Dog Seizure symptoms
Seizures are unusual outburst of electric impulse or nerve signal originated mainly from the brain. This is the most common neurological disorders affecting your pet dogs. When seizure period starts your dogs do not place their tongue inside their mouth since there is high possibility they might bite it off. As a pet owner, it is essential that you place your dog on the ground and maintain this lying position during the course of the seizure attack in order to avoid further injuries. Knowing dog seizure symptoms will go a long way in protecting your dog.
You also need to be well aware that as dogs experience jerky movements, their body temperature rises when the condition reaches longer than few minutes which can sometimes result to heat stroke. If this happens, your dog may face worse than after effects of seizure.
The Stages of Dog Seizures
Prodome occurs as your pet experience alteration in mood and behavior which can go on about several hours and even up to days.
Aura is the second stage of dog seizure symptoms. This composes commencing signs that will prompt you about the beginning of the seizure attack. This may take for couple of seconds to hours. This stage is characterized by apparent anxiety, looking for a place to hide, shaking and even trembling. In most cases you can dogs with increased salvation, wandering, restlessness, and whining.
Ictal stage occurs when the dog display unusual increase in body activity that persists for couple of seconds up to five minutes. More so, the dog experiences intense muscle contraction that you can observe sudden loss of consciousness, paralysis, and inability to move about extreme drooling, bladder and bowel incontinence, and more. If the seizure continues more than five minutes, the dog may experience status Epilepticus (SE) or prolonged seizure.
Postal ictal is the last stage in dog seizure attack. When the episode subsided, the dog will likely to experience disorientation, confusion, extreme thirst and hunger, pacing, salivation and restlessness.
Most common causes of dog seizure symptoms
Plenty of causes have been known as to why dogs experience seizure disorders. However, there are five known reasons that contribute to this event. One of these dog seizure symptoms is epilepsy which is the most popular cause. However, it is not true that having seizure causes your dog to acquire epilepsy. Also, genetics plays its role when dogs acquire seizure disorders through hereditary traits. Some breeds such as Dachshund, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, and Poodle are the ones prone to manifest seizure symptoms in dogs.
There are also studies that prove existence of brain tumor as one of the culprit. Most commonly, tumors develop in older dogs which lead to even weaker and paralyzed extremities. More to that, head injury also contributes to seizure attack since dogs have vulnerable skull and if it gets damaged, it may cause surge of pressure leading to seizure. Lastly, environmental toxins such as flea powders and other anti-parasitic substances in dogs can actually be harmful to their health once ingested. Products containing chocolate and lead also contain toxins and should not be fed on your pet.
Home management for dog seizure symptoms
When dog seizure attacks, dog owners can help their pet return to normal state through calling their name and secure their safety. There is no need to perform invasive intervention. You can keep the dog lying on the ground as the episode begins so as to ensure no further physical injury. If the seizure attack went on more than one minute, the dog should be referred to its vet for examination.
For those of you who are visual learners, check out the following video discussing dog seizure symptoms: