What should I do if my dog starts having what looks like a seizure?

• Stay calm. If your dog is near something that could hurt him, like a piece of furniture or the stairs, gently slide him away.

• Stay away from your dog’s mouth and head; he could bite you. Don’t put anything in his mouth. Dogs cannot choke on their tongues.

• If you can, time it. If your dog has a seizure that lasts more than 5 minutes or if he has several in a row while he's unconscious, take him to a vet as soon as possible. The longer a seizure goes on, the higher a dog’s body temperature can rise, and he may have problems breathing. This can raise his risk of brain damage.

• If the seizure lasts for more than a couple of minutes, your dog is at risk of overheating. Turn a fan on your dog and put cold water on his paws to cool him down.

• Talk to your dog softly and gently touch him to assure him.

• Call your vet when the seizure ends.

 

 Unexpected happenings.

Recently my mom's 8 year old male neutered Jack Russell, started having seizures. Her active dog suddenly stopped in his tracks, a glaze went over his eyes and he was unsteady and confused. He had uncontrollable muscle twitching. Mom said he looked dazed, staring off into space. But after having been told about a 2nd seizure within a month, we took the dog to our local vet. We assumed he was having a seizure which was confirmed by our vet.

What was going on? What are the symptoms of Seizures?

Seizure symptoms can include collapsing, jerking, stiffening, muscle twitching, loss of consciousness, drooling, chomping, tongue chewing, or foaming at the mouth. Dogs can fall to the side and make paddling motions with their legs. They sometimes poop or pee during the seizure. Some dogs may look dazed, seem unsteady or confused, or stare off into space before a seizure. Afterward, your dog may be disoriented, wobbly, or temporarily blind. He may walk in circles and bump into things. He might have a lot of drool on his chin and could be bleeding in his mouth if he bit himself. He may try to hide.

Why is this happening?

If this is happening to your dog he may have a seizure disorder. Another name for a mystery disorder most commonly called epilepsy.
Abnormal, uncontrolled bursts of electrical activity in your dog’s brain causes seizures, affecting how he looks and how he behaves. Seizures can look like a twitch or uncontrollable shaking and can last from less than a minute to several minutes.
Our vet did tell us that, "A dog may seizure for any number of reasons. Just because a dog has a seizure does not mean that the dog has epilepsy."  Somehow that was not really reassuring, especially when he went on to tell us, "Currently no tests to determine if a dog has epilepsy", which might be inherited, or caused by something else like a trauma event.

So How do you figure out a diagnosis to help a dog!

To determine whether a dog has epilepsy or something else, a veterinarian or neurologist arrives at their diagnosis by a process of elimination. They determine what it is not. And then, hopefully, come to a logical conclusion as to what it is. Here is a list of some conditions which can cause seizures in dogs:

Brain tumor, Head injury, Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Distemper Environment - toxins, Epilepsy, hyper' and hypo' Conditions, Hyperglycemia or Hypoglycemia, Hypoxia or Hypoxemia, Hepatic Encephalopathy or Liver Disease, Renal (kidney) disease, Hyperkalemia, Hyperlipoproteinemia, "garbage" (poisoning), Tick Bites, Toxoplamosis (Toxo), Lissencephay.

How does this condition effect a dogs health and life?

Some believe that  seizures can shorten your dog's life significantly, damaging after-effects on essential immune systems, neurological systems, and the vital organs.

What Are the Types of Seizures?

The most common kind is the generalized seizure, also called a grand-mal seizure. A dog can lose consciousness and convulse. The abnormal electrical activity happens throughout the brain. Generalized seizures usually last from a few seconds to a few minutes. With a focal seizure, abnormal electrical activity happens in only part of the brain. Focal seizures can cause unusual movements in one limb or one side of the body. Seizures from unknown causes are called idiopathic epilepsy.  They usually happen in dogs between 6 months and 6 years old. Although any dog can have a seizure, idiopathic epilepsy is more common in border collies, Australian shepherds, Labrador retrievers, beagles, Belgian Tervurens, collies, and German shepherds.¹

What Should I Expect When I Take My Dog to the Vet?

Your vet will want to do a thorough physical exam, and get some lab work to look for the causes of your dog’s seizures. Your vet may prescribe medicines to control seizures, like phenobarbital or potassium bromide. You can give your dog phenobarbital twice a day, but over time it can damage his liver. Dogs that take phenobarbital need blood tests about every 6 months. Potassium bromide doesn’t work its way through the liver, making it a better choice for young dogs that need medicine for life.
Always follow your vet’s instructions when you give your dog medicine. Don’t let him miss a dose.

Seizures themselves are very unlikely to kill a dog, but it does sometimes happen as well. So the question is, when are the seizures severe enough or frequent enough to absolutely warrant treatment?

That is where your vet will try to make an educated guess as to what is best for each dog.
 The traditional guidelines in veterinary medicine have been seizures that last for longer than 5 minutes (actual seizure activity) or seizures that are occurring more than once a month, would be a candidate for treatment. If it seems pretty apparent that the seizures are going to continue to get closer and closer, your vet may suggest a treatment now even if they are still more than a month apart.

 Did you know that antihistamines can lower seizure threshold? I didn't!!

What does this mean... These drugs might become a trigger to cause your dog to have a seizure more often, or harder, or longer etc.

When your dog is on seizure medications be sure and talk with your vet about using any other drug, especially antihistamines... You know the ones that we often given to our dogs for various reasons. Here is a list of Drugs that may lower seizure threshold:

Aspirin, IB Profen, Advil, Excederin or Motrin

If your pets are taking any Anti-Epileptic Drug, consult with your vet first before you give any OTC (over the counter) cold medication(s). (This also applies to any OTC medications, Herbal Supplements including Vitamins.)

WHY?

 One of the most frequently prescribed medications for dogs with epilepsy is Phenobarbital. Epileptic seizures can be effectively managed with Phenobarbital, in fact it can be used to treat many different canine seizure disorders. Phenobarbital dosage is prescribed based on the dog's weight. Typically it is prescribed at the lower end of the dosing scale and progressively moved up until the effective dosing is reached. When treatment is first begun, it typically takes 1 to 2 weeks to reach a stable level in the blood system. Until that time has passed, Phenobarbital is unreliable at controlling seizure activity. At first, the levels in the bloodstream should be monitored every 2 weeks until stabilized. Once stabilized, the Phenobarbital levels should be monitored every 6 months in addition to checking the liver function.
 While Phenobarbital can potentially impact your dog's liver function, it is an effective treatment against the potential harm caused by continual seizure activity. When dosage is adjusted to an appropriate level, Phenobarbital is a safe and effective method controlling the varying levels of epileptic seizure activity. ²

¹http://pets.webmd.com

²Epilepsy.com