My Labrador bitch is suffering from mild dog fits.

Question:
I am writing to you about my 16-month-old chocolate Labrador bitch Poppy. At the tender age of eight months she had surgery on her tibial crest, which she has successfully overcome.

At the end of January she had an episode where she got excitable after rest and started criss-crossing her front legs, similar to a horse doing dressage. Since then she has had five more episodes which seem to occur after periods of rest.

Initially she is excitable and then she seems to have a problem knowing where to place her front legs; her head starts to bob, and her body shakes. If lying down, she draws her front legs tightly into her chest. These episodes last from one to three minutes, during which time she is fully conscious and comes to me for reassurance. She doesn't pass urine or faeces when it happens.

I was wondering if you have heard of or seen anything similar? My vet has done a routine blood tell and an ECG, which has been sent to a cardiologist. Initial signs are that the ECG is clear.

Answer:
This sounds most like a focal seizure - a type of fit where only a very small area of the brain is affected, so that rather than lose consciousness, an affected dog may have a consistent movement abnormality or apparent hallucination (some dogs have the kind of symptoms you describe, others behave as though they have suddenly seen a fly and try to catch it). Given that your dog's heart check comes back clear, and that physical examination has been normal, it's worth having a detailed neurological examination.

Your vet may be able to do this or may refer you to a neurologist. Depending on what's diagnosed, treatment mayor may not be necessary. If seizures are mild and relatively infrequent they often don't need to be treated as they don't normally cause any pain or significant distress. However more severe cases may need treatment with anti-epilepsy medication, or anti-inflammatory medication depending on the cause of the problem.

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