BEHAVIORAL-CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH SUSPECTED COMPLEX PARTIAL SEIZURESIN BULL TERRIERS

Objectives-To identify and treat a range of abnormal behavior, includi ng tail chasing, unprovoked aggression, and extreme irrational fear, i n Bull Terriers and to correlate the behavioral signs with electroence phalogram (EEG) or anatomic evidence of abnormal brain geometry or dea fness. Design-Prospective clinical study. Animals-8 affected and 5 una ffected (control) Bull Terriers. Procedure-All dogs were examined neur ologically, including use of EEG, brainstem auditory-evoked response, and computed tomography or postmortem examination of the brain. In add ition, plasma concentrations of zinc, copper, and iron, and the activi ty of zinc- and copper-dependent enzymes (alkaline phosphatase and cer uplasmin oxidase) were measured in affected and control dogs. Results- An abnormal EEG was found in 7 of 7 affected dogs and in none of the c ontrol dogs subjected to this examination. Seven of 8 affected dogs an d 2 of 3 controls had Various degrees of hydrocephalus. Metal ion and enzyme concentrations were not different between affected and control dogs. Treatment with phenobarbital was effective in 5 of 7 dogs. Clini cal Implications-Bull Terriers with compulsive tail chasing and extrem e affective disorders should be regarded as neurologically disturbed, with partial seizures perhaps underlying their behavior. Treatment wit h anticonvulsants is a logical first step in treatment.