My dog had a seizure last night. Second time in a few months.

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - My dog had a seizure last night. Second time in a few months. (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 4/28/2014 1:57:29 AM EST

I woke up in the middle of the night and she was convulsing a bit so I knew she was having another seizure. Her rear legs stop working and she slowly pants so all I can do is lay her down and hold her to keep her from trying to run around flopping into stuff. After a few minutes she calms down and goes back to normal.

This is the second time in maybe 6 months this has happened (that I know of) and she's otherwise healthy. Probably hereditary and I guess it's somewhat common in this breed (Italian Greyhound). I did some research on the subject and usually it's difficult to find out the cause so I don't really want to spend the money on tests that come up inconclusive. If they become more frequent I'll talk to the vet.

Just curious if anybody has a dog that has seizure once in a while and what you did about it.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:02:49 AM EST

[#1]

I'd bring her to the vet anyways. They'll most likely prescribe her medication to prevent the seizures.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:07:07 AM EST

[#2]

most idiopathic seizures are caused by food issues. ( get a vet check up and a clean bill of health) then get a clean food with only natural preservatives.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:08:01 AM EST

[#3]

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Quoted:
I'd bring her to the vet anyways. They'll most likely prescribe her medication to prevent the seizures.

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My in laws have a dog that has one about 2x a week. First time I saw it, it really bothered me. Now all you can do is hold him and wait until it passes. The pills did nothing for him.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:09:55 AM EST

[#4]

My last dog had seizures.
Vet had him on meds.
Worst part of the seizures is having to watch and unable to help him.
Just keep him clear of stuff to bump into.
I was bitten a few times when he came out of it and I was holding or cradling him.
Husky Shepard mix said it was hereditary but ended up a brain tumor.
We adopted him less then a hour away from the needle and gave him 6 years of love and joy.
Stanley was a good dog.
Take your dog to the vet. I believe it was a blood draw that confirmed the need for meds.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:11:41 AM EST

[#5]

Most Vets will just send you home. They generally won't do meds unless they are having them quite often.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:15:28 AM EST

[#6]

Quoted:
I woke up in the middle of the night and she was convulsing a bit so I knew she was having another seizure. Her rear legs stop working and she slowly pants so all I can do is lay her down and hold her to keep her from trying to run around flopping into stuff. After a few minutes she calms down and goes back to normal.

This is the second time in maybe 6 months this has happened (that I know of) and she's otherwise healthy. Probably hereditary and I guess it's somewhat common in this breed (Italian Greyhound). I did some research on the subject and usually it's difficult to find out the cause so I don't really want to spend the money on tests that come up inconclusive. If they become more frequent I'll talk to the vet.

Just curious if anybody has a dog that has seizure once in a while and what you did about it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/wav3form/WP_20130129_006.jpg~original

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Dude take your dog to the fucking vet.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:22:56 AM EST

[#7]

Been thru this with two of my goldens. We tried most of the natural remedies with no luck. Phenobarbitol from the vet worked very well. They will give you a starting dose based on the dogs weight, and you really want to be giving the minimum amount. IIRC pheno. can cause liver damage, we never had that happen. You will end up cutting the pills into fractional doses most likely.
The seizures themselves are really not harming the dog, but are a sign of some neurological issue. If the dog is having seizures less than once a month, I would probably not go the phenobarbitol route.

ETA I don't remember a blood test that identified the cause of seizures, but they did do blood draws about every 4 months looking for some sign of liver damage from the Pheno. The cost was pretty minimal, and the pheno was cheap.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:30:13 AM EST

[#8]

Had a boxer that had this issue. Vet gave us some meds for it and it seemed to help. The pup lived for almost 12 years (pretty old for a boxer) but would freak out about once a month.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:31:42 AM EST

[#9]

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Quoted:

Dude take your dog to the fucking vet.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
I woke up in the middle of the night and she was convulsing a bit so I knew she was having another seizure. Her rear legs stop working and she slowly pants so all I can do is lay her down and hold her to keep her from trying to run around flopping into stuff. After a few minutes she calms down and goes back to normal.

This is the second time in maybe 6 months this has happened (that I know of) and she's otherwise healthy. Probably hereditary and I guess it's somewhat common in this breed (Italian Greyhound). I did some research on the subject and usually it's difficult to find out the cause so I don't really want to spend the money on tests that come up inconclusive. If they become more frequent I'll talk to the vet.

