A Seizure Or Something Else?

[fourofem]

Stel did something really strange about a half hour ago. Out of the blue, she started shaking uncontrollably for no reason and did so for about 3-4 minutes. She will do that when there's a thunderstorm but all is quiet here tonight. She didn't seem disoriented but I don't know what other signs to look for. I'm hoping she may have heard a gunshot or something else; the television was on so I didn't hear anything and Hitch, who is also thunder and gun shy, didn't bolt out of the door like he usually does. When she got off of the sofa and onto one of beds I covered her up with a blanket and she eventually settled down. She's fine now, sleeping like a baby. Maybe I'm just overreacting but it scared me to see her like that. Has anyone else had an episode like that? Thanks.

[TheFullHouse]

If she were seizing she would not respond to the sound of your voice, she wouldn't be able to hear you. She would be totally unresponsive to your voice or your touch.

[grey14me]

maybe she just got a chill...is it cool in the house?

[kudzu]

If she were seizing she would not respond to the sound of your voice, she wouldn't be able to hear you. She would be totally unresponsive to your voice or your touch.

Seizures come in a huge variety & dogs can be responsive during a partial seizure. http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/CanineEpil.htm I've not had much experience with seizures but have seen both generalized (gran mal) & partial. The partial seizure I witnessed was in a Greyhound with a history of infrequent, mild seizures. It started as the dog just lifting a hind leg & then putting it down. She began to look very anxious & slowly, stiffly walked to her owner. She then stood in a strange position as both back legs began shaking. She finally relaxed & within a couple minutes seemed fine. It was not the terrifying scene of a generalized seizure but clearly was distressing to the dog. Her recovery was much, much quicker than it would have been from a generalized seizure.

 

Hope for your dog this was just a fear or stress reaction to a noise & not a seizure. Something to keep an eye on. You might want to keep a written record of this in case it happens again. Perhaps you would see a pattern.

[RobinM]

Was it her whole body or just her head? My Chloe has experienced "head tremors" which is scary to see.

[fourofem]

I guess it was something that I didn't hear or either she was chilly...who knows? She's fine today. She is my "drama queen" so maybe just needed a binky. Sorry for the false alert!

[CaliforniaGreys]

Better that it's nothing, than something.Good to hear she's back to normal

[Guest OnOurFourth]

Stel did something really strange about a half hour ago. Out of the blue, she started shaking uncontrollably for no reason and did so for about 3-4 minutes. She will do that when there's a thunderstorm but all is quiet here tonight. She didn't seem disoriented but I don't know what other signs to look for. I'm hoping she may have heard a gunshot or something else; the television was on so I didn't hear anything and Hitch, who is also thunder and gun shy, didn't bolt out of the door like he usually does. When she got off of the sofa and onto one of beds I covered her up with a blanket and she eventually settled down. She's fine now, sleeping like a baby. Maybe I'm just overreacting but it scared me to see her like that. Has anyone else had an episode like that? Thanks.

 

Keep an eye on your Stel. How old is she? Has she been sick or anything lately? I pray for your girl.

 

We had some quirky undiagnosed things happen with one of our former greyhounds, Cleo. Sometimes she would just stare at the wall, in the corner. The vet said it might have been a personal "time out" for her. We never figured it out. Many years later, she seized just once at home while lying on her bed, for about maybe 20-30 seconds, and then she just died. She was very old, about 12 years or so. We never knew her exact age, as we had found her at the Humane Society with no background provided. Another time prior to that, Cleo's eyeball almost popped right out of its socket after she had been rubbing it with the side of her paw. Before I got her into the car, the eyeball had popped back in. Weird stuff, I know. Just sharing because sometimes these oddities end up being nothing, and sometimes they are symptoms of worse things to come.

 

Two weeks ago, our 10-1/2 year old greyhound, Samson, had a massive seizure (his first seizure EVER) while we were in the car, driving over to the lake for our walk. The seizure lasted for over 40 minutes. It was probably about 15 minutes for me to drive him to our vet, who was out on call that day; we live in a rather rural area. Then it was about another 25 minutes or so before the vet was able to get to the office to try to help get it under control.

 

It was just horrific. Sammy couldn't walk, stand up, his foot folded over, he kept wrenching his head all over the place, trying to stand up, frothing at the mouth, biting his tongue. It was a nightmare just trying to get him out of the car and into the vet's office, as I was alone and totally unprepared for such an episode. The vet gave him a bunch of tranqulizing drugs, and he never really came out of the seizure. He was heavily sedated, we were going to try and let him spend the night, but then he started to have another seizure while under the heavy sedation. It was a gut-wrenching, horrible experience to see my boy out of control, but he did respond to my voice, which helped a little to soothe him. My vet tech said that mostly the greys can't see but they can hear your voice during a seizure. Long ugly story short, my husband and I decided that very afternoon to have him put to sleep, as we figured at his age, it was probably a tumor that would only grow uglier over time. And the fact that he had seized for such a long time, and then continued into another while under the sedation, was a very bad sign. I now wonder, after reading some of the posts on this forum, if we jumped the gun with putting him to sleep. But given his age and the long happy life he had with us, it seemed like the right thing to do; to let him pass over the earth with some semblance of dignity and peace.

 

I sure would like to hear from anyone who had/has a grey who first had a massive seizure late in life, and what the outcome was. I suppose I'm really looking for support that I/we made the right decision, but it's also a learning experience. I'm crying as I write this post, Sammy was truly our top dog and absolute best friend.

 

Finally, for anyone contemplating whether or not it is time to put their friend to sleep, I want to share the few last lines of a poem called "In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver. It has helped my husband and I to cope with our decision, and with our huge loss:

 

To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things;

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

 

Thank you all for letting me ramble. This is my first post. I'm so happy I found this forum and still, after owning three greys and now on our fourth, I see we all still have a lot to learn from each other.

 

-Tracy