ArcaMax

Like other people bitten by bats, the man didn't know he'd been bitten while shooing bats from his house. If he wasn't aware of the bite, you know BarB won't alert you if a bat ever bites her.

So, keep her rabies vaccination current, even though she's always indoors.

Q: Our veterinarian diagnosed our dog Crew with epilepsy and prescribed medication, which has significantly decreased the frequency and severity of his seizures. About the only time Crew has a seizure is soon after someone visits our home. Is this unusual?

A: Many humans with epilepsy recognize that certain factors, most notably stress but also sleep deprivation, infectious disease and hormonal changes, can precipitate seizures.

The same is true in dogs, where epilepsy is the most common neurologic disorder.

In a recent study, veterinarians questioned families of 50 epileptic dogs about factors that precipitated their seizures. The researchers learned that lifestyle events and whether the dog was sterilized played a role.

Seizures occurred in 42% of females during their heat cycles and in 33% of unsterilized males exposed to a female dog in heat. So, it's important to sterilize any dog diagnosed with epilepsy.

Other factors that elicited seizures were visitors to the home (in 30% of dogs); a change in the dog's life situation (27%); changes in the daily routine, altered sleep patterns or going to an unfamiliar place (24%); hot weather (22%); stress or excitement (21%); fear (19%); and intense exercise or illness (16%).

Minimizing whatever precipitating factors affect the individual dog can help improve seizure control.

So, let your veterinarian know about Crew's increased seizure frequency when people visit. Your vet may prescribe an additional medication you can give Crew to decrease anxiety and seizures when visitors are expected.

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Lee Pickett, VMD, practices companion animal medicine in North Carolina. Contact her at https://askthevet.pet.

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