asking for a friend , she brought her 11 year old lab to a dog pond ,that night the dog started having seizures ,any ideas would be great Thank You
Hello Julian, the two things are probably not related. Seizures in an older dog usually are to do with some underlying health issue. She should take her dog to the vet for a check up and possible medication.
She has taken the dog to the vet and they have given the dog anti seizure medication,she just posted that they have become less frequent but I just posted here to see if I could help her ,thank you very much ,you have been very helpyand I will tell her
Hi Everyone. I am the one with the sick dog. Dog pond on Sunday and seizures Monday yesterday and today for almost half an hour about half an hour after eating. Progressively getting worse. Drank a ton of water pre and post meal. Took him to the vet as soon as it started but he had come out of it by the time I got to the vet. They did full blood panel and had him all day and no seizures. This morning, same thing. 30 minutes after breakfast, he came down stairs and started spinning in circles the collapsed. Head bobbing back and forth with heavy panting for half an hour while I was on the floor with him and on the phone with the vet. They kept him all day yesterday and could not diagnose the problem. Not diabetic and all blood test came up clean. He was also treated for an ear infection as well but he has had those before with no issues. Just clean and medicate. Just looking to see if anyone has had similar experience with this type of issue. You can see the videos of what this seizure looked like on this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/328...tif_id=1528915534796029¬if_t=group_comment Just looking for advise or if anyone has experienced the same issues with any of their labs. The vet could not diagnose and just offered anti seizure meds. Thank you in advance
Hey there, I am so sorry you are having these issues with your poor boy. One of my dogs has seizures on occasions, so I understand how very distressing it can be. To have ongoing seizures for 30 minutes is pretty severe and serious - did the vet give you diazepam (valium) to give your dog to help calm the seizure activity? We have this and carry it with us everywhere. Normally anti-seizure meds are not immediately prescribed, but it does sound as though your poor dog's seizures are pretty dramatic. I'm sure the vet told you, the main thing when your dog has a seizure is to keep calm, and try to keep him safe. Video the fit if possible on your phone, and keep a record of when and where, and note any possible triggers. We took our dog to an epilepsy specialist vet, who was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, and gave us the confidence to make informed choices about our dog and her condition. I hope you get some answers as to the cause, and more importantly the right medication, if necessary, to get the seizure activity under control.
Do have a look on The Phyllis Croft Foundation for Canine Epilepsy, they are so very helpful and supportive. However, if your friend's dog is 11 years old, epilepsy starts much earlier, mine was about 12 months old when he first started. I am wondering if there was anything poisonous in the water, blue/green algae? I hope your friend gets to the bottom of the problem.
I don't know if it's relevant, but excessive water consumption can cause low sodium levels and precipitate seizures. I think it could cause a one-off seizure, but not over several days unless the dog continued to drink too much
Thanks everyone. I called the vet during the morning seizure and they called in a new med. Just gave them to him with his lunch. I am going to break into my stash of valium and give him one 30 minutes before his meal tomorrow and see if that helps as well. And thank you for the algae suggestion. Community dog park in 90 degree weather has to contain some nasty germs.
Many years ago, I had a Malamute, who started having seizures at 14. We tried Dilantin, with limited success. It took so much that he was groggy all the time and still did not completely eliminate the seizures. In retrospect, I did not think much of the vet, but he was the only one available to me at the time. Hopefully there are some better meds out there now.
This link about toxic algae is specific to where I live in NZ, but has photos and gives information about it. When the algae becomes toxic people and dogs are warned to stay out of the river - a piece of algae the size of a small coin is enough to kill a Labrador - if they don't get vet treatment immediately they will die. http://www.gw.govt.nz/toxic-algae-faqs/ Our councils monitor water the water quality at rivers, lakes, beaches etc all year round. Does the council where you live do the same? The seizures probably aren't linked to the pond, but it wouldn't hurt to enquire about the water quality.
Sorry to hear about your dog having seizures. Mine has had seizures in the past since he was 1.5 yo. He’s now 6.5 yo and has been seizure free for over a year so we are weaning him off the seizure meds (potassium bromide). With your dog and a sudden onset of seizures, I’d be inclined to suspect poisoning. But you say the blood tests came back normal. Did you get a liver enzyme test? Had you administered any tick or flea spot-on or chews? My dog had a seizure a few hours after taking Milbemax dewormer and a couple of seizures within six weeks of taking Bravecto. I’ve stopped all tick and flea pesticides and the seizures have also stopped. Coincidence? Causal? When my boy started having seizures, I asked the vet if it could be a brain tumour. He said very unlikely in a young dog. But if the seizures in your dog continue and become unmanageable, this might be a conversation you need to have with your vet. When my dog was having seizures, they always occurred in the early hours, around 4am. The vet thought the trigger (not the cause of the seizure) was a drop in blood sugar. So he now gets a larger dinner plus a bedtime snack. (He was also vomiting in the early hours, seizure or not, what the vet called hunger pukes.) You mention seizures at breakfast. My dog was also tested for diabetes, which thankfully he doesn’t have. I really hope these are a once-off for your dog. As said above, perhaps poisoning from the algae? Best of luck. At the time the seizures feel like the end of the world, and very frightening for your dog and you. But with management, your dog can continue to live normally.
I just want to add - please check with your vet regarding the amount of valium to administer! And also, I have suppositories to give my dog during a seizure, not just prophylactically, and not orally.
Absolutely agree. I don't think valium before a meal will be of any use @Vern Harrington, but you could ask the vet.
Gosh, how stressful! Poor you... I do wonder if he ingested a small number of toxic algae, enough to lower his seizure threshold, especially combined with electrolyte imbalance /low blood sugar. Although, at this stage, I would've expected some raised liver enzymes as his body struggles with the toxin load. I think at this stage all you can give is supportive therapy until you have a clearer picture. I suspect the vet will want another blood panel in a couple of days to check any changes moving forward. but I would really hold off any personal medication, such as Valium.
My late boy Simba suddenly collapsed into the side of the road during a walk when he was around 12ish, was almost like a faint with just a front leg shaking, did this maybe twice & none again, Vet found that he had a significant heart murmur but didn't think the 2 were related. Then last July collapsed with a 'true seizure' had maybe 3 to 4 more that night & one the next afternoon. Vet put him on anti seizure medication & he didn't have any after that. Turns out after lots of test he and his brother Monty had distal symmetric polyneuoropathy and we lost them both Monty in August and Simba in November. We never did get to the bottom of the seizures but the vet suspects that sometimes he struggledto get breath due both his conditions & this caused him to seize
Thank you it's been a hard year also lost both of my cats too, but we're getting over it now, and are ready to welcome a new pup after our holidays
