3 Tips to help your Epi dog.
Today I’m discussing three ways that you can help support your dog with epilepsy. As you all know having a dog with epilepsy takes more work, more thought, more advocating, and more working with your veterinarian to ensure your dog gets everything they need. The first way that you can help your dog with epilepsy is compliance. When you leave that veterinarian's office, compliance means you follow the treatment protocol that has been given to you for your dog. It means making sure that any prescription medications that have been prescribed for your dog with epilepsy are given on time. If you have different medications that your dog needs to take throughout the day, you know the medication schedule. You also know the correct dosage to make sure your dog is getting the proper amount prescribed. Compliance is ensuring all directions are being followed that are a part of your dog’s treatment plan.
The second way that you can help your epi dog is by advocating for them. Many of us who've been doing this now for awhile have learned along the way that we are our dog’s voice. We need to make sure that we're asking for what they need. If you feel like your current veterinarian is not listening to you or is not hearing your concerns you need to find a new veterinarian that will listen to you and take the time to answer your questions. The teamwork between you and your veterinarian is so important. I've been lucky. I've worked with different veterinarians that have always listened to me and have always been willing to work with me regarding my concerns or answer any of my questions. If you don’t understand something you need to feel comfortable asking questions as well as get comfortable making a request for your dog, such as a particular lab test or requesting a prescription for rescue meds for your dog. Get comfortable being the person who is going to ask the questions and want more information. Get used to making requests for things that you know will benefit your dog. That's okay. The more information you have the better you're going to be at advocating for your dog.
The third way that you can help your dog with epilepsy is clear and correct record keeping of seizures. Your veterinarian needs your help in keeping accurate data, which will help inform your vet when they are deciding on the right treatment plan for your dog. Information you can collect in your seizure journal is date, time, duration (how long did the seizure last), and any other information about each seizure episode. You should also note if any additional or emergency meds are given. Record keeping also involves being organized and our epi dogs come with lots of extra medical papers vet visits and treatments. Make sure that you have an organized way that you are keeping all of your epi dog's medical records such as in a binder. This way you can find their medical information quickly. If you would like to download a free seizure journal click here.
I hope this information was helpful. Just know that if you're here and learning with me this is definitely a journey to have a dog with epilepsy. There's so much to know and there's so much to do so just start putting these tips in place to ensure the best outcome for your dog’s health. Thank you for learning with me as I continue to learn with Ruby!