Why is my senior dog seizing and stiff after recent bloody diarrhea?

It sounds to me like Harly is having neurological issues, probably originating from his brain. Unfortunately, the most common cause of these type of episodes in a dog Harley’s age is usually a tumor in the brain. If you are not getting the help you require from your regular veterinarian I would recommend going to see a veterinary neurologist. These doctors can run more highly specialized test and are more familiar with this type of disease process. I hope this helps. Best of luck with Harley. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hello, seizures are very scary, & in an elderly dog like Harley, it could mean some serious inflammation in the brain. Since he is so weak, I would really encourage you to take him to an emergency clinic for treatment. He may need some anti-inflammatory medication or anti-nausea medication to help with the drooling. I hope he is feeling better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It sounds like seizure activity to me. Not all seizures are grand mal where the dog falls over and starts paddling. I suggest you get him back to the vet for a follow-up and discuss putting him on some anti-seizure medication. Occasionally severe pain can cause these types of symptoms. It is possible that the gallstones may be causing him some random pain. Most often though, gallstones do not cause any problems in dogs like they do in people. Again, talk to your vet about your options.

I always recommend blood work to start with in any dog that started having seizures. There are a few things that could be diagnosed on blood work that could cause seizures, such as liver disease, kidney disease, electrolyte abnormalities, and infection. If the blood work is normal. Your vet will likely recommend that you continue to monitor Harley for seizure activity. Some dogs will have a seizure or two early in their life and never again. But some develop epilepsy that needs to start on medications. I generally wait to start medications until one of the following occur: -many seizures clustered together -seizures that are severe and cause bodily harm -the pet does not recover within 45 minutes after a seizure (should be tired, but otherwise normal) -seizures are occurring regularly (ie every month or two) Here is an article you may find helpful: https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/seizures-1/

Poor Harlow! You need to take her to the veterinarian today. Those seizures are indicative of something happening in her body. There are many potential causes of seizures and she needs bloodwork and a physical exam to begin to determine the cause and what treatment is available. Any pet who is having multiple seizures in a day needs medication to maintain the best quality of life. I hope she starts feeling better quickly!

Hi there. I'm sorry to hear that Luna is having this problem. There are many different things that can cause seizures - it's certainly possible that she may have epilepsy, but other possible causes would include a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease, a central nervous system problem such as meningitis or a brain tumor, or exposure to some type of toxin. Bloody diarrhea is not a sign of epilepsy and is not normally associated with seizures in general, so this may be a separate problem. I would recommend taking Luna to the vet for an exam as soon as you are able to. He/she can do a complete neurologic exam and may also recommend blood work or other testing if needed to help determine what is causing her seizures. If she does have epilepsy, your veterinarian can prescribe medication to help control her seizures.

Tyler may have had a seizure. I do recommend bringing him into your vet’s for screening bloodwork to rule out severe liver/kidney issues that may cause seizures. If the episode happens again, keep him away from stairs and away from objects that he may hurt himself on during the seizure and stay away from his mouth to avoid being accidentally bitten. Vets generally do not start dogs on seizure medications unless they have had 2 or more seizures in a month or have a seizure lasting more than a few minutes. You can also inquire with your vet about a diet called Purina Neurocare that has helped many dogs with seizures/epilepsy. Good luck!