Dog having seizures

[True Grit]

I would keep an eye on her and see if you can detect what may cause it. Or it may be epilepsy. My sheltie had only one seizure in her life. If my collie weren't on high amounts of phenobarb he'd have died by now I'm sure. Knowing what I know now I probably wouldn't take my dog to the vet after one seizure or even two if they were a long time apart. I doubt the vet could diagnose the real issue anyway after only two seizures. If your dog has another seizure that is a cluster seizure where there are several seizures one after the other that is an emergency and she has to go the vet. You had a good idea to call the vet.
When my collie has had seizures in the past I have held an ice pack on his lower back, just behind where the ribs end, as it is supposed to end the seizure more quickly and after the seizure I give him a spoon full of Hagen daz vanilla ice cream to get his blood sugar back up. The fat in the ice cream keeps the blood sugar from spiking.
I had my vet test his thyroid function and sure enough it was abnormal and I believe that contributed to the frequency of his seizures. Since we have had him on thyroid meds he has had one seizure in the past year.

 

[equine623]

One seizure, especially a short one, without bladder/bowel loss isn't necessarily an emergency. Best thing to do is make a note of the date and time, the symptoms (leg tremors, urinating on herself, whatever you may have seen) including how long the post ictal period lasts (the time after the seizure where she appeared disoriented or lethargic) and how long the seizure lasts. If she has another, note the same things, be especially vigilant to note when the seizure starts and if it lasts for more than a few minutes then consider a trip to the vet. Seizures raise the core body temperature and when they last for too long is when brain damage can occur. Seizures can be caused by a number of things, as other people have mentioned, but one seizure doesn't make her epileptic and most vets wouldn't start her on meds for two seizures in two years because of the risks and side effects of the meds.

Testing for seizures will run the gamut from blood work to brain cat scans or mri....so a lot of testing and treatment is based on severity and frequency of the seizures. If it were my dog, I would note it, watch for future episodes and only if they increase dramatically in frequency or severity then I would take her to the vet. Once a week or more, probably worth bringing her in at least for blood work and a consult, so its noted in her chart. But even then, it may not be worth medicating if they aren't severe. This is such a gray area, with so much not known, so its what you as the owner are comfortable with.

Hope that helps...good luck

 

[Elphaba2140]

I had a similar situation myself. I had a female dog who was also young-about 3 or 4. She appeared normal in behavior prior to this. Then, she had several of these seizures over the day and I took her in to the vet. It was a good thing. What happened was a bizarre series of events. Here is was the vet told us. She had had her heat cycle. During this time a female dogs blood in their body naturally thins out slightly. While she was "open" developed a uterine infection. It was a terrible one so much that it spread to other internal body parts than were removed during emergency surgery. She had a TAH BSO and a kidney and her omentum removed due to the infection. All of this cause the seizures but because her blood was thin, she bled out in her brain (maybe due to increased pressure during the seizure). She had a stroke! So from age 3 1/2 on, she walked around with her head tilted, and a slight sideways gait. She lived a long, long life despite all this until the age of 16! Seizures in an otherwise normal dog is abnormal. Please take the dog to a professional.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Our Vet told us that they couldnt treat seizures until a pattern was established, to keep a journal of when, how long and why we think they were triggered.

She may never have another one, or might have one again soon, I know they are not easy to witness

on a "lighter" note, my Sister In law had a teeny tiny toy poodle, she MIGHT of weighed 2 pounds (I used to groom her and that wasnt easy, I was afraid I would break her lol)

anyway the ONLY time she had seizures would be if Etta (sister in law) was eating chinese food, then tippy would go crazy begging for it, and flop over into a seizure, Etta had to stop eating chinese at home!

Another seizure story, we were at Petsmart and a lady was literally dragging her doxie into the groomer, he had one that they said was triggered by stress!

 

[TLWR]

You can skip the vet visit. Doesn't sound like a major seizure. And if the last one was 2 years ago. A seizure every 2 years isn't so bad and personally, I wouldn't worry about it.
I had a seizure dog growing up. He had them often enough that he was medicated. Miss a dose, he'd have a seizure.

My greyhound was a seizure dog. Started around 4-5 years old. He'd have one and then another 10 days later, less sever (the first would last close to 5 mins and be very violent - talking knocking TVs over violent). Since his were somewhat frequent, we medicated him after watching him unmedicated for a bit to see if we could find a pattern and treat the pattern or if we needed him drugged all the time.
He did have triggers - stress was a big one for him, but it was extended stress (dog sitting an annoying dog for a few days).
His last 2 years were seizure free and I was able to reduce his seizure meds even.


But 2 years between them. Eh. If there is another within the next month or two, I'd discuss it with the vet at the next appointment. If there is another within a week or so, I'd make an appointment to have the dog seen.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

The first dog I ever saw having a seisure, was a Cocker Spaniel. The vet said the Cockers were prone to epileptcy(sp?)

 

[thebritt]

We have a 9 yr old border collie that's been having seizures for the last 3 years. We've written down every one to establish the pattern, and she's been on medication (KBr and phenobarbitol), but she still sometimes (usu. around 3am) seizes. Full-on grand mall seizures that are getting longer (with longer recovery time) and sometimes come in clusters, which is brutal to watch, and we know very hard on her brain

. We now keep Diazapam on hand, and give rectally if she has 2 in a row. If she has a series of clusters, she gets Diazapam orally for 7 days. This dog is my DD's agility dog, and has been since she was 4 mos. old.
Just sharing what we've been going through.
I agree with TLWR in that you shouldn't have to go to the vet right away, but I would certainly keep a record so you can discuss the history with the vet at her yearly check-up.
Hope it's nothing to worry about!

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

My 5 year old golden had a seizure (grand mal very scary) 3 weeks after she had her vaccines...the day I gave her her monthly heartworm pill.

My vet said to wait and see if she had another one soon. He said as well that it may not happen for a long time and if it doesn't there was no need to put her on meds. I didn't even have to bring her in.

Two weeks later she had two in 24 hours. He put her on Pheno. That was 3 weeks ago and she hasn't had another one. I too had her Thyroid tested...still waiting for the results.

I read that sometimes vaccines will cause a dog with a genetic condition called Autoimmunine Thyroidosis (sp?) to begin to show symptoms faster of Thyroid problems. And they can have seizures from this. Other dogs with this condition can have it for years with no problems. So I am hopeful that if her Thyroid test is positive then with with thyroid meds she can get off the Pheno.

She is a different dog on it.

The Pheno is not expensive...$18.00 a month for my 87 pound dog.

 

[True Grit]

Quote:
What dosage is she on? My dog's personality didn't change; he would just have a little trance for a while afterwards. He is 72 lbs and on 88 micrograms twice per day of levothyroxine but we have worked up to that through 6 years of seizures. He started out much lower.

 

[bock]

Thanks everyone. She hasn't had another one yet, and I doubt she will have another one any time soon. If she does though, we will be sure to take her to the vet. I wouldn't want her to be medicated when she didn't really need it.