Is this a seizure?

L0sts0ul · 12-05-2006, 12:31 PM

Hello,

I have a healthy 3 year old Fox Hound mix that really freaked me out last night. A little health background on him. He's about 45 pounds and is walked 2-3 miles daily and has a yard that he likes to run in. He does have some allergies that the vet has told us to give him Benadril twice a day so we give him one pill in the morning and one in the evening with food. He's at the vet regularly and his last visit was completely healthy.

About 6 months ago my wife and I were upstairs and heard a comotion going on downstairs. I thought he was playing with his rope toy or something. I went downstairs to see what was up and he was sitting very oddly. Almost like he was trying to poop but not quite. As I got closer I realized that his eyes were wide open and he was shaking uncontrollably. He was responding to vocal commands and he would try to walk towards me but was having difficulty. We laid him down on his side and after about a minute he started calming down and then after another minute he was back to his normal self. I took him outside and he went out and did his buisness and came back in and ate a treat and acted like nothing had happened. About a half hour later we were back in the room where he freaked out and I noticed there was a fly buzzing around. He locked onto the fly and was trying to get it when it flew behind one of the curtains and he lost it. He could hear the buzzing from the fly and started to freak out again. At this point I removed him from the room and he calmed back down and was ok.

We had figured he just got himself crazy excited and that lead to the episode. Until last night.

Last night my wife was on the phone with my parents (who he adores). They started singing happy birthday to my wife and he just flipped out. He sat there pretty normally but was acting like his left paw was hurt and when he tried to move he would limp off his right paw and not touch the ground with the left one. I went up to him and he was shaking uncontrollably again and then he started collapsing trying to cover his face with his paws. I asked him to come to me and he started to crawl on his elbows but was trying to follow my command. I laid him down again but this time it took much longer for him to calm down. This episode lasted about 4 minutes and after it was over he poped up and wanted to go outside like nothing had happened. I let him out and he peed and came back in and had a treat.

I can't figure out what this is. I don't think this is a seizure as from what I understand it usually includes foaming at the mouth and uncontrollable loss of bowels along with muscle locks. He is not doing any of these. He honestly look like he is just scared to death. Just frozen with fear.

We have had him for 2 years 3 months and to our knowledge this has only happened twice. I've got a call into the vet but it could be a day or two for them to get back to me. After reading I know that consoling the dog is a no-no when things like this happen but it's so hard not to.

Needless to say this scared my wife and I deeply. If anyone has any clue what this could be please let us know.

Thank you

Eric

cshellenberger · 12-05-2006, 12:57 PM

It could have been a petite seizure. Get him a full blood panel ( 6 panel thyroid, tick titer, liver, pituatary for Cushings any anything else you can theing of) if all comeback clear it could be assumed that he is epileptic.

jude · 12-05-2006, 01:25 PM

If you have a holistic or alternative-type vet in your area, that would be my first choice.

L0sts0ul · 12-06-2006, 01:42 PM

Thanks for the information. I was affraid that it could be seizures. I still have not been able to get my vet on the phone so I just made an appointment for today.

Thanks for the help

L0sts0ul · 12-06-2006, 11:04 PM

Well I got him into the vet for the blood work. $450 later... still don't know anything. Should find out in 2-3 days what the stuff they had to send to the lab says. Nothing on the urinalisis and physical exam. I could not believe they are charging $200 just for the full blood work. $50 just for the physical exam, and another $80 for booster shots on some vaccines he needed apparently. I sure hope we get some info from the bloodwork.

Dogged · 12-07-2006, 02:07 AM

Well, unfortuantely (or fortunately) you may not get answers on the blood work, but that will be ruling things out. If he has a liver problem, that could cause seizures, but if his blood work is normal, then it isn't that, and that might make them think it is something else like epilepsy. There isn't a test that can be done to say it is epilepsy, just tests to rule out other medical conditions which might be treated differently if he had them.

Did that make sense. Hope so. Let us know.

poofywoof · 12-07-2006, 10:32 AM

dont be too disappointed if the bloodwork doesn't show much. these things often take time and more than one vet trip and quite a bit of money even lots of tests.. if you are doing the best you can for your dog, let that be some consolation in the meantime.. There are many disorders that can cause the symptoms you describe, you may have to search for a vet that has more experience with unusual diseases, or even a specialist. Hang in there and take good care of your dog!!!

sobreeze · 12-07-2006, 11:32 AM

my dog sherman a 9 1/2 year old westie poodle mix does this it is a sezuer he has them about every 3 or 4 mo. his was low blood surgar but last week he had two in the same day i am taking hin friday to vet for blood work will see what they say you need to get your dog to vet for blood work my dog does the same thing as your rocking a little staring wide eyed can here me but cant do what i ask shaking then it goes away sometimes he pants hard sometimes not we try to make sure he eats often but at times he jusy wont eat maybe we will get answers on friday hope you dog is ok

cshellenberger · 12-07-2006, 01:52 PM

The blood work IS expensive, but it could save his life. Many ofthe tests have to be sent out of office, which means the Dr. has to pay for the additional labor in the ther lab.

