuntary urination and bowel movements may occur due to too much tension in the abdominal muscles. Often in this condition, the pug bites its tongue and cheeks, squeals and whines.
4. Postictal stage. Recovery phase. The final phase of the attack, which can last several days. Lethargy, disorientation, drowsiness sets in, increased agitation or, conversely, apathy is observed. Drooling continues.

As a rule, an attack begins with twitching of the facial muscles, which spreads to the whole body. Often the attack is accompanied by fainting, elevated body temperature, throwing back the head and chaotic flexion and extension of the paws. The animal breathes heavily, the pupils dilate, and the eyeballs roll up.

Important! According to statistics, epilepsy attacks in pugs are most often observed in the morning and at night.

Status epilepticus (Epilepticus)

This is a condition that appears as a continuous seizure for more than 30 minutes or many short seizures in a short period of time. This condition is life-threatening for the dog and requires immediate attention to a veterinarian.

How to spot an impending seizure

It is impossible to prevent an epileptic seizure, but you can warn others about it in advance or ask for help if you suffer from epilepsy and feel an attack coming.

First comes the tonic phase, its manifestations are convulsions, loss of control over the situation, increased salivation, etc. As a rule, due to hypertonicity of the muscles, the legs remain straight, and the arms involuntarily bend at the elbows. Breathing becomes difficult and may stop for several seconds at regular intervals. Asphyxia causes the skin to turn blue, especially the lips.

The tonic phase lasts about 30-45 seconds, after which the clonic phase begins. The clonic period is characterized by alternating muscle tension and relaxation - convulsions and convulsive states. During this period, the person twitches randomly, bends in unnatural positions, but does not come to his senses. The patient may spontaneously bite his lips or tongue, which causes blood to appear in the saliva. During the period of complete muscle relaxation, the internal sphincters also weaken, which can cause bowel or bladder emptying.

A few minutes before the onset of epileptic syndrome, the patient may suffer from restlessness, increased anxiety, and may experience hallucinations of various types. There are several types of pre-epileptic conditions, so-called auras:

• speech aura – disturbance of sensory or motor functions;
• mental aura - a sudden, unconditional feeling of sadness, melancholy, increased anxiety, panic attacks, or vice versa, a sharp surge of energy and joy;
• vegetative aura – dysfunction of the executive organs: blood vessels, secretion glands and muscles;
• sensitive aura - distortions in the sensations of external stimuli, a feeling of extreme cold or heat, a disturbance in the sensation of one’s body;
• sensory aura - changes in auditory, olfactory and visual sensations.

It is important not to panic if you notice similar symptoms in yourself or someone nearby. You should calmly warn others about this and secure your location by removing all dangerous piercing or cutting objects, and also move to a safe place where you can lie down.

The round-the-clock reception of doctors at the Yusupov Hospital will protect patients in the clinic from complications after an epileptic seizure. We pay close attention to each of our visitors, guaranteeing high-quality treatment results.

Make an appointment

What to do during an attack?

Host actions during an attack:

• Other animals and small children must be removed from the room with a dog in a seizure state .
• Place something soft under the pug's head to avoid injury and hold the animal's head. Do this carefully to avoid accidental bites.
• Avoid trying to limit physical activity. Do not open your pug's jaws or put any objects into its mouth. Trying to forcefully open the jaws can lead to serious injuries, while bitten cheeks and tongues heal quickly.
• As soon as the attack is over, you need to ensure peace, comfort and safety .

If the attack does not end within half an hour, the dog must be immediately placed under medical supervision.

If, due to any circumstances, a visit to the veterinarian is impossible, administer the anticonvulsant drug intramuscularly and note the date and duration of the attack.

What are the prospects for a family with a dog with epilepsy?

Even if an adult sees his dog having an epileptic seizure, he can be very upset. For a child, such a seizure can be simply terrible. However, seizures often occur at night, and children may simply not see them, this will save their nerves. However, attacks can also occur during the day, when children are present in the house. If an adult sees that the dog is in a state of epileptic seizure, it is best to take the child out of the room, or try to distract him. However, there are situations when the child himself notices that something has happened to the dog. If the child is more than three years old, try to explain the situation to him correctly, thanks to this he will calm down.

For example, the thought that a bad situation is happening and the pet may die can be very scary for a child. Tell your child that there are situations when a dog behaves strangely, it may look scary, but after a while the dog will feel fine. However, at these moments you need to show love and calm to the dog. Thanks to this, the child will be able to calm down. Once the child understands that the dog is not in danger, he will stop being afraid.

Diagnostics

In order to prevent the serious consequences of this disease, it is necessary to seek advice from a veterinarian as soon as possible, who will identify the cause of the disease and draw up a treatment regimen.

First of all, when diagnosing epilepsy, it is necessary to understand whether the disease is congenital or appears due to the influence of acquired factors.

To make an accurate diagnosis, specialists collect a detailed history and prescribe clinical studies. A video recording of the attack made by the owner can also help in making a diagnosis.

