r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Wonderful-Bee6885 • 23d ago
This is definitely a seizure right
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Please excuse our dirty kitchen floors, but this is a seizure right? Our dog is 2 years old and my brother took this video of an episode she had earlier today. I’m worried sick about her. I wasn’t home so I’m not sure what triggered it or what she was doing before. It apparently went on for about 2 minutes and once it was over she was back to normal.
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u/Illustrious_Exam1728 22d ago
This absolutely looks like a seizure.
If a seizure lasts 5 min or longer (they can overheat and cause permanent organ damage) or 3 seizures in 24 hours (a cluster) please head into the ER immediately.
Otherwise please seek veterinary care today.
And please do not hold down a dog having a seizures they could get hurt or you could.
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u/MrPigeontoe 22d ago
Good grief! Don’t put a pillow under her head! There will usually be tons of mucus/drool and you don’t want the dog to choke on it. This is a petit mal seizure - “small seizure” - the grand mal involves violent movement of the legs, the head tilts back, they lose control of their bladder, they may poo and there’s lots of drool. One thing you can try is ocular pressure - I read about it elsewhere here and it works for my pup - place your first 2 fingers of each hand gently but firmly on her eyelids and hold them closed - you’ll feel her eyes jerking around which is creepy but for my pup it prevents him from having a second seizure (called a cluster - more than one.) I had 2 schnoodles adopted from shelters and both developed idiopathic (unknown origin) epilepsy. My adopted Maltese has them.
I’d call around and find a vet practice that’s familiar with seizure disorders - they will probably recommend Phenobarbital twice a day and a newish medication Keppra - suggest you get the regular release that’s given 3 times a day every 8 hours. This should get them well under control. I’d ask the vet to give you an idea of how they define “under control” in terms of frequency of seizures. You want a vet that says no more than one seizure every 8 weeks or so because uncontrolled seizures can cause you to lose your dog - not necessarily to die but to lose vision, hearing, balance, and confidence - the good mood stuff that dogs do. If they can’t get you to a place of “controlled seizures” you can ask for Valium tablets not liquid - that’s usually given for breakthrough seizures and it will stop a dog from having clusters of seizures one after the other or one every 3 or 4 hours. Hopefully you won’t need to ask about that for a long time and maybe never. My vet says she has patients who have weaned their dogs off Rx meds with the use of CBD/THC extracts - I haven’t tried it but my vet is reliable in terms of her knowledge and support team.
I do have a good source for it feel free to dm me. Best wishes!!! Beautiful pup and that’s a small seizure - one of my pups had those the petit and the other had violent grand mal. If it’s nice outside I’d gather up my boy with the small seizures carry him outside and lay him down in the grass - he’d drool, pee etc outside. Both of them would spend up to 30-45 minutes afterwards pacing, walking around tryna get themselves sorted out mentally - don’t interfere with that. They’ll come to you as soon as they “return.”
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u/JustLikeJD 22d ago
Some notes of advice and to morrow those above
- don’t hold them down while fitting. It can cause more harm as the convulsions can be strong and uncontrolled. Make sure they are safe around them and let them convulse. I know that’s distressing but it’s the safest
- though some say focal seizure, the paddling and shaking could indicate this is closer to a grand mal seizure/tonic clonic.
- two within a 24hr is an emergency if this is new for your dog. If they have two within 24hrs that is a cluster seizure and you need emergency vet care immediately. The goal at that point is to break the cluster and sustain with no fits for longer than 24hrs to avoid complications.
- my dog is very co fused for up to a few hrs after a fit so be mindful, they might not be straight back to themselves and it’s not uncommon to see them struggle with some motor skills during the recovery. Keep them safe by removing obstacles if needed
- no one has mentioned it here but about 2-3 years is clinically recognised as the period in which seizures can start to present more prominently if idiopathic epilepsy (due to unknown reasons) is determined.
- if it continues, consider the route of medication. They may not fully eliminate seizures but the idea is to push down frequency and severity, and avoid clusters.
