Strange behavior in our 9 y/o Boston

Question

First off i apoligize for the long post. Back in May i told you all about our 9 y/o Boston Terrier, Chubby who suffered a Grand Maul seizure. You would have to know his behavior prior to the seizure to think this is so strange. Trust me we are not complaining about his change, were just in awh of how a dog can change his behavior that much. Before the seizure Chubby was pretty much his own dog while very happy and healthy he just kind of minded his own business and didn't care what went on around him. He would just lay in his favorite bed and mind his own business. He didn't care to play with his brothers or sister at all. Well since the seizure happened he is done a complete 180 degree change in every part of his life. Now he has to be in the same room with us when were home and when i say the same room that includes the bathroom.:h When my wife and or i get home from work he is at the door and insists on kissing us hello. He now wants to romp and play with his brothers and sister however his most fun is now playing with our 6 month kitten. They adore one another, he wants to play fetch with me which he never ever done in his life prior to this. When i'm setting in my favorite chair he is now my 38lb lap dog which he has never done. It is like he has a new lease on life and is taking advantage of it. I know the seizure scared the******out of him as well as us but his new behavior just simply amazes me and the wife. Truthfully neither one of us know what to make out of it. Again we are not unhappy about this, we are just marveling at his new idenity.  Has anyone else ever noticed this kind of change in there fur kids after a frightful health scare or anything?

wyotraveler · Answer

Never thought much about it but now you mention the personality change our border collie seemed to want to follow me more and be closer after his first seizure. Sorry about the seizure. Keep an close eye out. Our border collie started out with just one seizure, then another and another. We dealt with it for over 8 years. They kept getting closer and closer and vet kept increasing meds. After 8 years he finally went into a seizure one evening and wasn't coming out of them. We got him to the vet by midnight and vet did everything she could but every time he woke up he went into another seizure. Tough night for all of us and we had to have him put down.The toughest decision I ever made. We love these animals so much and their lives are so short. I kept saying I'll never get another dog but we did. Very lonely in the house without a dog to tear things up.

dspencer · Answer

Oh i tell you we are watching his every move. I don't want to jinx it but he at this point has only had the one and it was 2 months ago this past Monday. At this point our vet has him on a watch program so it is a waiting game for sure. I know what you mean about loving them guys to death. I have lost a few in my days in fact 2 in the last 10 years and sometimes i wonder how i went through it. It about did the wife and i in for sure. There like our kids for sure.

dturm · Answer

I get reports of behavior change from clients pretty frequently. Most of the time I attribute it to the anti-seizure medication, but occasionally it's reported in individuals who I didn't put on medication.

There is so much about brain function that we just don't know. Is the behavior due to the traumatic event (like PTSD - dogs can suffer from this just like people) or due to changes in the brain due to the seizure????

Doug, DVM

dspencer · Answer

Thank You so much Dr. Doug for weighing in. He's actually not on any medication at this point as our vet said he doesn't like to put them on mediciation unless and until they start averaging 1-2 seizure's per month. At this point he has only had the one but the change in brain function does make sense actually since from everything i'm told a seizure is a brain related problem.

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Strange behavior in our 9 y/o Boston

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