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HELP! I think my puppy had a seizure

2K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  selzer 
#1 ·
Our 3.5 month old boy looks like he just had a seizure. He was sleeping perfectly next to the couch and all of a sudden he got up shaking and wobbly with a terrified look in his eyes. He came under my feet and kept shaking. Although He was not frothing at the mouth and he was laying on his stomach, and not on his side. He peed a little durring the episode.

I immediately called the vet and they said to watch him to see if it happens again and if so to bring him in. I am freaking out. He seems out of it but alert. He is laying next to me upright ---but wobbling slightly while laying down.

Do I take him in now even though the vet said to wait? Could it be low blood sugar? He ate his dinner a few hours ago with no problems.


I am terrified for my baby.
 
#3 ·
My girl had a siezure at about 1 year. Very scary. We were laying in bed together one night, I was reading. Suddenly she jerked and whacked her head against the wall hard, her eyes were crazy, wobbling around in her head like she was spinning. I grabbed her and held her down so she did 't hit the wall again (vet later told me this was a dangerous thing to do because appare tly dogs can reflexively bite while siezing).

I thought there might be a correlation to the pesticide they had just put down on the grass outside my apartment complex, but never knew for sure. Vet described it as an idiopathic siezure, said that just happens sometimes, and it never happened again until a month ago (she is 9.5 yrs now)

We were walking down a dirt country road, her by my left side. She suddenly sort of slammed into my leg and I looked dow at her like what the h***? And saw she was staggering across the road like she was drunk, headed for the ditch. I ran over a d grabbed her before she fell into the ditch and held onto her until she got her bala ce back (dangerous again I guess but she wasn't wearing a leash and I wasn't just going to let her fall into the ditch. A minute later she was like nothing ever happened.

Something that may become a thing as she really gets old? Maybe....we'll see. I did talk to the vet about it but they agreed since she was totally recovered there was nothing to be done at that point.

She recovered completely both times I'd sayin under a minute . If your pup is still having symptoms I would boogie to the emergency vet. Same if it happens again (my girls' episodes were 8 and a half years apart)

If your pup is totally recovered, it may be something that never happens again
 
#4 ·
and it never happened again until a month ago (she is 9.5 yrs now)

We were walking down a dirt country road, her by my left side. She suddenly sort of slammed into my leg and I looked dow at her like what the h***? And saw she was staggering across the road like she was drunk, headed for the ditch. I ran over a d grabbed her before she fell into the ditch and held onto her until she got her bala ce back (dangerous again I guess but she wasn't wearing a leash and I wasn't just going to let her fall into the ditch. A minute later she was like nothing ever happened.

Something that may become a thing as she really gets old? Maybe....we'll see. I did talk to the vet about it but they agreed since she was totally recovered there was nothing to be done at that point.

She recovered completely both times I'd sayin under a minute . If your pup is still having symptoms I would boogie to the emergency vet. Same if it happens again (my girls' episodes were 8 and a half years apart)

What you describe here is hauntingly familiar with what I went through with my 11.5 yr/old Gator 2.5 months ago. We were not on a walk however...He lost his balance, looked drunk and confused, I held him until he could lay down. About a minute. I thought allergic reaction to something I had just gave him, thought type of seizure. His gums were white.


I rushed him to the vet. Ultrasound found 7cm in diameter mass on his spleen. He had just had a recent bleed hence the near collapse.
He had a few more (presumed by symptoms) bleeds over the next week and had to be PTS a week to the day of dx.


I would get your dog in ASAP. Especially at 9.5 yrs old as this seems to be a common age this shows (hemangiosarcoma)


OP, yours is only 3.5months so this is not a concern
 
#6 ·
Chapo Update---


We ended up taking him to the vet as he did not improve in the next couple hours and I was so worried.


After looking him over the vet said with almost certainty it was a low blood sugar issue and that he would be fine. She said it is fairly common in large breed dogs for them to have an isolated seizure based on their growth rate.

I am supposed to give him this tube of good that is essentially sugar in a yummy form for him and keep an eye on him for 48 hours.

Has anyone had low blood sugar in their puppy before? I am so worried it is going to happen again. He still seems a little dazed when he got up this morning.
 
#7 ·
Had lab with seizures for 10 years. Watch them keep track of date, time and length of time seizures last. Vet can direct for medication and any special instructions. I gave mine a teaspoon of honey on a spoon to help her out of it afterwards. Even thought mine had pentobarbital she still on occasion had seizures. Not a serious problem as I had her for 10 years like that. The same dog was also incontinent and had Lyme disease. She was a rescue, great dog- loved her to death.
 