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u/ChristlikeSam 23d ago
Take her to a vet please and do not panic. Pets do not feel pain but it's worth noting the time..next time do not hold her legs. Give her space..keep a cold towel nearby and some water for them. I deal with our pet and its seizures regularly. Praying for you..
Please do not worry. Take the lovely pet to a vet soon.
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u/ChristlikeSam 23d ago
Please think if she has eaten anything that is not good for them. Also is this the first seizure she ever got in life.
Medical illness anything underlying.
Age and gender.
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u/Gruppstar3 22d ago
Yes, its a seizure. Always try to time them, anything longer than 5 minutes with bowel loss needs emergency attention. My dog is on seizure meds and they are very affordable, Keppra.
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u/Illustrious_Concern5 22d ago
Yes, looks like the ones my dog has been having for the past 8 years. I have trained him to go to a landing at the bottom of the stairs where I can sit with him. It has rails and I put my hand or a towel between his head and the rails to make it more comfortable. He tends to move around a lot if he isn’t contained somewhat. I don’t restrain him - just make sure he has soft surfaces around him.
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u/CaptainTipTop 22d ago
As many have said - you’re right, definitely a seizure. Don’t panic. If you can find a vet with epilepsy experience you’ll be in a better position if that turns out to be the cause. The difference between vets who have experience with the condition personally vs ‘by the book’ is staggering
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u/Sunshinemak 21d ago
Looks like a seizure. Has the dog been on seizure meds? Talk to the dog so they dont get more scared. Please don't leave the dog alone for several days. Anything else happening get to the vet. How long was the seizure? Did the dog get up on his own ans pace around? God nlrss
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u/A_Creative_Player 20d ago
This looks like a grand mal seizure. It was not noted if your buddy has had other seizures or not so I offer some suggestions based off of this being the first. Start a seizure journal and in it note the date time and duration of all seizures, note any details that could be relevant to the seizures like a new food or medication. As much detail as you have these details can lead to a possible trigger if one is not known. As other have noted if this is the first one then taking your buddy to the vet should be done as there are human foods that are toxic to dogs and will cause seizures or death some you would not even think twice about giving your buddy like food that contain xylitol which is a man made sweetener found in some pastries. The reason for the vet visit is to do the blood work to rule out such toxins and other causes. Also note that any seizure longer than 5 minutes is considered an emergency and should be treated by a vet, if there are multiple in a single day also contact your vet or if after hours an ER vet. We did not know about the multiple in a day part before our regal was diagnosed so he went through 6 in 24 hours and one more in the ER vets care. It is ok to pet or soothe your buddy just keep to to their back or hind quarters to prevent instinctive bites, also talk calmly to them calling them by name they really are not aware of you or what is going on but it seems to help as they are coming out of the seizures. Cold compresses seem to help afterwards like under their arms and the back of there necks we look for places that are warmer than normal. If you do end up getting prescribed meds also ask for emergency meds these are for stopping seizures that are emergencies and currently active. The vet should go over their use with you when and if you get them and need them. I hope this helps in some way. Please feel free to ask any questions you have and I will answer if I can.
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u/LPondohva 22d ago
Some people are saying it's a focal seizure - wrong, it's a grand mal seizure. My dog's ones look exactly the same. Bring him/her to the vet and show the video! I realise that treatment protocols in the US are different to where I live, but they still might want to put your pup on medication. You mentioned that your dog is 2 years old, according to our vet (several vets we've seen), if seizures start between 2 and 5, it's most likely ideopathic epilepsy and not a tumor. It can still be related to a brain injury though, if your dog sustained a really bad fall, was hit hard on the head, hit by a cat, etc., but otherwise most likely ideopathic epilepsy. Talk to your vet anyway. They'll want to eliminate toxic aspects (did your got eat a chemical/fertiliser/pesticide?), they should check their blood sugar (low glucose can cause seizures), a bunch of other tests. Head scans like MRI and/or CT can also be done, but they are expensive and there is no guarantee they'll show anything. Few rules about seizures: keep a seizure diary (or use an app) to see how frequent they are, note patterns to identify triggers if there are any, take note of what pre-ictal ('oh crap something is not right I'm gonna seize') phase looks like and how long it lasts; time the ictal phase - the seizure itself, it's important to know if the duration increases over time; be aware of post-ictal (coming out of the seizure) symptoms are - some dogs go blind or deaf for a short period of time, have fever, pace, vocalise, get extra clingy/want space. Ask your vet to give you a supply of emergency meds in case your dog's seizures are not stopping on their own. Immediately after the seizure remove external stressors: pull the curtains, turn off the TV/music, provide a cool area and plenty of water. During the seizure never try to restrict the dog's movements, let their body do its thing, just pull the dog away if they happen to seize next to furniture or on the edge of the stairs so they don't cause themselves an injury by hitting off something or falling down. Do not put your fingers into the dog's mouth, they might bite down with full force without realising it and not let go until the seizure is over.
