The First Seizure
Today’s blog is to the people that have witnessed their first seizure in their dog, or what they think is a seizure. Here are three questions your veterinarian will ask you about the possible seizure. This information will help your veterinarian start to put together the puzzle pieces to determine if this is canine epilepsy or possibly an event related to another medical issue. Being prepared to answer these questions with as much information as you can will be helpful. Don’t try to diagnose your dog yourself. You will need the help of your veterinarian to help identify what is happening medically for your dog as well as you will need your veterinarian’s help to then come up with a treatment plan if it is canine epilepsy. Seizures can be dangerous for dogs so the help of your vet from the very start is necessary.
The first question that your vet is going to ask you is what did you observe? Some seizure symptoms include a dog collapsing, they may jerk back and forth, they may become very still, there may be a lot of muscle twitching, they may lose consciousness, they may drool, they may chomp, they may foam at the mouth, they may fall on their side and start paddling their legs, and sometimes they will poop or pee during a seizure. These are the types of behaviors you would want to describe to your vet if you witnessed them.
The second question that your vet might ask is how many episodes did you observe and how long did each last. You will want to estimate the length of time you observed each episode to last to the best of your ability. If you observed multiple seizure episodes, try to remember what time each one occured as this information is helpful for your vet to know how much time lapsed between episodes.
The third question will be, did anything happen that stands out or was different prior to the seizure occurring? Was your dog experiencing stress that they normally wouldn’t be. An example might be you just moved. Have you noticed any other medical changes in your dog? Did you feed your dog something different than the norm? This could include their kibble or treats. Is there any chance that your dog was exposed to anything toxic, such as chemicals (paints or stains) or poisons (rodent or ant) in your home or yard? Try to think back during the 24 hour period before the episode occurred to remember if anything different happened. Look around your house or yard to see if your dog got into any products that they shouldn’t have. This can be very helpful information for your vet to help diagnose what could be going on medically with your dog.
Those are the three main questions that your vet is going to be asking after you experienced that first incident that looked like a seizure. The more information that you can provide the better. Your vet will do a physical exam and run blood tests as well. I hope this information helps. Your dog’s first seizure can be very scary but with the right medical intervention your dog can lead a very happy and normal life. This is what I’ve learned with Ruby and thanks for learning with me today!