Eyes rolled back in head.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks for your question. I'm sorry to hear that Bruce and you are going through this.

What you have described is not a common problem. It sounds like what you were seeing was some type of a seizure. Often if this is the case then blood tests will not find any problems.

It is not really common to see seizures in a puppy like this, but they can happen. There are several possible reasons for seizures in puppies.

If Bruce had any sort of illness or virus when he was really little it is possible that he has some scarring in his brain that can cause seizures. This is most common with dogs who have had distemper.

We can also see this in dogs that have ingested something toxic. However, the chances that this happens more than once are not high. If there are any recreational drugs in the house such as marijuana then this is a possibility.

It is also possible that there is a malformation in his brain. Unfortunately these can be hard to diagnose without an MRI which can be quite pricey.

The other possibility is epilepsy. There is no test for epilepsy but if we have ruled out everything else then this is what we usually diagnose. I get worried if epilepsy is diagnosed in a young dog because it often can be hard to control if it is diagnosed at a young age.

Another thing that could cause his eyes to become blood shot would be an allergic reaction to something like a bee sting. However, this shouldn't really cause his eyes to roll back.

As long as Bruce is not seeming to be in distress then I would agree that it is a good idea to monitor him for now. I would advise that you mark down today's date so that we can monitor how frequently this is happening if it happens again. (But hopefully it doesn't happen again!)

Another thing that may help is to see if you can videotape him when he has an episode.

If these are happening very frequently (such as several times per month) then your vet may prescribe some anti-seizure medications.

I wish I could give you more information but this is an unusual situation!

I hope he is feeling better soon,

Dr. Marie.

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