What You Need to Know about Dog Seizures

Just like human beings, the pets also experience seizures. Some of the things that happen during a seizure are: drooling, teeth chomping, excessive salivation and uncontrolled urination. Sometimes, the dog paddles its paws and the eyes get dilated.

Watching your pet having a seizure is terrible for most owners. Sometimes people get panicked and they feel they have no control over the situation. Most dogs never experience a seizure in their life and many owners pray they don't. Nevertheless is good to be informed on what it means and on possible causes. There are also a large series of treatments that can be applied.

One major cause for seizures is epilepsy. Most of the times, epilepsy is hereditary in nature but some breeds are more susceptible to epilepsy than the others. The susceptible breeds are: the Poodle, the Collie, the Cocker Spaniel, the Golden Retriever, the Saint Bernard, the Keeshond, the Siberian Husky and the Tervueren.

Besides epilepsy, another cause for seizures is the food allergies. The veterinarians have observed that the dog with allergies to some chemicals, artificial flavors or some preservatives develop seizures more often than the others.

Also, the kidney diseases, liver diseases, poisoning, tumors and low blood sugar are known to cause seizures.

In case of a seizure, don't panic. Even though is difficult, try to remain calm.

With a reassuring voice, try to calm down the dog also. Make sure he knows you are there by slowly petting him. Remove all objects that can cause injuries and replace them with blankets or pillows. Besides that, put something soft under your dog's head. Try not to get your hands or face too close to the dog. He could bite you, unintentionally.

Reduce the light intensity if you can and make sure there is silence all around. Noise can make the dog seize more. Try stroking the dog gently on the hip but keep away from his claws. He could curl them and hurt your skin. Make sure you remember everything during the seizure because you need to tell all the details to the veterinarian.

If you don't have a good memory, write down the time of the day when it happened, the estimated length. If there are multiple seizures, try to look at the clock and write down the beginning time and the ending time of the seizure. It is also important to notice if the dog has defecated or urinated. Notice the position of the body and also the time it takes for the dog to regain consciousness.

Besides all these, notice if there were some exterior fact that may have lead to the seizure. Write down probable triggering events that might have started the seizure. For example, fireworks or loud noise can trigger a seizure in dogs.

The dog is a bit confused and appears lost after a seizure. This state takes over for about a few minutes and sometimes a few hours. In the first hours after the seizure the dog responds slowly to commands. Many dogs sleep a lot after a seizure because the effort is exhausting. Let him sleep.

Veterinarians are also interested if the dog has had other subsequent seizure. After the seizure it is good to take the dog to the vet. There the dog will undergo anemia tests, different blood tests. He will have hi liver and heart checked and the level of electrolyte. The vet will also test for different toxins and will also do an electroencephalogram.

These tests are quite relevant in discovering the source of the seizure. If the source is discovered the dog will undergo a treatment. Most of the times, if the epilepsy is the main cause, the treatments are given right away and the dog can live an excellent normal life.

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