What are the possible causes of seizures in small dogs? (Please see below)?

Question

I have a minature poodle. He's around 11 years old, but since he was 4 or 5 he occasionally gets what my family and I call seizures. They usually happen in the winter although they have happened in the late fall and well into the spring. What happens: He is fine, then all of a sudden he wants to be right next to you and won't be more than an inch or two from you (he was weaned too early and has always been a "momma's boy" but not like this), then within 15 or 20 minutes he forceably stands, stiffens his legs, shakes uncontrolably (similar to when they're cold or scared but with more power, NOT like when they shake the water from their fur), and has a hard time breathing. He also makes himself walk away from us and alternates walking stiffly away from us and standing still, the whole time gasping for breath. He will allow you to pick him up, but only if you hold him gently and take him outside. If you try to cottle him he wiggles away and starts over. This will last anywhere from 2 - 6

minutes and unless you take him outside for 10 minutes or so and allow him to breathe the cold air, it repeats every 5 -10 minutes until you take him outside. When they first started happening they happened as often as 2 -3 per month, but usually about 2 or 3 per quarter. They have slowly lessened to only about 2 or 3 per year. At first I thought it was caused by the very warm air in the house in the winter time and the fact that my Dad smokes 3 packs a day and the dogs not wanting to go outside very often and he just needed fresh air. Then I thought maybe it was a food allergy - my Dad feeds him people food a lot. Then I thought it might be related to a genetic problem that also caused him to have juvineile cataracts which eventually caused him to be (my estimate) 85-90% blind by age 4. My parents moved 2-3 years ago, moving 6 hours away to a different climate, and his "seizures" have been fewer. We can't afford to take him to a doggie specialist, or have expensive surgery, but would

like to know how we can help him, what's causing them, etc.

We do take him to the vet for shots, etc. And have mentioned this to 3 different vets, and two were perplexed and were no help. The third said that unless he sees what happens he can't really say if it's a seizure or something else.

Sorry this is so long.

Normally the people food he gets is stuff like cooked meat/poultry/pork, cheese, and the occasional small dish of home made vanilla ice cream. He will also eat certain veggies like green beans, and broccoli. He doesn't get chocolate, or fried foods unless there's a little breading left after Dad pulls most of it off. For the record I've tried to get Dad to stop feeding him table food, but he won't.

Answer 1

That doesn't sound like a seizure, that sounds like a neurological problem. Any dog, small or large can have seizures, just like people. The dog knows that something is wrong and it scares them, they will try to get to the closest person that makes them feel safe. When this happens, allow the dog to be near you, restrain him from hurting himself, but don't hold him tight. After a couple minutes, you'll feel his muscles relax as the seizure ends. Your dog may need to be medicated to control this. Contact your vet.

Answer 2

Poodles are prone to epilepsy and medication is the only thing to keep the seizures under control. Even dogs that are only 1/2 poodle can have it.

Health Issues in Poodles
Many issues concern poodle breeders today, some which affect only one of the varieties and some which plague the breed as a whole.

Below we will try to provide some insight to the topics that are of concern to Poodle owners.

Addison's
Basic Genetics
Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (Bloat)
Cushings
Ear Care
Epilepsy
Hip Dysplasia
Hypothyroidism
Legg-Calve-Perthes
Patellar Luxation
PRA
Optic Nerve Hypoplasia
More Eye Health Links
Sebaceous Adenitis (SA)
Von Willebrand's disease (vWD)

Answer 3

No where in all that did you say the dog has been seen by a vet for what you think are seizures. The dog needs to be checked out by a vet.

Answer 4

I even have never heard of blindness being an component results of a dogs ingesting chocolate. I even have additionally never heard of blindness brought about by ailment to get greater advantageous over the years. oftentimes poor sight gets worse.

Answer 5

What kind of people food is he getting, exactly? The ASPCA has a list of foods that are toxic to dogs.

Answer 6

try a diff food it worked for my dog