Seizure

[Walksalot]

My four year old Border Colie had a siezure last night, it lasted about a minute and a half. He lost bladder control, was foaming at the mouth and was spasming uncontrollably. To my knowledge this is the first time it happened and scared the hell out of me and my son. I thought for a second he might have gotten into some poison but it was my son who said seizure. After the dog came out of it he was confused for a while. Could this be a one time event or is this a sign of things to come?

[rocksteady]

Take him to the vet ASAP and get him checked, we had a dog that would do that and it was diagnosed with epilepsy....Good luck..

[The Dawg]

Same advice....get to a vet asap...my shepherd did that last January.....I know how terrifying it is to not know whats going on...good luck

[Beverly]

My four year old Border Colie had a siezure last night, it lasted about a minute and a half. He lost bladder control, was foaming at the mouth and was spasming uncontrollably. To my knowledge this is the first time it happened and scared the hell out of me and my son. I thought for a second he might have gotten into some poison but it was my son who said seizure. After the dog came out of it he was confused for a while. Could this be a one time event or is this a sign of things to come?

Very unfortunate! BUT.... is not necessarily a long term problem. Did your dog recently get vaccinations / flea treatment / run thru sprayed grass / get into laundry soap or anything different?

It is a scarey thing to watch...but the best you can do when it is happening is to make sure the dog is safe /in a safe spot note all details and keep very detailed notes on the length of the seizure and reactions after the fact. (this tells your vet a lot about what type of seizure it may be)

A trip to the vet is a good idea for safety sake but do not allow your vet to jump the gun (haha sorry) and prescribe phenobarb or anything too quickly (sometimes they have to do this tho but discuss thoroughly). Getting them off the meds because it alters everything can be a problem in itself. There is actually not much vets can do other than run some tests and make a diagnosis based on known events and those to come.

Your dog might only ever have this one time ...or it could get worse but in general they do not usually medicate a dog that has a seizure like once a mth (unless it is long ones!). I've had dogs seizure like 6 times in one day....same dog has had only 3 in about 5 years and never did need medication. Good luck!

[Beverly]

Oh...wanted to also mention that at times dogs can "Not be themselves" after a seizure and should be kept away from stairs or other places (kind of watch them like they are a toddler just learning to walk). They can be uneasy walking and be much more intolerant of children/nonsense. A trusted family pet can be very different in the period ofter a seizure so best to keep kids away.

Mostly...they are exhausted and just wish to be left alone in a quiet spot.

Quite often they can "forget" things they have always known too like house training / where the water bowl is / what a leash is and possibly even human caretakers.

[Walksalot]

Thanks for the info guys(gender neutral).
Yes it was a sight to see as I have never seen one before. Luckly my son pushed the table and chairs out of the way so he wouldn't hurt himself. He was coming out of it and my son went to console him and got growled at. Her was not himself by any stretch of the imagination. He tried to get up and was very unstedy on his feel. The gate was open on the stair well and it would have been a mess if he had stumbled in that direction.
I have an appointment with the vet for blood work this afternoon.
Thanks again for the help guys.

[Gus]

Thats scary for sure. Happened to my dog a little while ago. We did take her to to the vet but we still dont know if there is anything wrong with her. Good luck to you

[farside]

Keep an eye on him. They are at their most vulnerable when having a seizure.

[Elkhound]

Looks like Beverly said everything I wanted to. Keep us posted.

[WOLVERINE-RIDER]

I have a 7 year old golden retriever and he has seizures, sometimes a couple a month. It is scary as shit and brings a tear to your eye. After all there's not a thing you can do except watch in terror. Get to the vet and check it out. The vet will want to do blood tests of course and is not cheap. The vet couldn't really tell me anything unless I wanted to spend alot of money on alot of tests. She figured it was epilepsy and that I should just keep an eye on it. Since the first seizure I have noticed a huge change in my dog though> He has aged very rapidly in the last year and has become a little less patient with smaller children. He would never really bite, but he has let my niece and nephew know the he doesn't want to be climbed on anymore. Sorry about the situation...all you can do is watch.