First off, we’ve never had a direct experience with this, thank goodness, but after reading about a fellow blogger who went through a rough weekend with her five year old dog seizing for the first time, it got us thinking.
We don’t know what to do if our dog had a seizure.
We don’t even know what a seizure looks like for a dog.
So, we did a little Googling and put together this primer as much for our readers as for us. #TheMoreYouKnow, right?
Hope you find this useful too!
What Is A Seizure And Are Dog Seizures The Same As Human Seizures?
Physiologically, yes. Dog seizures and human seizures are both abnormal, sudden, uncontrollable bursts of electrical activity in the brain.
What Does A Seizure Look Like In A Dog?
For dogs, there is a typical pattern for how a seizure will progress.
There is usually an ‘aura’ or ‘pre-ictal’ phase where dogs instinctually know something is about to happen. Some dogs will seek comfort and some dogs will retreat and seek solitude. This phase can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
Just before a seizure, a dog’s body tends to tremble, their eyes glaze over, and they become non-responsive.
During the seizure, the trembling progresses and convulsions begin. Dogs will stiffen and fall over, usually landing on their sides. The jaw may chomp or clamp shut and they can foam at the mouth. Their legs may paddle or stretch out stiffly. They may lose control of their bladder or bowels. Dogs may stop breathing for 10-30 seconds.The seizure typically lasts less than two minutes; anything much longer should be treated as an emergency.
After a seizure, dogs are disoriented and confused and may appear blind, tripping and stumbling into things. This phase can last for up to a few hours.
What To Do
Seizures need to run their course. There’s not much we can do to prevent or lesson a seizure once one has already started. But, we can do our best to remain calm and keep distractions, noise, and visual chaos to a minimum.
It’s best to clear the space around the dog to prevent injury, and keep other dogs and children out of the room. Children will likely be anxious and frightened and non-seizing dogs occasionally see the seizure as a sign of weakness and may try to attack the seizing dog.
Providing comfort to your dog with gentle pats and quiet conversation is the best option. Dogs will be confused coming out of the seizure and will typically look for reassurance after. The best comfort can come from a familiar face, voice, and gentle touch.
Don’t grab their tongue; dogs won’t actually swallow their tongue during a seizure. This is an old wives’ tale.
Do your best to time the seizure. It shouldn’t last much more than a couple of minutes. If it does, or the seizures recur in quick succession, seek veterinary care.
What Causes Seizures In Dogs? The Six Major Causes.
1) Ingesting A Toxin
Antifreeze, pesticides, lead poisoning. These can all lead to seizures. It’s important to consider your dog’s exposure to these compounds, particularly if it’s your dog’s first seizure. For a simple guide to foods that are toxic to dogs, click here.
2) Infection
Distemper is one of the most common causes of infection-related seizures. If your puppy is seizing and hasn’t had his distemper vaccination yet, this could be the cause.
3) Biochemical Issues
An underactive thyroid and low blood sugar levels can trigger seizures in dogs. Medication can lower thyroid levels, so this could be the cause if your dog has started a new medication. Blood sugar analysis can be done by withdrawing blood and analyzing the blood sample.
4) Trauma Or Injury
Accute trauma to the head can result in isolated incidents of seizures in dogs. Seizures related to trauma frequently occur weeks or months after the head injury as a result of scar tissue forming in the brain. This can catch owners by surprise, seeming unrelated to the initial trauma because of the time lag.
5) Epilepsy
Epilepsy is more commonly seen in breeds like Beagles, Boxers, Collies, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Belgian Tervueren, and Keeshonds. If seizures aren’t frequent and don’t last longer than a few minutes, treatment isn’t recommended. If seizures are more frequent (two or more seizures a month), or clustered together without full recovery between, dogs can be started on anticonvulsant medications.
6) Cancer
In dogs over five years of age, a seizure can be the first indicator of a brain tumour. They are more common in breeds like Boxers and Doberman Pinschers, but can occur in any breed.
Other Causes
If your dog has a seizure disorder, vaccinations can trigger seizures. If your dog hasn’t seized before, make sure he is only receiving vaccinations that are critical to his health and try to space them days or weeks apart. Some vaccinations have been associated with health problems in dogs in the past, but is rarely a concern today with current vaccines.
Heat stroke can also lead to seizures.
Reactions to bee stings as well as cardiac arrhythmias can be misidentified as seizures. Both can lead to fainting, collapse, or loss of consciousness.
All Of This Summarized In A Quick Take-Away
5 Points To Remember:
- Stay calm
- Provide a clear, safe space for your dog that is free of noise, bright lights, sharp furniture, other dogs, and children
- Comfort your dog with gentle pats and soothing conversation
- Time the seizure
- Let your vet know about the seizure and decide together if additional follow up is necessary. Seizures don’t always point to a dangerous or underlying condition.
