What causes dog seizures, coordination loss, and brain infections?

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It's possible that he may have had a stroke or blood clot secondary to his heart disease that traveled to his brain. Or, if he was regularly having collapsing episodes due to his heart (syncope), what you saw may have been one of these that was especially severe, as this is a common cause of sudden death in dogs with severe heart problems. If you want to try to get a more definite answer on what the cause of death may have been, you would need to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to let you know where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the primary cause of her passing was. There could have been a primary infection that led to her untimely passing. She may have been suffering from a primary neurological condition or infection in her brain as well. It might be best to speak with the veterinarian that had been treating her to see what his / her thoughts were on what was going on so you can get some closure. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Causes of seizure can be divided in intracranial and extracranial. Neurological examination, complete blood test, MRI scan and CSF analysis are usually needed to define exactly the underlying cause of it.

I am so sorry for your loss of Lilly!! Losing a pet suddenly is never easy. Without seeing her it is hard to say what happened. She could have had something stuck in her intestinal tract which caused a rupture, or a parasite, or something more serious like cancer. If you need an answer, a necropsy would be the only way to diagnose the cause, but if this was several days ago, this would be hard to tell. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer. Please know my thoughts are with you!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is possibly coincidence unless the infection did no go away but spread into the brain. If your Picu had more than 1 epileptic attack, or the seizure was longer than 5 minutes, your should take her to your local vets as there is a high risk that she will seizure more. If she had only one short fit, you can monitor her at home and see your vet after the weekend.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of your dog Nancy! I see the blood work you attached. Her liver values (AST and ALT) and her kidney values were elevated (BUN and creat). I agree that a toxin is most likely the cause in a dog Nancy's age, even if she didn't contact the toxin the day the seizures started. Another possibility is something infectious, like Leptospirosis though they usually do not seizure. I have seen increased liver enzymes secondary to seizure activity (from the elevated body temperature and muscle activity). Again I am sorry for your loss!

I hate to hear that your friends dog is so sick! Make sure to stay in contact with the veterinarian and follow all the recommendations. The pale gums are concerning for blood loss or not producing enough red blood cells. This condition could cause a seizure but would normally show up on bloodwork. Seizures can be caused by many conditions including toxins, brain tumors, infections in the brain, liver disease, low blood sugar or epilepsy. Bloodwork will generally also help to determine if one of these is the cause of the disease. Urinating uncontrollably is worrisome for a bladder infection, a problem with the sphincter or a neurological disease. This sounds like a complicated illness and the pup may need various diagnostics and even sometimes a repeating of diagnostics to look for progression. I hope this helps to provide a little insight and that because of the illness is quickly identified and treated. Make sure to have her examined quickly for the pale gums. Please feel free to post any additional questions.