hamish-n-andy Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 (edited) My border collie had a fit. Can anybody describe what happens when a dog has an epileptic fit? First the husky with the vaccinations, now the border collie having fits. Having a bad weekend. Edited November 2, 2008 by hamish-n-andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss B Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Sorry to hear that. Can you get her to a vet today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 They will twitch and jerk,sometimes wildy, sometimes foam at the mouth, they may have loose bowels, be unresponsive (not hear you or know you are there). A seizure can be caused by an endless array of things - do not assume your dog is just epileptic - have a full health check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamish-n-andy Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 They will twitch and jerk,sometimes wildy, sometimes foam at the mouth, they may have loose bowels, be unresponsive (not hear you or know you are there).A seizure can be caused by an endless array of things - do not assume your dog is just epileptic - have a full health check. Can they be cause by allergies or plants? Shes a four year old border collie and did the samething last year round the same time of year and same kind of day, both days she was playing around the dam and about half an hour later she just had a fit, shaking, couldnt walk straight and stiff in the legs she has only ever done this twice. Could jumping jack or bull ant bites do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss B Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 I would be getting her to a vet asap. Did you take her to the vet last time, and did they find anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamish-n-andy Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 I would be getting her to a vet asap.Did you take her to the vet last time, and did they find anything? We called the vet, then she started to calm down and the vet said if shes still not good by tomorrow bring her in. we took her to the vet last year but they only checked for a snake bite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 (edited) I'd be asking for a full blood work up. Also checking thyroid function (and given we don't have the laboratory facilities for full panel testing, would probably arrange for the bloods to be analysed via Dr. Dodd's clinic in the USA). Hypothyroidism can result in seizure activity. But then so can so many other things as well. How long did the seizure go on for? Did you actually see her "fitting"? Was it a hot day on each of these ocassions (may be off the mark but thinking heat stroke). Edited November 2, 2008 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamish-n-andy Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 I'd be asking for a full blood work up. Also checking thyroid function (and given we don't have the laboratory facilities for full panel testing, would probably arrange for the bloods to be analysed via Dr. Dodd's clinic in the USA). Hypothyroidism can result in seizure activity. But then so can so many other things as well. How long did the seizure go on for? Did you actually see her "fitting"? Was it a hot day on each of these ocassions (may be off the mark but thinking heat stroke). When my mum first seen her she was walking around all jerky and like her legs wouldnt work then she was made lay down and she was shaking, it was about 3-5 minutes, then after that she settled down and could stand up properly and walk straight. No, not hot days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 IF it was seizure activity, 5 minutes is a long time for it to be going on for and is something I would want to have checked out quite quickly. I'm still not so certain that what you've described is a seizure, although it could have been I guess, given that there are (what are they called?) .... petit mals as well as the more severe grand mal seizures. You can't miss a Grand Mal seizure. They are frightening to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Did this dog have a vaccination too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamish-n-andy Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 Did this dog have a vaccination too? No. I would like to get it checked but im not the one that has to pay for it. it could have actually been a bee sting or as i said, ant bite. I would think that if it was epilepsy it would happen alot more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Our chi x went through a stage where he was having seizures. We took him to the vet and they couldn't find any reason so said it was probably epilepsy. He was probably having one every 3 months or so and now doesn't have them at all. They weren't very active, basically he would just sit still, stare into space, drool a bit and shake. And then when he "woke up" he would be exhausted. I would definitely go to the vet and see what's happening. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 I had 3 littermates who all had seizures, but all of varying kinds. One would just kind of "zone out" and get very fearful, almost like she was seeing things that weren't there. Another would go rigid and start "pedalling" his legs and rolling his eyes back into his head. The third was by far the worst and he would start with the "zoning out", progress into the eye rolling and leg pedalling and then go absolutely board-rigid and lose control of his bladder and bowels. There was nothing that could be done for any of them when they were in the throes of their seizure other than be sure they were safe and wait it out. The seizures would vary from a couple of seconds to a couple of minutes. The vets were unwilling to medicate unless the seizures became particularly violent or a very regular thing. And yes, it was hereditary. And no, those dogs were not included in my breeding program. This was back in the late 80's and nothing from those lines is around or being bred from today. Funnily enough, for OTHER reasons, besides the seizures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 (edited) I had a dog many years ago (speyed Labrador) who had one grand mal epileptic style seizure . . . frothing, unconscious, incontenent, growled at me when she came to, etc. when she was three and never had another. I had a lot of tests run, but they couldn't find anything. My pragmatic vet says that unless the seizure is severe / life threatening, the best thing to do is watch and wait. The vet can run a lot of tests, but it's a fishing expedition: likely to be expensive and inconclusive. Keep a camera handy and watch handy. Take photos and time the seizure . . . then go to the vet if the seizure reoccurrs. If the condition turns out to be periodic, its likely that it will respond to medication. But the vet who gave me advise on this one says she doesn't recommend meds unless seizures are severe . . . or reoccur more often than once a month. Edited November 3, 2008 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polomum Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Koby our aged boxer had 4 grand mal seizures in 10 days (about a month ago)........I started with fish oil (theres a thread here on DOL somewhere about being good for seizures)...He's having 4 1000mg capsules every night and so far hasn't had another seizure. I'm hoping the fish oil has helped but will never know for sure....Koby is going through dementia as well...... Our vet didn't want to fiddle with meds due to his age........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamish-n-andy Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 I sure hope it was just a bite or sting, unless she gets worse each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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