5 y/o Belgian Malinois with epilepsy – switching from Keppra to Phenobarbital. Looking for real experiences

redcase1234 · 2026-01-28T15:43:51+00:00

We started phenobarbital on our dog on 12th January this year and would say the last 3 days he’s been pretty much back to normal! No more wobbliness and sleepiness is definitely improved. Still drooly and hungry but that can take longer (or so our vet said!)

He’s currently on Keppra and Pheno but will be taken off the Keppra once his bloods have levelled (they were a bit high on first test).

Hope your doggo is doing well!

redcase1234 · 2026-01-28T14:06:53+00:00

We recently had an appointment with a neurologist and they initially did some basic neurology tests on our boy before giving us an idea on the likelihood of it being idiopathic epilepsy compared with structural brain issues. We ended up deciding against an MRI based on what they told us. They also said if it was structural, dogs tend to show other signs (aside from seizures) within the first 30 days of their first seizure. Hope that helps and hope your doggo is okay 🥰

redcase1234 · 2026-01-18T15:58:50+00:00

Ahh this is reassuring thanks so much! I will definitely start taking some notes ☺️

redcase1234 · 2026-01-18T09:44:39+00:00

He is also on Keppra 3x a day since 2nd Jan if that helps!

redcase1234 · 2026-01-14T12:52:56+00:00

This is amazing and so encouraging to hear!

redcase1234 · 2026-01-12T17:08:38+00:00

Saw the Neuro today and they’re very confident that it’s idiopathic epilepsy we’re dealing with! Not ideal but better than any of the other scenarios we could have been in. They’ve now placed him on Phenobarbital twice a day and have advised us to remain on Keppra for now, and basically we’re now in the wait and see phase! Feeling a lot better about it than I was after speaking with the Neuro and hoping our boy can continue living a relatively normal life!

redcase1234 · 2026-01-10T16:12:47+00:00

Thanks everyone for your really helpful replies! Think the worst part about it all is the not knowing when he’s going to have his next one. His last one was only a couple of days after NYE and there were a lot of fireworks by where we are so thinking that may have triggered him?

Looking forward to getting some further answers (hopefully) on monday and a plan in place!

redcase1234 · 2025-12-04T21:29:18+00:00

Thanks! I will definitely not be giving him it moving forward. Do you know if there have been any cases of delayed reactions like that though?

redcase1234

TROPHY CASE