Need advice – Dog has seizure a few days ago

[Guest]

The vet said take him home and watch him. Today another. What should I do? Demand blood work?

[Anita]

In my very limited experience, I believe it can be really difficult and expensive to pin down the cause of seizures. Just speaking from my own experience, your vet isn't wrong to say just watch him.

(Your vet also should have told you what to do if the seizure goes on for too long.) As long as the seizures are very short and the dog recovers farily quickly, just monitor and document - in an effort to find some kind of pattern. I would also recommend eliminating any unnecessary treats, meds or supplements.

Take a close look at the cleaning products used in your home. Keep in close contact with your vet --- and it certainly doesn't hurt to run bloodwork.

And hugs to you --- I know how horrible it feels to watch your dog having a seizure. Hopefully you'll figure out how to get them under control.

Don't miss: Besides making them comfortable, safe and secure, what can be done for dogs post seizure during the Postictal Phase?

[Kira]

Is he insured/ do you have enough money to see a neurologist? (You don’t actually have to answer that question, it’s more a question for yourself) A neurologist is the most likely to be able to give you the best answers.

However, at this age idiopathic epilepsy is most likely which means all of his tests will come back normal.

You could ask the vet about starting medication if you feel it would benefit your dog.

[Sharon]

Is your dog young or old? If young, could be epilepsy, if old, more like brain tumor or the like. Anti-seizure meds could be helpful. MRI would be helpful, but really expensive.

[Alexus]

Don’t interfere with the dog’s seizures other than maybe sliding something under their head if they’re tonic clonic. Try to take video recordings of the seizures, & keep logs of how frequent they are & how long they last.

If they become frequent, it’s time to go in for some labwork/testing.

There are medications that can be prescribed to keep them controlled/decrease the frequency.

I know it’s scary, but seizures are not commonly seen as true ‘emergencies’ in veterinary medicine. Look into scheduling an appointment.

Explore these too: Any wonderful ideas for keeping the cone of shame on a particularly feisty feline?

[Padilla]

Definitely! Asap! Something is wrong with him.

[Jess]

I’d go to your vet and discuss. Sometimes after 1 they won’t start meds or anything but usually 2 or more they do. I’d start with bloodwork for sure as seizures are caused by either something outside of the brain (blood sugar issues, liver issues) or something inside of the brain.

Even with seizures, it may be even idiopathic epilepsy given your dogs young age, but still worth calling your vet for bloodwork and to start meds.

Also, check out: Does anyone know what might be going on with my 22 year old kitty?

[Laurie]

Age is important.