seizures

[Sher]

I have a ten year old Cocker Spaniel that has been having seizures. There're not real often. They seem to happen more in the very early hours of the morning. They seem to start while he's sleeping. Any thoughts?

[Pam]

My miniature poodle starting having seizures a few years before she died (no relation to the seizures.....she was 14 and had lived a long happy life.) The first one occurred in the middle of the night as she was sleeping on my daughter's bed. We had remembered some rough playing that she had been doing with my standard poodle a few days before. They were playing tug of war with a rubber ring toy and were shaking their heads from side to side as they played. Ashley (the one who developed the seizures) tossed her head smack into the wall with a loud thud and seemed a little disoriented for a few seconds afterwards. We mentioned this to the vet who said it could be related but didn't have to be, as poodles were a breed where this is seen. Anyway, there is a happy ending to the story. The vet put her on Phenobarbitol, one tablet twice a day, and she never had another seizure. Periodically we had to go in for blood tests to make sure that the Phenobarb levels in her blood were correct. I would suggest a visit to your vet and see what he says. Good luck!

[carrie]

Seizures can be caused by so many things that the only safe thing for you to do is take your dog to your vet and explain everything to him. Please don't worry, most cases can be controlled with drugs, many cases have been having very minor fits in their sleep all their lives. There are a lot more fitting dogs out there than anyone realises. It may be a one or two fit thing that will never happen again or it may be an ongoing thing. It is a huge area and the only thing to do is let a vet take control. The age of your dog suggests that medication will be needed, but, again, they are all different.

[lhg0962]

Our Cocker Spaniel, Kaycee, had seizures one morning right after her 11th birthday. Never had another one and never figured out what caused that seizure, but our trip to the emergency clinic that day brought our attention to a major heart problem that we were able to control for another year with medication. See your vet soon and let him/her be the judge. You never know and its better to be safe than sorry. Good luck and give your special dog a big "get well" wish from us.