Puppy had a SEIZURE???

[shelleyd2008]

That's the only thing I can figure, as she seems fine now! My son and I were walking the garbage to the road, with a pack of beagle pups following as usual. There is a small creek that crosses the driveway, which is no big deal, the pups go through it all the time. We were coming back, and I turned to see where 'Meanie' was, since she is almost always right under my feet. She was walking, but not very well. She was picking her legs up really high, I thought she had hurt her foot. I picked her up, and she wanted to lay on her back, with both paws beside her head??? After a few minutes she stopped this, but she was very shaky, and her head was wobbley. I thought she was going to die! After about 10 minutes, she was running around the yard like nothing happened.

The road is about 1/4 mile away, and it is fairly warm today, in the mid 70's. The water running in the creek is very cold, and I know the pups were all getting a drink as they walked through. I'm thinking it has something to do with the pup being hot and drinking cold water? What do you guys think? She seems just fine now, but it was surely scary!!

 

[monarc23]

Doesnt seem hot enough to cause any heat issues but maybe if she was being overly boysterous.

Do they have their distemper shots? If not, i'd be slightly keeping an eye on them for that as distemper can make puppies act pretty weird like that.

She wasnt bonked in the head or anything earlier in the day or yesterday?


*randomly thinking of possible causes in my head* I'm sure it's nothing to worry about but i'd just keep an eye on her

 

[Redfeathers]

It could have been a petite mal seizure, it doesn't sound severe enough to be a grand mal. Write down when it happened and how long it went on for. If it happens again, call the vet and tell them about this one as well.

Usually if it is a seizure, they have you observe the dog until it happens again. They will do blood work and if needed they will prescribe phenobarbital (sp?). I had seizure problems for a few months last year with one of my Setters, we found out it was the Frontline causing them. He was on pheno for several months and I gradually weaned him off once I knew what the source was. He's absolutely fine now. There is alot of info about seizures online if you want to read up and compare what happened to what the symptoms are.

 

[horsejody]

Yes, it could be a seizure. Hopefully, it wasn't. My Lhasa Apso, Leo, has seizures. I strongly recommend that you watch her closely. Seizures come in many forms. Leo has grand mal seizures and focal seizures. My friend has a dog that has seizures similar to what you described. I don't know the proper terminology for that type of seizure. Grand mals cause convulsions and there is no doubt to anybody witnessing it that it is a seizure. Focals are a little less evident. For example, the other night Leo was sleeping by my feet on the livingroom floor. He suddenly jumped up and started trying to eat a throw rug. Then he ran to the back door like he was trying to escape. When I took him outside he started ripping grass out of the ground. He was very confused and wouldn't respond to his name. When I brought him in he seemed to recover a bit and then started smacking his lips (very common focal seizure behaviour - sounds like they are chewing gum) and swallowing a lot. Then we went through the licking the carpet phase. Some dogs sit there and act like they are snapping at imaginary flies. Focal seizures cause only a part of the brain to be effected. It often causes strange behaviour because the dog's senses can be distorted. If you ever suspect that a dog is having a seizure, comfort the dog but DO NOT PUT YOUR FACE OR HANDS NEAR THE DOG'S MOUTH AND KEEP CHILDREN AND OTHER ANIMALS AWAY!!!!!!!! Sorry to yell that last part, but a dog experiencing a seizure may be seeing a distorted version of the world and may be confused and frightened. You don't look like you. It's confusing. The dog may bite out of fear and not even know that it is a loved one they are biting. Watch the dog closely. Most vets have no experience with seizures. If the dog continues to have problems, seek out a specialist

 

[farmerlor]

I had a little Chihuahua who used to have seizures if he was really wound up. My vet didn't act concerned, said it was something that you heard about sometimes with small purebreds. 'Course that was ....about 30 some years ago and it may actually be something to worry about now, who knows?
I hope you find some answers, I know how scary it can be.

 

[Marli's chicks]

I had a collie who had seizures only when he was asleep at night.

Turned out he had food allergies and was also hypersensitive to his heartworm medicine. Once we figured out what foods caused the seizures, adjusted his diet, and changed his heartworm medicine he was much, much better. When he got something from the trash can or helped himself to the other animal's food, I could always tell.

I took him to multiple Vets in trying to diagnose what the problem was. None of them wanted to use Pheno except as a last resort. Too many side effects.