dog experiencing seizures
dog experiencing seizures
A friend owns a 7 year old half miniature schnauzer, half terrier female, who has experienced sezures widely spaced apart over the last two years. The vet could not find a cause on initial consult after the first seizure. Any ideas, suggestions? is this common in terriers?
Seizures are not uncommon. Younger dogs would more likely have idiopathic epilepsy (meaning no known cause) while older dogs might have liver problems or a brain tumor or some other cause, but frequently even in older dogs no cause is found (some of these could be undiagnosed brain tumors.) My vet does not recommend medication unless the seizures are closer together than once a month or last a long time.
Bobbie
Bobbie
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GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily
- Posts: 5011
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- Location: St. Helena Island, SC
Canine Epilepsy
I have a bunch of stuff saved on my hard drive.
I'll copy just a bit to give you a hint of what may or may not be involved.
We just had a Lethal white adopted and his new brother seized, and now the seized pup is nipping, which is causing concern. I believe it is related to adjustment,
From my info files:
Inherited epilepsy, also called "primary" or "idiopathic" epilepsy, has long been recognized as a canine disease. It is seen in both purebred and mix-breed dogs, but some breeds, like the Aussie, have a much higher incidence than that seen in dogs as a whole. This is the result of the inbreeding inherent in the development and maintenance of any purebred population. The founders of any given breed will have only a subset of the genes—good and bad—present in the canine species. Selection over generations for desired traits will limit that gene pool further and not all the genes retained will be for desirable traits. If, at some point in a breed’s history a particular sire or line of dogs becomes predominant, inherited problems may start to arise seemingly out of nowhere. Attempts to concentrate the desirable genes of the select individuals, can inadvertently bring together whatever undesirable genes are present.
Inherited epilepsy is often called "idiopathic," which means of unknown cause. The terminology is no longer accurate but was developed at a time when no one realized that genes could cause the disease. Primary epilepsy is perhaps a better term because it indicated that the epilepsy is not caused by some other factor.
Epilepsy is a seizure disorder. Both epilepsy and individual seizures can be caused by a variety of things: Head injury, toxic exposure, infections, fever, body chemistry imbalances and brain disease, to name a few. When a dog has a seizure, the veterinarian’s task is to identify and treat the cause. A detailed history will be taken to determine whether anything has happened to the dog that might cause seizures or whether it might be suffering from some other disease. The vet will ask about what the dog has done recently, where it has been, what medications it is taking, whether it showed signs of illness other than the seizure. If the dog was not presented in a seizure state, as is often the case, the vet will ask for a detailed description of the seizures—what the dog did before, during and after, how often the seizures occur and how severe they are. Tests will be run to make sure blood counts and body chemistry are normal. If an injury is suspected, x-rays may be taken. An MRI might be done to see whether there is any damage or disease in the brain. If a cause is found, the dog will be treated for that problem. If permanent brain damage has not been done, treatment of the causative injury or disease will eliminate the seizures. If there is brain damage, the seizures may continue and require ongoing treatment. Such a dog would have secondary epilepsy—epilepsy brought about by an identified cause.
If a dog has inherited epilepsy, all tests will be negative. At this time there is no positive test for this disease. It is a diagnosis of exclusion—the ruling-out of all other reasonable possibilities. Dogs with inherited epilepsy will continue to have seizures at intervals. The intervals may be as long as weeks to months or as short as once or several times in a single day. The dog cannot be cured. It will probably have seizures for the rest of its life. The seizures may cause cumulative damage to the affected area of the brain. And seizures sometimes kill.
Because of the risk of cumulative damage from repeated seizures, medication may be necessary. There are drugs that help control seizures and any dog that is seizing more frequently than once a month probably should be medicated. Fortunately the medications are inexpensive, but they do have serious side effects. The vet must determine which drug or combination of drugs is best for a particular dog. In many cases, the vet will start with a larger dose to get the seizures under control. Then, over time, the medication will be adjusted to a minimum effective dose. Even medicated, epileptic dogs will continue to seize. The point of treatment is to keep it from happening too often. Medications may need to be adjusted from time to time, and every epileptic dog should be seen by a vet on a regular basis to monitor the epilepsy as well as drug side effects. Not every dog will respond to medication. Some may respond for a while, then cease to do so.
Seizures often develop a pattern, not just in frequency but in what triggers them. Owners of epileptic dogs should keep a seizure log, noting the date, time, circumstances and severity of the seizure for their own information as well as their vet’s. Some dogs will seize at night while sleeping, others may have a seizure when engaged in particular (often exciting) activities. Knowing when your dog is likely to seize can help you prevent him from injuring himself during a seizure.
When a seizure starts, other animals and children should be removed from the immediate area. Remove anything nearby that might be damaged or harm the dog if he strikes against it. Speak to the dog in soothing, calm tones. Do not touch the dog or put your hands in or around the dog’s mouth as it might accidentally bite you. Seizing dogs may react to any touch by snapping and can cause severe injury.
Most dogs will be woozy and disoriented after a seizure. This may last a couple hours or a few days. Make sure the dog has a quiet place to rest and discourage other animals or children from bothering the dog until it is feeling normal again. If you do not feel that the dog is recovering properly, contact your vet.
The vet should be contacted as soon as possible after a seizure to report the circumstances. A visit may or may not be necessary at that point, but if the dog has a second seizure it should definitely go to the vet for exam and testing.
Living with epilepsy is distressing. There are groups available to help. (See references at end of article). Sometimes talking with other people who are dealing with the same problem you are is a big help. They’ve been there and they know exactly what you are going through. They may also be able to offer you tips that will help make your life and your dog’s easier as you deal with the disease.
Epilepsy presents one set of problems to a dog owner and another to a breeder. It is a terrible disease and not something any breeder wants to produce, but avoiding it can be difficult. We don’t know exactly how it is passed from one generation to the next. Dogs may not develop the disease until they are old enough that they may already have offspring. Failure by some to disclose information can make it impossible for others with related dogs to take effective steps to limit risk of producing epileptic dogs.
For Australian Shepherds, the mode of inheritance remains a mystery. There are currently two research projects that are looking at the disease in the breed. One is conducted by VetGen, LLP, a commercial laboratory working in association with the University of Michigan . The other is at the University of Missouri . Both need DNA samples from family groups including both affected and non-affected individuals. A "family" includes at a minimum affected dog(s), plus parents and siblings. (See "Resources" below for how to contact these studies.) Unfortunately, neither project has enough data to move forward, largely due to lack of cooperation on the part of breeders.
The owner of an epileptic dog is often not only willing but anxious to do anything possible to prevent this happening to others, but the owner rarely owns his dog’s entire family. Those who have the parents and siblings of the dog must also assist. Without such cooperation, the research and any hope for a screening test is stalled. Researchers at Florida State University who are investigating epilepsy in Standard Poodles wrote in an article about their project, "All the scientists in the world cannot find the genes that are responsible for diseases in dogs without the information possessed by owners and breeders."
With a DNA screening test, especially a direct gene test, breeders would know which dogs will develop the disease so they will not be bred. Knowing which are carriers will prevent any two carriers from being bred together, much as we avoid breeding merles together because we don’t want to produce blind and deaf pups. Preference can be given to dogs that are not carriers and the frequency of the genes for epilepsy gradually reduced without sacrificing the good qualities possessed by carrier dogs.
A day may come when there are no more Osos and the Lonnys of the world will no longer have to kneel beside their stricken dogs waiting for the seizure to end. But before we can get there, breeders need to make the control of epilepsy a major priority, supporting the owners of affected dogs and working with vets and researchers toward genetic control of the disease.
Generalized, tonic-clonic (formerly called grand mal) seizure: The seizure begins with contraction of all skeletal muscles and loss of consciousness. The dog usually falls to his side with the legs stretched out and the head back. This is the tonic portion of the seizure. Sometimes he will vocalize or have facial twitching. Vocalizations are involuntary and do not indicate pain. Often the dog will drool excessively, urinate, defecate or eliminate his anal glands. The tonic portion of the seizure is usually very brief and gives way to the clonic phase of the seizure. Once the clonic phase begins the dog will have rhythmic movements. Typically this consists of clamping the jaws and jerking or running movements of the legs.
Following the seizure, the dog may lay motionless for a brief period. Eventually he will get up on his feet and may appear to be perfectly normal, but typically will show signs of post ictal behavior. These signs may include blindness, disorientation, pacing or running about the house bumping into things. The post-ictal behavior can last anywhere from hours to days after a seizure.
