Boston Terrier seizures

by Justice
(New Hampshire)

I have 2 Boston Terriers one being 9 and the other 7 or 8. Hogan the youngest started having seizures when he was around 1 or 2. But my other Dog Babe (the oldest) she's fine, but she doesn't eat and Hogan eats too much. He eats her food when we leave the room. When we had babe just her we could leave the food down and she would nibble at it here and there, but now we can't do that because we have an obese dog!!! And he has a strange lump on his left side of his hind leg - not a bug bite. And of course the third dog, the chihuahua. Let me tell you NEVER GET A CHIHUAHUA - they bark too much and they're a pain in the a$$.

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Boston Terrier seizures

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May 20, 2012
 bugg/pugston
by: Anonymous

I am amazed at the health issues i am reading now. She had been ok till 3yrs old, she fell, and became paralyzed. I ran her to a vet, she said well, not good, but here try the thyroid meds. She had seizures on/off, mild ones, for 5 yrs.

I had her on homemade diet between 9-13yrs. She got kidney disease at 10, then vestibular disease which I found the benadryl (human) pills did wonders to stop, then anemia. She fought with me, but, I nursed her like a newborn, IV drips. she had black pimple/bumps prob from poor immunity, cysts. She would be up/down, had her on number of pills, herbs incl: renal /heart support /dog aspirin, it was a like a vets house here, but to be fair, I think the vaccinations may have been a factor. She had bad reactions to bordetella,and parvo (nose infusion).

The had clusters of seizures at age 13 the 2nd vet said "she will die from one of those, prepare yourself", and she did 2 months later. Toxemia from kidney renal failure, he said. They wanted to put her in hospital to "flush" her kidneys, but she really was so frail, and hated to be alone. She was very very happy to have her hot tub nights (I use to do apple cider vinegar to detox her).

If you have thousands of dollars, buy a BT, but if not, I would consider another breed. I don't regret my love my soulmate, but I had more sick days then healthy. It's too heartbreaking. Sorry to read your stories, but it does make me wonder? Did she have a brain tumor?
Apr 26, 2012
 Just lost my sweet baby Hank
by: MRob0509

I just had to put my baby, Hank, down. He was 6 years old (almost 7). He was healthy his whole life, never had any health problems and then one day in January he had a seizure in the car. He was shaking and foaming a the mouth. I pulled over and got him out to walk around. After about 2 minutes it was over and he was perfectly fine. I took him to an animal hospital, and he was fine until the morning, and he had another seizure. He would be fine for a few months and then have several seizures over the coarse of a few days. He would take about a week to fully recover, and then be fine for a month or so. I took him to several vets who all assured me he did not have a brain tumor. Every vet I went to told me he probably had epilepsy. The week before he died, I came home and found him frozen with one paw on the couch and the other dangling. It was like he was paralyzed that day. From then on his right side was so weak, he had a hard time standing to eat or drink. The vet referred me to an internal specialist who did a spinal tap. They decided it was either encephalitis or brain tumor. 2 days later I came home and found him lying on the floor breathing but unresponsive. He must have had a massive seizure because there was foam/poop/urine all over the house. I had no choice but to put him down. The vet kept him overnight, but he was brain dead.
Apr 11, 2012
 Gizmo
by: Anonymous

We are devastated that we had to put our beautiful little Gizmo down from seizures. He was only six and we are sick. He had his first seizure at about 6 mos and then stayed seizure free until about 2.5 years ago. He had cluster seizures and we rushed him to the er vet at 1:00 am. They saved him and he came home and went on Phenobarbitol and thyroid meds. Sporadically he would have another seizure and we just had him to the vet 3 weeks ago for another seizure. His blood work came back that his levels were "where they needed to be." I even asked about the possibility of neurological damage at his last visit and was told that rarely/if ever happens. He woke us up Sat having a seizure and they wouldn't stop this time. We got him to the regular vet w/in the hour but he kept seizing. By 2 pm they wanted to put him down due to neuro damage. We brought him home and ended up at the ER at 6 pm facing the horrible decision we d/n want to make. I'm sick w/ grief and wish now that I would have investigated this much more and sought out a vet that specialized in this as I don't think our vet took the situation serious enough. We are also going to stay away from backyard breeders.....such a devastating loss for us as he was too young and too full of life to lose this soon.
Feb 06, 2012
 liver shunt
by: Anonymous

My Boston starting having seizures when he was 3, the vet did some blood work and a Bile Acid Assay test and found out he a liver shunt. He can not properly process protein. He is on a diet where the food has no more than 15% protein. Since the switch he only has 1 seizure every 5 months and they are not that bad. Before medicating your pup try this out. Not many vet seem to know about it so please ask!!!
Jan 24, 2012
 Clyde
by: Wayne Ripper

My Boston Terrier, Clyde, was 8 years old. When he was about 5 or 6 he started having very small mild seizures. No foaming, vomiting, peeing, or pooping. They would only last about a minute or 2 and then he would be perfectly fine for months before another one would occur. Monday night this week, Clyde started acting like he had separation anxiety. He would jump on my lap and I would put him back on the floor and he would jump right back up like he was trying to tell me something was going to happen.

