Seizure in new yorkie, Need advice and support please
 

Hi everyone, I am a new member to this site, but have been lurking on the boards for the past couple of weeks. I am just sick with worry right now.

We bought a 9 week old female yorkie (Abbie)from a reputable breeder (family friend). She is now 12 weeks old and has been doing well up until last night. She used the bathroom (pee and poo at 2 AM) and she was fine. She had not been acting lethargic or strange last night before bed. She sleeps with my husband and I and woke us up at 6:00 AM with what we thought was a nightmare, but turned out to be a grand mal seizure. Her whole body stiffened, she was making strange noises, she lost control of her bowel and bladder. It lasted for about 2 minutes and my husband even had to perform CPR on her at the very end of the seizure because she stopped breathing.

I am a nursing student and my first thought was hypoglycemia. I grabbed a jar of peanut butter and had her lick it off of our fingers, all the while I was calling the emergency vet. The vet said to give her honey water, which we did. She acted strange for about 15 minutes (easily scared, shaking), but then was fine, running around and playing. She took a 20 minute nap, got up, ate breakfast, and is napping at my feet as I type this.

It is now 3 hours later and she has had no other seizure activity. I spoke with her normal vet and she is scheduled for blood work tomorrow. He said it didn't sound like hypoglycemia to him because of the extent and severity of the seizure. I would like any thoughts on this condition. Does it sound like liver shunt, she is gaining weight, and seems healthy other than the seizure. I did notice that she pee'd alot after the seizure, but I think that is because of the honey water.

I would like to add that she ate a mushroom from our yard 2 days ago, but threw it back up about 2 minutes after she ate it (it was only the cap of the mushroom and I definitely saw it when it came back up).

If it is a liver problem, can you please give some advice on what I can feed her until I get her to the vet tomorrow? She is currently on NUTRO puppy and I noticed that it is 28% protein...isn't that what she needs to avoid?

Please say a prayer for our baby. It's amazing how quickly they squirm their way into your heart.

Hi and welcome. I do not have any advice but I am praying for your baby to be alright. I hope everything goes ok at the vet and she dosn't have any more seiszures. Sending good thoughts your way.

Hi, and welcome to Yorkie Talk!

It sounds like you're doing all the right things for Abbie. It's very important that she sees her vet as soon as she can, so it's good that she's already scheduled for blood work tomorrow.

We have a handy reference book for Yorkies. There's a section on seizures that says they can be triggered for many reasons, including epilepsy, diseases (including liver shunt), hypoglycemia, bad reaction to a vaccine, very low thyroid, poisoning or organ failure. Only your vet can figure out what caused it, and he will be able to do tests for liver shunt, too.

Since young yorkies are so prone to hypoglycemia, a lot of yorkie owners here give our babies a nutritional supplement called Nutrical a few times a day when they are young. It's essentially a nutrient packed sugar paste. If you can't get out to a pet store to find some today, go ahead and give Abbie a fingertip amount of honey or Karo syrup every few hours today, and if she gets up in the middle of the night tonight, give her one then, too. This will help keep her blood sugar levels up.

If she has another seizure, stay close to her to comfort her while it's happening, and make sure she doesn't run into anything that can hurt her. Keep your fingers away from her mouth - our book says that dogs won't swallow their tongues during a seizure, so there's no need to put your fingers in her mouth to prevent that.

I'd say that it probably wasn't related to eating the mushroom, since that was a couple of days ago, but again, only the vet can really tell. Our little guys have eaten mushrooms from the yard before, too. I think some of them are slightly poisonous, and some aren't.

If she starts to act strange again, don't be afraid to call your vet or the emergency vet. These little guys are very delicate when they're young. We woke up one morning to find our 13 week old in a coma, and he was perfectly fine up until that point. He's fine now, but it was definitely a scary time!