I have a 15 year old jack russell, and we know by how she is now that she’s almost ready to go. But all the same we watch over her and give her the best care we can. She’s had no health issues up until now, and suddenly she had a large cyst on her shoulder. She scratched at it Christmas Day until it started bleeding, so the best we could do was stop the bleeding and give her a bath to clean her wound.
That night though, she started pacing about my bedroom where she sleeps, then threw up, peed, and fell over paddling all four legs. It lasted maybe 10 seconds at the most, but it was terrifying to watch. When she came to, she was trying to blow vomit out of her nose and couldn’t stand up without shaking. I guided her back to her bed and pet her until she fell asleep. This was her first seizure ever. Her second happened 8 hours later with the same symptoms.
I’ll monitor her more, and assess if I need to take her to the vet, but it has me very worried and scared.
I have a chi, nearly 15, she has had a low grade heart murmur for many years, the last couple of months she keeps having attacks, she’ll scream then collapse on her side, it’s very distressing, also after a couple of minutes she’s fine. The vet has her on drops for her heart, both medical and holistic ones, although she is still having the attacks. Any advice would be helpful, Is it time to let her go, it would break my heart, but she’s my main concern. Has anyone had a dog that has had these, and how long have they survived.
Hello, is in the exact same situation as your dog. She has a heart murmur also and is almost 17. Do you have any advice?
Nothing you can do? What? Give your dog CBD. It will stop it within 20 seconds or less. Letting a seizure run its course could cause brain damage.
Do you have any info as to the CBD dosage to give?
Hello, just looking for some kind of knowledge. My husband and I have a 4 year old Pitt mix. He was sleeping in his bed last night, and jumped up all of a sudden seeming scared, trying to run but unable to, bumping and running into things and falling over. No barking, yelping or peeing. I could not see him when he was in his bed so I don’t know what has happening the moments before this episode, but thinking maybe a seizure? My husband picked him up and we got in the car, heading to the vet. They said they were full of emergency surgeries, so we went to my sister-in-law’s house, who is a vet tech, and by the time we got there he was completely normal. He seems himself today, eating and drinking normally, but he did just throw up.
Last comment was mine. Just got informed that dog/axel has had 1 episode before he was awake and fell over side done same kicking motion. I did not know this when i posted so im thinking its def’ trip to vet incase its serious. Not a dream i know now. So still looking for info on it…. @#$% i just realized how old this post is. Hopefully somebodys still active and can give some help as i am a cat person and the owner left me in charge he said its fine but i know dogs ok now but what about next month or year.
hes a young pup could be brain related and i guess this bumped the post to hopefully.
My sons godfathers dog(axel) just randomly started yelping 1 LOUD yelp in his sleep then pissed for like 20 seconds all over bed. 1st time in his life. When his name was called out not as loud as normal either… cause my son is asleep while seized 1sec after saying name anr betting back. kicking air for literally 3-5 maybe even almost 10 seconds. Was it a fucked dream or seizure? Hes(axel) acting kind of different but not confused or anything similar to seizure side effects. But the only thing is he wont take treats or listen to owner to sit or liedown with him again. Can see fine and it was such a short episode. Also has been peeing in house on floor 3-4 times first times in life too/ purebred Boxer is 1 1/2 yrs to 2 yrs old. I know seizures are like common( for lack of better words) in certain dogs like boxers are one of. But it seemed like a dream to me and my son had febrile seizures so i know human seizures and also 1 cat that lasted 1min almost.
My dog just did the same thing a few days ago. She is an olderdog. Suddenly screams at 4am body went limp and she peed everywhere. She hasbeen having these seizures every day now. Had 2 today that i know of. She is having trouble eating. I am starting her on cbd. 🙁
Hi there, I left a reply on the Original Poster’s post and have similar scenarios with my dog as both of you. I want to be as sure as I can be if it’s a seizure or not. You can confirm your dog has one? I am also unfamiliar with CBD for dogs. Can you let me know what are some benefits / purposes of using it and what products you’ve gotten for your dog?
The same thing has happened to my dog twice now after we moved to a new apartment within the past 3 weeks. Middle of the night, all of the sudden we year a huge grumbled yelp and then her body goes stiff and the piss is everywhere. We aren’t sure if it’s a seizure or something different. Can you confirm that your dog’s situation was a seizure? Ours (a 15-lb Pomeranian) also has issues eating the day after. No appetite at all.
My Pomeranian is doing the same thing. How is your Pomeranian now?
How is ur pom doing? My pom is 10 and does the same. Yelp body stiff and wetting. Pls 🙏 any advice would be nice
My 6 year old Yorkie has had a rough year of health, but lately has been doing fabulous.
Today she went in the yard to potty….she stayed out for some time. When we found her she was laid on her side….foaming at mouth…Jaw clenched tight…and arched spine.
Rushed her to vet
Fluids were given she was kept there all day…brought her home. Jaw STILL clenched. Holds head at odd angle…paddles back legs occasionally. She is to go back in morning. Doc says may take 4 days to clear up.
I’m shattered
i live in the philippines. No dog shelter here and vets are very scarce. I got my dog February 17th, when he was 4 months. No history of vaccinations. Basing from his color and features, I think he is half spitz. He was weak but still able to walk. He was vomitting, not eating and having diarrhea. I immediately took him to a vet. They told me he was anemic. They gave him I.V. Fluids and he stayed in the clinic. I took him home after 3 days and he seemed fine.
Feb 25 was his check up and they gave him BIOCAN DHPPi and BIOCAN L, his second shot was march 11.
March 12, I noticed he had difficulty climbing one step of stair. In the afternoon he had a multiple seizures and he was not able to stand. I took him back to the vet. I expected them to hydrate him via I.V or do tests. They just checked his temperature and told me to take my dog home. That I should give him baths if he has seizures and try to give him vitamin b complex.
It’s March 13, my dog is still having multiple seizures throughout the day, he still can stand. I am worried. No other veterinarian in my hometown
Hi i have a 4 year old Chihuahua and he had a big drink off water then i heard him yepling ran into were he was on he was on his side and lost control was peeing and there was no foaming .i picked him up and comforts him and he couldnt stand up for bout 4 mins but now hes ok bit anxious could this be a seizure ??? Very worried bout my boy its the first time its ever happened
The same thing just happened to me a couple of minutes ago. My shih tzu did the exact same thing your chihuahua did. We were inside and I was lying on the couch when I noticed that he suddenly toppled over and began yelping. His little legs got slightly stiff and he also just peed himself. It was horrible.
It sounds like your dog fainted (Syncope).
Hello, something similar has happened to my dog twice within the past three weeks. I’m very worried. My dog yelped alarmingly and scarily at around 2am, stiffened, peed everywhere and seemed so scared. We gave her a bath and she was a bit happier but the morning after, she has zero appetite and won’t even take treats. Did you ever find out if your dog had a seizure?
Also, did you ever find out if your dog had a seizure for sure?
Hello, the same thing has happened to my dog twice within the past three weeks. I’m very worried. My dog yelped alarmingly and scarily at around 2am, stiffened, peed everywhere and seemed so scared. We gave her a bath and she was a bit happier but the morning after, she has zero appetite and won’t even take treats.
New years eve last year (2016/2017) Our 4.5 year old Beagle/Staff cross who always sleeps on (or usually in) our bed, got up in the morning as usual, started walking down the stairs, only got down two of them, Stopped, wet himself, then fell unconscious down the rest of them and laid on the floor at the bottom.
We both thought he had died, then suddenly he started fitting, this lasted for almost 10 mins. By which time I had hold of the vets on the phone.
He was seen by the vet and seemed normal, an emergency appointment was made to see a specialist and a few days later he was seen, this involved an mri scan of his brain and various other tests.
Meanwhile we were given Diazepan in syringes to squirt in his bum if he started fitting again, to bring him out of it.
The mri scan was fine, but some level in his blood test was very very high (cant remember which off hand) and he was put on 50g Phenoleptil twice a day.
He had blood tests once a month (now every 3 months) tio check the levels.
He hasn’t had another fit since that day, but he does sometimes sit there staring into space. He was doing this a lot and they upped his medication top 62 mg twice a day and now he hardly ever does this.
But the tablets caused his liver levels to be dangerously high and we were told that if it continued like that, his liver could shut down, so he is now also on medication for his liver too.
So far all seems fine.
Before he had his fit, he was always like a hot water bottle to touch, he radiated heat from all over, since his fit, he is not nearly as hot.
When he does stare into space, he has parts of his body that are ice cold to touch.
The other side effect of his medication is it makes him constantly hungry and while we do our best to restrict ct what he eats, he has got a little fatter (not too much though)
All this is on top of a monthly injection he has to have for a yeast allergy that he’s had since an early age, to stop his ears and paws going swollen/red/itchy.
Poor thing
How did your doggie Do? I used to have seizures myself and I totally get that I cannot speak for a dog, or what it is like for a dog versus a human, but I can tell when my boyfriend’s dog, who has had a siezure disorder since birth, is getting close… this was absolutely verified by the one time I didn’t listen to my instincts and he had a very bad siezure! Ever since then, both my boyfriend and me trust my instincts and we’ve been able to keep him from having another siezure! Yay! I am not a vet, but have rescued so many infant animals that I feel like I do have some animal medical understanding, but if you take my advice, please know that you are accepting the advice of a hairdresser, but one who has been very successful with animal health issues… maybe it’s like a 6th sense? So here is what I feel might be helpful for dealing with seizure… or at least what’s seemingly helped my boyfriend dog to be siezure free for the longest in his 6 year life so far!
