Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!
Become a member today!
Members-only pricing and offers, personalized care notifications, Vital Care points back on every purchase and more!
Already a member? Sign in
Become a credit card member today!
Earn 2X Pals Rewards points at Petco
when you use Petco Pay!
APPLY NOW
Learn More About Petco Pay Benefits

My dog has severe, frequent seizures. How many are too many?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | English Springer Spaniel | Male | neutered | 10 years and 5 months old

My 9yr old English springer has suffered with seizures since Feb 2016. In October he had 6 in a 24hr period. The vet increased his phenobarbital and provided anal diazepam, as it is regular for the seizures to be 5-9 mins long. Today he has had 12 seizures in the last 20hrs. the vet Has said to continue as we are and will look to increase the phenobarbital or possibly use a seperate medication alongside. However how many seizures are too many??

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 3rd, 2016

12 seizures within 20 hours is a large number of seizures. Also the length of the seizures at 5 to 9 minutes is extreme. This does certainly point to a serious problem in the brain and likely to a tumor. Make sure to take your dog to the vet on Monday to adjust the dosage/add other medications. If the seizures last longer than 5 minutes , use the diazepam your vet gave you and if the seizure does not stop with the diazepam, you need to take Murray to an out of hours vet or ER right away.

5Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on December 11th, 2018
Hi and thanks for your request.
To give you a precise differential diagnosis I would need to have more clinical informations (type/brief description of seizures, age of your dog and more in depth discussion) otherwise for a general discussion about possible causes please refer to this link: https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/seizures-1.
I am happy to answer whatever question you may have on the forum (please refer to my my name on the question).

Generally speaking, in seizure episodes with such a low frequency, long term treatment can be avoided and only emergency one can be considered (usually diazepam is used ).
Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

Related Questions

Health & Wellness

My dog has seizures on medication. When to go to emergency vet?

There is no need to take her to emergency care unless she has a seizure that lasts 5 minutes or longer. Then she needs to be taken in right away. Keep a diary of when she has a seizure, note the time it starts and ends and the time of day. Give this to the owner to be taken to the vet when they return. Should the dog have many (more than 5) seizures in a day, take her to her vet for adjustment of medication.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My senior dog is having multiple seizures. Do I need an emergency vet?

An 11 year old dog suddenly having seizures activity is very concerning. Especially if they are clustering like you describe. There are several possible causes such as low blood glucose from xylitol ingestion, a tumor on the pancreas releasing too much insulin, or something even more concerning such as a brain tumor. I would highly encourage you have her evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. It was unclear to if you were previously at the emergency clinic due to this issue or something else. However, if it was due to this then I would call the veterinarian and ask if you can have some diazepam to give this evening to see if you can keep her seizure free until tomorrow. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My dog's seizures are longer and more frequent. Is this serious?

Hurley needs to be on Anti seizure medications URGENTLY, seizures that last more than 2 minutes are very dangerous and can cause irreversible damage to the brain. you need to take her to your vet ASAP.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My dog is having seizures. Is it life-threatening? What should I do?

First of all the first seizure was very very long, 8 minutes is a long time for a seizure and that could have caused some longer lasting damage (although not permanent) to the brain, and maybe that is why Mango has several more small seizures. it is worrying that the seizures are happening so frequently, ideally he should see a vet ASAP as it could be life threatening if another long seizure occurs.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My dog is seizing for 4 hours. What can a vet do to stop it?

If Lady has been having a continual seizure for four hours, this is a medical emergency and she has to see a vet now. This is extremely serious, and she could suffer permanent brain damage from seizing for so long. She has to see a vet right away, please take her into one now. I cannot stress enough how much of an emergency her situation is right now.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My dog has seizures. How can I stop them or when should I see a vet?

Young dogs sometimes suffer from what we call idiopathic seizures (cause unknown) and older dogs that have never had a seizure before, can suffer from a brain tumor causing seizures. You should keep a diary of the seizures: situation that triggers it, time start, time ends, what the seizure looks like. If the seizure lasts more than 4-5 minutes your dog needs to see a vet right away, as this can cause hyperthermia and damage the brain. If you can you should take a little video of one such seizure to take with you to the vet and show him. Please make an appointment with your vet for an exam. He may want to put her on anti-seizure medication such as phenobarbital.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My dog has very long seizures. What can I do if I can't afford a vet?

These are extremely long seizures, i am surprised your dog is still alive with those very long seizures. seizures can be caused by many diseases but the vast majority of dogs with seizures is from an unknown reason. treatment for seizures is usually the same for all dogs, it's a medication that needs to be taken on a daily basis, this medication can only be prescribed by a vet.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Share