Well - I hope this helps. We're glad to have you here on Yorkie Talk, and please let us know how Abbie is tomorrow! :)

Cali had several episodes of hypoglycemia when she was about 10 an d 12 weeks old. The first one I had put her in my bed during the night because she woke. When I got up in the morning she was almost comatose. I screamed for my husband and we gave her pancake syrup and rushed ti the er vet. I cried all the way there because she looked like she was dying. By the time I got her there she was coming out of it but they kept her and gave her IV fluids for the day. The second one was less severe and she came right out of it with syrup. The lst one she had she was almost 6 months old and I woke her up from her nap at 9 pm and she stumbled down the stairs and was falling over and then started to walk like her legs were all stiff and like she thought the floor was closer than it was. It was so weird. I gave her nutrical and rushed her to the er vet. They kept her and Iv'd her and did Bile acid tests. Bottom line She had liver biopsy and all the test for liver shunt and was diagnosed with very very mild MVD or internal liver shunt. No treatment is necessary buit I do try and keep her on a lower protein diet.
So it is possible that it is hypoglycemic episodes but I would have her liver shunt tested as well. The one thing I found with Cali is I feed her 3 times a day and make sure she eats at each meal and she has been doing great, knock on wood.
They make a low protein diet. I think Hills science diet has one. I have Cali on a 17% protein chicken breast diet since she won't eat dog food. Good luck with your little baby.
How much does she weigh? Cali was 1 lb when I got her and now is 4 1/2 lbs at 11 months!

sasha had her first fit at age 2,she then had them the rest of her life but the vets said they could be caused by anything and we never found out for sure why she had them. if the pup has no more i would say it was cos of what she had eaten as toxins take time to build up,zac with out me knowing had eaten a plastic dog toy but it wasnt untill a few days later that he started to have fits one after the other and stopped breathing,when we got him to the vet he was sick and out came bits of the toy,the vet said the toxins build up over days untill it affects the liver and then the dog fits,zac had to have plain foods for a few months and tests on his liver,the only good thing about it is the liver re-news its self so after a few months it was nearly normal again. i hope your pup gets better soon.

Abbie
 

Thanks everyone. It has been 7 hours and Abbie has been seizure free. She is acting perfectly normal now. She has been playful and has been eating well. I did give her another bit of honey, just in case it was the hypoglycemia. She weighs 2.75 lbs as of Thursday.

After talking to friends and family members, I'm beginning to wonder if it wasn't the mushroom or some other foreign substance such as an insect. We live in SC and there is a slew of insects to choose from in any given yard. We spent a good deal of time outside yesterday while our daughter was swimming. I wonder if she ate a spider or beetle? It just seems like she would have other symptoms if it were liver trouble or hypoglycemia.

I also wondered about your thoughts on this: Per vet instructions, I gave her Sentinel and Frontline. I did not realize at the time that Sentinel was effective in treating fleas, I thought it was only for parasites such as worms. Aren't I overtreating her if I'm using both? Is is possible that this caused the reaction? I gave them to her 2 weeks ago...seems like a long time for a reaction to occur.

Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts.

Make sure to ask your vet about the double whammy of flea protection. Sentinel will prevent the hatching of any new flea eggs, but will not necessarily kill adult fleas. I, personally don't like Frontline because the smell gags me. I tend to be smell sensitive, but I think the smell lingers on the dog's body for days following a treatment. It if smells that bad and you are supposed to wash your hands after coming in contact with it, I also worry what happens if a dog were to ingest some.

God Bless you & Abbie. I can see you are doing everything you can to help her. All the advise you got so far is terrific. I'd like to give you a few more. Until you get to the bottom of the cause:

1. Have an ice pack ready in the freezer. If she has a seizure again, place the pack on her lower back (between the last rib cage and her tail) to help keep her temp down.

2. Put a bell on her so you can hear her when you are in another room or sleeping to alert you. You will be able to tell the difference in the jingling from regular activity and a seizure.

3. Stay calm.

4. After the seizure is over let her have a teeny bit of vanilla ice cream. The sugar and the coolness help them recover more quickly.


Check out the FDA web site about Sentinal and Frontline. I heard they can trigger seizures. I may have been the double exposure that triggerd the seizure.

Bloodtest - Have her Thyroid tested as well as the standard and bile acid. Thyroid problems can also trigger a seizure.

I hope to hear good news.

Abbie
 

Thank you so much for the wealth of info.

With every seizure free hour I'm starting to feel more calm.

I'll be sure to request the thyroid test. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.

~Abbies Mommy~

My Lacy had seizures from 8 weeks (9 oz.) to about 3 and 1/2 months old due to hypoglycemia. I never left her alone. She ate and drank normally and otherwise seemed very healthy. She was given nutrical 3x a day. They just one day stopped and she was seizure free for the rest of her days.

