My Cockapoo has seizures. Could vaccinations be the cause? What shots are vital?

I'm so sorry Pippi is dealing with this. Unfortunately for a small dog, heartworms can be life threatening, so I would certainly try to find a heartworm preventative medication that will work for her. I generally recommend Interceptor or Sentinel for seizure dogs because the medication does not cross the blood-brain barrier and cannot cause seizures. Vaccinations are a little trickier because the answer depends on Pippi's lifestyle and her risks of being exposed to different diseases. Here is one way to help decide what vaccines would be beneficial for her, then you can discuss with your veterinarian if the vaccinations are work the risk. https://www.aaha.org/guidelines/canine_vaccination_guidelines/vaccine_calculator.aspx Finally, Pippi is the right age for epilepsy to develop, so other stressors may also cause seizures, and you might need to put her on medication for the siezures if they continue. I have attached more information on seizures below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=560 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

That is a decision you and your veterinarian must make. There are two injections that Brody could take before his vaccination. One is called diphenhydramine and the other is dexamethasone. Dexamethasone is a steroid and this may temporarily interfere with his insulin so you must weigh out the risk versus the benefit. Obviously having a seizure after vaccinations is very concerning. This is definitely a tough call. Call your veterinarian today and talk things out. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I would be very concerned with Izzy having this many seizures in such a short period of time. Young, small breed dogs can suffer from a condition called a shunt. With this disease the liver is unable to filter out toxins like it normally would. When this happens and the levels of certain enzymes get too high they affect the brain and cause seizures. This happens more frequently after a meal. I would recommend having Izzy checked out by your vet. They will likely run a blood test to check her liver enzymes and a test called bile acids to see how well the liver is working. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this in your young pup! Hopefully you can get a diagnosis and start managing her seizures soon.

I am so sorry to hear about Coco. I know how scary this can be for the dog as well as the owner. You have my sympathies. The first disease that comes to mind when you were describing her symptoms was one called idiopathic epilepsy or seizures. Unfortunately, dogs of her breed can start to have seizures at an early age. Another disease of small small breed dogs is a condition called hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. This disease can also cause the same symptoms as seizures. I strongly encourage you to make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible even if she is acting completely normal. In fact, that would be the best time to do a physical exam as well as diagnostic testing like bloodwork so that you can have medications on board or at home to give if she exhibits the symptoms again. Not to mention, with something as serious as this could be, you need to have a correct diagnosis performed by your local veterinarian so that they can help you treat any problems you may have in the future. I hope this helps.

Poor Chubbs. Seizures in dogs can be caused by a primary brain lesion, infectious disease, underlying liver problems (hepatic encephalopathy), metabolic imbalances (sodium), or in most cases they are idiopathic (no underlying cause). Chubbs needs baseline bloodwork to rule out most underlying causes of this. Once those are ruled out, then the vet will place Chubbs on anti-seizure medication to help manage his seizures and prevent permanent brain damage. It sounds like Chubbs needs to be regulated right away, especially if he is having more than 1 seizure a month and/or they are lasting for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. Best of luck controlling his seizure activity, I hope things work out for him.

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.

I'm so sorry this is happening to Ammy. Seizures can occasionally occur as part of an anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine. Depending on her other symptoms it's possible that the seizures are unrelated as well, and it is possible that she has an underlying neurologic condition. It's difficult to give specific advice since I am unable to fully evaluate Ammy, but if your vet thinks there is only a 10% chance of her surviving this is not good. Euthanasia may be the most humane option. If you're still not sure you can talk to your vet about specifics, or you may want to decide on a period of time during which to offer supportive care (say, 12-24 hours) and if Ammy has still not improved consider euthanasia at that point.