Blue Buffalo. or Taste of Wild? update on Bud

colliehauler wrote:
...Bud has not had anymore seizures so far but is having a balance problem when standing still. As long as he is walking it does not seem to be an issue. I talked to the vet and he cut the dose of Phenobarb in half for a few days to give him a chance to adjust.....

We will have a freeze before long and I will discontinue the heart worm prevention until next spring and go with a different brand for Bud. None of this will do any good if it turns out to be a brain tumor but at least I will have done all I can do.

Sounds like your vet is on top of things. Too much phenobarb makes them loose their balance. The goal is to have them on the 'lowest dosage' as possible with no break thru's of seizures.

There IS one more thing you can do!
IMHO knowing the facts that the ingredient Milbemycin oxim 'causes' seizures in collies I would NOT give him any more of that Sentinel product.

Ask your vet for another heart worm med that does not have the 'Milbemycin oxim' ingredient in it to finish up the year. There are many that do not have that ingredient in it.

If it were me I would wait a month or so after you stop heartworm meds and ask your vet to wean him off the phenobarb to see if the seizures come back. If they don't then you know it was the heartworm med and not a medical issue.

I don't know what the half life of the Milbemycin oxim ingredient in the Sentinel heartworm that causes the seizures is. You'd need to know that to know when it would be entirely out of his system before you try the test without the phenobarb.

I'd rather see my dog have one more seizure during that test period to prove he 'needed' to be on the phenobarb then give that drug for the rest of his life unnecessarily. When all you have to do is change heartworm meds. Just a thought.

Glad he's feeling better. Again I know how awful it feels to watch them during a seizure, I feel for you. Hope everything works out well for you and Bud.:C