Owner perception of the care of long-term phenobarbital-treated epileptic dogs

A study was undertaken to evaluate owners' perception of the effect that ep ilepsy and long-term phenobarbital therapy had on the quality of pet and ow ner lifestyle. Selected owners who participated in a prospective, longitudi nal clinical epilepsy study were sent a questionnaire at the end of the two -year study. Inclusion criteria were dogs with a history of seizures withou t previous medical attention or therapy by any veterinarian before enrolmen t, subsequent determination of seizure aetiology using a standardised diagn ostic protocol and treatment with phenobarbital for a minimum period of six months. A relatively equal distribution of the respondents' dogs had a det ermined (secondary, 47 per cent) or undetermined (primary, 53 per cent) sei zure aetiology, and the vast majority of owners agreed that they would choo se to treat their epileptic pet again rather than opt for other alternative s, Most owners disagreed that their pet was leading a poor quality of life after the start of phenobarbital therapy. A significant negative correlatio n existed between an owner's perception of the pet's quality of rife and th e amount of work required to care for the pet during the two-year study per iod, This study demonstrates that many owners are willing to care for epile ptic dogs on long-term phenobarbital treatment, regardless of the underlyin g cause.