Not all generalized seizures follow this pattern. Another type of generalized seizure is the tonic seizure, in which motor activity consists only of generalized muscle rigidity without the clonic phase. Less common are clonic seizures where there is no tonic phase and some dogs suffer milder generalized tonic-clonic seizures in which consciousness is maintained.
Partial seizures: Partial seizures are also called focal seizures and as the name indicates, the electrical storm is affecting only a part of the brain. A partial seizure may stay localized or it may expand to the whole brain and cause a tonic-clonic seizure. Because the seizure starts in only a part of the brain, an underlying disease or injury is highly suspected. A partial seizure may remain localized or spread to other parts of the cerebral cortex producing a sequential involvement of other body parts.
Partial seizures are classified as simple focal seizures when consciousness is preserved and as complex focal seizures when consciousness is altered. Any portion of the body may be involved during a focal seizure depending on the region of the brain affected.
In a simple partial seizure, the area of the brain that is affected is the area that controls movement. Usually the face is affected, resulting in twitching or blinking. This is usually limited to one side of the face. If the seizure spreads, other parts of the body on that same side will be affected. The dog is usually alert and aware of his surroundings.
A complex partial seizure will originate in the area of the brain that controls behavior and is sometimes called a psychomotor seizure. During this type of seizure, a dog’s consciousness is altered and he may exhibit bizarre behavior such as unprovoked aggression or extreme irrational fear. He may run uncontrollably, engage in senseless, repetitive behavior or have fly-snapping episodes where he appears to be biting at imaginary flies around his head.
I have a LOT more info but it is large.
I'll copy just a bit to give you a hint of what may or may not be involved.
We just had a Lethal white adopted and his new brother seized, and now the seized pup is nipping, which is causing concern. I believe it is related to adjustment,
From my info files:
Inherited epilepsy, also called "primary" or "idiopathic" epilepsy, has long been recognized as a canine disease. It is seen in both purebred and mix-breed dogs, but some breeds, like the Aussie, have a much higher incidence than that seen in dogs as a whole. This is the result of the inbreeding inherent in the development and maintenance of any purebred population. The founders of any given breed will have only a subset of the genes—good and bad—present in the canine species. Selection over generations for desired traits will limit that gene pool further and not all the genes retained will be for desirable traits. If, at some point in a breed’s history a particular sire or line of dogs becomes predominant, inherited problems may start to arise seemingly out of nowhere. Attempts to concentrate the desirable genes of the select individuals, can inadvertently bring together whatever undesirable genes are present.
Inherited epilepsy is often called "idiopathic," which means of unknown cause. The terminology is no longer accurate but was developed at a time when no one realized that genes could cause the disease. Primary epilepsy is perhaps a better term because it indicated that the epilepsy is not caused by some other factor.
Epilepsy is a seizure disorder. Both epilepsy and individual seizures can be caused by a variety of things: Head injury, toxic exposure, infections, fever, body chemistry imbalances and brain disease, to name a few. When a dog has a seizure, the veterinarian’s task is to identify and treat the cause. A detailed history will be taken to determine whether anything has happened to the dog that might cause seizures or whether it might be suffering from some other disease. The vet will ask about what the dog has done recently, where it has been, what medications it is taking, whether it showed signs of illness other than the seizure. If the dog was not presented in a seizure state, as is often the case, the vet will ask for a detailed description of the seizures—what the dog did before, during and after, how often the seizures occur and how severe they are. Tests will be run to make sure blood counts and body chemistry are normal. If an injury is suspected, x-rays may be taken. An MRI might be done to see whether there is any damage or disease in the brain. If a cause is found, the dog will be treated for that problem. If permanent brain damage has not been done, treatment of the causative injury or disease will eliminate the seizures. If there is brain damage, the seizures may continue and require ongoing treatment. Such a dog would have secondary epilepsy—epilepsy brought about by an identified cause.
If a dog has inherited epilepsy, all tests will be negative. At this time there is no positive test for this disease. It is a diagnosis of exclusion—the ruling-out of all other reasonable possibilities. Dogs with inherited epilepsy will continue to have seizures at intervals. The intervals may be as long as weeks to months or as short as once or several times in a single day. The dog cannot be cured. It will probably have seizures for the rest of its life. The seizures may cause cumulative damage to the affected area of the brain. And seizures sometimes kill.
