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Seizure, 1st one - high stressed dog.

3K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  MrsHotrod2U 
#1 ·
I've read this forum for 8 years, that's Tessa's age, my GSD. I've gained some wonderful knowledge, thank you. I am asking for some opinions and been there situations please.
Today Tessa went into a seizure at the groomer (kennel place) as soon as my daughter got her inside the door. Tessa has been to this kennel at least once a year while we travel and goes there 2x a year for a bath, etc..
It was a full blown typical (what I've read) with loss of control, shaking, foaming at mouth and recovery taking several minutes.
We went to the vet, recommended by the groomer. I went inside to speak with the tech. We are pretty sure taking Tessa in there to another high stress situation would not be good for her. The tech said all the Dr. would do is a neuro evaluation and if we wanted we could wait to be fitted in, or take Tessa home and keep an eye on her, and bring her back for a 4 o'clock appt.
For the past 5 years +/- Tessa has not had a annul exam, I take her to the mobile vet at the equine center for her yearly vaccinations.
Should I take her for a check - up? Would there be any health issues discovered as the cause for this seizure? Should I wait a few days and let her recover before putting her back in the high stress situation? She has always been a "high strung" GSD, is it possible that she seizured from the situation? Any insight will be greatly appreciated. TIA
 
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#2 ·
I've read this forum for 8 years, that's Tessa's age, my GSD. I've gained some wonderful knowledge, thank you. I am asking for some opinions and been there situations please.
Today Tessa went into a seizure at the groomer (kennel place) as soon as my daughter got her inside the door. Tessa has been to this kennel at least once a year while we travel and goes there 2x a year for a bath, etc..
It was a full blown typical (what I've read) with loss of control, shaking, foaming at mouth and recovery taking several minutes.
We went to the vet, recommended by the groomer. I went inside to speak with the tech. We are pretty sure taking Tessa in there to another high stress situation would not be good for her. The tech said all the Dr. would do is a neuro evaluation and if we wanted we could wait to be fitted in, or take Tessa home and keep an eye on her, and bring her back for a 4 o'clock appt.
For the past 5 years +/- Tessa has not had a annul exam, I take her to the mobile vet at the equine center for her yearly vaccinations.
Should I take her for a check - up? Would there be any health issues discovered as the cause for this seizure? Should I wait a few days and let her recover before putting her back in the high stress situation? She has always been a "high strung" GSD, she is only comfortable here in her house, is it possible that she seizured from the situation? Any insight will be greatly appreciated. TIA
 
#4 ·
I can only give you worse case stuff. Two Rotts with cancer and a shepherd with something probably along the lines of epileptic seizures. But there's too many possibilities for guessing. There's no other choice but a Vet, and tests. I hope it isn't something too bad Anita. Good luck.
 
#5 ·
My last GSD was 6.5 years old when she had her first seizure. Since she developed them at a later age I suspected it was something else going on with her.
I would definitely see your vet and I would also keep a log on her seizures so that you can track of the frequencies. Did she have any vaccinations recently?
Good luck, I know that seizures can be very scary for both you and your dog.
 
#7 ·
go to the vet appt at 4!!!!!!!!!!!!

no reason to wait....

Good luck!

Lee
 
#8 ·
Go to the vet appt - this dog should not be vaccinated again. Not saying the vaccine caused this one, but vaccines are for HEALTHY animals only. She may have an underlying condition (low thyroid) or she may have epilepsy. Either way, I would talk to your regular vet about not vaccinating her again.
 
#9 ·
Dogs rarely start with epilepsy at her age. It is very rare. I would go to the vet. There is most likely an underlying problem. You may need to be referred to a neurologist.


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#10 ·
What gsdsar said. Generally speaking seizures starting this late is more a clue that there is something wrong inside, whether it is a metabolic reason or a brain tumor, it should be looked at. Vets should be giving an exam even if they come out to your house. Without taking vitals, looking the animal over for potential signs for disease, giving vaccines has a huge potential to cause harm instead of what the goal of them is. :(
 
#11 ·
Thank you all for your responses. When I called the vet about 3:30 and Tessa had no more seizures, they said if she seems fine then no rush. He also said that the seizure could have been brought on by the situation - stressful. Which is complete opposite of what the consensus seems to be here...which I believe in your experiences. Matter of fact when Tessa was a puppy during one of her first check ups the Dr. was concerned about her heavy breathing and sent up red flags we went to a specialty hospital and they ran test and ultrasounds..a couple visits later and they say she'll be fine. That at her age her heart doesn't grow equally and it was only different by a little bit. Of course that's when we had insurance..not so much now. I do plan on taking her for a check up on Sat. Interestingly enough I received a postcard that she is due for her shots, I don't think I will have that done though. Again thank you for your insight.
 
#12 ·
Factoring the scenario that led to your dog having a seizure - stress. Stress not being the cause but the catalyst...you hav eto work backwards from there to get to the root cause. Hormones, fight or flight - stress, cortisol.

At 8 yrs old that is unfortunately an age where a higher % of onset of seizures are related to tumors.

It could be related to thyroid, part of the endocrine system (hormones), it could be related to diabetes (again, relates to endocrine)...

read this link (human) for possible understanding
Pituitary Tumors Treatment (PDQ®) - National Cancer Institute

^^^The pituitary gland hormones control many other glands in the body.
Hormones made by the pituitary gland include:

 
#13 ·
An 8 year old dog is not going to develop epilepsy. Something else is going on. Toxin, glycemic crisis, metabolic disease, neoplasia are a few of the differentials. Either way, time to see a vet. Although a seizure can lower the seizure threshold, she needs to see a vet. If it is some kind of medical crisis, then she needs treatment to come out of it.
 
