[Hendrick C]

Hello…

I have a 4 year old Shih-tzu and she had her first seizure about 2 weeks ago. I attributed it to NexGard, which we started giving to her about 3 months ago. I stopped giving it to her and switched her back to Advantix II for flea and tick. We also switched her to Wellness Complete about a month ago and this morning, she had another seizure (paddling, shaking, snorting, eyes wide open, unresponsive, foaming at the mouth type). The flea and tick medication and the food were the only two things that I can think of that changed in the past couple of months. Could the change in food have triggered her seizures? I’m not sure if I should change her food to something else that can help with or stop her seizures. If so, any recommendations?

Please let me know.

Thank you,

Worried Dad (Hendrick)

[Melissaandcrew]

Anything can trigger seizures in any given pet. Or, it could be purely coincidence. If she were mine, I would stop all flea/tick meds for 30 days minimum and put her back on her regular food..and wait and see. I personally will not use anything but frontline for fleas and ticks(why feed them a bug killer that then circulates through the system to get to where it needs to be??) and I used one of the “ad” brands(can’t remember if advantix or advantage II) and my epileptic had a horrible time with anesthesia. Never again.

If she continues to seize on a regular basis, you will need to start her on meds for epilepsy. My girl is on zonisimide and phenobarb at this time and it controls the seizures 99 percent of the time.

[weezerweeks]

My yorkie had a seizure one night. It scared me to death so my vet did blood work on her and her t4 was soo low. He then did a thyroid panel and he is hypothyroid. Dr. jean Dobbs states that low thyroid can cause seizures. Most people think of hypothyroid dogs as being overweight,lethargic, skin problems but other things can cause it too. He now gets soloxine (1mg) divided in half twice a day and his last test his thyroid was perfect. You might want to check this out!

[InkedMarie]

A friend of mine had a seizure prone dog & she had to avoid rosemary.

[Heather D]

Hi. We had a dog who suffered from seizures regularly and I read about the use of Taurine and bought it online from a UK based Health shop and his siezures lessened to just when the temperature was very high when I also used cooling wet towels.
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/taurine-and-epilepsy/

[Margaret P]

Liver damage can also cause seizures. You can look up “liver shunt” since shih tzu’s are one of the breeds that can have them. Really first, you need to talk to a vet, and get at least a blood panel. It may have nothing at all to do with flea products.

[USA]

Hi Hendrick C

I’m sorry you and your pup are going through this! Seizures have many different causes and the first thing I would do is get a complete blood panel and a physical exam for your Shih-tzu ASAP.

Regarding flea and tick meds I would NOT use ANY of the edible or spot-ons (topical). Frontline, Advantage, Revolution, Sentinel, Nexguard, ALL contain NEUROTOXINS. They work by affecting the nervous systems of the offending insect and causing paralysis and death. They have definitely caused seizures in dogs. The theory is that Mammals (dogs and humans) are much less affected by these chemicals than insects are. But humans and dogs are affected they just don’t immediately drop dead as the insects do.

I would switch to a “greener” and more “holistic” approach to insect control. There are essential oils with a much lower chance of toxicity than the neurotoxins that work at repelling and eliminating fleas and ticks. There are boric acid and diatomaceous earth options for indoor flea and tick control and beneficial nematode options for outdoor flea and tick control.

I wish you and your pup the best!!!

[frostyrockyk]

My Grt. Pyrenees had them , I think it started from Nexguard ? ? ? He was at the bottom of the weight scale , not long after clumps of hair fell out from around his collar . I will never put any of that on my dogs ever again.

[Author]

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