Bran had a fit - info needed

My Greek Rescue hound had a fit while I was out. My son was with him - he apparently lay on his side with all his legs flailing, foaming at the mouth and panting. he seems normal now.
Obviously I`ll get him to the vet asap but wondered if it was the heat. he was lying out in the sun when it happened.
He frequently has petit mal spasms (only way I can describe them) but never a full one before.
We`ve got the fan on him now.

it may be due to the heat, good luck with the vet

your son must have got such a shock...

hugs to all.

Hi im not a vet so i wont offer you much in the way of advice on something so serious.

My dog Lucy has idiopathic epilepsy, she came from rescue kennels as a stray and i only had her two days before she had her first fit, its very frightning to see im sure your son was upset but your dog isnt likely to know anything about it if it was a full seizure its us humans that feel the worst.

Lucy ended up having cluster fits which become life threatening, she once fitted for in and out for 6 hours, thats when the vets decided they couldnt risk it anymore and she had a brain scan and fluid remoed from her brain to rule out a tumour.

Fortunatly it was epilepsy but idiopathic as most is so we never know what triggers a fit except its usually when they are relaxed although i have noticed if she has a fit later in the day she dosnt eat breakfast, its little things like this that you can pick up on over time.

Most epilepsy is idiopathic (without known cause) so its unlikely you will find out what his trigger was, over time you may be able to see if he fits more in hot weather, after exercise, after eating certain foods etc most epilepsy is triggered at rest.

I researched a lot after finding out about lucy and food can be a big part in triggering fits, aclassic example is bakers or other highly coloured food packed full of additives etc i changed lucy on to a more natural food and she has nothing eith colours in it, i wont know if its diet that caused a drop in fits, medication or a combination of both, i have heard people say they changed to a BARF diet and the fits stopped or they just had the very odd one.

Hope im not teaching you to suck eggs here when i first came across it i had no information or anywhere to discuss it as i didnt have the net.

Is your dog on any meds?

Lucy is on phenobarbitone which has worked wonders, her fits dropped to once every three months and even less at the moment, i do try to reduce her meds every so often as it dosnt do their kidneys any good so i want her on the lowest dose possible, the dose now is the lowest she can go without having regular fits.

Im sure your vet will shed some light and give you more info, it can be scary to witness a fit the dog seems so distressed but im assured they know nothing about it.

Dont know how old your son is but perhaps you can all come up with a plan if he fits so everyone knows how to handle it if they are alone,

best of luck.

I hope everything is fine at the vets. My Mum's dog Bizkit used to fit like you describe during hot weather. She would run about, not drink enough then lie out in the sun and overheat.

It was horrible and distressing, but managed by the simple process of giving her ice cubes and frozen gravy lollies on , not letting her out when the sun was too hot and lining her bed with damp towels on hot days.

I truly hope poor Bran's fits are nothing more serious than heat stress.

Big hugs to you.

Thankyou. He`s an old dog we`ve only had for 3 years. His diet is good, he is on Metacam, but has been for quite a while as otherwise he`d be crippled. These spasms started a year ago. The vet didn`t seem to know what could cause them.
Thankyou for the info - I`ll phone the vet tomorrow.

Sounds like epilepsy, but the vet would need to confirm it.

One of my shibas had it, and it was controlled very well with drugs.

Good luck hon x

Agree with everyone else but the only way to know for sure is at the vets. It certainly could have been brought on by the heat. Just remember that it's much worse for us watching than for the dog. They have no idea what is happening. That's the best piece of advice we were given when Cassie was diagnosed with epilepsy last year. Good luck at the vets xx

Hi Claire a sudden rise in body temperature due to infection can cause seizures in dogs and so can heatstroke.

Being an elderly infirm dog perhaps your old chap fell asleep in the sun and his body overheated .
Having has previous episodes he may be more susceptible to the heat anyway.

I hope he is ok ....

Sorry to hear about Bran, I know what a worry it must be for you, my sons Collie has epilepsy.
I hope it is just the heat, it sounds like it. Let us know what the vet thinks tomorrow.
{{{{{huggles}}}}}