As a rule, to detect epilepsy, veterinarians conduct a complete neurological examination of the dog, and also prescribe x-rays, laboratory blood and urine tests, reflexology examination, MRI of the brain, and ultrasound diagnostics.

If your pug is foaming at the mouth

As the confused owner usually assumes in such a situation, this has nothing to do with rabies.

There may be two reasons:

• Worm infestation - most often occurs in puppies or young pugs.
• Liver or kidney diseases.

In some cases, the cause of such attacks: with foam at the mouth, involuntary urination or defecation, loss of consciousness, cannot be determined, and they begin to accompany the dog’s entire life. If attacks with foam at the mouth are not too frequent, then you need to learn to live with them. This is also one of the characteristic diseases that pugs are susceptible to.

In any case, consultation with an experienced specialist is necessary.

Forecast and consequences

To date, there are no methods or medications that can completely cure epilepsy. The main goal of therapy is to control seizures and minimize their effect on the pug’s body and prevent prolonged seizures.

Important! A pug suffering from epileptic seizures should be surrounded by care and affection, he should be provided with a calm environment and increased attention.

It is important to understand that although keeping a dog with epilepsy requires certain conditions, the prognosis for this disease is quite favorable. If a pug receives adequate treatment, it will be difficult to distinguish it from its completely healthy counterparts.

If you carefully follow your doctor's recommendations, an animal with epilepsy can live a long and fulfilling life.

First aid algorithm

First aid for an epileptic seizure is extremely important, since incorrect actions can not only not help the victim, but also worsen the situation. If someone nearby begins to show symptoms of an impending seizure, you should prepare:

• find out whether the person has had epileptic seizures before;
• If a person has epilepsy, he must immediately take the pills prescribed by the doctor to block the seizure. At the same time, people nearby should not give the patient tablets of unknown origin;
• secure your location, move to a safe, uninhabited place;
• if the situation occurs indoors, it is necessary to open windows or doors to ensure the flow of fresh air;
• the patient's head should be placed on one side to avoid choking on saliva or vomit;
• provide the patient with a fall on a soft surface, place an additional soft object under the head so that the head is higher than the body;
• remove all potentially traumatic objects;
• remove belts, necklaces, hats and all things that can squeeze, cause discomfort and make breathing difficult.

Treatment

For therapy, drugs are used whose purpose is to reduce the activity of the cerebral cortex. Their action is designed to reduce the frequency of attacks, and then completely eliminate them.

Most often, drugs based on phenobarbital and potassium bromide are prescribed to control attacks. Medicines should be taken according to a clear schedule, on a daily basis.

The most commonly prescribed drugs for epilepsy are:

• Phenytoin. An anticonvulsant, its feature is its rapid elimination from the animal’s body.
• Primidon. It differs in the duration of exposure, the disadvantages are increased thirst and increased urination.
• Finlepsin. Reduces the frequency of seizures.

Common to all drugs is their prescription starting with minimal doses, and gradually increasing to such volumes that the frequency of attacks is reduced to nothing.

Important! Self-prescription of anticonvulsants is unacceptable. Seek advice from a veterinarian so as not to harm the animal!

Dogs with epilepsy need a special diet. Experts recommend completely eliminating dry food, especially cheap brands.

The following foods should be excluded from your pug's diet:

• salt;
• You should absolutely not give smoked meats;
• you should reduce the amount of protein consumed by limiting the amount of meat and fish;
• completely eliminate raw fish and meat of any kind.

The diet should be based on products such as cottage cheese, milk, kefir and vegetables. A dog with epilepsy needs to take vitamin and mineral complexes containing magnesium, calcium and B vitamins.

When to call an ambulance

To provide first aid for epilepsy, it is not always necessary to involve doctors. As a rule, attacks are fleeting. There are cases when compassionate citizens called the ambulance crew, but by the time they arrived they had already left the scene on their own.

In addition, for some, such situations happen several times a day. With such options, it is enough to know the basic principles of providing assistance, and if everything proceeds without complications, you can cope on your own.

In some situations, the help of medical specialists is vital for a patient with epilepsy.

The attack happened for the first time in my life

You cannot be sure how the body will react if it has not experienced such overexertion before. It is quite possible that epilepsy is manifesting itself right now (this can happen at any age). However, there is a danger that a seizure is a sign of some disease, the exacerbation of which requires the intervention of appropriately qualified specialists.

The victim is a child or elderly

The bodies of children and the elderly are most vulnerable to critical changes in health. Even if everything goes as normal, only doctors will be able to give an accurate conclusion regarding the condition of the body and further health risks.

Cramps in a pregnant woman

A neurological disease can be fatal to a child in the womb. If a woman is late in pregnancy, there is a risk of premature onset of labor.

There is a possibility of injury

During seizures, the patient may hit his head on a sharp corner or be injured during a fall. Even if it just seems to you that there is a risk of traumatic brain injury or any other injury, it is better to call specialists and keep the patient in place until the doctors arrive.

The patient remains unconscious for more than 10 minutes

It is important to check the patient’s clarity of consciousness after an attack, to find out whether he remembers his name or home address. If he does not regain consciousness on his own, there is no need to “help” him: hit him on the cheeks or splash water. It is also forbidden to try to bring people to their senses using such means as ammonia: any strong odors can provoke a second attack, which, compared to the one just suffered, can cause significant harm to health.

Epilepsy always carries the risk of irreversible changes in brain structures. If a person breathes but does not regain consciousness for more than ten minutes, it is important to organize professional medical assistance as soon as possible.

Make an appointment

In pregnant women, lactating women and puppies

First of all, owners should remember that epilepsy can be inherited by puppies, so you should not breed an animal that is known to be sick.

If pregnancy does occur, remember that any hormonal and physiological changes in the body can provoke epileptic seizures, during which oxygen starvation may occur in the future puppies. There is also a high risk of miscarriage.

Abdominal injuries, which are common during epileptic seizures, are very dangerous for the fetus. In such cases, placental abruption and circulatory disorders in it become common occurrences.

It is also important to understand that drug therapy prescribed for epilepsy can significantly increase the risk of intrauterine pathologies in puppies.

Epilepsy is not a contraindication for feeding puppies, however, medications used to treat epilepsy in a nursing dog should be selected taking into account their minimal exposure to milk.

Provoking factors

Often, epileptic seizures occur from various “triggers” - situations that provoke an attack. This could be a bright flashing picture, a sequence of sharp sounds. There are cases where overly bright cartoon screensavers caused a negative reaction in children. The danger comes from flashing, rapidly changing images that overload sensitive systems.

If the attack is caused by just such a factor, then it is better to get rid of it at the first opportunity: turn off the TV, turn down the volume. After the attack ends, ensure that you stay in a quiet room with dim lighting. If you do not get rid of the triggers, they can provoke a series of repeated attacks, which will not be easy for the body to survive.

Prevention

It is impossible to prevent primary epilepsy, since it is caused by hereditary factors. Once the diagnosis has already been established, it is important to strictly follow the veterinarian’s recommendations, protect the dog from stress and provide a high degree of comfort.

It is better not to allow a pug with epilepsy to participate in competitions and exhibitions that can cause stress; you need to ensure that the environment around him is as calm as possible.

At the same time, the animal must lead a full life - epilepsy is not a reason to exclude walks, games and light physical activity. The main thing in prevention is to eliminate factors that provoke seizures.

Vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy

Vagus nerve stimulation is a minimally invasive procedure in which a miniature device is placed under the skin. An epilepsy stimulator is placed by clavicle specialists and is used to generate impulses that are then sent to the vagus nerve using special electrodes. Thus, the device can be programmed to generate pulses lasting 30 seconds every 5 minutes. Flexible settings allow you to choose the optimal mode for each patient.

An epilepsy stimulant can cause complications, about which experts warn the patient. Thus, during the operation, neck vessels and nerves may be damaged. In addition, the patient may have an allergic reaction to the anesthesia or bleeding. Experienced specialists first study possible risks and take measures to minimize them.

Indications for the procedure

Impulses in the brain are transmitted from neuron to neuron in an orderly manner. With epilepsy, foci of pathological pulsation occur, and the order of impulses is disrupted. Drug therapy for epilepsy can effectively control seizures.

Vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy is indicated in the following cases:

• if drug therapy is ineffective;
• Conservative treatment has a positive effect, but side effects occur when using drugs;
• other surgical treatments for epilepsy have failed to control seizures;
• The patient experiences frequent and prolonged depression due to epilepsy.

When treating epilepsy, neurologists at the Yusupov Hospital give preference to the safest methods and minimally invasive procedures. Each therapeutic measure prescribed to a patient with epilepsy is justified and rational.

Benefits of Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Vagus nerve stimulation is a minimally invasive technique used at the Yusupov Hospital. It has several advantages in the treatment of epilepsy:

• after a stimulator is installed under the patient’s skin, epilepsy attacks become rare and their severity decreases;
• the procedure allows you to effectively control attacks;
• stimulation helps to improve the general condition of the patient;
• the technique is minimally invasive. To install the device, only two punctures are required in the collarbone and neck;
• recovery of the body after surgery occurs in the shortest possible time.

When treating epilepsy, neurologists at the Yusupov Hospital prefer medications, but if they are ineffective, stimulation of the vagus nerve can produce a positive result.

Forecast

The prognosis for epilepsy if you follow medical recommendations and take medications in a timely manner is favorable. To do this, it is important for a person to maintain a careful attitude towards his health: maintain a daily routine, have adequate sleep, avoid overexertion, and completely give up bad habits such as cigarettes and alcohol.

In most clinics, patients with epilepsy are seen by neurologists or psychotherapists, who sometimes find it difficult to understand the details of diagnosis and the intricacies of treatment of this disease. Just one EEG requires enormous experience and skills of a professional. Therefore, the Yusupov Hospital employs highly specialized epileptologists who can answer all your questions. You can make an appointment with them by calling the Yusupov Hospital.