My dog had a fit last night and I'm on edge today

[beesonmummyshead]

My lovely gentle dog is a heinz 57, but mostly black lab. she is about 12.5 and was a rescue dog, I got her 9 years ago when she was 3. She was my first baby and I rehomed and retrained her when no-one else would (she used to bite strangers) and she is the most loving, gentle dog. She is also dd (2) best friend.

Last night she fitted it was only a small one, she was conscious thoughout and I stroked her and calmed her, though it terrified me (I have an irrational fear of death). She recovered well almost immediately and is off to the vets on monday for blood tests, and the vet told me to keep her calm today.

She doesn't look or act old, she is not overweight and gets excited easily.

This morning we've got up and she's fine, but I am watching her every move. I even stayed with her whilst she ate breakfast.

the outlook isn't good is it? I had hoped we had at least another couple of years with her

sometimes we have to be grateful for the years that we have had and not look too far into the future when it comes to our dogs.

Lets see what the vet says on Monday, sometimes medication can help, sadly PTS is the only other option.

so sorry. it is awful when we have to make THAT decision.

Try not to worry too much (easier said I know) but there are many possible explanations for what happened.
Sending you lots of positive vibes and please keep us posted x

My mum's rescue dog, is epileptic, and whilst is is distressing to see this happening, it can be managable to a degree. I have a little exp of epilepsy as my ex was epileptic. During the fit she would most probably not have been totally aware of it like you were. Plus it may have been a one off, so try not to worry. I am not sure you should be too panicked that you will lose her yet.

It isn't always epilepsy, etc. Like I said, there are many possible causes so don't assume the worst or that it won't be manageable

thanks all. Vet says def. not epilepsy unless coupled with brain tumour, as epilepsy in dogs is only true epilepsy if it starts when they are young.

Good news is she seems fine today. A bit more subdued perhaps, but then we are keeping her quiet

DH has a suggestion which is that this weekend we cleaned the carpets and left the carpet cleaning machine full of chemical water. Although our dog has access to fresh water, it is possible that she drank some of these chemicals.

I am hopeful this is all it is, although a bit of a long shot....

Will keep it all crossed for you

I have a 12ish year old mongrol terrier.

He has occassional fits. He is conscious throughout and will come and find me when he is about to have one.

He is none the worse afterwards and they are very short.

He only has them (at most) once a year so I do not wish to have him medicated. Epilepsy medication can be very complicated to get right and the side affects are not very nice. I think it is better that we deal with the very occassional fit than put him through all that.

He is otherwise fine (apart from only having one eye).

If the fits became more frequent or lasted longer than 1-2 minutes or they took him longer to recover from I would obviously reconsider.

our old dog had one 12mo ago. He's also heinz 57.

But he hasn't had anymore and he's still with us and is 14.

So try not to worry too much.

oh thank you all. I am feeling much (well, a little bit) calmer tonight. Thank you

My youngest dog has had fits on and off for years and never in a specific order just now and again sometimes months in between sometimes weeks. She is now just over 9 yrs old,the vets said unless she has 3 fits in one month which she never has she doesnt need meds,she is fine thankgoodness.

you may well have another couple of years with your dog, if and thats IF it turns out to be epilepsy then it is treatabe, well, controllable with medication - my dog had it for years, he was a chihuahua and i think he had it for the last five years of his life, he lived til he was 17. I was a vet nurse too and its very common.

It probably was a one off, we used to tell ownwer to keep and eye on thier pet, keep calm and only did tests if it repeated. Thats not to say your vet is doing wrong just trying to reassure you that its probably ok.

The best thing you can do for your dog if she fits again is to turn the tv and light off and as much as it pains you just leave her to come out of it on her own. Any small stimulation can make the fit restart, they recover much more quickly if left. Difficult i know, but be assured that she wont be aware of the fit, she will be disorientated afterwards and that is the time for reassuring gentle strokes.

Its really scary watching your dog fit but it usually looks a lot worse than it really is.

hope you get some answers tomorrow xx

thank you. Dog seems absolutely fine today, but we have been to the vets, and she has had her bloods taken, and we'll find out on wednesday. If you're interested I can let you know

do let us know yes - good luck xx

beeson yes please updates .........
lucyell mine are chihuahuas

No news today, perhaps tomorrow

results all clear

Dog sems fine, so hopefully it was just a one-off and we have her for a few more years