Okay, a few signs that your dog might be getting close, from what I consider the highest risk and what I do for him (as I learned to do for me… I’m now 6 years+ without a seizure! Yay!) AND know that the BEST way to lower ones risk for a seizure is to prevent a siezure… meaning having the seizure makes another siezure much more likely and the longer one goes without having one the better, AND the better ones chances get of never having another one… so stopping the siezure is bigger and more important than just not having to go through a siezure!!! Though I think we’d all agree that “just” preventing a seizure is not “just” at all!!! Right?
I TRULY hope this is making sense so far!? In fact, will somebody please let me know if this is clear or not? Because as I am here up late — all night — tonight on Pup Pup seizure-watch as I write this out. In fact, I’m going to attempt to enter, or submit/send this now to see if I am able to successfully do so because I am very technologically-challenged and what’s the point of writing this all out on my little tiny phone keyboard if no one can ever see it… right? So here goes… and if you let me know that… 1. I’m successful, and 2. That you would like me to continue sharing, then I will get right to telling you what I do, and is, in my opinion, easiest on the dogs body, organs, and experientially for Pup Pup!! I hope this works!???!? Please do let me know if you see this and would like to know more from me… I suddenly feel very self conscious that I sound like a know-it-all, I’m really just a pretty good life-strategist who loves to help if I can!
I cannot figure out how to submit this now at all Darn it!!!
So what do you do for seizures prevention?
I was thinking the same thing…she never said HOW you stop them before they get started
Phil – I know this was a long time ago but can you tell me what monthly injection your dog was getting to stop his ears and paws going swollen/red/itchy when this happened? I would appreciate it so much 🙂 I am trying to research if there is a correlation with a specific drug and the seizures people are seeing. It would help a great deal if you could reply, thank you!
My 2.5 yr old rottie had her first full seizure on Sept 19th which was terrifying and heartbreaking. It lasted about 2-3mins. We took her to the vet. All test were normal. She had a second possible seizure October 2nd (I say possible bc I wasn’t home but things were knocked off and saliva foam was all over the living room). Her 3rd October 13th at about 640pm lasting for about 30 secs and her recovery much smoother than before (probably because I kept talking &rubbing her during the seizure) then at 150am another one for about 30 secs. I will be taking her to the vet early morning.
Thanks for all info. My 11 yo Bull Terrier just had a seizure. His paws were scraping at the floor, moved about 3 feet then fell to his side. Lost control of his bladder and slight loss of bowel control, foamed at mouth and shook. I laid down with him, held him, told him it was okay. After about a minute it stopped. He acted disoriented for another minute. Then back to his old self. Looked at me like I had caused it, barked and went into play fight mode, spinning in circles. Then he sucked down a gallon of water and seems fine now, 15 minutes later. My goodness how frightening.
I let him roam the neighborhood, used to let him roam the neighborhood and I think he got into something bad. I also just bought him dried pig ears as a treat. That’s the only out of the ordinary thing I’ve let him eat. Scary as hell
Yes pigs ear I just gave my 3 yo mix breed one and he had a sizere
Wow! I wonder… what brand? Also, I wonder if these are two examples of toxins, or allergies… right? Basically anything that throws us off electrically can throw us into a neurological storm, which can cause a siezure… which is the single most thing that makes us vulnerable to having a siezure. At least in us two legged beasts (human, like me (most of the time anyway (heehee! Attempting to kid around and be funny here… it’s late!) and I’ve learned the hard way (no kidding) how to control mine, and my boyfriend’s dogs seizure by ONLY medicating when a threat occurs — meaning no daily, organ challenging meds… just learning the signs, watching closely, and stopping the storm before the lightening actually strikes!
I hope I’m not being impolite to reply on more than one comment!? This is my very first time to ever interact on something like this… is this called a blog? If someone will let me know if it is proper etiquette to go into detail here, or how it would be proper to share what I have figured out, I will happily do so :0)
I have flatlined from a siezure (and obviously resuscitated) and am now 6 years+ seizure-free, and my boyfriend’s dog has now gone the longest in his life (he’s 6 in human years) so far without a seizure… since the one time I didn’t listen to my instincts (feeling that maybe it wasn’t my place) and felt him slip out, and said so, but didn’t push to take action and about 30 minutes later… bam! I felt so guilty that I cried. The silver-lining is now neither my boyfriend or I doubt my instincts about Pup Pup, AND my boyfriend has also learned how to spot the earliest of signs that I might be slipping out (which, oddly, is difficult for me to tell until I’m already gone enough that it’s hard for me to think clear enough to figure out what to do about it for myself… I know… probably sounds weird, but it’s very common… and why people get the dogs who can sense it! Hey, am i Pup Pups Medical Siezure Alert Service Human??? Now that feels like a fair deal for us both!!! That’s not just funny to me, but actually makes me happy enough to cry a happy tear here… up all night tonight… and proud to say that both Pup Pup and I seizure free so far! Yay!!!
