Seizure and diarrhea.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that Ginger is having seizures. Seizures can be quite unpleasant to watch.

In many cases we don't know why a dog has a seizure. If she has any more in the next few days then we may need to consider the possibility of her eating a toxin that has affected her liver or kidney. If you think she is not right then have your vet do some bloodwork on her.

Another possibility in a dog of this age is epilepsy. Unfortunately there is no test for epilepsy. I have noticed that epilepsy seems to be more common in some lines of labs.

The diarrhea may be from stress. It is hard to say if the seizure caused stress which caused the diarrhea or if the diarrhea caused stress which caused the seizure. I am thinking the first is most likely. It is quite common for a dog to have blood in the stool due to stress. I don't get too worried about blood in diarrhea as long as the dog is feeling relatively ok.

If Ginger seems to be bright and alert and eating ok you may want to consider a period of 24 hours without food followed by small meals of chicken and rice. This will help her intestines deal with the diarrhea.

If she is not doing well, or if she is having more seizures then a vet visit is necessary.

Mark down the date of the seizure. Keep track of whether she has any more. Many dogs with epilepsy will have a seizure once every few months. If this is the case we really don't do anything. But, if she has a seizure several times a month then your vet will talk to you about anti-seizure medication.

I hope she is ok!

Dr. Marie.

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---


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