Her seizures lasted 2 or 3 minutes. Sometimes she would have more than one in a day and than she would also skip days. She would be laying on her side with her eyes wide open and rolled back in her head. She would stretch her head toward her back and move in a circle while remaining laying down. If her nails got caught on a blanket or carpet she would continue to turn in circles even if her leg was getting twisted. After the seizure, she seemed a little sleepy, but not limp and lethargic.

Lacy's Mom
 

I'm a nursing student, so my first instinct when it happened was hypoglycemia.

My vet said he wasn't so sure since she showed no signs or symptoms before bed last night. Did your little one show any signs of hypoglycemia or did the seizures occur out of the blue? Did you have her tested and if so, was her blood sugar low?

I'm so worried that it is something more serious. I couldn't imagine losing her.

My baby Jewel, has what the doctors believe is Necrotizing Encehpelitis or GME. You can read her story on this post:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...ht=necrotizing

Her updates are here if you are interested on reading on:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...ht=necrotizing

Your Abbie is too young to have symptoms from this so I would not think this is what she is suffering from. What Jewel has is very rare and cause is unknown.

Welcome to Yorkie Talk!
 

I sure hope Abbie has no more seizures and the vet can determine what happened to her...hopefully it is something very minor. Oscar has never had seizures and he was a tiny thing when we got him. He was only 8/10 of a pound when we brought him home! I fed him about 5 Frosted Cheerios every couple of hours just to keep his sugar up. He loved them so I figured it made both of us happy! He always ate well and we free fed him so he ate what he wanted but loved getting the Frosted Cheerios as an added bonus. The vet agreed with my approach as well. Keep us posted on your little Abbie!!! Hope all goes well tomorrow!!! Oscar sends you guys puppy kisses!!!

This was by first Yorkie and 15 years ago and my vet didn't even believe in hypoglycemia. Not as much was known about it then. I still don't think vets have caught on! The breeder kept insisting that is what it was so I was giving her nutrical.

Every seizure was such a scary experience I rushed to the vet's office. Had she been bigger he would have hospitalized her, but at 9 oz I guess he couldn't get an i.v. in her. He was thinking it was epilepsy, but was afraid to give phenobarbital and couldn't decide a safe dosage. I think it was about the 4th visit before he actually took a glucose test and sure enough her blood sugar was really really low. I began feeding her 5 times a day and giving nutrical 3x a day.

As she got older the seizures got fewer and fewer and by about 3 or 3 and 1/2 months she never had another. She eventually passed away from Cushing's disease at 12, but she was healthy up until then.

Abbie
 

Thanks again everyone. You've really helped to calm my nerves. I actually ate my first meal of the day a few minutes ago. It is now 12 hours after the seizure and no further activity.

Abbie is peeing, pooing, and playing as usual. I've been feeding her every couple of hours. I normally leave dry food in her dish and supplement with treats. Today, I've been offering a tiny bit of honey water every 4 hours or so. Hope I don't throw her into hyperglycemia :)

My baby seems to be fine. I'll keep you updated. 8 AM can't get here fast enough.

One quick question, should I expect her CBC and urinalysis back in one day? Please tell me it doesn't take any longer than that.

Lacy's Mom, Dan & Corrine, thanks for sharing your experiences with me.

We are happy to help. It's our hope to help others from what we learned from Jewel's illness.

Good job Abbie for being seizure free for all this time! You mommie loves you and what a terrific mommie you have you lucky little girl!

To answer your question: We get most of Jewels lab results within 24 hours. Her Thyroid and Bromide takes a few days longer. I don't recall how long the Bile Acid tests comes back. It all depends on the lab.

Make sure you get a copy of the full lab results. Since you are in the medical field I'm sure you won't have any trouble reading it like I did. Many doctors do not explain each test/result and it's worth taking the time to learn.

For those of you who would like to know how to interpret the lab results here is a link to a terrific website:

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/index.html

http://labtestsonline.org

We've never had a urinalysis test done, but when we get blood tests (and fecal matter tests) at the vet, the results are back within 20 minutes or so. I'm not sure what all they test for during the routine visit, though. It may take longer to test the blood for specific diseases. It will also depend on the test equipment your vet has available in their office - some tests may need to be sent out for results.

We had no previous symptoms before our hypoglycemic episode happened. But, we noticed the "drunk" behavior again a few days later and was able to stop it off with Nutrical.

I'm glad Abbie has been doing well all day!

