by Carrie Frost

Created on: May 29, 2011   Last Updated: May 30, 2011

Epilepsy is one of the causes of seizures in dogs. There are many different types of epilepsy, all of them causing different symptoms. Epilepsy itself is a word used to generalize the repetition of seizures that come from the brain. Idiopathic epilepsy is a form of epilepsy that doesn't cause brain damage or lesions. Symptomatic epilepsy is a primary type of epilepsy that causes structural lesions or damage to the brain structure. Probably symptomatic epilepsy is a suspected symptomatic epilepsy where the dog has reoccurring seizures, but no brain damage or lesions. Cluster seizure is where the patient has more than one seizure consecutively in twenty-four hours. Status epilepticus is where there are constant seizures with brief moments of inactivity, but not total relief from seizure activity. The more seizures that a dog has, the more likely there is to be damage to the brain's neurons and the more likely there is to be another seizure. 

Tests results from tests ran on a seizing dog may reveal things such as: low blood sugar, kidney and liver failure, a fatty liver, an infectious disease in the blood, viral or fungal diseases, and systemic diseases.

Eating foods that dogs are not meant to eat can also cause seizures. Chocolate is one of the most dangerous foods that causes seizures in dogs. The darker the chocolate the more dangerous. Fruit seeds and pits contain cyanide which can poison your dog and cause seizures. Hops, human vitamin supplements containing iron, mushrooms, and even xylitol can cause a dog to become sick enough to have seizures. Every day foods that a human eats, drinks that human's drink, and even our own vitamins can easily kill our pets. 

The symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs include: vomiting, diarrhea, increased body temperature, increased reflex response, muscle rigidity, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, seizures, as well as cardiac failure, weakness, and coma. 

As you can see seizures are not only caused by genetics, but also by the foods that people may feed their dogs not thinking that they could be harmful. Seizures can prove a hazard to a dog's health and may even cause death as a result of brain lesions. Medical treatments for dogs with a seizure disorder caused by genetics or food consumption range from surgery to corticosteroid medications. The type of procedures preformed and the type of medication given all depends on the type of epilepsy as well as the underlying health conditions of the animal. 

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