What Causes Seizures in Dogs (top 5 causes of dog seizures)

Dog seizure causes are numerous so what causes seizures in dogs? Here I run through the top 5 groups of conditions causing dog seizures and fitting.

1 - Toxicity: toxicity or poisoning is one of the most common causes of seizures in dogs. Some foods like xylitol or poisons like metaldehyde slug and snail bait are common things in the house or garden that can cause seizures in dogs, especially in young dogs.

2 - Dog epilepsy: along with poisoning, this is one of the most common causes of seizures in dogs. Dog epislepsy typically starts at some time between 6 months and 6 years of age so is a disease of young dogs. An older dog who starts to have seizures is not going to be causes by epilepsy.

3 - Organ disease + hormone abnormalities - Diseases such as kidney disease, liver disease, liver shunts in young dogs as well as hormone problems such as diabetes or insulin producing tumors can all cause seizures. They do this by causing an imbalance in salts or sugars withing the blood or through the build up of certain toxins that then cause seizures and fitting.

4 - Infection - various different types of infection including parasites, tick borne disease like lyme disease and general bacterial sepsis can all cause seizures in dogs.

5 - Brain lesions - tumors are a common cause of seizures in older dogs (along with organ or hormone disease), hydrocephalus is something that affects younger dogs (typically those breeds with domed heads)

In the majority of cases of dog seizures, with the notible exception of epilepsy, there are likely to be other signs and symptoms your dog is showing which may give your vet an idea of what is going on.

Diagnosis can sometimes be tricky, involving blood + urine testing along with brain imaging and sampling of the fluid around the brain.

Related videos:
- What to do if your dog is having a seizure:
- Top 20 common pet poisons:


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