My Bassett just had a seizure! What could have caused it?

[tothemoon]

I dont know what he has gotten into but a few minutes ago my sweet Georgie (bassett hound) had a seizure. He was shaking and was stiff, his eyes were able to follow me though and stay focused........I have no idea what could have done this. All I can think of is the compost pile might have had some Malithion (SP?) in it from when I dusted the chickens thinking they had mites (which they didnt). He might have gotten into that but everyone tells me it wouldnt hurt the dogs. Besides, it wouldnt have had but a small amount in it anyway. His heart was missing beats when he was seizing. Anyone have any idea what this could be? I think I might have a heart attack myself if he does it again! It was awful.

 

[KinderKorner]

My pet pig has began having them quite often. It really freaks me out. And I have no clue what to do either. I will be waiting and watching for someone to chime in.

 

[LarryPQ]

How old? Some breeds are VERY prone to them, even more so as they get older.

 

[honeydoll]

My sisters fox terrier has seizures often, he is always fine after but it really is scary to see. The vet some some dogs do, I don't remember why but there is a med for them. My sister's dog has one when he is very nervous or stressed.

 

[lemurchaser]

Compost can contain tremorgenic mycotoxins. These can kill your dog!

"The most common signs of tremorgenic mycotoxin exposures reported to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) include hyperthermia, salivation, vomiting, ataxia, tachycardia (fast heart rate), fasciculation, tremors, and seizures."
From http://www.compendiumvet.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=F0E2AE6B0B7E437588DFCF8A9FCA8CAC&nm=CE+Programs&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=60963CBCF74D4156BBFCA2595B06714C&AudID=43A035C1ADDF4F5F823E087E3BEE4975

Sorry, that's a really annoyingly long link, but it is a good article.

Your dog really should be evaluated by a veterinarian after the first seizure. Is he acting normal now? Can you take his temperature?

And please, everyone, fence your compost away from dogs. They won't learn from it either.

 

[ShrekDawg]

sometimes it could be certain medicines, foods, flea/tick meds, etc or it may be a chronic condition or something that is just now showing up, how old is the dog? it could also be something in the compost, something he/she ate, medicines/poisons (many chemical cleaners, common everyday products/cleaners, laundry detergent, chocolate, foods etc are toxic to dogs and can cause problems if ingested), stress, etc. Is this the first time this has happened? How long did it last? was it sudden (was he fine before and then all of a sudden wham, or were there symptoms even subtle symptoms)? any other signs of illness? any other pets? if so any other sick pets? anything the dog could have gotten into? any chance the dog got loose and got into something off the property and/or got into something on your property without you noticing? has the dog been sick lately or was it just sudden? any rat poison, vermin control, toxins, anything else you can think of that the dog may have gotten into? is it just this dog or others too? How old is the dog? some dogs/animals can also have disorders that can cause them to seize like some people do dogs can get it too, they can get a lot of things we can like epilepsy and diabetes and stuff too but there are medicines now to help treat and control these disorders and the dog can go on living a happy healthy relatively normal life on meds and occassionally getting check ups so even if the dog has a disorder or something there are medicines and treatments and stuff now so that the dog can still go on living a relatively normal and painfree life it doesn't affect them as much once controled so either way you need to have the dog checked out by a licensed vetinarian as it could could potenially be very serious possibly even life threatening for the dog and it could come back so you need to get the dog checked out by a licensed vet and treated ASAP, good luck.

 

[tdgill]

I had a young terrier mix that had seizures. It was hard to watch. I did my best to stay calm and stay by her side. I read somewhere that having a pet spayed or neutered might lesson the seizures. Oddly, after we had her fixed, she never had another one.

 

[seminolewind]

My dog had his first seizure when he was 2. It happened the day after I put frontline on him. What I've learned in the past 4 years is that he has seizure disorder of unknown origin. However, there are certain things that can set him off even tho he's on meds. Any type of bug killer. Pine shavings. Wormer. We just give him his meds and do the best we can. It's no picnic.

 

[tdgill]

is it like epilepsy?

 

[tothemoon]

lemurchaser, thank you very much for this information, I am fairly certain this is the cause of the problems, we now have a boxer who is constantly salavating, which is also one of the symptoms of this type of ingestion. I feel so stupid that I didnt know that a compost pile could be so toxic. Georgie hasnt had any other symptoms, just the one seizure, and is resting easy now. Im going to bury the compost first thing tomorrow and build an inclosed shed for it from now on. Our third doggy, a timber wolf mix, hasnt exhibited any symptoms as of yet. Going to be a long night of watching them to make sure they are ok. If there are any more seizures we will be going to the ER Vet.

Thanks to everyone for your help.