Thank you to this blog (if that’s what this is called?) for keeping me company! Wishing all of you health, happiness and great sleeeeep! :0)
we had a dog that loved pigs ears we would take him to a pet warehouse my wife worked at he was allowed to choose his pigs ear we would look around for a bit for other items go up to pay he would get up on his hind legs so the cashier could scan his pigs ear and then and only then would he chew on it he never had a seizure he passed a few years later after we moved to Florida he passed away from Parvo but since then we had several dogs get parvo one died another was born with its heart on the outside the rest all survived and we learned how to treat for it
Our wonderful blue heeler German Shepard cross had a massive seizure 2 nights ago. It was terrifying to watch. He was sleeping in the living room in his chair and suddenly our other dog who sleeps with us, shot off the bed and ran to the other dog. He was completely stiff, drooling and foaming at the mouth and makine some awful sounds. I called my husband and we put him in the floor on his blanket. After a few minutes, he seemed to settle so we just watched him and talked to him. When I let our other dog outside, he lifted his head and then we do not know what happened. He jumped up, attacked my husband biting him on the hand and then ran into the dining room as far away from us as he could get. He growled and snarled and seemed to be scared of us. We managed to get myself and the other dog out of the house and my husband stayed in the living room away from Jep and tried to talk to him. He got more aggressive and his eyes seemed to not be seeing his home and family. It was terrifying. He was not every 2 years old and he was up to date with his shots having had his last shots in May of this year. We made the difficult decision to put him down as if it had been one of our grandchildren or another animal that he had attacked, we could not live with ourselves. As we are on the farm, we have tranquilizers for our cattle when we need them to be calm for a procedure. My husband gave him an injection at a safe distance. His eyes never were him again. It was like he went to sleep in the evening as our loveable Jep and a few hours had this seizure and became Mr. Hyde. We miss him terribly. If I had that evening to live over again, I would have gone and checked on him at 2 a.m. when I was up and maybe if I would have woken him up, he might not have had the seizure.
My 15 years old Bichon Frisé had a 2nd episode of seizure. It was horrible again. He had a 1st one on July 11th, same thing… found him on the floor on his back kicking his paws frantically. I picked him up took him outside tried to talk and comfort him, had no idea what was happening. Then I thought he was chocking on food thought about opening his mouth and reaching there. He closed his mouth with his tongue hanging out and it became blue. I was petrified. I put him against my body and pumped his chest. Then picked him up and ran to the neighbor for help. His tongue was pink again. He was totally disoriented looking for corners to push his neck against an lift his head up. I took him to the vet who did not know or gave me any explanations. I was convinced he was chocking on food. He has an extremely sensitive stomach and has to eat only a special food. I took him home and was watching him day and night. He recuperated. We gave him a shot of valium at the vet and I took a dose with me home just in case. So slowly he came back to his normal self, old but so loving and caring. One month later he caught kennel cough from the neighbor’s dog. rushed him to the hospital, they gave him antibiotics, I was not happy about it but had no choice, coughing was so hard I was scared he wouldn’t make it till morning. So I gave him the antibiotics, and some pills for his stomach and homeopathy. He got better. Just 1 or 2 days later he would not eat or drink. I had to give him some by a seringue just to keep some fluid in his body. It was so hot here. I went out for an hour, could not bear to see him suffering. Came back , I open the door and there was spots of blood everywhere. It started with his stools. So I found him probiotics after one day he was fine. That was a month ago. On Monday this week he ate a lot in the evening, we went for a walk and he was happy. At night he walked over me in bed. I did not understand why but did not worry. On Tuesday morning he woke up, I always pick him now to take him out and then I let him do what he has to do. He does not see well or hear well… He ate a bit and went to his bed in the LVR, I was close by busy working, I thought he was recuperating from the heat. My son came a bit later and went to see his dog first as usual. I stepped out than I heard loud screaming. He was having another attack!!! I had stopped worrying about this, I thought he was fine again. So I rushed, took over, gave him the shot of valium I had, and again same thing, foam out of his mouth, his tongue blue, his body stiff…. I pumped his chest again and he came back. We rushed to the vet, that was so traumatizing for my son, I was trying to calm him down while taking care of our dog. I knew this time we had no choice. He has been so luck that twice his episodes happened when somebody was home. I can’t even imagine this happening to him alone. We had to put him down. I could not bear the idea of watching another episode or him having to go through so much pain, so much fear after! I am totally heart-broken and trying to find answers. But the images of his stroke keep on running in front of me… So horrific!!!