Just curious if anybody has a dog that has seizure once in a while and what you did about it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/wav3form/WP_20130129_006.jpg~original

Dude take your dog to the fucking vet.

Calm down hero, this isn't a life or death situation. This dog is spoiled rotten and goes to the vet regularly.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:36:33 AM EST

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
Been thru this with two of my goldens. We tried most of the natural remedies with no luck. Phenobarbitol from the vet worked very well. They will give you a starting dose based on the dogs weight, and you really want to be giving the minimum amount. IIRC pheno. can cause liver damage, we never had that happen. You will end up cutting the pills into fractional doses most likely.
The seizures themselves are really not harming the dog, but are a sign of some neurological issue. If the dog is having seizures less than once a month, I would probably not go the phenobarbitol route.

ETA I don't remember a blood test that identified the cause of seizures, but they did do blood draws about every 4 months looking for some sign of liver damage from the Pheno. The cost was pretty minimal, and the pheno was cheap.

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Thanks, I'll drop by the vet this week and see what they say. I feed a natural food with minimal grain content but she might need supplements or maybe has low blood sugar? I'll have to get some blood work done to rule things out.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:47:22 AM EST

[#11]

had 3 goldens that did that and the worst was when all three did had them together

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:50:12 AM EST

[#12]

Not a big issue yet. I would get her checked out though.

In response to above post: Idiopathic epilepsy is most likely - you didn't mention an age though.

Foods can cause seizures - it's possible but not very probable...

I would not medicate unless:
1. Happening more than every 2 months.
2. Becoming more severe in nature.
3. Clustering - having more than one in a day (Even if a few months apart)

Start a seizure calendar to make note on when they happen and how long / severe they are.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:56:30 AM EST

[#13]

I fed my boxer Blue Buffalo because PetSmart told me it was the best. At 7 years she started having seizures and other problems, which killed her within a couple months.

Do I know that the Blue Buffalo dog food caused it? Of course not. But it is a known issue, experienced by LOTS of people. I'm confident saying that this could be a food issue for you.

The best advice I got was to start the pup on a brand new diet of foods she'd never had before. In this case it was deer meat and potatoes. Would that have worked? I don't know. I do know I tried everything to fix that little pup.

Good luck with this! Good looking dag you've got there.

Posted: 4/28/2014 2:59:05 AM EST

[#14]

I've had 2 dogs that had seizures.

First, talk to the vet.

Both dogs did well on phenobarbital. The vet also gave me valium to administer after a seizure.

Once a dog has a seizure it's easier to have a second one. The valium helps prevent a series of seizures, which is dangerous.

After a while I could recognize the signs of an impending seizure and could give the dog valium to prevent it.

One dog had seizures for the rest of her life and developed phenobarbital toxicity.

We put her on potassium bromide after that and it worked pretty well.

The other dog was seizure free for a year or two and we slowly weaned her off the phenobarbital.

She was fine after that.

If you do start on phenobarbital and your dog is seizure free for a long time, do not stop it suddenly.

That can cause life threatening seizures. Phenobarbital needs to be reduced gradually over many weeks.

Good luck, I hope all this works out for you and the dog.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:00:25 AM EST

[#15]

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had 3 goldens that did that and the worst was when all three did had them together

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One at a time was plenty for me, three at once!

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:05:08 AM EST

[#16]

Wow Doc G before me got it. Age and frequency are a huge factor.

My 11 year old Cattle dog started having them out of nowhere a couple months ago. She walked out into the middle of my room while me and the lady where watching TV and just fell over into a seizure. Took her to the vet where she had another 3 hours later, and another 3 after that. That's a bad sign

So far it's under control, but from everything I've been told they will eventually break through the meds. At her age I was told its about 90% that it's a brain tumor. I would drop the 3k in a heartbeat on an MRI and consider surgery if it wasn't for her age, recovery, and quality of life. Right now she's on Pheno and Keppra.

I only mention all that to give you an idea of what bad is. I was told and found in research that less than 1 per month is not that bad, and you shouldn't panic. If the doc thinks it's best to go with meds then just be prepared for a rough week or two spending a ton of time with them adjusting to them. Your pup could easily just have seizures that you need to pay attention to and nothing more!

She's doing great now but it was scary for a while!

