First seizure at 6 years old

[Sue Z. + Finley]

Hi everyone, we are new to this group and could use your advice. Finley, our 6 year old Goldendoodle, had a grand mal seizure yesterday. He had a normal day of a walk in the morning and following me around the house while I did chores. He took his afternoon nap and just as he awakened his legs pulled up toward his body and he fell to the floor. I had no idea what was happening as I watched his legs furiously paddling while he was seizing. During this time he lost control of his bowels and bladder. His seizure lasted between 1-2 minutes. After he stopped seizing I tried talking to him but he bared his teeth and barked at me. It frightened me to the point I left the room because I was afraid he would lash out and bite me. My gentle boy, who would never hurt anyone, acted like Cujo.

I called my vet and they advised me to bring him in as soon as he calmed down. He barked for a solid 15 minutes. After that period of time he barked and growled only when he saw me. This lasted for 30 minutes. By that time my husband came home and as soon as he saw my husband he started wagging his tail and acted normal. We took him to the vet where he was examined and they did blood work and a urinalysis. Our vet was somewhat concerned about the amount of time it took for Finley to return to recognizing me after his seizure. We are awaiting the results of his tests and further treatment recommendations.

Has anyone dealt with this type do seizure in a dog of Finley's age? If so, what were the treatment recommendations?

[Madhura Khedkar]

Hi Sue, I am very sorry to hear about Finley. My dog Einstein (1.5 years old), was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy around 6 months back. He suffered from 5 seizures separated by an interval of 2 weeks. He was originally put on Keppra (500mg which was then doubled to 1000 mg) 3X day. But after the last seizure, he was put on phenobarbital which has led to controlling (not eliminating) his seizures. Phenobarbital has worked well for us but our neurologist told us every dog is different and there are various permutation combinations that work for dogs. In some dogs, this is a one-off incidence and I hope that's the case with Finley (if he consumed something toxic, heat stroke, too much salt by the beach...). Post-ictal phase in dogs can be very scary. Einstein typically does not know us (varies from 2 minutes to 10-15 mins) and runs away from us but that to me has been the most unnerving part and I understand why that has you concerned. Our vet recommended 2 scoops of vanilla icecream and/or ice to bring the body temperature down if possible (though i hope you do not need to use it). Good luck and feel free to message if you have follow-ups. 

[Sue Z. + Finley]

Thank you for the information.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Sue - Hopefully it was a one time thing.  If you read through the posts on this group you will get a lot of information.  I will try to summarize some of it.

Most likely the tests will not indicate the reason for the seizure.

If the seizures continue see a neurologist - very few vets can manage an animal that has seizures.

Think about if anything has changed in your house - new cleaning products, lawn care products in the neighborhood,  did you have your a/c ducts clean recently, change food, etc.  When was the last time you used flea and tick meds and heartworm meds? Both of these lower seizure threshold.  DO NOT USE EVENING PRIMROSE!!!!!!!

At this point there is no reason to put Finley on any type of medication. 

OK- What to do during a seizure:

1 - Keep your hands away from his mouth - he has no control !!

2 - Move anything that could hurt him away.

3 - Put an ice pack on his hind quarter - it is thought that that this may shorten the seizure.

4 - If the seizure lasts longer than 5 or so minutes or there are multiple back to back seizures - get him to a vet.

If you feel that you can safely pet or hold him - it may help.

Some vets will give you valium that can be administered rectally during a seizure - it should stop or minimize the seizure.

Post seizure - give a little plain vanilla ice cream.

During a seizure blood sugar usually drops and body temperature rises. - the reason for the ice cream and the ice pack.

At this point just watch him - you may see some signs that a seizure is about to come on.  It may be possible to stop the seizure before it happens - sometimes just petting him can help or you may try giving him a little ice cream - all dogs are different.

You may ask what is causing the seizure - you probably will never know.  It could be environmental, genetic or due to a trauma.  I recently read that one "seizure specialists" believes that most "idiopathic epilepsy" is actually caused by unknown head trauma.

Any questions just ask!  We are all here for you.

[Sue Z. + Finley]

After reading your post I realized this is most of the same information the vet told me. However, I am terrible at remembering everything and it's wonderful to have it written so I can refer to the information. I did not know about the ice cream. I will have to keep some on hand in case of another seizure. Since I have a milk allergy I don't usually buy milk products. Hopefully, we will get some information within the next few days. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this was a one time episode.

It's very odd that you mention unknown head trauma. Several weeks ago we were at my in laws and Finley was playing with my teenage nephews. I thought they were a little rough and told them to tone down the rough housing with Finley. The following evening Finley was very anxious and not his normal self. He could or would not settle down to sleep all night. I took him to the vet the following morning and when the vet turned Finley's neck to the side he yelped. The vet thought it was a strain possibly from the rough play. Finley was given anti inflammatory and muscle relaxers. After two days he was back to normal. Who knows if that caused some problems. I am sure we will never know.

Thank again for the support and information!

[Kathy Sheehan]

Hi Sue

Cooper is my 3 yr old Goldendoodle, a month after he turned 2 he started having grand mal seizures. His are now under control with a mixture of phenobarbital and potassium bromide.

Andy has so much info to offer and I have learned so much from him! But I wanted to offer another piece of advice, keep a detailed journal about every little detail about his days before each seizure (hopefully Finley won't have any more). I write down what Cooper had to eat, what his nap and play activities were like...everything! I also write down how long each seizure lasted and what his body does while seizing. His Vet assures me he is unconscious but it so scary to watch. 

One time I tried to pet him too soon and he growled at me, so now I wait until he is fully awake. 

With Coopers current cocktail of meds, he hasn't had a seizure in almost 15 weeks! But it took us about 8 months to find this cocktail of meds. Every dog is different and will require his/her own cocktail of meds!

Good luck and everyone on here is here to help you! Doodle hugs to all of you

Kathy and Coooper!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Kathy is 100% correct - keep a journal and if Finley does go on medications, it can take months to get the correct combination.  Also these medications typically take a  long time to get to a therapeutic level in the body so be patient.  Some vets use a "loading" dose to try and reach therapeutic level quicker.  Also once a dog is on anti-seizure meds be careful about changing food.  Salt affects how the body utilizes these medications - so you want to keep the sodium intake levels constant.

Hope things are going well. Please keep us posted.