Caring for a dog with epilepsy is a journey filled with love and dedication. While it comes with its challenges, it's also an opportunity for deep connection and resilience. A recent study conducted in England shed light on the emotional journey of dog owners, who often find themselves navigating fear, stress, and uncertainty regarding their pet's health. In this article, we explore the profound bond between owners and their dogs, delving into the relationship between our own stress and canine epilepsy, offering guidance on how to nurture a positive environment for both you and your dog.
The Relationship between Stress and Seizures
Epilepsy is a common condition in dogs, requiring ongoing care and support from their human companions. A recent study by Packer et al. (2017) revealed a fascinating interplay between stress and epilepsy in dogs. Stressful situations can trigger seizure activity, while the seizures themselves become stressors for both dogs and their owners. This creates a cycle where stress and seizures feed into each other, highlighting the importance of managing stress for both you and your dog.
Impact of Dog Seizures on Dog’s Stress Levels
It's important to recognise that seizures are not only physically challenging for dogs but can also cause emotional distress. During a seizure, dogs experience a surge in cortisol levels—a natural response to stress. Cortisol, often called the 'stress hormone,' helps regulate various bodily functions. Packer’s study found a significant increase in cortisol levels in dogs following a seizure. However, it's reassuring to know that other studies have found that the salivary cortisol level decreases over time and returns to baseline around 40 minutes later.
Impact of Dog Seizures on Owner’s Stress Levels
Witnessing your beloved pet experience a seizure can be a distressing experience for any owner. According to Packer’s findings, owners of dogs with epilepsy also experience a spike in cortisol levels post-seizure. This stress response is particularly notable in owners with higher scores of anxiety and overthinking. This is completely understandable; it can be heartbreaking to watch your dog in distress, and any epileptic pet parents knows how challenging it can be. The important thing is to be compassionate with yourself and find healthy ways to manage your feelings.
You and Your Dog: A Strong, Empathetic Bond
A heartwarming study by Sundman et al. shed light on the beautiful bond between owners and their beloved dogs. Working with 58 dog-human pairs, the study revealed how owner personality traits such as conscientiousness, anxiety, concern, and openness significantly influenced their dog’s personality traits and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), which serve as markers of long-term stress in both humans and animals. Interestingly, while the dogs' personalities had minimal effect on their HCC, the anxious tendencies of their owners directly impacted their canine companions, leading to a mirrored stress response in the pets.
The study unveiled a heartening correlation between the long-term stress levels of humans and their dogs, showing just how incredibly caring and empathetic dogs are to their owners. This heartwarming discovery underscores the profound bond between humans and their canine companions.
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What You Can Do To Help Yourself (and Your Dog)
Living with a dog with epilepsy can feel like navigating a rollercoaster ride of emotions. But let's face it, telling someone "Don't Stress!" or "Stop Worrying!" is about as effective as teaching a cat to fetch—it's just not happening. Instead, let's focus on practical steps you can take to manage stress around owning a dog with epilepsy to enhance the quality of life for both you and your dog.
1. Don’t Blame Yourself
One of the most important things to remember is not to blame yourself. It’s already challenging enough to see your dog go through this without piling on extra guilt. Idiopathic epilepsy, by definition, means there is no known cause triggering the seizures. Often, there isn’t anything specific that causes the seizures—they just happen.
Care regimes, including medications and ketogenic diets, work to change the brain chemistry of the dog to build up the defences and try and give them the best chance of being seizure resilient, but there is no actual cure for epilepsy.
Most owners of dogs with epilepsy are incredibly dedicated and want nothing more than to do the absolute best for their dogs. By seeking information, finding support, and providing love and care, you're already doing so much. Seizures happen: be just as kind to yourself as you are to your wonderful epi dog.
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2. Stop Guessing, Start Educating
Educate yourself about canine epilepsy. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to handle seizures when they occur. Knowledge empowers you to make informed decisions about your dog’s care and reduces the fear of the unknown. There is so much misinformation on the internet and conflicting information, some of which comes from well-intentioned but misinformed owners and vets, others from companies trying to monetise this horrible disease.
That is why one of our biggest missions at Dogileptic is to help inform epi dog owners with the scientific research. We carefully distill research papers (over 487 to date) into easy-to-read blogs ranging covering the whole spectrum of canine epilepsy, and we add to this library of information each week. If we have not covered a topic or if you ever have any questions or feel confused, please feel free to request it via email at hello@dogileptic.com or through one of our WhatsApp groups.
3. Feel in Control
Once you have educated yourself about canine epilepsy, building a robust routine can significantly support your dog's brain health. Routine plays a critical role in managing seizures, providing stability and predictability that can help reduce the frequency and severity of episodes. Research in humans with epilepsy has shown that feeling in control of seizures actually helps reduce their occurrence. This sense of control over their condition leads to improved psychological well-being and a greater quality of life.
