Why isn't my 2-month-old calf's phenytoin medication working?

This is not normal and you should have a veterinarian (animal doctor) examine your calf. She may have brain damage from birth, or her mother was infected by a virus (BVD) which damaged her while she was developing. Your calf may also have a congenital heart defect where not enough oxygen is getting to her brain and makes her faint. Make sure the calf has no access to salt, as salt poisoning can also cause seizures.

Based on the history, a toxicity seems less likely and a primary disease of the brain more likely. If the seizures are not well controlled on phenobarbital it may be that she needs a higher dose. You should discuss phenobarbital levels with your veterinarian. If the levels are in therapeutic range, a second anticonvulsant such as levetiracitam should be considered. Furthermore, you may consider following up with a veterinary neurologist to discuss diagnostics including an MRI of the brain.

The phenobarbital level in her blood should be checked to make sure she gets enough of it daily. Other medicine can be tried (Potassium Bromide for example). I sure hope this input will help Stormy. Good luck.

In the vast majority of cases seizures are not curable. They can only be managed. Even with good management they will typically have a "breakthrough" seizure every once in a while. If the medication is not working well to control the seizures (ie: he is continueing to have too many) then speak to your vet. They may just need to adjust his dosage. We use that same medication to treat seizures all the time in the U.S. and it typically works very well but adjustment of the dosage is often needed especially right after you start the treatment.

Poor Tails. Understandibly you have been researching the possible causes of Tail's condition, however, as a lay person you need to be careful about what you read. Border collie collapse syndrome is a disease specifc to border collies, and Tails is a sheltie not a collie. Moreover, seizuring is very different to collapsing. If you know he is seizuring as opposed to collapsing then the most likely reason in his case is idiopathic epilepsy. It is common enough in Shelties and he is around the right age for normal onset. Seizuring can have a large oal on a dog and make their moid change afterwards and effect their muscles. I would give the phenobarbitol a chance to work, it does take a while to load in the system. If you have reason to believe that Tails is not actuallly seizuring but is collapsing I would discuss this with your vet as it is caused by different conditions entirely such as heart, lung or blood issues.

Poor guy. The treatment is ok; however, if we suspect any kind of liver involvement there are safer anti-seizure medications to consider here such as Zonisamide or Keppra. Although we would suspect the ALT to be elevated over the ALP in most liver problem dogs. You should certainly discuss these concerns with your vet. This may be why the liver supplement was prescribed, in case there is liver involvement. I would also consider getting an abdominal ultrasound done on him to evaluate his liver and adrenal glands. Both these organs can cause the elevated ALP, so we need to check if this is the underlying problem for sure or not. And ultimately seizures should be evaluted via MRI/CT scan; however, the cost of this limits most pet owners from having this done. Here is more information on seizures --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951440 I hope that Milo's seizures stabilize and that he does well moving forward. Take care.

Everyone is different and it can always changed based on clinical response. I actually do testing at 30 days as the drug takes some time to fully get in their system. I check a chemistry panel every 6 months and actually repeated the phenol level if there is a change in seizures occurring after that