Because of the risk of cumulative damage from repeated seizures, medication may be necessary. There are drugs that help control seizures and any dog that is seizing more frequently than once a month probably should be medicated. Fortunately the medications are inexpensive, but they do have serious side effects. The vet must determine which drug or combination of drugs is best for a particular dog. In many cases, the vet will start with a larger dose to get the seizures under control. Then, over time, the medication will be adjusted to a minimum effective dose. Even medicated, epileptic dogs will continue to seize. The point of treatment is to keep it from happening too often. Medications may need to be adjusted from time to time, and every epileptic dog should be seen by a vet on a regular basis to monitor the epilepsy as well as drug side effects. Not every dog will respond to medication. Some may respond for a while, then cease to do so.
Seizures often develop a pattern, not just in frequency but in what triggers them. Owners of epileptic dogs should keep a seizure log, noting the date, time, circumstances and severity of the seizure for their own information as well as their vet’s. Some dogs will seize at night while sleeping, others may have a seizure when engaged in particular (often exciting) activities. Knowing when your dog is likely to seize can help you prevent him from injuring himself during a seizure.
When a seizure starts, other animals and children should be removed from the immediate area. Remove anything nearby that might be damaged or harm the dog if he strikes against it. Speak to the dog in soothing, calm tones. Do not touch the dog or put your hands in or around the dog’s mouth as it might accidentally bite you. Seizing dogs may react to any touch by snapping and can cause severe injury.
Most dogs will be woozy and disoriented after a seizure. This may last a couple hours or a few days. Make sure the dog has a quiet place to rest and discourage other animals or children from bothering the dog until it is feeling normal again. If you do not feel that the dog is recovering properly, contact your vet.
The vet should be contacted as soon as possible after a seizure to report the circumstances. A visit may or may not be necessary at that point, but if the dog has a second seizure it should definitely go to the vet for exam and testing.
Living with epilepsy is distressing. There are groups available to help. (See references at end of article). Sometimes talking with other people who are dealing with the same problem you are is a big help. They’ve been there and they know exactly what you are going through. They may also be able to offer you tips that will help make your life and your dog’s easier as you deal with the disease.
Epilepsy presents one set of problems to a dog owner and another to a breeder. It is a terrible disease and not something any breeder wants to produce, but avoiding it can be difficult. We don’t know exactly how it is passed from one generation to the next. Dogs may not develop the disease until they are old enough that they may already have offspring. Failure by some to disclose information can make it impossible for others with related dogs to take effective steps to limit risk of producing epileptic dogs.
For Australian Shepherds, the mode of inheritance remains a mystery. There are currently two research projects that are looking at the disease in the breed. One is conducted by VetGen, LLP, a commercial laboratory working in association with the University of Michigan . The other is at the University of Missouri . Both need DNA samples from family groups including both affected and non-affected individuals. A "family" includes at a minimum affected dog(s), plus parents and siblings. (See "Resources" below for how to contact these studies.) Unfortunately, neither project has enough data to move forward, largely due to lack of cooperation on the part of breeders.
The owner of an epileptic dog is often not only willing but anxious to do anything possible to prevent this happening to others, but the owner rarely owns his dog’s entire family. Those who have the parents and siblings of the dog must also assist. Without such cooperation, the research and any hope for a screening test is stalled. Researchers at Florida State University who are investigating epilepsy in Standard Poodles wrote in an article about their project, "All the scientists in the world cannot find the genes that are responsible for diseases in dogs without the information possessed by owners and breeders."
With a DNA screening test, especially a direct gene test, breeders would know which dogs will develop the disease so they will not be bred. Knowing which are carriers will prevent any two carriers from being bred together, much as we avoid breeding merles together because we don’t want to produce blind and deaf pups. Preference can be given to dogs that are not carriers and the frequency of the genes for epilepsy gradually reduced without sacrificing the good qualities possessed by carrier dogs.
A day may come when there are no more Osos and the Lonnys of the world will no longer have to kneel beside their stricken dogs waiting for the seizure to end. But before we can get there, breeders need to make the control of epilepsy a major priority, supporting the owners of affected dogs and working with vets and researchers toward genetic control of the disease.