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:05:35 AM EST

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:

I fed my boxer Blue Buffalo because PetSmart told me it was the best. At 7 years she started having seizures and other problems, which killed her within a couple months.

Do I know that the Blue Buffalo dog food caused it? Of course not. But it is a known issue, experienced by LOTS of people. I'm confident saying that this could be a food issue for you.

The best advice I got was to start the pup on a brand new diet of foods she'd never had before. In this case it was deer meat and potatoes. Would that have worked? I don't know. I do know I tried everything to fix that little pup.

Good luck with this! Good looking dag you've got there.

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I've got them on some duck and potato natural food from Natural Balance and they seem to really like it. (I have two of these little iggys.) I'll just see what the vet says, otherwise it's just speculation on my part. Thanks for sharing your story.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:09:06 AM EST

[#18]

Our chihuahua mix has seizures and is currently on 15mg of phenobarb twice a day to control them.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:14:10 AM EST

[#19]

Do you give your dog flee baths?
Is she on Rimadyl?

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:22:03 AM EST

[#20]

Our last rat terrier had them. Did all the tests. Not much we could do, really.

From what I found out through my research it was hereditary or not surprising for rat terriers. Each seizure makes it easier for the next one. Noises/crying/yelling or a lot of touching adds the severity of the attack. Our dog would come out of it barking and snapping, but would get all sheepish when he was himself again and realized who we were and that he was yelling at us.

The seizures got closer and closer together, and more debilitating. We eventually reached the point of making The Appointment with the vet. We didn't want to let him suffer any longer than necessary. Our last few hours were good, but then he started having seizures about 30 minutes apart, over and over and over. We went to the vet earlier than our appointment.

Alex was the best dog I've ever had, and he was always on guard and had my back whenever we left the house.

Our current rat terrier has two lumps we have to get removed in the next week or two. He, too, is a very good dog. He's even killed a couple of rabbits.

Best o' luck to you and your pooch, OP.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:28:46 AM EST

[#21]

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Quoted:
Our chihuahua mix has seizures and is currently on 15mg of phenobarb twice a day to control them.

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We have a Chihuahua that's been on phenobarbital (same dose) for about 9 yrs now. If your vet recommends it you should start the phenobarb treatment. Chances are you're not going to find a food that is causing or not causing the seizures, if that's even the issue. In my chihuahua's case he was diagnosed with hypersialosis which triggers seizures. So, just because some armchair vet on here tells you it's food doesn't mean that they have all the answers. Listen to the professional (your vet) and take his/her advice.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:32:33 AM EST

[#22]

Take to vet, get on seizure meds (b4 I was the police, I was a vet tech during college)

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:33:24 AM EST

[#23]

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Quoted:
Do you give your dog flee baths?
Is she on Rimadyl?

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Nope they're not on any medication and I don't give them flea stuff unless they need it.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:35:13 AM EST

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
Take to vet, get on seizure meds (b4 I was the police, I was a vet tech during college)

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You think they'd prescribe meds even with the infrequent seizures?

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:48:56 AM EST

[#25]

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Quoted:

You think they'd prescribe meds even with the infrequent seizures?

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Quoted:
Take to vet, get on seizure meds (b4 I was the police, I was a vet tech during college)

You think they'd prescribe meds even with the infrequent seizures?

I would assume you're not with your dog 24/7. She could be having unwitnessed seizures, so they might not be as infrequent as you think.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:56:32 AM EST

[#26]

Go to your vet, get phenobarbs, fuck all the talk about natural foods.

Posted: 4/28/2014 3:59:06 AM EST

[#27]

Take her to vet. Hopefully, they can help. Best wishes for your pup.

Posted: 4/28/2014 4:01:28 AM EST

[#28]

We have a small Cocker Spaniel that we had to get on doggie downers for a while. We slowly weaned her off of them a few months later with no further problems. hth

Posted: 4/28/2014 4:03:12 AM EST

[#29]

I had a golden retriever sheltie mix that had seizures from when she was a couple years old until she made it to 16 years old. Vet had her on phenobarbital iirc.

Posted: 4/28/2014 4:27:30 AM EST

[#30]

Infrequent seizures are only very rarely life-threatening, and then only if grand mal type with loss of bowel and bladder control, etc.
The available meds are rather toxic, so are unlikely to be prescribed unless the seizures are frequent and/or grand mal.