Then out of nowhere he had a full blown seizure. Foaming, losing control of his bowels, and they lasted about 5 to 10 minutes. The next morning he had another one, and when I came home at lunch to check on him he had another. I decided to stay home the rest of the day with him and i noticed he was having trouble walking and standing. I took him to the Vet. On the way there, he had another seizure. When I got there they took him right back and started testing him. Took me into a room to talk and told me that they think it was a brain tumor being that he was a Boston and they commonly end up with them. They decided to keep him over night while trying some medicine on him. I left Clyde in their hands at 4:45pm. 8pm they called me and said all the bloodwork and x-rays came back fine and so far he was seizure free. (I was thrilled)............ 10:30pm they called and said Clyde had a seizure. They were going to wait and see if another one occurs, at 1:30am I received a call saying he had another at 11pm and they switched to other meds to see if that would help and he in turn had another.

When I woke up and went to work I called them at 8:45am the next day. The Dr said he had ANOTHER seizure that morning and he was only walking in circles earlier now not even getting up and that his body temp was rapidly dropping. All of these symptoms pretty much proved their theory of a brain tumor to be accurate. I gathered up my children from school, and picked up my wife from work and went to the vet. Our only option at this point was to put Clyde to sleep. :( This was this morning. Just wanted to share and maybe help some people understand how fast this can all happen. Hopefully you will never have to go through it.
Thanks for taking the time and reading.
Dec 19, 2011
 Boston - Brain Tumor
by: D H

My Boston had to be put down, his age was 7 years old, and had similar symptoms of walking in circles unresponsive, no diet, would not drink, erratic behaviour led us to a "decision" - I'm devastated.
Sep 26, 2011
 No your right not nuff said
by: Babe nd hogan

Well the way my dog has seizures we would give him pheno and potassium brohide and it worked wonders for a lot of years. it seemed as if it gave him more time to live.
Sep 26, 2011
 My Ruby, newly gone
by: Nadine

My sweet Ruby girl, 10 years old, had to be euthanized this past week. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2009 (meningioma)after suffering cluster seizures. An MRI was used to diagnose the tumor. We had it removed, all clear margins, but opted not to put her through chemo or radiation. The surgeon explained that the seizures would probably continue, the tumor would likely regrow and she would have about 12-18 months from after surgery.

Well, we put her on phenobarb and potassium bromide, and the seizures were controlled and she had great quality of life for another 2 years and 3 months! This past Thursday, the cluster seizures returned with a fury...we did the usual round of extra pheno and rectal valium, but she never quite recovered from this series of small but persistent seizures. Her front leg became paralyzed. She stopped eating, and wasn't really fully aware of her surroundings. The vet confirmed that the neurological damage was too far gone for her to have quality of life, that the tumor had likely returned, and it was her time to go.

I am in shock and grieving, but I am so grateful that we were able to have the best of her for so much longer than predicted.

The cost of surgery and meds was astronomical, but worth every penny. I had no idea until I read this forum that seizures and brain tumors were so prevalent in BTs, how completely horifying that these sweet and lovable dogs have to suffer with this so much.

Peace,
N
Sep 15, 2011
 NOT 'nuff said
by: Anonymous

Medicine doesn't cure seizures - it just makes them more manageable and hopefully happen less often. However, side effects from the medicine can cause other issues so just giving them medicine isn't going to make the problem go away completely and it may cause other health concerns.
Side effects of the medication can be worse than the seizures depending on the type and length of seizure. Your best option may be to NOT give them medicine...that's why any medicine you give your pets should be thoroughly discussed with your vet.
Just giving them the medicine is not going to ensure quality of life. It doesn't even guarantee a much longer life for your buddy.
Unfortunately, the cause of seizures is not always identified even after spending thousands of dollars in testing and vet visits.
Don't "just give 'em the medicine" without knowing all the possible effects your dog could encounter. Make an informed decision by discussing it with your vet and decide what is best for your dog when you are are armed with the facts.
'Nuff said.
Sep 15, 2011
 Boston Terriers and seizures
by: Anonymous