I’m so sorry to hear about your sweet Bichon. We too have a 15 year old female Bichon. She has had 2 “seizures” in the last 4 days. What happens is she will fall onto her side, pee, and do this terrifying bark. She seems very upset, disoriented for a bit and really just needs me to pick her up and hold her and comfort her for a few hours after. Then, the next day, she is back to her happy normal self, full of pep. We love her so much and don’t want to lose her. She doesn’t bite her tongue. Does this sound similar to your sweetie? I have read so much about seizures in older dogs and it seems like there really isn’t much you can do medically for them. Is this what your vet said as well? Thanks for your input. So sorry for your loss. They are the best breed ever! Thanks. Linda
My Australian Blue Heeler mix,Joey had a seizure Saturday evening. The seizure lasted a minute or two but the aftermath is what has been so horrible. She seemed very disoriented and I took her outside and she started walking around things, I finally decided to take her to the er. When I brought her home a few hours later, she paced around the house for 25 hours nonstop would not eat or drink and was blind. Nothing I had read prepared me for this.I finally thought to try to squirt some water into her mouth she was so dehydrated. She finally stopped for a while but then would start pacing again. I took her back to the vet Monday morning. They gave her fluids and drugs and watched her all day and now she is like she was Sunday… pacing. not drinking or eating.
My 15 year old Board collie, had his 1st seizure today. Very frightening, he seamed to be very weak at the back end, he looked like he just stumbled over, but could not get back up and he was yelping very loudly. I kept calm for him, his eyes seamed to glaze over. This lasted 10-15 seconds but felt like a lifetime for me. 2-3 minutes later he was much better, he went off and brought his lead to me like he does every day when he wants to go out for a walk. Will keep a eye on the old lad, and will get him off to the vets if he has any more.
Thank you for the information on this web site,
My puppie red did the same thing but he was foaming yelping and shaking but his lasted half an hour non stop and his recovery was hours long and he is only 7 weeks old
That’s awful, Emma! Sorry to hear that. Hope your puppy is OK now.
Hi Dave, sorry to hear that. Hope your boy’s alright, and he seems resilient. Glad you found the info helpful.
Thank you for this website. I have a 3.5 year old labradoodle who has had two seizures so far. One was about six months ago and my older labradoodle started barking at the younger when the seizure started. I immediately held my seizing dog until the seizure stopped. I was very scared but he seemed to go back to normal quickly afterwards. This weekend he had a second seizure so I started to wonder why. This one seemed a little longer as it lasted for more than a full minute. He was fine a few minutes later but his breathing was interrupted and his legs were distended as described above. Both seizures started when he woke from a nap and started to stretch. I think of them as stretching seizures. I don’t think he has any health problems except that he has bilateral cataracts that he was born with. I wonder if the seizures could be related to his vision but doubt it. This website gave me the assurance that I’m doing the right thing for my dog. Thank you again!
Hi koofasa, I hope you read my two replies here above… I left them on Dec 12, or is it now the 13th? I might be able to help you identify what is happening with your pooch and maybe help to stop it? Let me know if you’d like to brainstorm on it… okay? This is the first time I’ve ever interacted like this on a thing like this… blog is it? And I’m not sure on how i would know if someone replies or how to get back here… but hopefully if you reply, I will see it and figure it out!?!
Either way, I wish you and your doggie the best!!!
Hi,
We have a 3 1/2 year old dog, we rescued him but have been told her is a lab, husky, Sheppard mix but we do t know for sure. He had his first seizure last December, we went to the emergency vet that night and did blood work and testing and everything came back normal. The vet said it may have just been a fluke episode, we didn’t worry and he didn’t have once since until last night. This one was a little different not as intense but still just as scary. We headed back to the vet for more testing and blood work. Any thoughts on why the pattern would be yearly instead of more frequent? Is this usually a sign that it was a toxin rather than something that will continue to happen?
Thanks
Hi Jenna – not sure why that interval might be occurring, or what the cause might be, but it sounds like you’re doing the right thing by continuing to follow up with the vet. Maybe the causes is something else environmentally, like a yearly change in temperature? Just speculating here.
If you find out more, please let us and our readers know.
Thanks for reading and commenting, and best wishes.
Some general info: Labs are one of the breeds that can be prone to seizures. I work with dogs (but don’t claim to be a vet or vet tech!!). I have seen Labs (and other breeds) that have frequent seizures and others that only have a few per year and are otherwise totally healthy. Keep your vet informed. Unless there are complications, most vets don’t recommend seizure meds unless the seizures are frequent. A friend of mine whose dog has roughly 4-5 seizures a year has a prescription for a pre-loaded Valium syringe to give to her dog immediately after a seizure.
