5 Steps To Take If Your Dog Experiences A Cluster Of Seizures

Dogs quickly become a part of a family, and it can be very upsetting for a pet owner to see his or her dog experience health problems. While some health issues do not need immediate attention, other problems, such as a cluster of seizures requires emergency attention at a place like TLC Pet Care Centers. Take the following steps is your dog experiences multiple seizures in a day:

Give Your Dog Space

Dogs typically are not aware of their surroundings during a seizure, and immediately following a seizure a dog may feel disoriented, agitated, and anxious. It is also possible for a dog to experience temporary blindness right after a seizure. Since a seizure can completely change your dog's personality for a short period of time, it is best to give your dog space when he is experiencing a seizure. Trying to hold your dog or comfort him can result in you possibly getting injured or bitten.

Make the Area Safe

A seizure can come on suddenly without any warning, so it is important that your dog is in a safe space. Make sure you block off access to stairs, and remove any furniture that has sharp edges should your dog begin to seize and fall down.

Take a Video

If your dog suddenly begins to experience seizures, one of the best things you can do is capture the episode on video. While you may feel bad recording such an event, being able to see exactly what happened can help a vet a lot when trying to make a diagnosis and decide on a treatment plan.

Seek Veterinary Care

Dogs can have seizures for a number of reasons. Some dogs are more genetically inclined to seizures, while they can also be caused by a brain tumor, an infectious disease, strokes, or encephalitis. If your dog has one seizure, you should call your vet for advice and schedule an appointment for an evaluation. When more than one seizure happens on the same day, take your dog to the vet immediately or visit an emergency animal hospital for treatment.

Monitor Your Dog

When you take your dog in for treatment for a cluster of seizures, the vet will most likely run some tests to try to determine what is causing the seizures. In many cases, dogs are treated for seizures with anti-seizure medication. If the vet prescribes this type of medication for your dog, make sure you monitor him carefully to see if there are any negative side effects. Contact the vet if your dog has trouble walking, acts lethargic, or has sudden behavior changes after starting medication. There are several different medication options for canine seizures, and the vet can help find the right one for your dog.