My 10 yr old boston has had 2 seizures in her life at a much younger age. Now at 10 she has begun having seizures every 2 1/2 hours over past two nights. I recently changed her food due to weight issues. I have been researching this issue of seizures for 2 hours now and here is what I found that is extememly helpful to me and I hope it will be helpful to others. I have a 3 bostons but only the 10 yr old is having issues. I will do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this. Look at this website by a veterinarian. It is very helpful to me and I hope it helps others.

http://www.boston-terriers.com/seizures.htm
Sep 07, 2011
 Abbe
by: Justice

Ifahoy want your dog to live, give her the medicin. 'Nuff said.
Sep 06, 2011
 started having seizures
by: Anonymous

Well my 10yr old baby boy boston passed away Aug/18/2011 he was my life.. he had gotten cushing disease and had progressed from feb/2011 to aug/2011 and he had gotten till he couldnt walk, drink, eat, pee..so i made the most difficult decision and have him put to sleep..and i have 3 other boston's. They are all female and now 2 of them are having seizures. 1 of them is 7 yrs and the other is the daughter of these 2, and she is 5 yrs. I was hoping to get some knid of info on this. Can anyone give me some insight of what's wrong with them for them to start having these seizures all of a sudden? Thanks, anything would help a lot.
Aug 27, 2011
 Seizures in Boston mix
by: Anonymous

My Boston/Rat Terrier mix had a different type of seizures starting about a year and a half ago. He would wake up and lurch forward causing him to stumble a bit. It lasted quite a while with a few minutes in between lurches. His muscles would go rigid and he stumbled around but I was right there by his side on the floor for the hour to hour and a half it would last.
I took him to the vet the next morning and had him checked out. His bloodwork was fine and at the time of the visit, so was he. It happened again a few times in the next few weeks and again I brought him after the second time it occurred.
The vet was uncertain what was causing them but since he bounced back so quickly and they weren't that frequent, the vet did not want to put him on medication, which could cause more problems than it solved considering Chester was only 4 1/2 at the time.
Since then, I tried changing shampoo and conditioner to an organic brand, changed from frontline to advantix, and tried to rule out the causes. His last seizure was in December of 2010 and we still don't know what caused them.
He gets his shots annually in February and has not ever had any bad reactions to them.
It is heartbreaking to watch our babies go through this, but I have been told by several vets that they are in no pain during the seizures, which makes sense since the humans I know who have them say they don't remember anything and don't feel any pain from the seizure itself (though if they get injured during the seizure, they will feel the pain AFTER the seizure has passed).
For those of you who have lost your beloved babies to this problem, know that the love and support you gave your pup during that time was the most you could do for them. They'll all be waiting for you at Rainbow Bridge where you'll be reunited with all your fur family.
Aug 09, 2011
 Seizures and lepto/rabies vaccines?
by: Anonymous

I read each one of your heart-wrenching accounts of the seizures your little ones experienced. Thank you for sharing those experiences.

Since my own Boston Terrier only started having seizures a few days after being injected with vaccines for lepto and rabies, I wonder how many of you can comment on whether your dogs had these vaccines and how regularly.

I remain convinced of a direct correlation between the vaccines and the seizures. I have refused to vaccinate my dog any more, and the seizures occur only about once per year, over the course of the last 6 years. He is now 11.

Please comment on whether your dog had these vaccinations and whether you noticed a correlation between the injection and a seizure a short duration later.

Thanks!
Jul 31, 2011
 Scooter
by: Anonymous

Just lost my baby 10yr old Boston a couple of days ago. He was the noisy, energetic one and the silence in the house is positively deafening.

It looks like it was a seizure that did him in. He'd been having them for the past year -- no more than a dozed that we are aware of. A few were pretty violent affairs with lots of kicking but I'd say most of the time he'd just plop over and twitch for 5-10 seconds before coming back. Obviously something about this one was different as it doesn't look like he ever got up once he went down.

He was also suffering form thyroid cancer which may have spread. It was hard to tell which lumps were benign and which might have been tumors. He's had difficulty breathing since he was young. We had had his soft palate lasered a few years ago with fantastic results. Although he could still see somewhat, his vision was almost gone by the end. Didn't slow him down AT ALL.