#8 ·
@ Gatorbytes,

I can't remember exactly when that drunken incident happened with my girl but she has been to the vet twice since then for her chronic stomach issues, and had one abdominal ultrasound since then (she has had 2 since Feb of this year). I have brought it up to the vet. She is under close vet supervision for this other problem and will be having another ultrasound shortly to track progress on the digestive tract.

No tumors spotted @ this time, and it really did seem to be neurologic, her eyes were rolling around doing that crazy thing like when she had her siezure, I don't know how to describe it.
 
#9 · (Edited)
No, sorry.

Did the vet do any blood work to come up with this diagnosis?

I would be concerned with the dog having ingested something poisonous or having a delayed reaction to some vaccine or flea/tick preventative. Is he on flea/tick preventative, If so, what kind, and when did you last apply it?

ETA: don't discount the idea of lawn chemicals. Cujo1 had 3 days of cluster seizures after my dad sprayed roundup to kill the weeds in the back yard.

Also, Cujo1 had 3 days of cluster seizures after they gave him distemper/parvo, rabies, and lepto all in one go.

Cujo1 had idiopathic epilepsy, but he have very few actual episodes -- those were two of them.
 
#10 ·
Update::

Chapo is back to acting normal. The vet did take blood work and it came back normal.

He is on frontline recommended from the vet. He hasn't had his last set of shots yet (next week) she was thinking of spreading them out over a few days to be sure that he doesn't react to them.

The only difference in him is he does not do circles to get his food dish --he eats it but not with the same gusto he did pre seizure. I am thinking of switching his food ---he is on Orijen and usually loves it.

I don't know what food to move to that would be as high quaking. ? Suggestions?

Thanks everyone for the information. It has been a very stressful 24 hours.
 
#11 ·
I am glad he is ok. I have never heard of the low blood sugar thing -- I would suspect something environmental or the Frontline, if applied recently.

I would not change the food yet. That will just complicate you being able to monitor his health. It sounds like he just isn't feeling quite back to himself yet.

I hope he continues to improve and I would change your environment carefully for any toxic chemicals (including regular household cleaners, lawn herbicides, etc.)
 
#12 ·
https://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-fipronil-frontline-dogs.html
^^^
Concerns About Fipronil


While the typical side effect to Frontline is skin reactions, its active ingredient, fipronil, lists other potential concerns when used on canines.


  • Skin problems – As stated earlier, fipronil can cause irritation to your dog’s skin. This irritation can go beyond simple itching as the scratching can cause ulceration and open sores.
  • Nervous system damage – Fipronil is a neurotoxin, causing damage to the fleas’ nervous system. It can have the same effect on your dog, causing symptoms such as convulsions, body twitches, loss of appetite, unsteady gait and other effects.
  • Carcinogen – Fipronil has been shown to cause thyroid cancer in dogs. Because of its carcinogenic qualities, it is important for the person applying the Frontline product to thoroughly wash their hands with soap and warm water to adequately remove the product from their skin.
  • Organ damage – Autopsies have shown an accumulation of fipronil in canine livers and kidneys, causing an increase in organ weight. Fipronil has also been shown to alter the levels of hormone secreted by the thyroid gland.
  • Infertility – Fipronil has also been shown to have an effect on a dog’s fertility. Its use has led to smaller litter size, difficulty in conception, decreased litter weights and increase in litter deaths.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Yes, definitely would stop the frontline (Fipronil) completely. There are safer topical flea barriers you can use. I think Adams has a spray you can spray on if the dog is going somewhere, that he is likely to find a flea. For this dog, I would not use the frontline again -- too many horror stories.

I would stick with the orijen for now. It is excellent food.

P.S. I used Revolution for fleas and ticks and heartworm religiously for years. About 4 years ago, I decided I did not want to put that into my dogs' bloodstreams. I stopped. I have not seen fleas in four years, if I do, I will treat everyone for 1-2 months. But until I do, I am not using ANYTHING. It is putting a pesticide into our dog's bloodstream that it supposed to hang around killing insects for a month, when we put another dose of this insecticide in there, month after month, year after year. I don't like being bitten by mosquitos, but no one is suggesting they put an insecticide in my blood stream to repel them for a month.
 
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