Dog Seizure

A dog seizure is a serious medical event. Is dog poisoning the cause (dog upset stomach might be another symptom)? Dog seizures are more common than you think; understand causes of this dog illness.

Witnessing a seizure can be a scary experience. You want to do anything you can to help or stop it from happening, but what can you do? What caused this to happen? Was it dog poisoning? There are quite a few causes of seizures, but first let’s review the symptoms and what you should do when one happens.

Symptoms of Seizure or Dog Illness

1. Dog begins drooling or salivating;
2. The pupils of the eyes become very large and unresponsive(dilated)
3. Jaws may clench, it might look like they are trying bark or even chew gum;
4. Twitching of the limbs and/or convulsions of the body, sometimes it almost looks as though they are running in place;
5. Your dog can lose control of its bodily functions and may urinate or defecate itself.

Dog Seizure: Actions to Take

Be sure that your dog is not near any dangerous or sharp furniture. Also be sure to more your pet away from the stairs if that is where you find them. Quickly, but calmly, grab some blankets or towels to pad the head and body.

An important thing to remember is that during the seizure, your pet, although likely conscious, is not aware of anything going on around him. Be sure to keep your hands away from their mouth. You can get seriously hurt if the jaw clenches down on your hand and you are unable to open the dog’s mouth.

As difficult as it can be to see your pet suffering, be sure to take mental notes of all that is happening. You will need to explain what happened as best as possible to your veterinarian when the dog seizure is over. And remember to stay calm while all this is happening and speak in a low, reassuring voice.

As soon as possible, get your pet to your veterinarian or to an emergency pet hospital. The vet will usually decide to do a series of blood tests to try to find out what caused the dog seizure. The tests will check liver and heart functions, anemia, calcium and electrolyte levels.

Your veterinarian will most likely run tests for toxins (such as anti-freeze) to check for dog poisoning or other dog illness.

The results from these tests can take some time to receive so make sure you get advice from your vet in terms of what you can do to help your dog now (especially if the vet sends you and your dog home). For example, should you be checking your house for possible poisons or other causes of the seizure or illness?

Potential Causes of Seizure

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Has your dog been acting strangely at all? That is, has your pet been biting at the air, lip smacking, excessive drooling, staring blankly, and/or even appeared to be blind?
2. Is there any history of epilepsy or other dog illness in the family tree? Breeders are required to provide this information if asked.
3. Has your dog been in contact with any poisonous plants, household cleaner, or garage supplies?

One of the early symptoms of seizure or illness is dog upset stomach; and this stomach illness should not be taken lightly as it can be a signal of worse to come. If your dog’s stomach is upset frequently, there may be a plant in your house that your dog is eating (in effect, your dog is poisoning itself).

It is possible for some household plants to carry enough toxins to shut down your dog’s liver. This is a dog illness that can lead to seizure if not properly diagnosed and treated.

Here is a list of some common household items that can lead to dog upset stomach, and possible poisoning:

• Poinsettia
• Holly Berries
• Aloe Vera
• Apple (seeds)
• Daffodils
• Onions
• Garlic
• Anti-freeze
• Snail/Slug poison
• Grapes and even raisins
• Chocolate

Be sure to check your house for any of these items and also do some research on your own about other items you may have in your house that your dog has access to. Remember to give your vet all the information you have to help properly diagnose the cause and to help stop the seizures from happening.

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