His half brother is 6 months older and has never the same type of health problems, just bad hips and gas. :)
Jul 28, 2011
 Abbe
by: Justice d

Do not ignore. If you want more life out of your cute little pup, try pheonobarbital.
Jul 26, 2011
 Max
by: Anonymous

My Max died early Sunday morning from a seizure. He would have been 8 on Friday. He's been having seizures for 6 years. We've spent somewhere between $10-15,000 on his treatment of 6 years. Vets, meds, doggie neurologist. Midnight emergency trips to the vet when he had cluster seizures. You name it, we did it. I'd do it all again cause he was like my 3rd child. So frustrating to do everything you can and they still die. Heartbreaking. I hope he's at peace now because the seizures were taking a toll on his quality of life. He'd begun to get anxious, have separation anxiety and whine non-stop. He was the sweetest boy. I can't believe all the other stories I'm reading here. :(
Jul 22, 2011
 My Boston Apollo
by: Anonymous

My buddy and best friend started having seizures a week ago. My vet has put him on chinese herbal meds. He has been on them for two days, but the seizures haven't stopped. I think I'm going to call the vet tomorrow to put him on the phenabarbitol. I'll try anything to keep him. I can't stand to see this happening to him, its breaking my heart. After reading these posts, it seems that even with the barbs, they don't last long. I want him with me for as long as God will let me have him. I suffer from PTSD and he is my service dog, he goes with me everywhere. I will keep you posted on Apollo's condition.
Jun 29, 2011
 Two Bostons-both had Brain tumors/siezures
by: Skyforme

Both my Bostons died at 10 years old. I can't seem to get more life out of them then that. Both, I am sure had brain tumors. Both died in different ways but of the same thing.

My first Boston, Woody, died of a brain tumor. He started acting dazed and confused at age ten and over the course of a month. We tried everything, but it was too late and I had to put him down as I knew there was no hope. He was walking circles, had a vacant look in his eye and was urinating all over himself.

My second Boston, Corky, passed on this past Sunday June 26, 2011. He had a wonderful weekend playing and visiting with his favorite people and seemed healthy up until he had his siezure at around 9 pm that night. We were up and down with him thru the nite and he never really "came back". His eyes were vacant and he was not answering to his name.

The only slight difference I noticed this time was that he was drinking slightly more water. Other than that he seemed fine. He was gone by 10:45 am the following morning after having one "cluster seizure" after another. It was nightmare that ended with me screaming over him in a fetal position holding his little paw as he passed over the Rainbow Bridge. He had been foaming at the mouth and seizuring off and on all nite. Corky's one last act of unselfish love was to wait until our family could all be there around him as he crossed over.

The other act of love Corky had for us was to not put us in a position to have to decide to put him down. The brain cancer can take hours or days or weeks depending on how long the owner lets it go and how long the dog can hang on. It's a nightmare!!!!!!!!

I adore these dogs, but don't know if I can handle/facilitate this "issue" by continuing to have this breed. I wish there was some sort of charity that would look into eradicating this horrible anomoly that curses these precioius, sweet, wonderful dogs. They really are the most dedicated, polite, and sweetest amd funniest dogs I have ever known. It's going to be hard for me to imagine life without a Boston as I have adopted two of them. Time will tell if I feel I can mentally and emotionally handle losing one like this again. Please, if there is anyone out there who can help these dogs - please DO!
Jun 23, 2011
 Love my Peanut
by: Sonia

My Boston Peanut was 5 yrs and 9months old. I had to put him down today. 2wks ago he had his 1st seizure, last wk I was wakened at 2am w/a severe seizure. He had 2 more by 11am I took him to the vet. again they said he was having cluster siezures and put on barb meds. Last night he urinated on the floor and was dazed and confused, walking in circles until 2am. falling, legs collapsing. It was horrible. I woke at 6am he couldn'nt stand. I carried him outside he went potty and cont. to pace in circles. Their diagnosis was brain tumor. :( Nothing I could do.
Feb 11, 2011
 seizure
by: boston lover

Today my Boston Terrier died. He was adopted from a pound - age unknown. We estimate he was at least 12. He had mild seizures throughout his life - very infrequent. This morning he had a grand mal seizure. Unlike anything he every had before. Over the past two years he had developed a vestibular disorder which affected his center of gravity. He was going deaf and also had cataracts. When I realized he was losing his hearing I starting pressing my mouth into his head when I talked to him so he would learn to recognize the vibration of speech. this worked really well. I always got a stinky kiss for it. I strongly suspect he had a brain tumor- which caused some of his vestibular/hearing issues. It was a gradual onset the seemed to slowly get worse until this morning when it finally ended. I hope this final seizure did not cause him any pain as it was truly sad and terrible. He sweet old guy with a few bad habits and he will be missed.
Nov 04, 2010
 twitches
by: Anonymous

