Surrogate Tapping for Canine Seizure

A 10-pound rat terrier came to live with me about five years ago. She is now at least 13 years old. At the beginning I watched her have several seizures where she would wake up thrashing and unable to control her limbs. The vet prescribed phenobarbitol in a very small dosage. A couple of years ago, my intuition told me to stop giving her the medication. I did not see a seizure until last night. She was curled up in her bed and began thrashing. As soon as I realized what was going on, I began surrogate tapping for her. This means I tapped on myself as if I were the dog.

I tapped all the usual spots, especially the collarbone, inside eyebrows and top of head. She was able to stand fairly quickly and managed to get herself outside. I tapped for her consistently and stayed near her (even though I was standing outside in my nightgown, tapping my body and talking to her outloud!). The entire episode was at least half the length of time of any previous seizure.

She came back inside, curled up in her bed and slept through the night.

I am so grateful to have learned to tap since her last seizure.