What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes dogs to have sudden, uncontrolled and recurring seizures. Dogs can have seizures because of trauma, exposure to toxins, brain tumors, genetic abnormalities, issues with the dog’s blood or organs, or for a number of other reasons. Other times, seizures may sometimes occur for unknown reasons – called idiopathic.
What happens during a seizure?
Once the seizure(s) begin, the dog will fall on its side, become stiff, chomp its jaw, salivate profusely, urinate, defecate, vocalize, and/or paddle with all four limbs. These seizure activities generally last between 30 and 90 seconds. Behaviour following the seizure is known as postictal behavior, and includes periods of confusion and disorientation, aimless wandering, compulsive behaviour, blindness, pacing, increased thirst and increased appetite. Recovery following the seizure may be immediate, or it can take up to 24 hours.
Generally, the younger the dog is, the more severe the epilepsy will be. As a rule, when onset is before age 2, the condition responds positively to medication. The more seizures a dog has, the more likely there is to be damage among the neurons in the brain, and the more likely the animal is to seize again.
How to Tell if Your Dog is Going to Have a Seizure
Signs of an impending seizure may include a period of warning, an altered mental state where the animal will experience what is called an aura or focal onset. During this time a dog may appear worried, dazed, stressed, or frightened. It may experience visual disturbances, hide, or seek help and attention from its owner. The dog may experience contractions in its limbs or in its muscles, and may have difficulty controlling urination and bowel movements.
Seizures most often occur while the dog is resting or asleep, often at night or in early morning. In addition, most dogs recover by the time you bring the dog to the veterinarian for examination.
Types of Epilepsy, Idiopathic or Genetic, in Dogs
Epilepsy is a coverall term used to describe brain disorders that are characterized by recurrent and/or recurring seizures. There are several different types of epilepsy that can affect dogs, so it helps to understand the different vocabulary associated with each.
- Idiopathic epilepsy describes a form of epilepsy that does not have an identifiable underlying cause.
- Symptomatic epilepsy is used to describe primary epilepsy resulting in structural lesions or damage to the brain’s structure.
- Cluster seizure describes any situation where an animal has more than one seizure in consecutive 24-hour periods. Dogs with established epilepsy can have cluster seizures at regular intervals of one to four weeks. This is particularly evident in large-breed dogs.
- Status epilepticus involves constant seizures, or activity involving brief periods where there is inactivity, but not complete relief from seizure activity.
Causes of Idiopathic Epilepsy in Dogs
Many different factors, including the pattern of seizures, can influence the development of future seizures. For example, how old a dog is when it first develops a seizure may determine the likelihood that it will develop future seizures, recurrent seizures, and the frequency and outcome of those seizures.
Idiopathic epilepsy is genetic in many dog breeds and is also familial; meaning that it runs in certain families or lines of animals. These breeds of dog should be tested for epilepsy and if diagnosed, should not be used for breeding.
The characteristics associated with genetic epilepsy usually manifest from10-months to 3-years of age, but has been reported as early as six months and as late as five years.
Diagnosis
The two most important factors in the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy are: the age at onset and the seizure pattern (type and frequency).
If your dog has more than two seizures within the first week of onset, your veterinarian will probably consider a diagnosis other than idiopathic epilepsy. If the seizures occur when the dog is younger than six months or older than five years, it may be metabolic or intracranial (within the skull) in origin.
Treatment
Most of the treatment for dogs with epilepsy is at home. Drugs may help reduce the frequency of seizures for some animals. Some corticosteroid medications, anti-epileptic, and anti-convulsant medications may also help to reduce the frequency of seizures or at least reduce the length and effect of the seizure. The type of medications given will depend on the type of epilepsy the animal has, as well as other underlying health conditions the animal has.
Living and Management
Early treatment and proper care are vital to a dog’s general health and wellness.
If your dog is living with epilepsy, it’s important that you stay on top of treatment. It’s essential to monitor therapeutic levels of drugs in the blood. Dogs treated with phenobarbital, for instance, must have their blood monitored after initiating therapy during the second and fourth week. These drug levels will then be evaluated every 6- to 12-months.
If your dog is on medication to control its epilepsy, don’t abruptly discontinue it, as this may aggravate and/or initiate seizures.
It is a good idea to mark on a calendar when your dog has a seizure and for how long approx. it has lasted. This is very good information that you can relay to your vet.
When to ring the vet:
- If the dog isn’t coming out of the seizure.
- If your dog is unwell
What to do when your dog is having a seizure.
- Hold them gently on the floor (usually they are on their side) to avoid and trauma. Sometimes you need to hold their head still to avoid them thrashing and getting hurt but always be careful not to get bitten.
- Be prepared that they may urinate and defecate so if you can have a towel handy.
- Avoid hot strenuous exercise.
- Always have water available.
- After they have recovered ensure a quiet environment to recover.
