I have a 20 month old female Lab that has recently had 3, not close together spells of not being able to get up. I find her in the yard, on her side, thrashing to get up.
Her head and chest are up, eyes not dialated, some saliva on lower jaw only. Once she is up, she is a little wobbly the first few steps, the she is totally normal. I brought her in the house and took her temp. It was 103.3 I used alcohol on her feet and inside flaps of her ears to cool her down. She cooled quickly. Outside temp was around 96, and she was out 30 minutes.
What do you think this could be? Parents are EIC clear.
Please, no flames as I am already upset.
Any and all advise will be appreciated.

Was she still conscious and responsive? just not able to walk? Atypical Epilepsy.
It doesn't sound like Heat exhaustion or EIC.
http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vbs/faculty/Mickelson/lab/EIC/AtypicalCollapse/home.html

it has been so humid and hot everywhere, overheating could be an issue. bet with those symptoms you could get an EIC test done at no charge with two clear parents.

keep her in the cool house and if she has anymore spells see the vet first thing Monday.

Hope she feels better

Your description is exactly like my dog's seizures. She was diagnosed with epilepsy after she had 3 or 4 episodes. About 6 months later, one of her littermates started seizing too.

Sounds just like the symptoms our boy has. He's been having seizures since he was 1.5 yrs old. My vet doesn't think it is true genetic epilepsy as none of the other 9 siblings have seized and they are 5 yrs old now. He is our one and only seizing dog out of these lines we've had for quite a while. Vet thinks his seizing is more congenital.

Maybe, maybe not. One litter is not enough to make that kind of call. it makes me think of my litter of nine. One black and 8 yellows. Statistically, I expected about half and half. Even though you haven't had epilepsy in your line, you should be very alert to the possibility.

Hi Kate,
I was not here to see the first 2 episodes. My Husband described them pretty much as the one I saw. He did not take her temp. The 2 episodes were a day apart, and the outside temp was high 90s with a very high hear index. He said the second episode lasted about 1-2 minutes. Not sure about the first as she was down when he found her. The temp yesterday was 98 with a heat index of 102. She did labor in her breathing and struggled for air at first. She was aware of my being with her and wagged her tail the whole time. The first 2 were 2 weeks apart from this one.
My Vet wants to start her on Phenobarb. Sp?
Thoughts please?
Thank you for your response.

Mom, The way I read what has happened is that you don't yet have a firm diagnosis. If she were my dog, I would be trying to rule out some of the possible diagnoses rather than trying to treat her.

One possible diagnosis is an atypical epilepsy, and I guess your vet has decided to treat with phenobarb to prevent seizures. I can understand that temptation to treat, but if you wait a while, you might get a clearer diagnosis and know whether epilepsy was a strong possibility.

Another possible diagnosis might be EIC. I know the parents were EIC clear but I would still test her for EIC, just to be sure that everything was correct. Errors do happen. The test is only $65.

Another possible diagnosis might be a reaction to the heat (not full blown heat exhaustion). I'm not putting my dogs out in the hot part of the day. When the heat index is above 90, they are inside air conditioned. My dogs are really fit and fairly acclimated to the heat, but they still cannot tolerate the extreme heat we have been having. If they need to potty, they go out for less than 10 minutes and come back inside. I walk them on a leash if I can't trust them to be quiet when outside for 10 minutes.

Your girl might be less able to tolerate the heat than my guys so you might want to reduce her exposure to heat even more. If you dramatically decreased her exposure to heat and monitored her 24/7, you might be able to rule out the possibility of a reaction to the heat causing her episodes.

You might also consider a diagnosis that would cause sensitivity to heat. Not sure what those would be, but I am sure there are some. Horses, for example, can develop a problem that causes them not to sweat, and they easily overheat. Maybe there are other things that would cause a dog to be especially sensitive to heat.

So I guess my strategy at this point would be to try to rule out other causes of her episodes before putting her on a medication to treat epilepsy (which is pretty hard to diagnose without seeing the episode).

Hope this helps, Mom. I will be thinking and praying for her. I know you must have been really worried when the episode happened. Kate

I think Kate's advice is perfect. I wouldn't start a dog on a lifetime of phenobarb without a firm diagnosis of epilepsy.

I would send blood for a thyroid test to Dr. Dodds.
My lab was low normal, went on soloxine and never seized again. It isn't always epilepsy.

I'm sorry you're going through this. Would it help if you got a video of her if she has another episode? That might help the vet determine the cause.

The blood work was inclusive. After much deliberation, we have decided to try Potassium Bromide for 3 months...no Phenobar. We will also moniter her closely.
She is in, in the hottest part of the day, but we will also make her morning and afternoon trips shorter until it cools off. She is quite active, so I'm sure she isn't going to like being in more.....but it's for her own good, and my piece of mind.
Thank all of you for your help and suggestions. i greatly appreciate it.

I guess you have decided that the episode you saw most resembled a seizure so you have decided to treat your girl for a seizure disorder.

Potassium bromide has been used to control seizures since the early 1800s and is a first-line approach to seizures. Although it is possible to give a toxic dose, it is generally a very safe drug, even though it has never gotten FDA approval for its use. It doesn't have the negative effects that phenobarbital can have on the liver.

The question I have is how you will know if you have the right diagnosis and how you will know if the medication is working. Potassium bromide can take up to three or four months to become fully effective and/or potassium bromide may not be sufficiently effective to completely control seizures. Phenobarbital is almost immediately effective and more broadly effective for a range of seizure disorders.

If you dog has another episode in the next couple of months, how will you decide if the diagnosis was incorrect or if the medication has not had enough time to become fully effective or if potassium bromide is simply not the right medication for the kind of seizures your vet believes she has.

What if she never has another episode, does that mean that the medication is working or that the weather changed or that she never got sufficiently excited to exhibit EIC. Or something else entirely.

Tough questions. I hope that you are able to figure this out so that your dog and you never need to experience an episode again.

I did not see the seizure, and I'm not a vet, but what you're describing does sound more consistent with epileptic seizures than EIC or heat stroke. With epilepsy there is a seizure threshold which when reached simple things like excitement or mild overheating or stress can trigger the dog to go into a seizure. Keep in mind, her body temperature IS going to be elevated if it's in the 90's and she is padding or seizuring, even for a few minutes.
When it's this hot, let her out for exercise early in the morning and late in the evening, and just out for a potty break mid-day---short, no playing, running, then back into the air conditioning. This is best for all dogs anyway, and especially for your girl who may have a low threshold for seizures.
Potassium Bromide is relatively safe, but not always 100%effective at controlling seizures...
You may want to wean her off the KBr under your vet's supervision, in the winter and see if she starts up again.
If she does seizure again under cool temps and only mild exercise, you can rule out overheating and EIC.
Then you will have to diagnose the cause of the seizures. High on your vet's list will be epilepsy, and that's probably why he prescribed it.
Seizures for any reason are upsetting, and I'm sorry you and your girl are going through this.