I think my yorkie may have just had a seizure. He was lying quietly next to me and as he tried to stand he began lifting his front paw up and down, his head was tilted and he was shaking. I picked him up and he sat on my lap with his head still tilting and shaking. He then vomited and the shaking subsided. The whole episode lasting maybe just a couple of minutes (but felt like hours at the time).  He now seems fine, he is sleeping peacefully, which he is usually doing at this time of night.I think this may have happened once before a few months ago. He again made funny movements with his paw but by the time I had picked him up he was fine so I thought it was just because he had been lying on his leg awkwardly. Over the last couple of days he has had quite a few accidents in the house, he does have accidents so its not unusual but it seems to have been more frequent. We have been having work done on the house so I put it down to the change of routine. I will be taking him to the vets in the morning to be checked (unless he is unwell over night and then I will take him to the emergency vet). I was wondering whether his frequent urinating could be a sign that he was going to have a seizure or if the seizure has occured because of something else going on and as I haven't had a dog that had seizures before Im not sure what the causes are. Any information would be welcome. Thanks
jane

What did the vet say when it happened a few months ago?

Didnt find anything wrong last time, but as it was over in seconds and he was completely fine afterwards it was a case of keeping an eye on him and go back if happened again.
jane

i don't know about dog seizures but if there anything like human ones, which my daughter has, then weeing themselves can happen.
my daughter doesn't always wet herself but it has happened on a number of occasions either just before or during one.
i think your vet really needs to do some tests to find out whats going on.  hopefully even if it is seizures then medication should control things.  
 

Hi Jane
my pug suffers with small seizures. We think its idiopathic epilepsy, which is basically epilepsy of unknown cause. They are never full blown fits   because she remains conscious throughout, and they last from 5 minutes to 10 mins. She cannot stand or walk, hyperventilates and her head sways back and forth. She hasn't been put on medication because they do not occur regularly enough to warrant it. She can go for 6 months without one, then "bang" out of the blue it occurs. We have been told at this stage to keep a diary of when they occur.
Epilepsy is common in toy breeds (I think). There are many causes, some unknown (idiopathic), but I'm sure your vet will run all the tests necessary. The paw thing you describe could be a "focal" seizure?
Then again there are many medical conditions that could cause seizures that can be treated or managed. Try not to worry too much at this stage. I know it is extremely frightening when it happens and it feels like it goes on for ever.
kate

Jake is completely back to his normal self this morning. He has eaten his breakfast and is trying to get my other two to chase him, but they are having none of it  as usual :) Anyway we are off to the vets shortly to have him looked at. Thank you for replying.
jane

> Anyway we are off to the vets shortly to have him looked at.

Good Luck - do let us know how you get on.

> Epilepsy is common in toy breeds

I have kept dozens of toy breeds over the last 40 years and never seen this.

I said (i think)!
It can occur in any breed be them giant, toy or cross. Sorry was I was not implying it is a toy breed condition :)

Epilepsy is common in toy breeds (I think).
Not my experience!

Back from vets. Jake has had a check over, ears, eyes,listened to his heart etc. and he appears fine. The vet said sometimes a cause is never found and as this has only happened once (maybe twice) he wouldnt recommend any treatment. The vet is doing a blood test tomorrow morning to rule out any other causes or health problems so will wait and hope that test results don't show up any problems. Just to add that I was very proud of him at the vets. He does get anxious with new surroundings but he was so good, no barking no pacing, in fact he seemed to like it there!!!! Strange dog. :) 
jane

Glad he's ok Jane.
Do try and keep  diary if it does happen again as this can help to see if they are becoming closer together etc. Hopefully it was a one off.

Hi Jane,I have a yorkie who has done a very simular thing,after numerous trips to  the vet where they could find nothing wrong I managed to video him having 1 of these episodes.I showed this to my vet and he said it looked like a nerve trapped in the shoulder area.These episodes only lasted a minuate at the most and always when he had been laid down.I hope this maybe of help to you.

regards
Louise

Thank you for your replies and good wishes.
The vet did ask that if Jake does have another episode that I try to video it on my camera. He said he will then get a specialist to look at it and give us his opinion.
I did wonder whether this was a reaction to pain and I did mention it to the vet, also Jake has had a few "accidents" in the house the last couple of days. His toiletting is not totally reliable but I had noticed it was more than usual. Funnily enough I haven't had any accidents at all today. I have  told the vet about it so if there are any problems it should be picked up when we get his blood test results. I shall be keeping my fingers crossed anyway!!
jane

Has Jake had a thyroid (full panel) test? Sometimes this can cause seizure like episodes. Dr Dodds in America is very good at interpreting results.

Hi, Jake had his blood test today and the vet said they were doing a check on lots of things, he didnt itemise them and to be honest I was just glad that they were checking him to make sure there isnt something else going on that I didnt ask exactly what they were. They are ringing me next week to give me the results so I will know more then and I will definitely ask the vet about the thyroid test that you have mentioned. Thank you .
Jfane

Hi Jane, you could also ask the vet to check Jake's heart too as certain problems there can cause seizures. Often though, even after lots of tests, there seems to be no known cause or even trigger - hence the term idiopathic.
My Louis suffered from idiopathic collapses and epileptic seizures. This is what we were tol by our vet, all of which we witnessed ourselves in the same order - A  seizure is recognized by collapse, usually onto their side, head usually stretched back, rigidity to the body and limbs, but the thing that defines an 'epileptic' seizure is paddling movements of the paws! Without the paddling movements it is not classed as epilepsy. Louis had both types of seizure,with paddling and without,  both types never lasting longer than a few seconds and he never got to the stage where he was having so many that he needed medication - we could go months without one!. He never wet or soiled himself but within minutes of his recovery, he would ask to go out and always did a very soft poo! We always knew when he was going to have a collapse or seizure as he would begin to heave and bring up bile.  He would come to find me as soon as he started heaving so I could hold him and lay him down as he collapsed. After a seizure he would be a bit sleepy and subdued for a couple of hours. x