[gimp252]

My daughter is noticing a difference in Charlies behavior and she is wondering if the birth of new puppies and having them running around the house now could cause enough stress for him to start having seizures,Charlie is 11 years old.He is not eating or drinking much,hides upstairs and they have to phyically bring him down and just acts like a different dog.thank you:)

[doggie_poopie]

I haven't heard of stress causing seizures, but that doesn't mean it doesn't!
The most common reason causing seizures in dogs
1. Brain tumor, Head injury
2. Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
3. Distemper
4. Environment - toxins
5. Epilepsy
6. hyper' and 'hypo' Conditions
Hypoglycemia
Hypocalcemia
Hypoxia or Hypoxemia
Hepatic Encephalopathy or Liver Disease
Renal (kidney) disease
Hyperkalemia
Hyperlipoproteinemia
Gastrointestinal disease ("garbage" poisoning)
Tick Bites
Toxoplamosis (Toxo)


Normal neurons (brain cells) use electrical and chemical signals to communicate with each other. This communication can either be excitatory which activates the next neuron, or inhibitory which shuts off the next neuron. The mechanism causing seizures in primary epilepsy is thought to be an imbalance in the excitatory and inhibitory signals to the brain. Every dog (and person) has a seizure threshold of neurological activity. Normally the excitatory and inhibitory signals are in balance which keeps the electrical activity below the seizure threshold. If the balance within the neurons shifts too far towards excitation, too many cells may become excited and a seizure will result. This excitation happens within the brain and is not related to your dog becoming excited about his favorite activity. In fact most seizures occur while a dog is at rest or asleep.

It is often difficult to determine what type of seizure your dog is having, therefore, it is very important that you keep calm when your dog has a seizure and observe him or her very closely. Since seizures rarely happen at your vets office, a detailed written description or a video of the seizure may help in the treatment and diagnosis of epilepsy.