My dog started having short seizures. What could be the cause?

Poor Chubbs. Seizures in dogs can be caused by a primary brain lesion, infectious disease, underlying liver problems (hepatic encephalopathy), metabolic imbalances (sodium), or in most cases they are idiopathic (no underlying cause). Chubbs needs baseline bloodwork to rule out most underlying causes of this. Once those are ruled out, then the vet will place Chubbs on anti-seizure medication to help manage his seizures and prevent permanent brain damage. It sounds like Chubbs needs to be regulated right away, especially if he is having more than 1 seizure a month and/or they are lasting for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. Best of luck controlling his seizure activity, I hope things work out for him.

I'm so sorry about your dog. I know this is a very scary time. There are multiple causes of seizures. I'm not sure how old your dog is, but in dogs under 5 years old who are completely normal in between seizure episodes, epilepsy is the primary cause of seizures. In older dogs it could be inflammation, a brain tumor, and infection or problems with the organs (particularly the liver). I always recommend blood work first to look for any problems there. If the blood work is normal, the next step is to evaluate the brain by doing an MRI. If blood work has not been done, I would highly recommend it. If problems are found in the blood work, then you should treat that. If everything is normal in the blood work, I would recommend starting seizure medication. Some dogs will have seizures very infrequently like your dog started out. Those dogs don't usually need medication. But when they become more frequent and are clustering (multiple in a 24 hours period) then I would definitely recommend medication at this point. There are multiple different seizure medications to choose from, so talk to your veterinarian about that. Many times the seizures will be manageable with medications, but it takes consistent medication multiple times per day and blood rechecks for the drug levels. Honestly, some dogs will be very difficult or impossible to control and will continue to have seizures despite being on multiple medications. So to answer your question, yes, there is something you can do to help your pet and based on the number of seizures he is now having, he needs to be put on medication. I hope this helps!

Based on what you are describing, I am concerned that this is seizure activity that Romy is experiencing. When this occurs, I typically recommend a thorough physical exam and some lab work to rule out any underlying causes of seizures. During those episodes you can just make sure Romy is safe (from falling off furniture, down the stairs, or into a pool) and comfort him until the episode has passed. It is also a good idea to keep a record, or journal, of these episodes so you know how frequently they are occurring. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If you feel that Dexter may have had a seizure last night, I would have him evaluated by a veterinarian at their next available appointment. There are many causes of seizures including low blood sugar, liver disease such as a shunt, kidney disease, and disease within the cranium or cerebrospinal fluid. Your veterinarian can perform an exam on Dexter and best localize the problem. He/she may recommend bloodwork to help understand what may have happened to Dexter. I hope this is helpful!

Seizures can be due to a few different causes. It can be due to certain diseases, organ failure, or imbalances in the blood. It can also be due to diseases, or tumors that primarily affect the brain. Without knowing the details of his condition, it's difficult to tell how severe this is. If Buddy is otherwise acting normal now, then this indicates that he is not experiencing a severe disease at this time. There are other conditions that may look similar to seizures, so it's possible that something else is causing the episodes that you are noticing. The most helpful thing to do is take a video of him when he is doing it and take that to the vet. In order to find the cause of this problem and get the most appropriate treatment, Buddy will need to see a vet. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done at home to prevent another episode. Preventing future seizures/problems is dependent upon getting an accurate diagnosis and treatment by a veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Buddy.

I always recommend blood work to start with in any dog that started having seizures. There are a few things that could be diagnosed on blood work that could cause seizures, such as liver disease, kidney disease, electrolyte abnormalities, and infection. If the blood work is normal. Your vet will likely recommend that you continue to monitor Harley for seizure activity. Some dogs will have a seizure or two early in their life and never again. But some develop epilepsy that needs to start on medications. I generally wait to start medications until one of the following occur: -many seizures clustered together -seizures that are severe and cause bodily harm -the pet does not recover within 45 minutes after a seizure (should be tired, but otherwise normal) -seizures are occurring regularly (ie every month or two) Here is an article you may find helpful: https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/seizures-1/

Poor Oliver! He really needs to see a veterinarian as an examination, blood work, and imaging (like X-rays) will be necessary to determine the cause of seizures. Unfortunately cancer is a common cause of seizures in an older dog. Medication can be prescribed to reduce the seizure activity and to give Oliver a better quality of life. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Oliver receives the medical care he needs to manage his health issues.