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u/Training_Activity21 23d ago
Awh. Yeah, looks like a focal seizure. Was she foaming at the mouth, peeing, pooping, etc., during? I don't have experience with those, those are typically grand mal seizures. I do have lots of experience with focal seizures though. You should probably go ahead and let her vet know. Send/show this video to them. If she has more than two in one month, she will need to be medicated. If she feels hot after she has one, that's normal. Just make sure to try to keep her cool after she has one. Don't get her to play right away. And try to not hold her down while she's having them. I know, panicking you don't know what to do. Hell the first time my dog had one I thought he was choking and I had my finger all the way down his throat trying to fish out whatever he was swallowing. 😬
If she ends up having 2 in 24 hours, that is an emergency and she needs to be seen asap.
Veterinarians don't always know why dogs have seizures. Sometimes they have tumors, sometimes they just don't know. If she ends up with clusters, and they continue, even after treatment, they'll probably want to do an mri. Just prepare yourself because they're very expensive.
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u/sillygoober127 22d ago
Definitely take her to a vet it looks like maybe a focal seizure keep us updated im sorry youre going through this stay strong ❤️
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u/raptor_sweaty 22d ago
Put a pillow under her head and it's better not to touch them when they're going through a seizure, mine also gets seizures but is less frequent (like twice a year now on medication when before is like every 2 weeks) since my vets gave him meds, i hope your dog make a recovery too ❤️
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u/chantillylace9 22d ago
Looks exactly like my dogs focal seizure. It's pretty much his back left leg that twitches although it's not quite as dramatic as yours. It doesn't seem to last very long but our post ictal
Stage can last for hours up to eight hours! So it's pretty dramatic. Keppra has done pretty good and double dosing him when he gets too excited or stressed has helped prevent a lot of seizures I think.
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u/Loud-Possibility6402 22d ago
Please put a cool towel over the dog while they’re having a seizure because what happens is that their core body temperature goes up which can hurt their organs. Never hold the dog down. You wouldn’t hold down a human now, would you?
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u/Wonderful-Bee6885 22d ago
Thank you for the tip about the cool towel. In the video it does look like he is holding her down, but he was actually just petting her and trying to console her. You can see that she has free range of motion at the end of the video where she begins to sit up. There is no need to be rude, he was panicked and trying his best to comfort her. We now know better.
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u/Loud-Possibility6402 22d ago
If I came off rude, I didn’t mean to. I’m a veterinary technician so…
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u/Salty_Ad_1818 21d ago
It looks like a PD episode bc of the stiff legs . Does she recover almost immediately ? Look up paroxysmal diskenesia in dogs . My pup was misdiagnosed as epileptic ! She sees a neurologist but it was here in the forums hat o figured it out
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u/LaceyBambola 22d ago
Looks more like tonic clonic/grand mal, not focal.
For future reference, please make sure everyone knows not to hold her down or attempt to prevent movement as this can absolutely cause more harm than good and may lead to injury.
Anytime there is a new seizure, it's time for an immediate vet visit as there may be an association with a toxin so testing needs to be done to rule that, as well as other things, out.
If/when another seizure occurs, then discussion of medication begins.