Dog Seizures

How to Deal With Dog Seizures

Pet owners will do almost anything to ensure their pets live a healthy normal life free from medical complications. But while veterinary care has become advanced, some medicals complications are often difficult to treat. Dog seizures, caused by irregular electric activity inside the brain, is often an issue of concern for vets as they struggle to identify how to treat the condition.

Warning signs before your dog gets seizures

Fortunately, there are warning signs to look out for before a seizure occurs. It is important to identify these warning signs to make the episode less frightening for your furry friend. One common sign is abnormal muscle twitching. When a seizure occurs, neuros usually start firing hastily in synchrony.

Often, the dog might become disoriented or agitated, and might collapse instantly without warning. Moreover, it can exhibit symptoms of vocalization, paddling, and might even lose proper bladder control. In most cases, seizures can last for more than a minute and the dog will be anxious or disoriented after suffering from a seizure. Some dogs can even go blind but only for a limited period of time.

Underlying reasons for seizures

Some dogs can have a seizure once in their lifetime, but seizures can re-occur. There might be an underlying cause of concern that cause recurring seizures. Epilepsy is a common health condition that causes seizures. Based on lab results from recent studies, epilepsy or idiopathic is a common diagnosis for dog seizures.

Nonetheless, there are other causes of dog seizures, such as ingestion of poisonous toxins, stroke, or brain injury. Other causes include systemic disease, diseased brain tissue, or abnormal brain development. You can consult a vet to learn more about the causes of seizures in dogs, as well as ways on how to treat the condition.

Treatment for dog seizures

While it is often difficult to detect and predict dog seizures, you should always visit the vet when your dog experiences an episode. For example, if your dog has been experiencing seizures frequently, vaccination records can help the vet to determine the underlying problem that causes the condition. What’s more, the vet can perform urinalysis and blood tests before recommending an appropriate diagnosis.

Conclusion

Although dog seizures are difficult to detect and treat, immediate medical care is very important to prevent the condition from worsening. And if the vet is unable to identify the underlying factors that cause the seizure, he can advice ways on how to improve your dog’s quality of life.

References: Modern Dog Magazine, Pets webmd, AKC