Poor Little Dunkers

Duncan made it a whole 36 days between grand mal seizures this time. I think he had a partial seizure Thursday before I got home, although I'm not positive. I know for a fact, though, that he had a GM Thursday night. I swear he's deliberately starting to pick awkward spots where he could hurt himself - this time he was smashed up against the entertainment center and I had to work at keeping him from bashing his head into it.

Dr. Lapham and I talked a few days prior to the seizure and agreed that if he had another GM we'd add Keppra to his meds. So now he gets Phenobarbital twice a day and Keppra three times a day. Duncan had his first dose of Keppra Saturday morning and the side effects hit him hard and fast. When he walks, he looks drunk. He can't get two legs to go in the same direction without really paying attention. If anyone bumps him, he falls over. He's peeing and pooping on himself because he can't balance and keep all four legs out of the way. And my formerly bomb-proof dog now startles at almost anything. I know we're just at day three with this new combo but I really hope he can get past these side effects quickly. He's not a happy boy, and I really hate seeing him this way.

To add to the drama, Duncan started having a lot of trouble with his back end a couple of weeks ago. Lots of foot dragging and twisting, and standing/walking much too low on his hocks. I took him to see Dr. L and his theories are that its either long-term damage to the joints courtesy of the med-induced weight gain (my pony weighed in at 127lbs a week and a half ago - he should be 115lbs) or nerve damage that's too minor to spot with regular tests but significant enough to cause trouble. In other words, Dr. L has no idea. So we wait and see if anything changes, or if he gets bad enough that the folks at the vet school might be able to actually find the problem. Assuming I could afford to take him there, of course.

I was trying to get Duncan swimming once a week or so to help strengthen his back legs and lose some of the weight, but I guess that's on hold for a bit. Even though he wears a life jacket when he swims, I don't want him in water that's over his head while he's having so much trouble with his coordination. Lucky for us, we managed to get in a session this past week the day before his seizure. These pictures are from a few weeks ago (taken by James Tock) - he doesn't need the long leash anymore to show him where to go. For a pup who wouldn't get in water deeper than his belly unless I was swimming next to him, he sure does seem to enjoy splashing in the pool.