I have had a call today from one of my puppy owners. The dog in question a 3 1/2 years old neutered Bernese. Wonderfull temperament, lives with a standard poodle and a gordon setter and an older couple who do a lot of agility/obedience etc.. run an agility club. So quite knowledgable. Never had a problem with him, happy lad loves the Grandchildren, visitors etc.. Can take him anywhere. Has the run of the house at night as all three do, sleeps often at the foot of the bed. Never had a moments worry about his temperament, safe to walk and mingle in any setting.
This morning early hours (5am) they awake to a noise lady owner goes to see and finds the dog lying on the floor in the spare room collapsed and twitching, never had or seen a dog fitting before so went to comfort him and try to see what was wrong, Male owner comes into room and tried to get him on his feet ( I think he probably was paniking and thought the dog was dying, a lamp had been knocked over and the shade was covering the dogs face ) at which point the dog got up and started racing round the room, jumped on the bed and was barking and scratching at the (closed) window, climbing the walls and scattering things about. Every time one or other of them tried to aproach him he growled and snarled at them so they (wisely) backed out of the room (The dog weighs about 9-10 stone and is quite a big, not fat, Berny), She described him as looking like a "Rabid dog" would look and she went downstairs to ring the vet while the male owner went to the bathroom leaving the dog in the room with the door open. The dog followed him and aproached for a stroke, then sat at the top af the stairs where the poodle joined him but every time the owner went to the stairs he growled. This went on for 5 mins then he slowly came down into the lounge where he seemed to return to normal but was clearly distressed and shakey.
They took him immediatly to the vet who could find nothing wrong and was able to examine him without a problem though he was still panting heavily. Gave him a large dose of Diazapam and arranged for bloods etc.. on Tues when the labs re-open.
They had a hectic day planned with the family but put them off and have spent a very quiet day and the dog has been fine but (obviously) sleepy. He has eaten normaly and is drinking and toileting as normal. Is happy now for cuddles and seems to be settled again.
Vet thinks a siezure of some sort, but not sure what caused it. I think the vets thoughts are an epileptic fit but the agressive reaction seems not normal. Has any one ever seem a dog react like this? My first thought was a problem with his brain but obviously no diagnosis yet. There is no epilepsy in the background as far as I know and I do know all 4 grandparents and some but not all 8 gt ggp, but the ones I know had no problems with epilepsy, and those I do not know have as far as I have been told not had a problem.
Obviously a worrying time, I know a siezure can be brought on by many things and we will not know much before next week but the agressive reaction is worrying though both owners say he never went for them but growled if they approached him. He seemed fine with the other dogs but on talking to the owners I get the immpression the others left him alone only the poodle aproached him once he calmed a little and he joined him once he sat at the top of the stairs and seemed not to make eye contact but just to sit close as if to comfort him. All three are back to normal contact now with out issues.
Any expierience would be helpfull?
Aileen

I had a very similar experience with my one and only Jack Russell Poppy. A real live wire, heart of gold and a nature to die for. When she got to 18 months one afternoon she asked to go into the garden. She started barking frantically so I went out to see what was happening. She was shaking, then ran frantically around with a really strange look in her eyes then started snarling and growling at me. Totally and utterly out of character. My other dog wouldn't go anywhere near her. Poppy was totally manic for about half an hour and then collapsed in a heap and slept. Everything was fine for just over two weeks and it happened again however sadly this time she passed away. We were so devastated that we had a pm done as I thought she might have been poisoned. She had a blood vessel go in her brain and had a massive bleed. :-( still miss her terribly.

Sorry its not more positive but this sounds different to a 'normal' fit :-(

If a fitting dog is touched, it may well become aggressive -it doesn't know what it is doing. My gentle placid Golden Simba who loves puppies and kittens and people -in fact anyone in the world! -bit and injured 2 vets and a vet nurse during a fit once. The golden rule is always to never, ever touch a dog during a fit as it does make it worse.

Sadly it does sound as if the dog has had a seizure.  The stage after the fit is the postictal stage.  It's an altered state of consciousness.

During this phase, many dogs can be very fearful, as they seem to have trouble with all their senses.  They appear blind or if not blind certainly incapable of recognising things.  An approaching owner for example could be seen as a huge big shadow looming towards them and not the friendly face of a loved one.

They tend to bump into things, stagger or rush about like mad things.  They can be quite disorientated.  Their hearing doesn't seem to function either so coupled with sight issues the world becomes a scary place until the phase passes.  Being aggressive during this stage wouldn't surprise me at all, as many dogs are frightened out of their wits (as if they are hallucinating) during this phase and for some that can lead to aggressive responses to any perceived "threat".

Hope the owners get to the bottom of the problem. 

Very sad to hear. All dogs react differently after a fit. Mine have always both been ok but I know some people have to keep out of the way when their dog's coming round.

Unfortunately the only dog I know that became aggressive after a fit turned out to have a brain tumour, he was a Yorkie that my friend took on from a neighbour, neighbour didn't bother to tell her he had these fits followed by severe aggression and she hadn't bothered to take him to the vet. Not surprisingly he had to be pts.
Fingers crossed for this boy x

\Known a friend with the same breed, sadly it turned out to be a tumour.  Will keep everything crossed that it's nothing serious.

Thanks for all your input. He had a quiet night with no further fits and we are waiting now for the vets appointment tomorrow morning to see if we can shed any light on what has happened. Thanks goodness for great owners who are willing to go the extra mile for thier wonderful boy. I have to confess to having a sleepless night last night worrying about him but we shall see what tomorrow brings. I am thanking my lucky stars that he has no siblings who were destined for breeding. All are in pet homes. Non of them have ever had anything like this either.
Aileen

Aileen, this has just happened with a friends dog (working breed)... the only thing the owners did different to their usual routine was vaccinate their dog and give him Milbemax wormer on the same day... (something I wouldn't do in my breed, but this is a different breed).
The bloods came back normal and the dog has had an MRI scan done which was clear... he has since had a further episode and the specialist thinks there may be a link to vaccinations or wormer but obviously couldn't prove it, but the usual vet is having none of it...
I hope everything is ok, thinking of you x

the specialist thinks there may be a link to vaccinations or wormer but obviously couldn't prove it, but the usual vet is having none of it...

It is known that every dog (including dogs that don't have seizures) has a seizure "threshold" and that vaccination has been linked to a lowering of the threshold.  Don't know about wormers though.  It is possible that an overload of the system had lowered the threshold and lead to a seizure. 

Thanks Chris, I tend to agree with the specialist and with what you are saying...
I am not sure Milbermax is a drug to be avoided in my friends breed although in my own breed I wouldn't give it, even with a MDR1 normal dog, but that is just my choice...

Gabrielle :-)

Lots of dogs are aggressive immediately after a fit.