Generalized, tonic-clonic (formerly called grand mal) seizure: The seizure begins with contraction of all skeletal muscles and loss of consciousness. The dog usually falls to his side with the legs stretched out and the head back. This is the tonic portion of the seizure. Sometimes he will vocalize or have facial twitching. Vocalizations are involuntary and do not indicate pain. Often the dog will drool excessively, urinate, defecate or eliminate his anal glands. The tonic portion of the seizure is usually very brief and gives way to the clonic phase of the seizure. Once the clonic phase begins the dog will have rhythmic movements. Typically this consists of clamping the jaws and jerking or running movements of the legs.
Following the seizure, the dog may lay motionless for a brief period. Eventually he will get up on his feet and may appear to be perfectly normal, but typically will show signs of post ictal behavior. These signs may include blindness, disorientation, pacing or running about the house bumping into things. The post-ictal behavior can last anywhere from hours to days after a seizure.
Not all generalized seizures follow this pattern. Another type of generalized seizure is the tonic seizure, in which motor activity consists only of generalized muscle rigidity without the clonic phase. Less common are clonic seizures where there is no tonic phase and some dogs suffer milder generalized tonic-clonic seizures in which consciousness is maintained.
Partial seizures: Partial seizures are also called focal seizures and as the name indicates, the electrical storm is affecting only a part of the brain. A partial seizure may stay localized or it may expand to the whole brain and cause a tonic-clonic seizure. Because the seizure starts in only a part of the brain, an underlying disease or injury is highly suspected. A partial seizure may remain localized or spread to other parts of the cerebral cortex producing a sequential involvement of other body parts.
Partial seizures are classified as simple focal seizures when consciousness is preserved and as complex focal seizures when consciousness is altered. Any portion of the body may be involved during a focal seizure depending on the region of the brain affected.
In a simple partial seizure, the area of the brain that is affected is the area that controls movement. Usually the face is affected, resulting in twitching or blinking. This is usually limited to one side of the face. If the seizure spreads, other parts of the body on that same side will be affected. The dog is usually alert and aware of his surroundings.
A complex partial seizure will originate in the area of the brain that controls behavior and is sometimes called a psychomotor seizure. During this type of seizure, a dog’s consciousness is altered and he may exhibit bizarre behavior such as unprovoked aggression or extreme irrational fear. He may run uncontrollably, engage in senseless, repetitive behavior or have fly-snapping episodes where he appears to be biting at imaginary flies around his head.
I have a LOT more info but it is large.
Karen, Andy's ^i^ mom
Lethal White Aussies Rule!
INTERACTIVE RESCUE SITE!
http://www.s8.createphpbb.com/lethalwhiteauss/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LethalWhiteAussieRescue/
Lethal White Aussies Rule!
INTERACTIVE RESCUE SITE!
http://www.s8.createphpbb.com/lethalwhiteauss/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LethalWhiteAussieRescue/
karen posted a very comprehensive response!
My 13 year old husky cross has had seizures several times a year since age 2 when I adopted him (don't know what happens when I'm not home, but he's now 13 and the frequency doesn't seem to have changed much). For him, it doesn't seem frequent enough to give seizure meds. It is scarey, but he typically recovers completely within 10-15 min or so.
Some dogs grow out of this, others don't. If they are only a few times a year and there is no diagnosed cause, I personally would just observe for increasing frequency etc. If they are pretty frequent--meds should be considered as per your vet (as was mentioned there are potential side effects that need to be monitored for and some that require blood levels periodically). In this case additional diagnostic tests may be in order to rule out other potential causes..
Lynn
My 13 year old husky cross has had seizures several times a year since age 2 when I adopted him (don't know what happens when I'm not home, but he's now 13 and the frequency doesn't seem to have changed much). For him, it doesn't seem frequent enough to give seizure meds. It is scarey, but he typically recovers completely within 10-15 min or so.
Some dogs grow out of this, others don't. If they are only a few times a year and there is no diagnosed cause, I personally would just observe for increasing frequency etc. If they are pretty frequent--meds should be considered as per your vet (as was mentioned there are potential side effects that need to be monitored for and some that require blood levels periodically). In this case additional diagnostic tests may be in order to rule out other potential causes..
Lynn