I have a 15 year old cocker spaniel mix with poodle we think she had what we think was a seizure that lasted a good 15 minutes and loss control of her bowels. Now she seems to be having trouble walking her hide end is pulling to right leg on right she is picking different than other legs. But got up very hungry and thirsty. And just laying around any ideas
i really appreciate this article, people really do need to be more aware and prepared if a canine seizure strikes!
our 8 year old jack russell cross was diagnosed with cushing’s disease a little over a year ago. She has seizures every few days due to the pressure her tumour puts on the brain. they’re only small seizures but still very distressing, for us more than her. she usually has them at night, around 8/9pm and shes almost always lying down. usually She rolls onto her side and her legs become stiff and start to spasm,she also pants heavily and her breathing becomes abnormal and very rapid. her eyes glaze over or stop moving and she becomes unresponsive. We’ve learnt the best way for us to cope is to just sit beside her, and sometimes speak to her in a calm, quiet voice, this seems to soothe her. we dont like to touch her because her jaw often gets tense and “chomps” so we dont want to risk her hurting us or herself. (although its very tempting to scoop the dog up and give them a cuddle there are risks in this situation.) the seizures usually dont last any longer than a minute. once its finished she tends to get up as normal,but then wonders around aimlessly,dazed and confused as if she’s looking for something that isnt there.
My heart really goes out to anyone going through the same thing,as im sure most would agree our dogs are family and watching a family member go through something like a seizure is heartbreaking.
goodluck to you all, i hope this article and our story helps you and your furry friend:)
Thanks for this site. We think our dog had a seizure tonight but are not sure. She looked as though she waa having one but now has not gotten up at all. She keeps shivering off/on and has not eaten or drank any water. She has a weird look about her. We pray she makes it through the night so i can take her to the vet in the morning. We are a pretty poor family and we could not afford an emergency vet. Makes us feel so bad that we cant do anything for her but wait! She is a 1 year old Blue Tick and we love her so very much! Our hearts are breaking! It is my daughters first pet and she loves her so much. We just dont know what happened and how it happened. Thanks for all tge other posts.
I had a chihuahua who would have seizures. At first I didn’t know what to do but I wrapped her in a blanket and just held her til I could see she was back. Right before she would always come find me and it got to where I would know what was going to happen before it would and just comforted her. I never found out why she would but she lived to be 20 years old ( ancient for a chihuahua!) She had maybe 10-15 episodes in her entire life.
I am not sure if our dog Booger is having a seizure or not. He starts crying and shaking and runs throughout the house disoriented and sometimes peeing.
We will pet him and hold him until he calms down. This has happened since 4:00 am and he has had 6 episodes so far today and it is 10:00 am
Hi Cynthia – that’s so unfortunate for you and your dog. We’re not vets, but we would recommend taking your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Good luck!
My dog is a Terrier and she is 15 yrs old as of last week.. and over the course of the last 3 months she has had 3 sezuires, episodes of the falling over and stiff legs and howling at times and I rub her and in a few shes up like nothing happen.. and as much as I hate it.. I think at 15 shes had a wonderful life.. I hate that it may happen when Im not home.. and I suppose at this point theres not alot to do for her..but watch her and keep her comfortable.. shes partially blind and deaf but perty spry most the time.. happy go lucky.. Im thankful I found this site and the great info to help me as of why this was going on.,. we havent had a full time vet in 3 years – so I wasnt sure what was going on. thanks for the great and at times sad reads…. Not sure what the future holds.. Nature will surley run its course..
My dog just had a seizure and its the modt frightening thing I ever saw.we were not able to understand as she has never had one.
Same thing with my dog a year or so back, it just happened. Today he’s had his fifth sezuire. If your dog is still having trouble with this I would recommend getting a prescription for Phenobarbital from your vet. Worked for my dog, until I made the decision to ween him off of it. Best of luck.
My chiweenie mix dog who is about 10 years old just had a seizure. I remember him having one about 5 years ago but he had one today. The only thing I can say is SCARY. My little sister screamed 2 o’clock in the morning and woke me up. I saw my little baby on his side. His back legs was stretched out and he was howling. He then pee’d himself and when it was all done he seemed to have something in his throat and was trying to cough it out. Maybe it was something he ate that caused it. Anyway,he just laid there for about 5 minutes while I pat his head trying to soothe him.He got up and walked away slowly like nothing happened. I can’t even afford to take him to the vet so hopefully is doesn’t happen again.
Hello, sir. The same thing has happened to my dog twice within the past two weeks. Did you ever find out what was happening with your pup, whether it was a seizure or not? I’m really worried about mine, so any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Very good and useful article about dogs. Special for dog owners. Thank you for sharing this info! 🙂
Just had our first seizure. Thank you for putting this guide up here.
