# Triggers That Can Cause A Dog To Have Seizures



## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Anyone who has a dog that has Epilepsy, or who has a dog that is prone to having a lot of seizures, knows that there are certain triggers that can cause a dog to go into a seizure. The mental state of a dog, who is prone to having a lot of seizures, is compromised even more by certain triggers, and it's important that all owners understand what can cause the onset of a seizure, and what they can do to avoid those triggers, so that the dog may still be able to live a good and decent life. 

In recent years, I read that dogs with seizures are prone to going into one when there is a Full Moon. Personally, I'm skeptical of that, as it was never the case with Trina. I am however open to that possibility that some dogs are prone to it.

I recently said that my husband and I walked around on eggshells so that we could help keep Trina's life quiet and peaceful. While it's true that we WERE very careful when we were around Trina, the phrase, "walking on eggshells" was somewhat incorrect. The better phrase would be, being in tune of what might would set Trina off, and doing what we could to avoid any of those triggers. And we were more than happy to do that, in order to help her have the best life possible. 

For Trina, loud noises, such as pans dropping to the floor, or a door slamming, or even the shrieking of something loud on TV, would sometimes startle her. These things didn't always make her go into a seizure, but I have to admit, sometimes a very loud noise would startle her out of a sleep and then she would go into one. So we learned quickly what things we should avoid. Because she started with seizures at such a young age, her mental state was compromised because of it, and therefore there WERE some things that she just could not handle well. That certainly didn't mean that she was having seizures every day of her life, and it absolutely didn't mean that she was acting like a zombie and scared of everything. But, if an owner is truly dedicated in helping their dog have the best life possible, it IS VERY important to really understand Canine Epilepsy, and know what to do to help avoid these triggers.

There are many sites out there that talks about triggers and seizures in dogs, but one that I found the most helpful was something that I had printed out all of those years ago, and put it on my fridge as a reminder.

I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly, but I'm going to try: 

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com
Identify Potential Seizure Triggers

This site explains all of the different triggers that can cause a dog to go into a seizure. I highly recommend this site to anyone who does have a very sensitive or a mentally challenged dog who is very prone to seizures.

Remember, a dog with a lifetime of having seizures, absolutely does not mean that they are having seizures every day of their life, or are miserable. It means that they need someone who will be dedicated in helping them so that they CAN have a good and happy life.

I believe with all of my heart that Fred and I did good by Trina. Yes, sometimes it was difficult; other times it was very difficult. But we were there for her every step of the way, and we would do it again. In a heartbeat.

Trina lived to almost 14, and she did have a good life. And the thing that I find the most comforting is, she didn't die from having a seizure. It was just her time.


----------



## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Geez, I can't figure out how to pull that page up, that shows all of the triggers.

But if you click on Table Of Contents, then about half way down, there is a sub category that says, "Identify Potential Seizure Triggers". That's the list that I'm talking about.


----------



## Coco86 (Oct 23, 2014)

TrixieTreasure, thank you for posting this! Our Rosie is seven years old, and she was diagnosed with epilepsy in November 2013, when she was four. Our vet advised us to keep her life as stress free as possible, since he believes, as we do, that her seizures are triggered by stress. Since her diagnosis she has had seven seizures, plus one in August 2013 that another vet thought was heat stroke, and a suspected one in February 2013 that we thought was a choking episode and rushed her to the ER. She recovered in the car on the way there, but looking back, her behavior was like when she's having a seizure. We thought she was dying, but she perked up in the car and started licking my face like crazy! It was scary. 

I keep a record of her seizures, and they definitely come either before or after stressful situations. She really picks up on our emotions. Her latest seizure was in March, literally a day before one of my older brothers got into some big legal trouble, something we didn't see coming. He's in his forties and doesn't live with us, but it was like...she could sense it was going to happen. She had one last year while another brother was going through a messy divorce and had legal issues that upset my parents.

She has had seizures after family BBQ's, when everyone was over including my niece's two border collies. She gets stressed around big dogs, so now we keep her safe in her dog stroller while having family gatherings like Thanksgiving and Christmas. That keeps her calm. 

The long seizure that led to a visit to the Emergency vet happened a few days after Thanksgiving 2013. She was diagnosed with epilepsy then, but they didn't recommend medication. It took her a week to get back to her old self after that seizure. We finally took her to our regular vet, and he did blood work. She was a bit dehydrated so he gave her fluids and we started her on Phenabarbital at his urging. He was very impressed with her blood work at her last checkup! 

She also had a seizure in October 2014, two days after my dad had Moh's surgery to remove skin cancer on his ear and scalp. That was also nearly two weeks after we added Sammy the mini poodle to the family, so that might have helped trigger it since she probably knew he was sick with ear infection and worms. 

Since being on medication, the longest she's gone without a seizure has been six months. She's had two this year, a month apart, but it's now been five months since her last one. Our vet said once she started on Phenabarbital she would have a lot of energy and act like she did when she was a puppy. He was right, she's still very energized! She keeps the other three poodles in line lol. She's on one pill a day so far, and doing great.


----------



## ApricotsRock (Jan 10, 2014)

Absolutely agree with the stress as a trigger if you are looking for real life experiences.


----------



## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Coco86 said:


> TrixieTreasure, thank you for posting this! Our Rosie is seven years old, and she was diagnosed with epilepsy in November 2013, when she was four. Our vet advised us to keep her life as stress free as possible, since he believes, as we do, that her seizures are triggered by stress. Since her diagnosis she has had seven seizures, plus one in August 2013 that another vet thought was heat stroke, and a suspected one in February 2013 that we thought was a choking episode and rushed her to the ER. She recovered in the car on the way there, but looking back, her behavior was like when she's having a seizure. We thought she was dying, but she perked up in the car and started licking my face like crazy! It was scary.
> 
> I keep a record of her seizures, and they definitely come either before or after stressful situations. She really picks up on our emotions. Her latest seizure was in March, literally a day before one of my older brothers got into some big legal trouble, something we didn't see coming. He's in his forties and doesn't live with us, but it was like...she could sense it was going to happen. She had one last year while another brother was going through a messy divorce and had legal issues that upset my parents.
> 
> ...


You're very welcome! I'm so glad that you are there for Rosie, and you're helping her to still have a good life. I just wanted to help people to understand what Canine Epilepsy is, and to prove that their IS hope for the dog to still live a fun and fullfilling life. Trina was one of those that was super sensitive to noises and stress, and therefore was prone to having seizures. She had seizures her entire life. But she also went months without any ( or at least none that we saw). Her meds consisted of Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide 3 x a day, and when she would have some bad ones, we also used the rectal Valium, because it went right to the bloodstream.

There was one thing that I forgot to mention, when speaking about how it was for Trina. As she got much older, somewhere around 9 years of age, the seizures slowed dramatically. Meaning, that they were fewer and farther between. It's weird, and even our vet couldn't explain it. All I know was that I was happy for her.

Also, just because a person has a dog who is super sensitive to noises and has a lot of seizures, that doesn't mean that the owner should put the dog down. It also doesn't mean that the owner is selfish if they want to keep trying for their dog. It just depends on the owner and how dedicated they are in helping the dog. I would never judge someone if they hung in there, and I also would never judge someone if they decided to go ahead and put the dog to sleep. If the dog has seizures every day, and the meds are not helping, and the dog is clearly in distress every day of its life, it very well might be best to put the dog to sleep. But when the good days outweigh the bad days, and the dog can still enjoy life, then I think it's wonderful if the owners keep on trying for their beloved pet. I almost put Trina to sleep when she was 2 years of age. I'm so thankful I didn't.


----------