One trick not yet mentioned is aborting or shortening the seizure by rubbing Karo syrup into the dog's mouth. My cattle dog (see avatar) would get sort of glassy-eyed and had a stiff-legged gait as the seizures would come on. Quick work with getting some Karo into his mouth would stop some of them before they got bad. Naturally, there's a risk of getting bitten, but what are you gonna do?

Posted: 4/28/2014 4:54:40 AM EST

[#31]

Quote History

Quoted:
had 3 goldens that did that and the worst was when all three did had them together

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I swear ours used to get seizures on a full moon only. Vet said it was not uncommon .
I would have to medicate my old lady if our dags all had a seizure at once

Gunner and Maggie sez OPs dag will be fine.

Posted: 4/28/2014 5:07:27 AM EST

[#32]

My dog has epilepsy, he had grand mal seizures and they clustered together multiple times in one day. It took a couple of months trips to the vet and neurologist and a lot of money. He is now on a $400 a month cocktail of drugs.
He still has seizures, but they are spread out and not as severe as they used to be. The worst thing is not being able to help when they are seizing. I have liquid valium that my guy gets when I catch him having a grand mal. It seems to bring him out of the seizure quicker than if I don't give it to him.

Its hard to put a price on you best friend. What DrG recommended is exactly what I did. Good luck with you your buddy.

Posted: 4/28/2014 7:54:03 AM EST

[#33]

my dag is epileptic. He is on 2 meds - potassium bromide and gabapentin. Apparently, these meds kinda disrupt the nerves that trigger the seizures. Until they got his dose right, the meds made him act like his hind end had fallen asleep, cutting off the nerves a little too much. But now that he's set on levels, he rarely has seizures.

The only time we see it happen now is when a big storm front comes through and barometric pressure changes dramatically. Otherwise he's good. He's healthy and happy, although prematurely gray from the illness, and maybe just a tad "special" - he acts like a puppy still, even at 6. I just hope it doesn't shorten his life too much.

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Posted: 4/28/2014 8:06:49 AM EST

[#34]

Anticonvulsant meds are generally not started unless the dog is having more than one seizure a month. The reason is that these drugs have their own set of side effects. The prognosis of the dog depends on the age of the dog when they start. Generally younger dogs have epilepsy older ones are more likely to be something bad like cancer. I have never seen any report of a dog food causing seizures so I doubt that's the problem.

Posted: 4/28/2014 8:09:40 AM EST

[#35]

My italian greyhound had a seizure about a month ago too. Vet said she probably over heated. It was while she was sleeping and she buries herself in bed with blankets and whoever she is sleeping next to.

Posted: 4/28/2014 8:10:34 AM EST

[#36]

My rescue had the same issues when we got him.

Switched to grain-free dog food and never had an issue.

Posted: 4/28/2014 8:17:51 AM EST

[#37]

My 16 year old boxer started having them about once a month towards the end, she seemed to lose some mental function with each one.

Posted: 4/28/2014 8:28:00 AM EST

[#38]

My vet told me if they are not lasting a long time, have them very often or are in danger they should be fine. The meds are big$$ and can really whack them out. I don't want that.

My current female GSD mix has in 9 years had 3 of them I know of. She falls over and just quivers, she looks around and is unsteady and doesn't know where she is and really salivates I mean like a faucet. I just hold her and talk to her and in around 10 minutes she is fine. Sleeps alot the rest of the day. Thank God my wife has never seen her do this. She would need meds!

Posted: 4/28/2014 8:51:04 AM EST

[#39]

Get her checked out - but I had a dog who had them several times. He seemed to outgrow them.

Posted: 4/28/2014 8:58:35 AM EST

[#40]

We have a JRT that had quite a few mild ones but then had a big one.

We started him on phenobarbital two months ago and so far he is 100% seizure free.

No noticeable side effects other than a little weight gain.

The phenobarbital has been a god send for us and I highly recommend it.

ETA- Meds cost us $20/mo, taken every 12hrs.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:05:29 AM EST

[#41]

I started giving my dog some salmon and fish with high fat.

Hes been fine for the past 6 months knock on wood.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:06:22 AM EST

[#42]

Quoted:
I woke up in the middle of the night and she was convulsing a bit so I knew she was having another seizure. Her rear legs stop working and she slowly pants so all I can do is lay her down and hold her to keep her from trying to run around flopping into stuff. After a few minutes she calms down and goes back to normal.

