[Lara's mom]

I'd be looking for a new vet PRONTO!!!

[anifunk1962]

My 3-year-old Jack Russell had a seizure yesterday evening. He has no risk factors.

• He has been on a raw diet for 6 months.
• He had not had any vaccinations for a couple of years.
• He doesn't get flea and tick medications.
• We use natural cleaning products.
• We don't give him people food that we know is harmful to dogs.

He had an obvious grand mal seizure about an hour after he ate canned mackerel, raw egg, raw chicken liver and gizzard yesterday evening. My 6-year-old dog ate the same thing and was fine. The Jack Russell was fine after the seizure and has been acting normally ever since.

Both dogs were outside for about 1-1/2 hours before eating, roaming around, playing and eating whatever they could find on the ground.

I'm very puzzled about what could have caused the seizure and have been racking my brain, trying to figure it out. I have been thinking about switching from a raw diet to Innova Evo because I don't know if the raw diet is good for them and because it is expensive, but I've heard so many negatives about "kibble" so I don't know what to do.

I'm wondering if Vito (the Jack Russell) could have eaten a toxic plant or something else outside that could have caused a hopefully solitary seizure. ??? He once ate some weeds I was pulling from the garden and acted "high" or "spacy" all evening but then was fine the next day.

I've seen lots of grand mal seizures because my husband has them but every seizure, no matter how many you've seen or who has them, is very scary. And I can't help but wonder if he's going to have another one.

[Corky/Max]

I imagine you have already checked things out on the web--Don't know what words you put in your browser--I put: seizures/dogs/food related----and also : seizures/dogs/causes--in my browser. A lot there to read. Don't think this incident had anything to do with feeding raw--suppose to be a good thing for dogs who have seizures and the commercial stuff with PRESERVATIVES is suppose to be bad! What do you feed for raw---ratio of meat(protein), carbs, including veggies and how you feed the vegs (pulverized?) some fats, supplements, etc---Typical day's menu? There are a lot of things that can cause seizures including diseases, injuries--esp. brain and the injury doesn't have to have just happened, blood sugar drop, brain diseases, and epilepsy. I would put dogs/epilepsy in my browser too. Hopefully this is just a 1 time thing and may of been caused by something the dog got into outside. If more happen, you will of coure have it checked by a vet and will find out what is going on.

[anifunk1962]

My dogs eat mostly chicken. They usually eat chicken necks in the morning and then chicken quarters (Vito gets the leg) or hamburger around 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Once a week, they get canned mackerel, a raw egg and organ meat (usually chicken liver or gizzard). They eat lettuce stems, celery bits and carrot bits when I'm making a salad but I don't usually feed them much vegetable stuff because I've read that dogs don't digest vegetables well.

Vito (the dog who had the seizure) has been acting normally since the seizure. We're watching him closely and if he has another one, we'll have to take him to the vet. Hopefully, it was a freak thing and doesn't happen again but it is really puzzling to me.

[Yogi]

any mushrooms growing in the yard?

[anifunk1962]

Originally Posted by Yogi

any mushrooms growing in the yard?

There could be but I'm not sure. We live in a damp and wooded area. Do mushrooms cause seizures?

[Corky/Max]

Mushroom poisoning occurs as a result of ingesting toxic mushrooms. Not all mushrooms are poisonous, but each type of poisonous mushroom can cause different signs of illness. Poisonous mushrooms are classified into four main categories, based on the clinical signs they cause, or into seven categories, based on the toxins they contain. The onset of clinical signs may occur anywhere from minutes to hours following ingestion.

Mushroom toxicity is most commonly associated with curious puppies.

What to Watch For



Vomiting

Diarrhea

Abdominal pain

Lethargy

Jaundice (yellow skin color)

Seizures

Coma

Excess salivation

Diagnosis

When poisonous mushroom ingestion is suspected, initial blood tests are done to evaluate the overall health of the dog.

High liver and kidney enzymes may be seen 24 to 48 hours after ingestion of certain mushrooms, together with low blood sugar and blood potassium levels.

Also see new thread I just entered on Poisonous mushrooms and dogs.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by anifunk1962

There could be but I'm not sure. We live in a damp and wooded area. Do mushrooms cause seizures?

Moist wooded areas is a common place for mushrooms to grow. Like snail and slug bait, the ingredients are toxic to dogs who ingest them, which leads to neurological issues including seizures. Dogs in general will eat just about anything so best you check the area for mushrooms and eliminate them. Not to mention they are a fungus which is simply bad for dogs.

[anifunk1962]

My son said there were mushrooms or something that looked like mushrooms in our yard at one time but he wasn't sure if they are still there. Vito will eat just about anything. The weird thing, though, is that he had no other gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting, except that he had black, sort of runny stools sometime during the night after the seizure. He's been completely normal ever since the seizure but I'm kind of paranoid now and watch him more closely, especially when we're outside.

I talked to my friend, who is a 3rd year vet student, about it, and he said it was a good sign that he recovered from the seizure so quickly and didn't have any other signs. He also said that, since Vito is only 3 years old, it's not likely to be from chronic disease. He said most vets would say to observe the dog and if he has another one in 6 months or so, to get him checked. He also said that's its possible that he won't have another one.

I just don't get it. I can't see how a dog can just have a random seizure. Something had to cause it. The vet student didn't think the caffeine in the Swiss Mocha could have caused it. So I'm still very puzzled.

Thank you to everyone who is trying to help me figure this one out.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by anifunk1962

My son said there were mushrooms or something that looked like mushrooms in our yard at one time but he wasn't sure if they are still there. Vito will eat just about anything. The weird thing, though, is that he had no other gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting, except that he had black, sort of runny stools sometime during the night after the seizure. He's been completely normal ever since the seizure but I'm kind of paranoid now and watch him more closely, especially when we're outside.

I talked to my friend, who is a 3rd year vet student, about it, and he said it was a good sign that he recovered from the seizure so quickly and didn't have any other signs. He also said that, since Vito is only 3 years old, it's not likely to be from chronic disease. He said most vets would say to observe the dog and if he has another one in 6 months or so, to get him checked. He also said that's its possible that he won't have another one.

I just don't get it. I can't see how a dog can just have a random seizure. Something had to cause it. The vet student didn't think the caffeine in the Swiss Mocha could have caused it. So I'm still very puzzled.

Thank you to everyone who is trying to help me figure this one out.

You do not always get full symptoms from mushrooms. Being that the dog had a seizure and diarrhea confirms that in all likelihood it was something that he ate. In this case, odds are mushrooms and not enough to bring on all of the symptoms. Good luck.