My healthy dog had a seizure for the first time. What should I do?

There could be many causes for seizures in a young healthy dog. He could have gotten into a toxin, he could have epilepsy or something else. I would recommend a veterinarian tomorrow to have blood work and a physical examination performed. I would also consider a neurologist to follow up so they can help with a diagnosis. If he does have a seizure of that duration he should be taken to a veterinarian since seizures can have serious effects on a patient. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

At 7 months of age, I recommend a visit to your veterinarian to check bloodwork and make sure nothing abnormal is found. Idiopathic epilepsy, or seizures for an unknown reason, can develop at this age, but we want to make sure we aren't missing anything else. This might be the only seizure Jerry ever has, or there could be more. Write down the information about this event, and mark it on the calendar so you remember exactly when it happened. If there are more, then you veterinarian will need to take steps to properly diagnose and treat the condition.

I'm so sorry about your dog. I know this is a very scary time. There are multiple causes of seizures. I'm not sure how old your dog is, but in dogs under 5 years old who are completely normal in between seizure episodes, epilepsy is the primary cause of seizures. In older dogs it could be inflammation, a brain tumor, and infection or problems with the organs (particularly the liver). I always recommend blood work first to look for any problems there. If the blood work is normal, the next step is to evaluate the brain by doing an MRI. If blood work has not been done, I would highly recommend it. If problems are found in the blood work, then you should treat that. If everything is normal in the blood work, I would recommend starting seizure medication. Some dogs will have seizures very infrequently like your dog started out. Those dogs don't usually need medication. But when they become more frequent and are clustering (multiple in a 24 hours period) then I would definitely recommend medication at this point. There are multiple different seizure medications to choose from, so talk to your veterinarian about that. Many times the seizures will be manageable with medications, but it takes consistent medication multiple times per day and blood rechecks for the drug levels. Honestly, some dogs will be very difficult or impossible to control and will continue to have seizures despite being on multiple medications. So to answer your question, yes, there is something you can do to help your pet and based on the number of seizures he is now having, he needs to be put on medication. I hope this helps!

This will depend on the diagnosis. Seizures may be controlled with medications that your veterinarian can prescribe or dispense. A consultation with a veterinary neurologist may be recommended. In the meantime, begin a Seizure Log. For every event, record the time, duration, diet, medications, supplements and activity before and after. This may help your vet diagnose the underlying cause

Hello. This sounds very suspicious of a seizure. The average age of onset of seizure activity for epileptic dogs is from 2-4 years of age. Since this is a first time occurrence...or the first that you have witnessed....you may have to wait and see if it happens again. It may help your veterinarian if you can video the episode if it happens again. It is always a good idea to have your veterinarian examine her to make sure there are no other problems and discuss the possibility of seizures. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Jackie! Unfortunately in an older dog who has no history of epilepsy, seizures usually mean something serious is going on. They can be caused by a primary brain lesion such as a tumour or they can be caused by the effects of toxin build up from organ failure, most often liver. They can be caused by other reasons such as high temperature or poisoning but the previous reasons are more likely. You need to get Jackie to a vet as seizures can damge the brain badly. The vet can examine her for clues as to a cause. Bloods can be useful to ascertain if it is organ failure. With a brain tumour clinical signs such as neurological signs can point to it, but mri tends to be the only full proof way to diagnose it. The vet will be able to administer meds to stop the seizuring then can decide the best treatment for her depending on the underlying cause. I will warn you that it is not going to be a case of curing her, but tryong to make her comfortable and manage symptoms. It is possible that her condition will be beyonf help and you may have to make the decision to put her to sleep. Good luck and give Jackie a cuddle from me.

Poor Harley! In an old dog, I would be concerned that a seizure could be caused by low blood sugar, liver disease, kidney disease, or a brain tumor. I would take him into the vet today for an exam. It would be a very good idea to diagnose the cause of the seizure, and he may benefit from anti-seizure medications.