Dog Fits

From about 1920 or a little earlier until comparatively recently, an epizootic of running fits was prevalent in the United State sand to some extent in other countries, notably England. Dogs had violent fits for which no cause could be assigned - no parasites, fever, or sickness of any kind. The dog would run about yelping or crawl covering and quivering under some protected place and finally stretch out stiff while its jaws clamped together and froth whipped up in its mouth. It usually urinated and defecated uncontrollably. The general conception was that these running fits were due to some deficiency in diet .Minerals, vitamins, proteins, orange juice, and dozens of other things were tried.

A change of diet often cured it provided the change was away from dog biscuits and kibbles food. Because of this, there was something in dog biscuits that was to blame. In our experience no case developed when dogs were taken off biscuits and fed different food that furnished a balanced diet.

The substance in the kibbles was not found then, but in 1947 Sir Edwin Mellon, the same English scientist who discovered vitamin D,found that nitrogen tri chloride, the bleach used to whiten flour, was the causative agent of these running fits. The old method of bleaching flour has since been discontinued, and thus one major cause of running fits in dogs has been removed. It would be interesting to know how many humans had medical problems from eating such flour.

There are various stages in dog fits. The following are the stages that may take place one after another during the process of fits.

Pre-Ictal- This stage is the very beginning of the seizure. The intensity of the symptoms of this stage varies from one dog to another. Some dogs show up signs that are quite distinct. You will find that the dog to be shaking his head, batting in the air or as if trying to catch a fly. It would be advantageous for you to note down the symptoms as that would help the vet surgeon to diagnose the disease correctly.

Ictal – This stage consist of the real form of seizure. The seizure takes place in three main steps. The first type of seizure is known as Petit Mal. This stage is often over looked by the pet owners. The stage characterizes experience of tremors, excessive rate of drooling, loss of balance, wining and sometimes even urination. The Grand Mal is another type of seizure which is quite severe in form. The Grand Mal consists of foaming of the mouth, convulsions, rapid jaw snapping, repeated scratching of claws and body contortions. The dog would also suffer from heavy rate of urination and defecation. At very chronic cases the dog becomes unconscious. The Status Epilepticus takes place when the fit continues for over more than 5 minutes. Under such circumstances you are required to take your pet dog immediate to an emergency ward.

During the time of seizure dogs try to hurt themselves while moving and recklessly. You are advised to make sure of the fact that your dog does not injure itself fatally during the time of seizure.