I don't know if this applies to anyone but my Boston Toby is 12 now. We adopted him at 2 and he has always had twitches at night. He sleeps with me and I'll be awake watching tv and he will be passed out on his side and will randomly start twitching and his feet will kick me and he makes noises almost as if he is having a dream and responding to it - haha. But he has had them for at least 7+ years and all I do when i notice them is pet him and wake him a little and they stop. Don't know if that helps anyone but thought I would share.
Aug 16, 2010
 My little RoRo
by: Rozee's Mom

My baby girl, Rozee (age 11 - would have been 12 in 4 weeks), died this morning of what I believe was 3 seizures. I awoke to her bestest buddy, my Rottweiler, trying to get to her since she sleeps under my bed. I thought the rottie was getting ill only to look under the bed and see my Rozee spinning on her side - reminded me of break dancing. She managed to get out from under the bed and we went downstairs. I left both of my babies down there for a small bit (I didn't realize how serious the situation was yet). Shortly after, Rozee made her way back upstairs only to spin in a backwards motion, foaming at the mouth and unable to stop. I sat horrified and began to cry. I live alone and it was 6:18am. She suddenly fell on her side and began to "run". She got up one more time and fell again. I watched her and I was so afraid and so helpless to do anything. Her breathing became very shallow, her tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth and she appeared to be licking the floor. I became very aware that she was going to die right there in front of me. She passed quietly at 6:55 this morning.

Two weeks ago, I had 2 healthy dogs and my daughter and son-in-law had 2 healthy dogs. They had to put their German Shepherd down 4 days ago because she had lung cancer and today I lost my little Rozee. I hope they are together somewhere out there playing and sharing a bone.
Apr 27, 2010
 one thing to try for seizures
by: Grace

My pug began having seizures at about one to two years old; he had a seizure approx. every other week, sometimes seizing more than once in a week's time. There was no known cause. Sometimes the doctors can't even be sure what causes them, or why they happen when they do.

I got desperate and began to eliminate any treats that had questionable ingredients in them. His food at the time was Calif. Natural, if I recall.

The seizures continued until I switched his food to Wellness. I gave him the Wellness Lamb dry food that comes in a big bag. His seizures stopped immediately and did not return for NINE years.

Ironically - and tragically - he did have one more seizure, the one that ended his life last week at age ten and a half years old. He hadn't eaten for a couple of days, but had been drinking lots of water. He didn't want to go for his usual walk. Then he had that fateful seizure and died. It happened within a minute. I miss him so much I feel as though I could lie down and die myself.

God bless all of your little fur friends, and experiment 'til you find the right answer to stop seizures.
Dec 30, 2009
 8 year old boston terrier died from Seizures
by: Lynn

Molly's eye "popped" out of the socket in May. After many Surgeries, we finally had to have the Vet remove the eye. We thought she was on the mend, then in August she started having seizures. Through the Fall the Seizures became more frequent...but only lasted a minute or less. In December, she started walking "sideways". let her tounge hang out of her mouth, more seizures lasting longer, and a weight loss. Earlier this week she passed on right after a 10 minute seizure. We did not have an autopsy performed. Although, our vet did tell us that she may have had a brain tumor.

Our other dog is a Boston Terrier MIX, we have never had any health issues with her.

I LOVE the Breed, but not sure I want to go through the heartache again with another Boston Terrier puppy. It seems like they have SO MANY health issues.
Sep 21, 2009
 My Dog
by: Anonymous

My Dog Buddy was put down this week after unable to pull him out of seizure state. It was a very shocking death as we thought the barbs were working. Buddy was the greatest dog in the world and we loved him more than anything.
Mar 01, 2009
 BTS
by: Justice

Both my Boston Terriers died Last December it was Utmost worst thing ive went through they died within a week of each other =(

My dog Hogan took Phenobarbatal and some other thing i for get
Mar 01, 2009
 Boston
by: Justice

DO NOT IGNORE IT. It's sad to say my dog died of a seizure i think because it fried his brain and we had to put him down - all he would do is walk in circles.
Mar 01, 2009
 Boston seizures
by: Jacquie

This may have already been received but it's about my Jack Russell/Boston Terrier pup, Abbe. She is now three months old and at night when sleeping, has what appears to be seizures. What have others out there experienced which may be a BT trait which Abbe seems to favor the most in looks? My vet suggested a drug I'm not willing to give this little pup. Should we ignore it and not worry about it? Abbe is otherwise, very healthy and lively by day and a real love! She has the sweetest disposition...so good natured! Someone please help us know what to do!

Jacquie

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