L0sts0ul · 12-08-2006, 11:01 AM

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. He's not had another episode so that's good. Hopefully hear from the vet early next week.

L0sts0ul · 12-08-2006, 10:52 PM

We just got word back from the Vet. Nothing was found in his blood work or urinalysis. He's as healthy as can be as they can tell. He said that we should just continue to monitor him and if he has another episode to document it and let them know. Didn't really give any more advice than that. At least we know it wasn't something that he had gotten into or something.

sobreeze · 12-09-2006, 12:21 AM

i just had blood tests done on my westie mix today he is 10 years old and has had sezures most his life had 2 last friday on the same day never had 2 in the same day before tthe vet said the blood work would show if things like liver or kedney problems or if he is diabetic but it does not show if he has a brian tumur or elilepsey so not all things show up in a blood work up hope we find out saturday what causes my dogs sezures i also hope your dog gets to feeling better and you find out what the cause is

Dogged · 12-09-2006, 10:17 PM

Once the other possibilities have been pretty much ruled out for causes of the seizures, then they figure it is probably epilepsy (unless it is a brain tumor, which you would probably need an MRI to diagnose). Epilepsy can usually be controlled with medication, but there can be side effects from the medication, so if the dog has less than one seizure a month, then the vets usually just say to monitor and remove the dog from all dangerous situations like being near a swimming pool (it could be possible for the dog to fall in and drown if it had a seizure). If the dog starts having more than one a month, or they are prolonged seizures, then they will usually put the dog on medication like Phenobarbitol and monitor blood tests every 6 months to a year to see if any of the side effects are occuring.

Since he may have had these seizures, there is a tranquilizer for dogs that he should not have. It is called Acepromazine, and is commonly given to dogs to calm them down for traveling, or for fireworks on July 4th. It is fine for normal dogs, but can bring on seizures in a dog that is prone to them. It may also be used as part of a cocktail of different medications when putting the dog under anesthetic. Be sure your dogs medical chart is plainly marked that he has a history of possible seizures, and remind the doctor whenever he has to go under anesthesia that he shouldn't have Ace.

Carcar · 12-10-2006, 02:38 PM

My dog has them too. I feel bad for him.

L0sts0ul · 12-11-2006, 10:31 AM

Thanks so much for that information. That's really good to know. At this point the Vet just wants us to monitor him and log what happens if he has another one. I think we are going to switch vets though.

that's really good info. Thanks again.

ILoveapoodle · 10-09-2007, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sobreeze

my dog sherman a 9 1/2 year old westie poodle mix does this it is a sezuer he has them about every 3 or 4 mo. his was low blood surgar but last week he had two in the same day i am taking hin friday to vet for blood work will see what they say you need to get your dog to vet for blood work my dog does the same thing as your rocking a little staring wide eyed can here me but cant do what i ask shaking then it goes away sometimes he pants hard sometimes not we try to make sure he eats often but at times he jusy wont eat maybe we will get answers on friday hope you dog is ok

my poodle is doing all this i just joined he hasnt had one in 3 months,can you help me and let me know is ur dog a diabetic,i need all the answers i can get this is his 3 one in 5 months he is wide eyed,shaking,then just today while he was in a episode he crawled on his elbows to me, he went for a walk the other day and it was very hot out he is goin on 6 please please any one help me but i thought about the low blood sugar -god bless

Chikadee · 10-14-2007, 02:26 AM

Sounds like a petite seizure, in a full blown seizure, they will not seem to recognize you or seem to be aware of anything around them (I have seizures myself). Blood work may/may not reveal anything and MRI may or may not reveal anything either. Took them 3 MRIs to diagnose my brain tumor, the first two showed up normal. I'd definately get more than one opinion.

Nargle · 10-14-2007, 01:09 PM

My boyfriend has a really old dog (Like 15 or 16 years old) and she has seizures about twice a month or so.. When she has them she usually gets really stiff and starts shaking and her eyes are wide open. She'll also stretch her legs out as far as she can and paw at the ground and sometimes gets stuck in things like chairs. They last about a half hour to an hour before she's completely calm, too. Usually seizures are caused by internal things, though. If your dog seems to be acting funny in responce to outside things, like getting excited or new situations, it may not be seizures. He could maybe be having panic attacks? You said he looked like he was overcome with fear, but Sally can't even get up and ends up tangling herself in chairs and tables, and instead of looking scared she looks really tense and zoned out. It may just be small seizures, as I'm not an expert and I don't know how different seizures come, but if he's reacting to outside things like getting excited or something, you shouldn't assume that a seizure is the only thing that could be happening to him. He could just be having panic attacks or something. I'm not sure how you would find something like that out, but I hope you get some answers from your vet

Good luck and let's hope that there's nothing dangerously wrong with your poor puppy!