I would be sure to let the Vet know about the mushroom..as they can be toxic to dogs.
Here is a good site for seizure and causes.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...m/site_map.htm
I hope your pup get better..keep us posted.

I'm not sure what could be wrong, but you're right- Liver problems would show more symptoms than that. So, thank God you can pretty much take that off your list! I bet she will be fine, keep us updated!!!

Abbie
 

Thank you again everyone. The outpouring of support from board members has been phenomenal. I just wish my very first post was not a health related issue.

Abbie did well through the night. She slept like a baby. I, on the other hand, only slept for about 15 minutes at a time. Every little squirm and squeak she made threw me into a full blown panic. I woke her up every 4 hours to give her a little snack to keep her blood sugar from bottoming out, just in case it is related to hypoglycemia.

No seizures. Just a happy little baby. If I had not witnessed the seizure I would be oblivious to its happening, because she acts so healthy otherwise.

when zac had his fits it was due to a plastic toy which was toxic that he had eaten which then caused liver problems due to the liver trying to get rid of the toxins and the fits were the only problem he had.

i bet it was something she had eaten. glad shes better.

Abbie is home from vet
 

He said my little "porker" was doing well and showed no signs of liver shunt. She has gained 3/4 of a lb in a little over 11 days, so he ruled that out preliminarily. He did say that is sounded like a bad case of hypoglycemia, maybe provoked by our extended play outside on Saturday. He didn't think it was the mushroom because she should have had some other symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, muscle rigidity, etc.

They tested her Blood sugar and it was 80, he said her normal range should be 60-110 give or take. She had eaten just 2 hours before, so I feel like 80 is low when you consider I have also been giving her the honey. The vet thinks that hypoglycemia will be the end diagnosis.

They took a CBC and enzyme panel and I should know the results first thing in the morning.

He told me to give her baby Gerber Chicken in the meantime.

Thanks again everyone, yesterday was one of the longest and most stressful days ever. Thanks for helping me through and sending good thoughts our way.

Glad your porker is o.k.!
 

Good news to hear that it is nothing terrible. Hypoglycemia is serious but I think it is controllable. So glad it was not liver shunt or anything like that! Keep giving her the sweet stuff and you might want to try some Frosted Cheerios...I swear they love them! And they are easy to pack if you go somewhere, not messy and they think they are treats! Oscar lived on those things and was not a fatty because of them. He was so active he ran off all of the extra calories he may have gotten from the Cheerios! Hope your news from the test results is good news! Best of luck with your baby and keep us posted!

SashaJade, I wouldn't put it past her to have eaten a barbie shoe or any other small plastic item. We have an 8 year old little girl who is very good at keeping the toys off the ground, but you just never know.

What type of plastic toy did Zac eat?

my family dog "blue" which we had for 16 yrs had seizers all the time. no medicines were given to her and she lived a long life. i hope everything goes well

My Jasper had seizures too.
 

Although the first two times Jasper had seizures, we took him to the vet and they filled him with IV fluids, did all kinds of tests, and charged us hundreds of dollars, we never found out what caused the seizures. I learned about the sugar water thing, and the next time he had a seizure we went with that and keeping him calm. Jasper would seize about once every 6 months or so for the rest of his life, and we just took it in stride. He lived to be 12 and was a happy pup for most of his life until the end.

Good luck to you going forward, and it's awesome that there is nothing serious that has been found.

it was a squeaky dog toy, it happened years ago before they put warnings on them, i always took them out of the room the dogs were left in when i went out but must of missed it that time and i wouldnt mind but he had eaten the whole thing:eek: there was nothing left ,the only reason we knew he had eaten a toy was when he was sick at the vets and it was pink and blue:eek: hes 12 now and never been ill since apsrt from a reaction to frontline. he was always eating things wood plastic plants glass even once:eek: im sure hes got goat in him:D

We're so glad to hear that Abbie is okay! Now that you have a probable cause, you should be able to keep it under control. The good news is that most Yorkies grow out of their hypoglycemia.

A blood sugar level of 80 sounds pretty good - our vet said that around 100 was normal. When we took Errol to the emergency vet the morning he was in a coma, his blood sugar level was only 15! It's quite possible that he had a seizure in the night and we never knew it. But, like I said before, he's fine now, and he's really feisty! :)

Yippy! Happy News!
 

I'm so glad things have turned out so well! Good job to mommie & Abbie!