My dog is having seizures, what immediate steps should I take?

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

Seizures can be due to a few different causes. It can be due to certain diseases, organ failure, or imbalances in the blood. It can also be due to diseases, or tumors that primarily affect the brain. Without knowing the details of his condition, it's difficult to tell how severe this is. If Buddy is otherwise acting normal now, then this indicates that he is not experiencing a severe disease at this time. There are other conditions that may look similar to seizures, so it's possible that something else is causing the episodes that you are noticing. The most helpful thing to do is take a video of him when he is doing it and take that to the vet. In order to find the cause of this problem and get the most appropriate treatment, Buddy will need to see a vet. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done at home to prevent another episode. Preventing future seizures/problems is dependent upon getting an accurate diagnosis and treatment by a veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Buddy.

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.

Poor Charlie! This is such a difficult situation and can be very worrisome. Good news is that a seizure itself will not cause a dog to die unless he has seizures back to back to back or for a really long time causing them to over heat. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to be with him all the time and no one can expect for you to do this. The best thing you can do is just watch for any abnormal behavior like disorientation, decreased appetite, lethargy, etc when you ARE with him. I would also do a seizure log stating the date of each seizure you see and how long the convulsing part of the seizure lasts. If they are happening frequently or starting to last longer each time, I would talk to your vet. Your vet may want to start him on an anti-seizure medication to prevent them. If he is only having the occasionally, most vets will not start them on anti-seizure medications because these too can have side effects on their liver. The only other thing I can suggest is to put up a video camera but this may not be a realistic thing to do. I hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Rocco. I typically start seizure medications when the seizures are occurring every 4-6 weeks. I will also start meds if the seizures seem to becoming longer in duration, most intense or if the pet is having difficulty recovering from an episode. I hope this information helps!

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.