This is the second time in maybe 6 months this has happened (that I know of) and she's otherwise healthy. Probably hereditary and I guess it's somewhat common in this breed (Italian Greyhound). I did some research on the subject and usually it's difficult to find out the cause so I don't really want to spend the money on tests that come up inconclusive. If they become more frequent I'll talk to the vet.

Just curious if anybody has a dog that has seizure once in a while and what you did about it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/wav3form/WP_20130129_006.jpg~original

View Quote

My schnauzer has them. Started when he was about 1.5. Took him to vet and they ran a blood panel ($100) and it showed nothing. Vet said only other option was to send him off for testing at a state university but it would cost around $1,000. I opted out of that choice. Vet said if it was her dog she would just monitor and as long as he didn't start having them every week, he would probably be ok having them. Also cautioned that they shouldn't last longer than 5 minutes or so total. Long drawn out seizures can kill them. Vet also said that the med to prevent them could shorten his life so it should be a last ditch thing. He averages about one a month. Sometimes goes a couple months.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:10:15 AM EST

[#43]

My golden had a pretty bad one once and it was terrifying to see. Took him to the vet, vet said it wasn't an issue unless they happened more frequently than every few months (I think he said 4 month?). He had a second one a few weeks later an the vet gave us phenobarbital to give him. He took it for about a year, didn't have another seizure, and was tapered off of the meds. That was three or four years ago and he hasn't had another since then, thankfully.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:18:05 AM EST

[#44]

Had a sheltie that had occasional seizures. After we moved, she never had another. Only thing that changed for her was going from shitty low pressure (lots of leaks) community well water to our own water well. That might be an easy and inexpensive change to your dogs diet that has not been considered. There are no open ditches around your property that your dog might be getting in are there?

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:30:11 AM EST

[#45]

My rescue lab was two when I got him. A couple months later he had a seizure which freaked me out. I was living alone so that might have just been the first one I saw. I figured that was why the surrendered him.

Took him to two vets and paid for a bunch of tests with no results.

He'd start to bump into things and stagger. Once he was down his eyes would be huge, start drooling and shedding like crazy. This lasted fifteen or twenty minutes then he'd be fine. The seizures were weeks to months apart.

I changed from Purina to Blue Buffalo but it didn't help.

After eight years I lost him to prostate cancer a little over a year ago.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:30:14 AM EST

[#46]

When I was a kid our family dog had 2 or 3 seizures that I witnessed, I didn't have any idea what they were, she was down on the ground jerking uncontrollably, peeing and pooping, scared me badly. I told my parents, they told me later the vet had checked her out and she had a heart attack if I remember correctly, they could have just said she had an attack.

As an adult I was going through training which included first aid, and they talked about seizures, and I realized after all these years that the dog had a seizure, I have no idea what might have caused it, and there wasn't any medicine given, so I really doubt my parents took her to the vet. First time I ever saw a human have a seizure I wasn't scared because I knew what was happening.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:40:23 AM EST

[#47]

Had a favorite female retriever mix that had a bad seizure....Vet put her on meds that basically made her shuffle around (no spirit ,no exuberance) a good friend that was in college to become a Vat. told us to get he fixed. We did, never another seizure until she passed on years later.

Posted: 4/28/2014 9:43:47 AM EST

[#48]

My last dog had a seizure that scared the hell out of us. She lived another 8 years afterwards dying at the ripe old age of 17.

The doctors did a liver work up on her and she was fine. They offered medication but the side effects were that the dog wouldn't have the drive/energy as before. Since it was only one seizure we let it go.

All the best.

Posted: 4/28/2014 10:38:58 AM EST

[#49]

Get to the vet. Back in Jan/Feb my 15-yr-old schnauzer started having them. Would sprawl flat on the floor and SCREAM. Then come out of it and was fine for a day, then repeat. Vet visit was exactly what I thought... worst news. No recovery for her. No quality of life. I had to put her down.

Posted: 4/28/2014 10:53:20 AM EST

[#50]

take her to the vet, could be heart trouble. My lab had a heart issue, slow heart rate actually, ended up with a pacemaker and lived to be 12 years old

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - My dog had a seizure last night. Second time in a few months. (Page 1 of 2)

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