Sensing a Dog's Seizures
Laura Kilmer wrote to me just before Christmas 2023. She has practiced animal communication for four years and graduated from a program to become a professional animal communicator in August 2023. She had a question she couldn’t find an answer for.
Is it possible for humans to sense/know that their dog (or any other being) will be having a seizure soon?
Laura:
My dog is four years old, and he started having seizures in July 2023. Since that time he has had four seizures, 7-9 weeks apart. The first one happened mid-morning, and the other three around 5-6 a.m., waking my husband and me up to take care of him as he was experiencing them.
The evening before his third seizure, I felt that something wasn't quite right with him. He wasn't acting any differently, but I sensed something different. Every evening until that day, I used to take his collar off at bedtime, but that night, as I was removing it, something made me stop and hook it back up, because the thought, “We might need the collar on,” ran through my head. At about 5 a.m. his seizure began. He ran between my nightstand and our bed and was hurting himself by thrashing against the bed frame. Since the collar was on, my husband could grab it and pull him out of there quickly, so he wouldn't hit anything while he continued paddling and thrashing around.
The latest seizure was at 6:10 a.m. However, at 2:10 a.m., I felt I was awakened by him having a seizure, and my husband and I took care of him as he experienced it. That event was far more than a dream; it felt like it happened. I got up to go to the bathroom and shake the feeling off, and after seeing Mikko (my dog) sound asleep in his bed, I went back to bed as well, telling myself that Mikko was fine, and he wasn't going to have a seizure. Four hours later he did. Although I was focused on helping him through it, I couldn't help the déjà vu feeling that this scene had just happened 4 hours earlier, but in a different reality.
I have read that some dogs can sense seizures in humans. It's believed that the dog smells some chemical change in the human just before they are about to have a seizure, not that they sensed it any other way. I have found no information about humans sensing seizures.
I asked my vet if he ever heard of anyone experiencing this with their dog. He hadn't, but he said he wouldn't discredit it either. He does know that some dogs can sense them, so it only stands to reason that other species, including humans, could too.
I was shaken by the latest experience of living through his seizure twice within 4 hours, and probably during different dimensions/realities.
Am I my dog's service human?
Penelope:
We all can sense energetic changes that precede events like seizures. Most people have covered up or ignored developing these finer-tuned senses.
You can sense what is going on with your dog. The cascade of energetic changes that lead to a seizure is palpable. With practice, other sensitive people could feel them also.
In the 1970s, I adopted a dog from the pound (county animal shelter) who had seizures a short time after she arrived. In communicating with her about her background, I traced the cause of the seizures to malnutrition and severe abuse from the man she had lived with. The vet would have given her drugs, which I refused, knowing their side effects and that they wouldn’t handle the cause. I counseled her to release past traumas and gave her good food and supplements, especially B vitamins, calcium, and magnesium.
I could feel when she was about to have a seizure by the change in her energy. Then her posture would stiffen, and her spine would curve. I perceived her motivation as a desire to get attention and control people. I would stop her in her tracks before the seizure could take hold by telling her what I got that she was thinking and firmly telling her that it was not okay to have a seizure. That was the last unhandled piece of the emotional elements behind the seizures, most of which had been cleared with counseling over a few months and understanding of what she had been through. I only had to give her the cease and desist order a few times, and soon she didn't have seizures anymore.
Each individual will be different. There are now many holistic avenues available to examine as possible treatment with an integrative veterinarian and modalities that can help and even heal.
Laura:
Thank you so much for responding; your answer has helped me a lot.
My vet is classifying my dog’s seizures as epilepsy. He is not recommending medication, as he knows I don't want to go that route, so for now we have changed my dog's diet to a keto/raw diet. He was on very high quality lightly cooked food, but it had carbohydrates. I am also treating him with CBD and essential oils. I am a Reiki Master, so I have given him a couple of healing sessions. I am very interested to learn what other healing modalities could help, and possibly even heal him.
I live in northwest Wisconsin, without holistic or integrative vets anywhere in my region. I am very open to learning whatever tools I can to help him, or even connect with a professional who could help from a distance. I am grateful that my vet is encouraging natural treatments vs medication, but I feel like there is much more that I can try that I don't know about yet.
I haven't had a communication session with Mikko yet, simply because professionals who I've listened to have said that it's hardest to connect to your own animal companions. I am planning to connect with him, though. Since I can tune into his upcoming seizures, then surely I can connect with him for a chat.
During my animal communication training, I allowed two other students to practice with Mikko at various times throughout their programs. Both gave me the same message that Mikko is here to be my teacher. I never really understood what they meant by that, but now I'm starting to wonder if his having seizures is the start of the lessons he's here to teach me. It will be interesting to see where this leads.
Penelope:
Here are some links that may help you in your search for holistic remedies and vets: American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association For a directory of holistic veterinarians http://www.ahvma.org
Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy http://www.theavh.org
Vets who trained under Dr. Richard Pitcairn in homeopathic care and other natural health care information http://www.drpitcairn.com
American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, Inc. http://www.animalchiropractic.org/
American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture http://www.AAVA.org
Holistic animal health care article archive and e-mail updates by Dr. Karen Becker https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/
Extensive digital library of learning resources for veterinary professionals and people with an interest in animal welfare https://vettechnicians.org/vetlibrary/
Laura:
Thank you so much for taking the time to get all of this information for me. You've given me so much to research to see what will work best for us and what is available in my area.
I've been thinking about your story with your rescue dog with seizures, and that you were able to feel when she was about to have one and stop her from having them. The two times I've sensed Mikko's seizures have been the evening before and about 4 hours before. His seizures usually happen very early in the morning. Is there any way that I will be able to stop this from happening since there is so much time between my knowing and the actual seizure? I also have no idea what his triggers could be.
I did have a communication session with Mikko today, and he said something about time being all the same, and that there is no separation. I didn't know what he was talking about, but maybe he was referring to that there is no time between when I sense them and when they happen. He also said that he's had them because he needed me to hurry up and realize I could tune into him. After all, we have things to do and I was taking too long to figure it out on my own. He doesn't know for sure if he'll have any more seizures, but as long as I continue to open up my abilities, he doesn't feel he'll have to have many more.
Thank you so much for spending time to help me with this.
Penelope:
Well done on communicating with Mikko about his condition. Besides listening to him and respecting and learning from his viewpoints, I recommend you do healing work with him (Reiki with hands-on or hands-off is great) when you get that he is going to have a seizure.
In your research on holistic modalities and veterinary professionals, you will find supplements and procedures, such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and shamanic healing practices that may help. Continue to communicate with Mikko and question him further about what may be behind the seizures, anything that happened before they started within or around him that may be relevant, and how he feels you can help him. Be sure to clarify with him anything he communicates that you don't understand rather than just trying to figure it out alone.
Have a deep and fruitful adventure in helping Mikko and yourself.
