My dog is having a seizure: what should I do?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Stay calm, start a timer, move furniture and objects away, dim the lights and keep the room quiet. Do not hold your dog down and keep your hands away from its mouth. PDSA says call your vet straight away if the seizure lasts longer than two minutes or your dog has more than one in 24 hours.
Cornell's vets say a seizure that goes on for more than five minutes needs a vet immediately. Even a single short fit needs a vet check soon, because poisons, low blood sugar, liver disease and heatstroke can all cause seizures.
What should you do while your dog is fitting?
Most seizures stop on their own within a couple of minutes. Your job is to keep your dog safe and to watch the clock.
Start a timer
Note the time or start your phone's stopwatch. How long it lasts decides how urgent it is, and minutes feel much longer than they are. PDSA
Clear the space
Move furniture and breakable objects away, and keep your dog away from stairs, balcony edges and water. Cornell advises removing nearby breakables. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Keep hands away from the mouth
PDSA warns you are likely to be bitten. Your dog is not aware of you during a seizure, Cornell notes, and is not in control. PDSA
Do not restrain
Holding a fitting dog can hurt it or you. Dim the lights, turn off the television and keep children and other pets out of the room. PDSA
Film it if you can
A short video gives your vet valuable clues and helps confirm it was a seizure and not a faint or something else. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Phone the vet
At once if it passes two minutes or is a second fit in 24 hours. Otherwise when your dog starts to come round. PDSA
When is a seizure an emergency?
Use the timer. These thresholds are from PDSA and Cornell.
If The seizure has lasted more than five minutes
Go to a vet immediately. Cornell calls an ongoing seizure of more than five minutes status epilepticus. Emergency vets Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
If It has lasted more than two minutes
Call your vet straight away and get ready to go, as PDSA advises. PDSA
If This is the second seizure in 24 hours
Call your vet straight away. Cornell describes more than one seizure in 24 hours as cluster seizures, which change how vets treat. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
If It was a single short seizure and your dog has recovered
Call your vet once your dog is coming round, even if it seems fine, and book an exam as soon as possible. PDSA
If Your dog may have eaten chocolate, xylitol gum, rat poison or alcohol, or was out in the heat
Go now. Cornell lists these toxins as causes of seizures and PDSA lists seizures among the severe signs of heatstroke. Heatstroke in dogs PDSA
What causes seizures in dogs?
A seizure is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Your vet looks for the cause.
Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center groups the causes. Reactive or metabolic seizures come from problems outside the brain, such as low blood sugar, low blood calcium, liver disease, liver shunts and kidney disease. Toxins are another group: Cornell lists dark chocolate, caffeine, xylitol, antifreeze, rat poison and liquor. Structural seizures come from something in the brain itself, such as a tumour, head injury, inflammation or infection.
Idiopathic epilepsy is the most common cause, diagnosed once other causes are ruled out, and Cornell says it usually starts between six months and six years of age. A Royal Veterinary College VetCompass study of UK dogs put the prevalence of epilepsy of unknown origin at 0.62%, with males more than one and a half times as likely to be affected and higher odds in some breeds, including the German Shepherd. A first seizure in an older dog is more likely to have another cause, which is one reason your vet may suggest blood tests or a scan.
In India, heat is a cause owners must not miss. PDSA lists seizures among the severe signs of heatstroke, along with confusion, collapse and bloody vomiting or diarrhoea. A dog that fits after a walk on a hot afternoon, or after being shut in a car or a room without fans during a power cut, needs cooling and a vet at once.
What should you note for the vet after a seizure?
Cornell recommends timing every seizure and keeping a log. It helps your vet decide whether treatment is needed.
- The date, time and length of the seizure, from your timer. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
- What it looked like, and which parts of the body were affected. A video gives your vet valuable clues. PDSA
- Anything unusual in the hours before. Cornell notes that early, pre-ictal signs can come before a seizure. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
- How long your dog took to recover. Cornell says dogs can stay disoriented or confused for minutes to hours afterwards. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
- Anything it could have eaten in the last day, and whether it was out in the heat. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
- Any medicine it takes, and whether any dose was missed. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
What happens after the seizure, and what about treatment?
Afterwards your dog may stay disoriented or confused. Cornell calls this the postictal phase and says it can last minutes to hours. Keep your dog somewhere quiet and safe, away from stairs and water, and stay with it. PDSA advises against moving your pet until the seizure has stopped, unless your vet tells you otherwise.
Whether your dog needs daily anti-seizure medicine is a decision for your vet, based on the cause, how often seizures happen and how long they last. Cornell says the seizure log helps make that decision. Never give a dog human seizure medicine or any medicine not prescribed for it. If your dog is on medicine and you travel, write the exact times in your sitter's care sheet, with the vet's number and the two-minute and five-minute rules.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
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Questions owners ask
Will my dog swallow its tongue during a seizure?
- Do not put your fingers or anything else in your dog's mouth to check. PDSA warns that you are likely to be bitten, and Cornell notes your dog is not aware of you during a seizure. Clear the space around it, time the seizure and wait for it to stop.
How long is too long for a dog seizure?
- PDSA says call your vet straight away if a seizure lasts longer than two minutes. Cornell says an ongoing seizure of more than five minutes is status epilepticus and your dog needs a vet immediately. Use a timer, because seizures feel much longer than they are.
Is one seizure an emergency if my dog seems fine afterwards?
- A single short seizure followed by recovery is not usually a rush, but call your vet once your dog comes round and book an exam soon. Toxins, low blood sugar, liver disease and heatstroke can all cause a first seizure, and some need fast treatment.
What does it mean if my dog has several seizures in one day?
- More than one seizure in 24 hours is called cluster seizures, Cornell says, and PDSA advises calling your vet straight away. Cornell lists clusters among the reasons a vet may start treatment even after a first episode.
Can a pet sitter look after a dog with epilepsy?
- Yes, with a clear plan. Write down the medicine times exactly as prescribed, what your dog's seizures look like, the two-minute and five-minute rules and your vet's number. A Petym sitter follows your dog's plan as you write it, logs it, and takes your dog to the 24-hour vet in an emergency.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- PDSA: What to do if your pet has a seizure (opens in a new tab)
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: Managing seizures (Riney Canine Health Center) (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Heatstroke in dogs (opens in a new tab)
- Veterinary Record (2013), Royal Veterinary College VetCompass: Prevalence and risk factors for canine epilepsy of unknown origin in the UK (abstract read) (opens in a new tab)