my dog has a seizure, just awhile ago… three days ago, he was very fine, but then maybe because of the rain, he kinda get weak the next day… yesterday he was fine and eating well again… but then last night, grandfather noticed he’s lying down and couldn’t stand up
he carried him to an empty bed yet the dog is still not standing up… this afternoon, he started howling in pain, I went beside him, comforting him… he was just lying there, with frightened eyes… but whenever I pat him, he would calm down
soon, the seizure started and maybe that’s the reason why he was howling… I comforted him by patting his head and even giving him a tummy rub… his tail would weakly wag
sooner, the seizure got worst, there’s no one at home, i’m only 12 so I couldn’t bring him to the vet at all
his jaws were stuttering, his legs are getting stiff, his neck is bending too much.. I could feel he wants to cry but I guess his voice couldn’t go out anymore
I keep on patting him, calling his name, singing a gentle tune
one last seizure, his legs got stretched out, and then he whined, so softly…
and then he calmed down…
I tried to pat him again, give him a belly rub, but there’s no reaction anymore
I tried brushing his brows, but his eyes won’t even wink…
my dog died
Hi Paul, I am so sorry for your dog :'(
My brother called me like an hour ago telling me that my dog had a seizure but at first he didn’t knew what it was. Everything you described was exactly what happened to my dog. The only difference is that my dog peed himself and was unresponsive for about 6 seconds. After that, my brother “gave CPR” by breathing through his nose and seconds later he was able to start breathing again.
We believe the seizure happened because of a heat stroke. Where I live, temperature is usually very high plus the dog was kinda excited about to get my female dog but she wouldn’t let her (Lol). Putting all these together we came to a conclusion that that’s probably the reason why he had a seizure.
It was a horrible experience for everyone and hopefully it won’t happen again.
My sweet 5yr old miniature dachshund Rusty had a seizure last night for the first time. In the middle of the night he woke up crying, shaking, and panting with a scared look in his eyes and couldnt use his back legs. He then urinated on himself and started having a full seizure. Afterwards he became very nervous and had some miscle stiffness. We rushed him to the emergency vet who concluded he may be suffering from epilepsy. It was the first time he had ever had one, besides an incident a little over a month ago where he peed himself in the middle of the night and sat there tremblimg with a terrified look in his eyes, which the vet believes was most likely a seizure as well. He began a treatment for discoid lupus erythmatosis in May and has been taking medication daily ever since. The vet said it is not a known side effect of the medication, however that could it be the cause and that it was up to me whether or not to continue the meds. I think i am going to stop the medication as I believe it is clearly doing more harm than good. Very, very horrible experience that I hope he will not have to go through again.
My almost a year and a half lab/pit just had a seizure not even 5 minutes ago and it was his first one. It lasted about 10-15 sec (from what I can remember) I have never been around anyone or anything that has seized before. But I knew somewhat of what I was suppose to do. First he was laying down and then he suddenly looked up and at his lower back, then his eyes started blinking rapidly. Then his legs started kicking. And that’s when he went full seizure. I held his head and gently patted him. Afterwards he was disorientated so I left him alone with supervision. After a couple minutes I tried to get him to drink water but he didn’t want to. Now he is laying down. I will be taking him to the vet.
Important info that everyone should know, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the great information! Seizures are probably the one thing that scares me the most. I can handle everything else, but (until now) I wouldn’t know what to do if one of my pets had a seizure.
Hi, I see this is an old thread, but I can’t find any information on what I witnessed happen to my dog. I have a 14 year old Doberman and late one night we were sleeping. I on my bed her next to the night stand. A friend of mine was sending me a series of texts. I have a strobe light that goes off every time a text comes through along with a music tone. This triggered a violent seizure in my Dobie. Has anyone had an experience like this? She has NEVER had a seizure up till now.
Wow, I’ve heard of strobe lights triggering seizures in humans, so I suppose the same could hold true for dogs!? Definitely something to bring up with your vet though! I wish you the best of luck.
My Welsh Corgi, Zoe, had visible signs of head trauma when we rescued her. She had a large, deep gash on the top of her head and everything. She had her first seizure about two years after I adopted her and it scared the crap out of me. She fell over on her side, stiffened like a board, started foaming at the mouth, and shook uncontrollably. It frightened our other Corgi to the point where he hid in another room and will no longer sleep on the bed with her up there too. This happened two more times in the same week, so the vet started her on an anticonvulsant. She was a zombie for the first couple months on the meds… she had glazed over eyes, she was unstable when standing and walking, and she wanted to sleep all of the time. She became dehydrated after starting the meds and wound up with a UTI. She has finally adjusted to the meds but she recently had another cluster of seizures in one week. When seizures do happen, I just sit with her and pet her softly and talk to her in a quiet tone. She is completely out of it when she comes to… she has no idea what’s going on around her and she can’t stand or walk. I make sure she stays laying down for a little while so she doesn’t hurt herself and I keep talking to her to comfort her. Since her seizures usually happen in the middle of the night, once she’s alert, she thinks that since the lights are on and people are up that she gets to eat breakfast. She starts barking and wobbles into the kitchen… that’s how we know she’s ok. 🙂
Wow, that sounds pretty terrifying! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! Zoe sounds like a tough girl who’s been through a lot – and you guys too!
Isn’t that the best part; when they finally ‘come out’ of whatever’s going on? We’ve had some reactions to medication to deal with with our Lab, and when she finally starts vocalizing in some way, and looking at us instead of right through us, we know she’s back on her way to being ok 🙂
Best of luck and thanks again for sharing.