Seizures - Help!

[Sue Z. + Finley]

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?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sue, I'm very sorry to hear this.

We have a group here on DK for owners of doodles with seizure disorders: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/seizures

The 80 members there are experienced with seizures, are very supportive and helpful and there's lots of good information. 

[Sue Z. + Finley]

Thanks Karen! I cross posted in the seizure group.

[Robin and Libby Louise]

I hope Finley is ok - very scary!

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

I'm sorry to hear this, I hope Finley's doing okay today.  I know how scary that can be. I don't have experience with a dog the same age, but this happened with my poodle when I was a teenager - she was probably 12 at the time.  Exactly the same, right down to the baring of the teeth and acting like Cujo afterwards.  I ran upstairs crying, locked myself in my room and called my father at work, and said our 12 lb poodle was trying to kill me (lol, that makes me chuckle all these years later.)  I've actually thought about how scary it would be if this happened with a dog the size of my doodles - so I understand the fear. 

She also was very groggy for quite some time, growling at me but back to normal by the time my father got home a couple hours later.  She had them off and on the rest of her life - she lived until she was 15 and 1/2.  (The diagnostics were very different then, so it was basically "she's an old poodle, it's common" and I'm sure they called it epilepsy with no further testing.)  With her, thankfully, none of the subsequent episodes were as bad as the first - the physical seizing was the same and horrible to see, but she didn't turn into Cujo again and seemed to bounce back without nearly as much disorientation.  It was a different situation and time, but wanted to share my experience especially with regard to the disorientation.

I'll watch for updates on your cross-post, and please let us know how he's doing.  Will keep good thoughts for Finley! 

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Hope this turns out to be a one time thing, very scary to hear.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

How scary, Sue. Hopefully, this was Finley's first and last seizure. My Charlotte has had two series of more mild seizures (the first when she was about a year-and-a-half old, and the second group one day 12 months later). Both times, the tremors were limited to her head and neck, and she didn't seem distressed by what was happening. After the first time, our vet suggested that if it happened again and I was able to do so, I should grab my phone and film it. Watching the video helped her to diagnose and advise. The first time, we thought that there was a chance that she had stepped on some (supposedly dog-friendly) insecticide that was applied to our back steps and then maybe she liked her feet. So, no medication was prescribed. It happened again at the same time of year, but there was nothing sprayed on the yard or on the steps, so who knows? Thankfully, it hasn't happened since. I hope that Finley's seizure was a one-time event. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry this is happenning. I hope your vet and the Seizure Disorder group give you the advice and support to find the best treatment.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Sue, I am so sorry this happened to Finley and hope you get this all figured out soon. 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

So very sorry to hear this. Boris had two seizures over six months ago. Both times were terrifying and one time he bit Joe quite badly :( but that was my fault for telling him to move him (he was on the bed)  Boris did recover very quickly though and he is now on meds and (touch wood) has been seizure free since. It must have given you a terrible fright. There is a lot of good info in the seizure group and I now have a seizure app on my iPhone! let's hope that if it is not a once off seizure it is not symptomatic of something else going on. If it is the start of Epilepsy this is largely able to be controlled with drugs very well.