SueM Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 (edited) One of my chihuahuas just had a fit I was taking him to dog obedience had him in the car for around 5 minutes, he collapsed and I for all money thought he was dying their was no foaming at the mouth or anything he was totally unaware of what was going on as I drove like a madwoman to the 24 hr emergencey vet,by the time I got their took around 8 minutes he was shaking but fully awake,they could find nothing wrong and now he is back to his old self playing with his toys He has never shown any signs of anything before and I am very worried They said if he has another one tonight to take him straight back in for one sleepless night on the way.. He is only 15 months old... Edited December 26, 2006 by varicool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Poor baby Hope he is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepitoVFR Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Hopefully it was just a once off. Fingers crossed for you. Give him an extra hug before putting him to bed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 I hope it was a one off scared the crap out of me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttly Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Fingers crossed for him. If it is epilepsy, it is very treatable:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena GSD Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Could it have been the heat ????? It was pretty hot in Brissy today. Hope he's OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 Not sure re the heat he was fine though this evening when I got home, put him in the car and 5 minutes down the road he flopped on his side dead to the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I hope a chihuahua breeder will respond. Some lines of chihuahua's do this. Can be triggered by stress etc. Hypoglycaemia brought on by stress ... and not necessarily stress which is readily recognizable. By your description, I don't think it is epilepsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jibba Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I have a dog with epilepsy, it usually comes on around the age of 5 yrs, and they have a distinct character change before the siezure, this is what the vet told me anyway. My boy is on medication, and has a siezure once a month but only very mild now, he just looses his balance for about 2 mins then he is completely normal. He doesnt have a character change now b4 the siezures either, only b4 the first one and it lasted 3 weeks, we thought he had something wrong as he was very anti social, but after the siezure, like within 5 mins he was his happy old self. When humans have a siezure they are generally very tired afterwards, i am lucky enough to have a human with it too. My dogs first siezure made him very tired, but from then on he wasnt so bad, and the next siezures werent as bad either. My boys siezures are bought on by excitement/stress, and exercise, they will usually have a siezure in the evening too, dont know why, but this is how it generally happens, my boy usually has his at dinner time, around 8pm. He will have a siezure eat his dinner as long as i hold him up and continue to have the siezure, he just thinks he has a balance problem for a few minutes, the poor boy only has 3 legs so its hard for him. His siezures are minor now due to the medication, dogs medication unlike humans does not completely stop the siezures, they just reduce the occurance and severity of the siezure. Dont know if this is much help but maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Hi varicool! There are quite a few reasons for a 'fit' to occur and it's not epilepsy (as such) unless it repeats quite a few times and other causes are ruled out. That's the point at which medication can be considered. Of course that would be not a huge deal as once the meds level is sorted it can be controlled as Nytewynd has experienced. Can you explain what it looked like? You said no foaming, did he make chewing motions? did his legs 'run' or pedal? how long did it last? did he make any sounds? I know how scary it is and it must have been just awful to be driving! Poor little man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 How is Harvey today? He's probably fine while you are still a mess. Did he do it deliberately to scare the S!*# out of you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livi Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Pretty scary to see isn't it My puppy had a seizure a few months ago and nothing since vet said it could have been caused by an insect bite or something, both dogs were playing on the grass and it is also possible in the fun she banged her head on the edge of the concrete near where they were playing. Hope your little one is OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Cant help with any advice but hope Harvey OK?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 (edited) I have a dog with epilepsy, it usually comes on around the age of 5 yrs, and they have a distinct character change before the siezure, Actually 18 mths - 2 years is the most common age for it to develop and not all dogs have a change of character preceeding a seizure. Mine does, but that is only within a few minutes of the seizure. Varicool, there are many kinds of seizures and many reasons why a dog has seizures. If no cause can be found for the seizures it is called epilepsy. Certain diseases will cause a dog to have seizures such as cancer/tumours of and near the brain, hypoglycemia, some liver conditions, brain trauma such as a knock to the head or a lack of oxygen to the brain at anytime, excitement, stress and heat are just some of the causes where it can be pinpointed. Most have what is known as idiopathic epilpesy. Idiopathic meaning that there is no rhyme or reason for the seizures. Seizures can take many shapes. They range from grand mal seizures (or tonic clonic) to petite mal (or partial or focal). With a grand mal seizure the dog will drop to the side and usually stiffen while arching backwards, foam or drool, may have a bowel motion or urinate, paddle with his legs, and they lose all conciousness. They may also have facial twitches and make soounds. After all of this they will usually just lay there for while breathing heavily. These usually go on for sometime and take the dog a while to recover. With petite mals usually only one area of the brain is affected (as opposed to tonic clonic where all of the brain is affected) and depending on which part of the brain is affected it will affect different parts of the dog. Monte, my Pug, will sometimes start gaging and making choking sounds. He will stagger as if drunk or he can just stand still and stare while his face twitches. At other times he will curl to one side, drop to the ground, roll over and then get up and stagger around as if drunk for a few seconds. Then within literally a minute he is fine as if nothing happended. One very important thing to watch out for at this time of yera is the heat. When a dog has a seizure their body temp rises dramatically and they must be kept cool. The best thing to do (if you can) is to have a camcorder at the ready and film the episode to show the Vet if it happens again. A lot of mobiles have video capabilites these days and most digital cameras too. Have it somewhere you can grab it quickly. If it is epilepsy and your dog continues to have seizures then they will need to start medicating but make sure they rule out all other posibilites first. Edited November 20, 2006 by Puggles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 (edited) Thanks guys he was fine overnight, no change in character or behaviour at all, the seizure itself, was hard to view as I was driving at breakneck speed to emergency, he was in the back of the car jumped over to the front seat next to me and then collapsed, their was no leg movements but he stiffened and arched his head back, his eyes were open no noises or anything bowel movement,he was completely out of it for around 3 minutes, me of course thought he was dying, it took around 5 minutes to get to the vets, by the time I drove into the vets drive he was fully awake, just shaking uncontrollably,the vet couldnt find a thing wrong with him, just said to keep an eye on him and if he fits again to bring him straight in, when I brought him home after the vet he was tearing around playing with his toys ate dinner normally etc....The vet said it could be anything of around 40 different things, but not to do anything unless you observe another fit as it may never occur again...I will keep my camera at the ready it has video on it incase their is another episode,maybe he just wanted to get out of dog obedience Before the seizure he was completely normal as well.. Edited November 20, 2006 by varicool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peibe Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 I hope the little fella is OK vari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy beagle lady Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Hope things are ok for you both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Reminds me of the convulsions that some human babies & toddlers can have. What Jed & Puggles said about fits in dogs....matches those, too. At this stage where cause is still unknown...'convulsion' is a useful label. Have a look at this info on convulsions in dogs...has good first-aid tips if it occurs again. http://www.seefido.com/canine-dog-health/h...og_or_puppy.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 (edited) Good dog!!! ;) That site contains some very misleading info actually. In particular this bit if advice: ....... If you can, place a rolled-up handkerchief in between his teeth so that he doesn't bite his tongue. This is DANGEROUS. The dog could choke on anything placed in its mouth. The dog will not bite his tongue during a seizure. :shakehead: These are far better sites for future reference; Canine Epilepsy Guardian Angels Understanding Pet Epilepsy Canine Epilepsy Edited November 21, 2006 by Puggles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks, Puggles. I stand (er...sit) corrected. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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