#15 ·
I am calling today to get her an appt. w/ my neighbors vet. Their dog recently has been having seizures. I will ask for a blood work up first and all the regular exam stuff.
Good news, no more seizures, she did have some labored breathing, almost like huffing but just 1x. She's always had the varied breathing from fast and short to slow normal. I'll let you know the test results, thank you.
 
#19 ·
Update**
we went to a new vet today, it's our neighbors vet who is caring for their lab who started seizures recently as well.
Tessa was fine after her first one at the groomers, the rest of the week she was normal and even playful at times. Today we sat in the car until the vet was ready for us to take her in the room and went straight in. She went with hesitation, but we did not have to force or coax to much. Within a couple of minutes she started to seize, it was terrible. I've never witnessed this and it broke my heart. The Dr. & techs called it a "flow blown" seize.
The thyroid test was negative. The Dr. didn't think it was a brain tumor because when she came out she was very alert, even after the shot of Valium. He prescribed K*BroVet, he gave us both oral and tablets to see which is easiest to administer, for us to "load" her up for the first 5 dys at 25 mg and then 7 mg after daily. Also a script for the Valium, to keep her on it for 3 days steady and then only as needed.
 
#20 ·
Some how your thread duplicated. Did you see what I posted on the other?

Odd that she seized again under stressful situation.

IMO, a GP vet is not who should be giving opinion on tumor or not. Not at this age, as mentioned, 8yrs is usually not epilepsy.

But guess no harm in vet making some money.

Really Angryvet. | Angry Vet

^^^
I typically subdivide my seizure dogs into one of three categories based upon age. A three month old puppy, for example, that starts having seizures typically has a congenital malformation (liver shunt, hydrocephalus etc.). A middle aged dog, let’s say 3 to 5 years old, who begins having seizures is typically your epileptic patient. Epileptics are simply animals predisposed to having seizures with no identifiable cause other than genetics. We all have a seizure threshold, an accumulation of neuronal stimulation where the brain will have seizure activity. Epileptics have a lower threshold and thus seize more readily.
The third category, unfortunatetly the one poor Winston fell into, is the older patient that begins to seize. This unfortunately is usually due to an intracranial lesion ( a lesion like a tumor in and invading or surrounding and compressing the brain). As an added clue, this patient is a Boxer, a breed that is notoriously known for developing cancer ANYWHERE. Of course there is the outlying infectious disease that can infect an animal of any age and cause seizures but let’s dismiss them for the moment as they are certainly rare.
- See more at: Really Angryvet. | Angry Vet
 
#21 ·
I agree, what reasons did he give for the seizures then? Stress and anxiety csn lower seizure thresholds so that may be why it's only happening at stressful places. But an 8 year old dog is not going to develop epilepsy. Toxin, infection, or tumor are usual causes. I recommend seeing a board certified neurologist. I've seen plenty of older seizure dogs with confirmed tumors from MRI seem fine except for seizures, until the tumor grows big enough to cause more neurological deficits

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#22 ·
I did see the duplicate post, I'm not sure how I did that, I bet it was something with login...but one was moved / deleted. I wasn't sure how to delete.

Dr. said he thinks Tessa has a staff dermatitis skin infection. But not to put her on antibiotics or any special shampoos for a week or more, let her rest and load up on the anti seizure meds before we put her in any stressful situations. He recommended a vet that does house calls and can come to the house to diagnose and give us a script / meds for her itchy skin.
Our neighbor lab is having seizures also in the past two weeks. Quite odd and we're going to check out toxic possibilities...there's been a crop duster the past few weeks covering the field behind our neighborhood. We are going to see if any other pets are effected. The Dr. didn't offer any reasons why...he just said he didn't think it could be a tumor on the brain because she came out of the seizure alert ???
 
#23 ·
With the correlation of the neighbor dog, I would be wondering about a toxin myself - however usually it isn't easy to snap those dogs out of seizures with valium if that is the case. The toxin being present would be a main cause for it. Tumors are just generally what you see the most in older dogs that start seizuring, however if there is some kind of metabolic reason that would make sense also.

I have seen patients recover from a seizure and be apprehensive, but able to lift their head and look around. Simply because she is alert doesn't really mean something 100%. Granted if you start the Potassium Bromide and seizures persist, that also would suggest something underlying since anti-seizure meds become ineffective fairly quickly in cases of metabolic or tumors.

I agree with seeing a neurologist and getting an expert opinion if things seem to persist.
 
#24 ·
* New Update and looking for advice

We kept Tessa on her meds for a little less than 2 weeks. She got the full loading dose and after a few days of the regular dose we didn't see any improvement in her movement we started to decrease the amount to the point of stopping all together. She hasn't had a seizure since (knock on wood) and is back to her old self. She still can't jump up on the bed, but at least attempts and looks at us like "come on now can I get a little help* This is where she was before the seizure. While on the K*BroVet, she couldn't hardly walk around, especially on the tile floors and looked out of it, even after we decreased the dosing.
We are leaving town in about 3 weeks and might have to kennel her. This is where her seizures started. Should we start her back on the K*BroVet? We are trying to find a friend of Tessa's to come to the house, but that's only a few people and the morning visits are the biggest problem.

Thanks y'all,
 
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