Are seizures a big problem in Brittanys ?

[Francois P vd Walt]

I would like to no if seizures get worse if they have a little head shake at 12months or can they outgrow this problem ?
Is there medication to control this ?

[ezzy333]

No, not that I am aware of but I have no experiece with them since out of the hundreds of Brits I have had or work with I have never experience a dog having one.

Ezzy

[Francois P vd Walt]

IMO then it is a breeding problem ?

[Brittguy]

Same as Ezzy , I have had contact with hundreds of Britts and never saw a seizure. Years ago I did talk to a person that said they had such a problem. So I feel safe in saying it is very rare. Are you certain there is no problem with the ears. I am guessing that there would be some medication for treatment of such a problem

[terrym]

When researching the breed before buying mine it never came up for Britts but I did read a few instances about Springers being known for that.

[mcbosco]

There is a Puggle in my neighborhood that has "idiopathic head tremors". His head shakes from side to side for a while then stops.

It is not a seizure but rather a nerve condition. The owner told me a specialist thought it would go away at some point.

See what your vet thinks.

[kninebirddog]

I know of some with seizures....A few of the people I know that bought dogs to show with hers gets real bad seizures. and yes there are some field dogs that are known to have an occasional seizure. But it is not rampant in the breed

[Fireside]

Seizures while not common are not unheard of in Brittanys. Most can be medically mannaged.

It is not clear to me that your dog is having seizures, rather he/she has head tremor which are not necessarily the same thing. Please have a vet check you dog out and figure what is going on... it needs to be properly diagnosed and treated. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

[Francois P vd Walt]

There is a Puggle in my neighborhood that has "idiopathic head tremors". His head shakes from side to side for a while then stops.

It is not a seizure but rather a nerve condition. The owner told me a specialist thought it would go away at some point.

See what your vet thinks.

I am pretty sure it will be ok?

[Chukar12]

I haven't ever had issues with the dogs having seizures. However, in a number of trials I have had them initiate them in my person.

[kninebirddog]

I haven't ever had issues with the dogs having seizures. However, in a number of trials I have had them initiate them in my person.

LMAO...would that be the cattle dog or the evil twin

[birddogger]

I know of some with seizures....A few of the people I know that bought dogs to show with hers gets real bad seizures. and yes there are some field dogs that are known to have an occasional seizure. But it is not rampant in the breed

Couldn't that be said about any breed?

Charlie

[Francois P vd Walt]

I would like to get it right here, I am not fault finding. We don't have many britts in SA I really like the breed and was interested to help my friend, he imported the dog. I trial Gsp so he wanted some training advice, I visit this forum, and see many britt lovers that is why I asked the question.ALL BREEDS HAVE SOME ISSUES !

No one knows it all and advice or opinions are free, use it or don't. I do know people that work and love dogs will help if they can ....

[Onk]

I have never seen anything that says a Brit is anymore likely to have seizures than another breed. I think dogs are a lot like people, some are born with problems and health issues no matter the blood line or breeding. This might help.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neu ... tgodRFsPbA

[BigTub]

We picked up a "fully trained" (was not correct) Britt many years ago. Within a few days he had a seizure and I put a stop payment on the check. The dog had obviously been obused and I don't know if that was part of it. We went back to the kennel owner and he said it wasn't a big deal. He talked me into keeping the dog for a month to see what would happen. Lance did not have another seizure and we gave the guy another check a he was just going to put the dog down. Within two days he dad another seizure and after a few more "events," the vet put him on the little pink pills. He had no seizures for about 8 months, saving up all that time for one more grand mal seizure that lasted 20 minutes, after which we had to put the dog down following a trip the the ER. It was one of the worst events of my entire life. So yes we have had problems.

[Britguy1]

I have never been around a Brittany or ever heard of a Brittany having a seizure.

[BigShooter]

The Brit in my avatar had severe seisures although they were not treated and did not seem to affect his hunting. He was a heck of a hunter. My ex-brother-in-law accidently ran over him with a pickup, when Brit was about ten years old. His son had seizures as well so there's a pretty strong genetic link. That was a long time ago & my guess is Brit breeders have worked as hard at freeing their breed of defects as any of the breeders of the other popular gun dog breeds.

Another diagnosis that's not talked about a lot is Exercise-Induced Collapse (EIC). This inherited disease is common in Labrador Retrievers, but is also found in other breeds, including Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, German Wirehaired Pointers, Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Boykin Spaniels. The list of potential genetic defects in canines is at least as long as the list of the names of the gun dog breeds. Fortunately, it certainly appears there are a heck of a lot more "normal" dogs of every breed than dogs with severe defects.

[dougroch]

My father had a britt that was prone to seizures on long hunts that would leave her unable to walk for several hours afterwards. Vet said it was something to do with the dogs body having trouble converting to running off of body fat when her blood sugar got low after extended exercise or something like that, this first happened in 96 or 97 so my memory on the diagnosis has become foggy. A can of mighty dog spiked with some Karo syrup halfway thru the hunt was enough to prevent the seizures most of the time after the dogs first hunting season. We did end up destroying a number of vests over that dogs life when the dog would have a seizure miles from the truck and we would have to improvise some modifications to the game bags to allow them to hold a 40 lb britt for the hike back.