Learning To Cope With Seizures In Dogs

Pet owners and people whose job it is to look after and work with animals should know about seizures in dogs. It helps to understand them if you know what they are and if there are different types. You will then be able to tell if one is going to occur and how you can help that animal through it. They may need some special care whilst recovering and there could be long term care options which you will find out about after you visit your veterinarian.

Lasting anything from a few seconds to an hour it is important to know what causes it and the Vet should be contacted if they last for more than five minutes. Sudden activity in the brain or a change to the brain that happens rapidly and is unusual can be the trigger to such an occurrence. This is quite a shock to human witnesses and they may find themselves unsure of what to do, particularly as the dog can loose consciousness.

What may appear as an amusing leg twitch or an unusual mouth movement that the animals appears to have no control over may be a focal seizure. The more obvious and well known type of occurrence is the full body stiffness with some involuntary movement of part of the body, and perhaps uncontrolled barking or whining. These are called Generalized seizures.

It is sometimes possible to see when a seizure is going to occur with the presence of unusual behavior. Your pet may appear worried or frightened by an apparently imagined reason. Once the incident is over you may find that your animal has still not returned to its usual self and there may still be some behavior which seems out of place, they might appear lost and confused.

If this is the first time you have experienced a seizure in your animal you should contact your veterinarian, this will allow them to determine the severity and possible cause of the incident. Whilst the seizure is happening remain calm and move things that might hurt the dog out of the near vicinity. Although it is a worrying experience try not to go near your dog, the involuntary movements can result in an injury to you. If they are near stairs try to block the entry way to them to prevent the canine from falling down them.

When your animal comes back around and is responsive they may still appear somewhat out of sorts. Try not to crowd the animal or swoop them up into a reassuring hug, keep calm and talk gently to them. This may help them to re-orientate themselves to their surroundings. They might appear tired or unsure of what to do and they might have urinated during the seizure. Keep an eye on them and make a note of what happened and how long the incident lasted so that your vet can have all the details.

Sometimes long term medication is required to prevent or lessen the number of fits which occur, they could be caused by tumor in the brain which may be able to be removed. They can also be caused by things such as over heating and lack of fluids which should be a one of occurrence. Your vet will make the diagnosis and help you to find the right medication for your animal.

Sometimes we have to learn things that we didn't think we would need to know, fits are one of those things and with more than one kind it is important to be able to recognize them. You might need to know what to do when one happens and how the animal will behave during and after. There is often a reason why they happen and depending on their regularity and the amount of times it has been witnessed medication could be prescribed

I have more information about canine epilepsy at my Website. You may also be interested in reading my article on causes of dog seizures.