CANINE SEIZURES - Page 1

Generalized, tonic-clonic (formerly called grand mal) seizure: The seizure begins with contraction of all skeletal muscles and loss of consciousness. The dog usually falls to his side with the legs stretched out and the head back. This is the tonic portion of the seizure. Sometimes he will vocalize or have facial twitching. Vocalizations are involuntary and do not indicate pain. Often the dog will drool excessively, urinate, defecate or eliminate his anal glands. The tonic portion of the seizure is usually very brief and gives way to the clonic phase of the seizure. Once the clonic phase begins the dog will have rhythmic movements. Typically this consists of clamping the jaws and jerking or running movements of the legs.

Following the seizure, the dog may lay motionless for a brief period. Eventually he will get up on his feet and may appear to be perfectly normal, but typically will show signs of post ictal behavior. These signs may include blindness, disorientation, pacing or running about the house bumping into things. The post-ictal behavior can last anywhere from hours to days after a seizure.

Not all generalized seizures follow this pattern. Another type of generalized seizure is the tonic seizure, in which motor activity consists only of generalized muscle rigidity without the clonic phase. Less common are clonic seizures where there is no tonic phase and some dogs suffer milder generalized tonic-clonic seizures in which consciousness is maintained.

Partial seizures: Partial seizures are also called focal seizures and as the name indicates, the electrical storm is affecting only a part of the brain. A partial seizure may stay localized or it may expand to the whole brain and cause a tonic-clonic seizure. Because the seizure starts in only a part of the brain, an underlying disease or injury is highly suspected. A partial seizure may remain localized or spread to other parts of the cerebral cortex producing a sequential involvement of other body parts.

Partial seizures are classified as simple focal seizures when consciousness is preserved and as complex focal seizures when consciousness is altered. Any portion of the body may be involved during a focal seizure depending on the region of the brain affected.

In a simple partial seizure, the area of the brain that is affected is the area that controls movement. Usually the face is affected, resulting in twitching or blinking. This is usually limited to one side of the face. If the seizure spreads, other parts of the body on that same side will be affected. The dog is usually alert and aware of his surroundings.

A complex partial seizure will originate in the area of the brain that controls behavior and is sometimes called a psychomotor seizure. During this type of seizure, a dog’s consciousness is altered and he may exhibit bizarre behavior such as unprovoked aggression or extreme irrational fear. He may run uncontrollably, engage in senseless, repetitive behavior or have fly-snapping episodes where he appears to be biting at imaginary flies around his head.

do you know how many PM's I've recieved thanking me for these posts?
i think that i'll continue because there are quite a few members of this messageboard that are glad that at least a few decent conversations are created and that they are happy to learn something..........

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 "do you know how many PM's I've recieved thanking me for these posts?"

From whom?  People too stupid to google "dog seizures" and wind up on the same sites you do that aren't affiliated with any veterinary organization or university research lab?

you would know

Yes, I do know - you have been Warned about Stalking.   That is no joke; I take it very seriously.

Sitasmom- While I find the dog topics refreshing, rather than just copying and pasting random disorders with no reasoning, educate yourself and others as to what causes them. To just randomly post this junk with no educational, or informational backup is just a plain waste of time.  Epilepsy is the main cause of seizures in many breeds. Epilepsy in GSD's is believed to be inherited as an autosamol recessive trait. Epilepsy is a disease of the brain, it causes recurring tonoclonic seizures of  short duration. Idiopathic Epilepsy is the most common in dogs. Convulsions usually present after the first year of life, but are most seen in dogs beyond 2 years. These seizures usually last only 1-2 minutes. Most seizures start out with a blank gazing, falling to one side, salivation, running motion in the legs. Occasionally it may cause a loss of bladder/ bowel control. The dog may recover to a normal state immediately after, but can remain dazed, and uncoordinated for several minutes. EEG readings are a good place to start to determine a possible cause. Convulsions can also be caused by vitamin A&B deficiencies, intestinal blockages, intestinal parasites, hypothermia,and hypocalcemia. Some you may never find an underlying cause for. Dogs requiring medical attention for a seizure are most often given Valium to relax them. Seizure disorders can be managed by Phenobarbital, occasionally Potassium Bromide will be given as well if the seizures cannot be controlled by the Phenobarb alone. Here is a fun fact for you, did you know that persistent " fly biting" with no bugs present is a form of a seizure???  So again, please have some factual basis to these random posts.

Sitasmom- While I find the dog topics refreshing, rather than just copying and pasting random disorders with no reasoning, educate yourself and others as to what causes them. To just randomly post this junk with no educational, or informational backup is just a plain waste of time.  Epilepsy is the main cause of seizures in many breeds. Epilepsy in GSD's is believed to be inherited as an autosamol recessive trait. Epilepsy is a disease of the brain, it causes recurring tonoclonic seizures of  short duration. Idiopathic Epilepsy is the most common in dogs. Convulsions usually present after the first year of life, but are most seen in dogs beyond 2 years. These seizures usually last only 1-2 minutes. Most seizures start out with a blank gazing, falling to one side, salivation, running motion in the legs. Occasionally it may cause a loss of bladder/ bowel control. The dog may reover to a normal state immediately after, but can remain dazed, and uncoordinated for several minutes. EEG readings are a good place to start to determine a possible cause. Convulsions can also be caused by vitamin A&B deficiencies, intestinal blockages, intestinal parasites, hypothermia,and hypocalcemia. Some you may never find an underlying cause for. Dogs requiring medical attention for a seizure are most often given Valium to relax them. Seizure disorders can be managed by Phenobarbital, occasionally Potassium Bromide will be given as well if the seizures cannot be controlled by the Phenobarb alone. Here is a fun fact for you, did you know that persistent " fly biting" with no bugs present is a form of a seizure???  So again, please have some factual basis to these random posts.