The same principles can apply to managing your dog's epilepsy. By establishing a consistent daily routine that implements scientifically backed holistic care interventions, you can help minimise potential seizure triggers and create a calm environment for your dog. Feeling in control of your dog's epilepsy management will make you more confident and relaxed, which can positively impact your dog. The stability and routine you provide can help create a sense of security for both of you, making it easier to navigate the challenges of canine epilepsy together.
4. Apply Rational Thinking
While being attentive and proactive in managing your dog's epilepsy is crucial, it's equally important to try your very best to accept your and your dog’s circumstances. Constantly worrying and trying to pinpoint the cause of every seizure can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Instead, focus on identifying patterns rather than single incidents.
For example, if your dog has eaten chicken many times without issues and then suddenly has a seizure after eating chicken, it's unlikely the chicken is the trigger. Jumping to conclusions based on isolated events can lead to red herrings, which can misguide you and increase your anxiety.
It's great to be an attentive epi dog owner and think about potential triggers, but this needs to be done with moderation and rational thinking. Look for consistent patterns over time and keep a seizure diary noting the circumstances around each seizure, such as the time of day, activities, diet, and changes in routine. This can help identify genuine triggers and avoid unnecessary worry about one-off events.
Applying rational thinking means you're approaching the situation in a way that's sustainable and healthy for both you and your pet.
5. Find Comfort in Community
Canine Epilepsy can be a really isolating experience. In their study, Pergande et al. concluded that friends, family and colleagues did not always understand the magnitude of commitment required to care for a dog with idiopathic epilepsy. The fear of leaving their dog unsupervised, also had social implications on the owners.
Joining the Dogileptic Community through our WhatsApp Groups with other dog owners dealing with epilepsy isn't just about finding practical tips—it's about finding a place where you're truly heard and understood by a supportive group of other epi dog owners dealing with the same challenges of canine epilepsy.
Dogileptic offers a space to share your experiences, fears, and uncertainties without judgment, knowing that others have walked—or are currently walking—the same path. It's about finding solidarity in shared struggles and comfort in knowing you're not alone. So, don't hesitate to lean on us for support—we're all here to help you navigate the ups and downs of epilepsy management with empathy and understanding.
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6. Don’t Let Canine Epilepsy Define Your Dog (or Your Life)
Remember, your dog is much more than their condition. Focus on the joy and companionship they bring into your life. Celebrate the good days and don’t let the seizures overshadow the bond you share. Enjoy your dog living their best life, whether that be sniffing around on walks, eating their favourite snack, cuddling up with you on the sofa, or seeing their doggy best friend.
Some members of our community even go above and beyond the realm of normal doggy activity. We have members who are agility dogs, competing in complex obstacle courses and challenging mazes. We have working dogs, helping their owners herd animals on the farm. We have retrievers and hunting dogs, flushing out birds and carefully bringing them home to mom and dad. We even have an incredible member that is a search and rescue dog who finds and retrieves stranded human beings when there is extreme flooding!
7. Get Back to Being Man and Man’s Best Friend
Engage in activities that strengthen your bond with your dog. Whether it's a walk in the park, playtime, or simply cuddling on the couch, these moments of connection can reduce stress for both you and your dog. Studies have shown that dogs lower our stress levels and help with feelings of loneliness. One study even showed that dog ownership is linked to a 24% reduced risk of dying from anything (all-cause mortality).
Dogs keep us healthy—they keep us active, reduce our chances of heart attack and stroke, and force us to be outdoors in nature. They even trigger a cascade of “happy” chemicals in our bodies that make us feel safe, supported, and connected.
So, Can Owner Stress Cause Seizures in Dogs?
So, can owner stress cause seizures in dogs? The better way to phrase that question is to think about how doing a bit of self care and de-stressing can help both you and your dog as you continue to enjoy each other's company. The stress experienced by both dogs with epilepsy and their owners is significant, but it is manageable. By educating yourself, developing a seizure management plan, and seeking support, you can create a healthier and less stressful environment for both you and your dog. Don’t let epilepsy define your life—focus on the love and companionship you share with your incredible dog.
References:
Packer, R. M. A., H. A. Volk, and R. C. Fowkes. "Physiological reactivity to spontaneously occurring seizure activity in dogs with epilepsy and their carers." *Physiology & Behavior* 177 (2017): 27-33.
Sundman, Ann-Sofie, et al. "Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners." *Scientific reports* 9.1 (2019): 1-7.
Pergande, A.E., Belshaw, Z., Volk, H.A. *et al.* “We have a ticking time bomb”: a qualitative exploration of the impact of canine epilepsy on dog owners living in England. *BMC Vet Res* **16**, 443 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-02669-w
Packer, Rowena MA, Sarah L. Hobbs, and Emily J. Blackwell. "Behavioral interventions as an adjunctive treatment for canine epilepsy: a missing part of the epilepsy management toolkit?." *Frontiers in veterinary science* 6 (2019): 3.
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