Does anyone have a Golden Retriever with a seizure disorder?
This is not a problem that’s limited to Golden Retrievers, but can happen to any animals for a variety of reasons. I think there are 2 possible courses of action here. 1) Ask your vet to refer the dog to a neurologist to find out exactly what’s going on – this is expensive but decent insurance will cover it if your dog is already insured. 2) Start the animal on phenobarbitone to try and help prevent seizures, this is medication he’d have to be on for the rest of his life and would need regular blood tests to make sure you were giving enough. However, if those two aren’t options then all you can do is treat the seizures as they happen – with IV diazepam (valium) or rectal diazepam at home.
I, personally, don’t have a golden but my aunt had one with epilepsy and like your sisters, she was very prone to seizures when she got excited. Their dog was put on an anti-seizure medication by their vet but also had to be confined when they had parties or large groups of people over to prevent her from getting over excited. She was usually put in “her” room with toys and sometimes her sister (who was not epileptic) joined her. If you’re not happy with the current course of action, take the dog to a different vet. Getting a second opinion never hurts. I am not sure what medication Molly was on but it controlled her seizures pretty well. To answer your questions in humans epilepsy can be hereditary but there are several types of epilepsy so it’s hard to generalize I would assume it’s the same in dogs.
