Seizure

[Rose]

This is going to be a long and rambling (not to mention misspelled and grammatically incorrect) blog, so please bear with me! This morning I had one of the most frightening experiences of my life!

Around 7:30 a.m. my DH John went out the back door to put the garbage out and my doodle Blaze followed him into the backyard as usual. I looked out the door to check on Blaze and noticed he was wandering around the yard, eating grass (not unusual for him.) I went back into the kitchen to do something and then went back to the door and I noticed Blaze was laying next to the fence and appeared to be vomiting, so I grabbed a towel and ran out to him. When I got to him he started convulsing and thrashing around and I screamed for my husband to come and help, I actually couldn't tell if he was breathing and I thought he was going to die right there! John stayed with him petting him and talking gently to him, and I ran into the house to call the vet. I started to explain the situation to the lady on the phone, but it was the answering service (the vet's office opens at 8) so she gave me the emergency number and I dialed that, but it was the wrong number! I was about to call the office back when I looked out the back door and saw Blaze running around in the yard! He came in the house and walked into his food and water bowl a few times, but other than that he was actually acting as if nothing happened! He was also a little stinky because he blew out his anal glands during the seizure. (The whole seizure probably lasted about 5 minutes) He even ate 2 scrambled eggs and some cheese for breakfast!

I called the vet at 8 a.m. and explained the situation. They told me to bring him in right away. Blaze acted like his normal excited self to go for a car ride and as usual wanted to play with the other dogs and people in the vet's office. The doctor said that these things sometimes happen to young dogs (Blaze is 15 months old) and they don't really know why. He said it isn't life threatening unless the dog should happen to get extremely overheated and feverish. It could be a one time thing that will never happen again in his life. If it continues to happen, it is Epilepsy, but it can be treated with medication and should not shorten his life span. The doctor checked him out and took blood samples. He said he will call me with the results in a few days. From what I've been reading today, it actually sounds to me like he had a Grand Mal Epileptic seizure.

As I am typing this it is about 5:30 pm and Blaze has been acting normally all day, thank goodness! He is lying on my bed (in the doodle pose of course) with the ceiling fan blowing on him, just waiting for his dad to get home!

By the way - He came from a "reputable breeder" who does health testing and offers a 2 year health guarantee, but I don't know if Epilepsy is something they can or do test for and I don't even know yet if he actually has it. I haven't contacted the breeder yet, I want to wait until I get the test results from the Vet.

Anyway, sorry about the rambling (just call me Rambling Rose!) and thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and comment on this!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

As already mentioned I do hav some experience with seizure disorders. If you have any questions please contact me. Please go through the discussions on seizures in Doodle With Special Needs, Karen has the link in her comment. This may be a one time thing. It is an emergency if it lasts longer than 5 minutes or so, or if there are multiple seizures. Get some plain vanilla ice cream - if there is another siezure give it to him after the seizure. During a seizure a dogs blood sugar drops, the ice cream helps bring it back up. During a seizure a large ice pack on the lower back may reduce the severity and length of it.

Make sure to keep your hands away from his mouth - for your own safety.

Please keep us all informed.

Andy

[Ann Kendig]

Gosh Rose I am so sorry. I have never experienced this with an animal but my daughter had seizures for years. I know how frightening it can be. I hope this was a one time thing. I will be thinking about you. I know you will keep us posted. Hugs to you and Blaze!

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Sorry Rose to hear about Blaze, I hope all the test from your Vet come back normal. I have experienced seizures with two family member's dogs and it can be a frightful time to see it. Please let us know what your Vet says about Blaze's blood work. Prayers and thinking about you both...

[Michele Barton]

Oh wow, Rose, that had to be terrifying. Poor Blaze, and poor you! I know nothing about seizures, just wanted to say I'm thinking about you and Blaze and wishing you a peaceful, boring evening!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Link for seizure discussion click here.

[Adina P]

Oh poor Blaze...sorry to hear about today's experience! I would have been just as frightened. I have not had to experience seizures, but we have some members whose dogs DO have epilepsy/seizure disorder and there is a discussion or two in the health and medical issues group I believe. Might check there to read what others have gone through. Or ask Andy (with Boomer, Shayna, Mariner).

Epilepsy is not something that can be found with health testing, so the best course a breeder can take is to really know the pedigree well and what known health issues were in certain lines. Not something I have any clue about.

[F, Calla & Luca]

So sorry to hear about Blaze, Rose. Seizures can happen "out of the blue" to dogs from healthy parents and good breeders. Needless to say, dogs who have had seizures should not be bred. I think in dogs a diagnosis of epilepsy is made mainly by a history of seizures and that electroencephalograms, etc. are not done. I know there are discussions of seizures on DK so you might want to search through them. Certainly, Blaze may never have another seizure. Let's hope so.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Rose, I'm so sorry this happened. I know it is very frightening, but sometimes a dog only has one seizure and then it never happens again. But even when it does, it's true that's it's easily controlled with inexpensive meds, and the dogs live perfectly normal lives. There are a few members here whose dogs have seizure disorders, and they are always glad to give advice & share experiences.
For the link to the Seizure discussion in Doodle With Special Needs, click here:

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am so sorry Rose! I am sure that was very scary for you all to go through (including Blaze of course). I will be interested to see what others post on this. If you have not already, you might want to try searching in the Health/Medical Group or something. I know I have seen some discussions about seizures on here.