Poor little dog

[suzy6469]

I had a little cocker that I have done so many times without issue. Well today mommy brings him in. She hasn't been gone even a minute, I'm carrying him to the back for his bath when out of no where he starts to have a seizure. Poor little guy was foaming at the mouth running his legs , and snapping. This went on for what felt like forever. Then after he started to come out of it, he was very out of it. I called his mom while of course she didn't answer right away. When she finally called back she was so upset asking what had happened couldn't seem to understand that I wasn't a vet and that couldn't even begin to tell her why this had happened, so they picked up the little guy and took him straight to the vet. Hope he's alright. Just really freaked me out haven't had that happen in years just needed to vent.

hate to see the little guys get sick

[Moonpiepoodlz]

We had an elderly dog go into a grand mal seizure a few months ago. Having poodles with epilepsy I'm used to seizures but this dog was screaming while seizing. Just like you, we called the owner and couldn't get ahold of her but left a message.
She finally shows and I told her the dog needed to go to the vet NOW which she did. Apparently he was dehydrated from what the vet said but I told her that unless we got a clean bill of health, we would no longer groom him due to the seizure and his age.
I haven't heard from her since......

I hope your clients dog is okay and sorry to have hijacked your worry.

[Smart-n-Pretty]

I had finished a female Shih the other night and was 1/2 way through bathing her brother when he had a seizure in the tub. He stiffened up, his head threw back and he fell over on his side. In my mind I head a faraway voice hollering "TIM-ber!" [clunk] he hit the bottom of the tub and I stood there in shock for about 3 seconds. Then he stood up and wagged his tail at me as if nothing had happened. His mom was sitting right there. "Oh, yeah... he does that whenever you bathe him." NOW she tells me!

[flyingduster]

Ohhh, that had to be a bit scary!!! It's at times like that that I'm sooo glad I work right next door to an awesome clinic, I'd be whipping it through to them like a shot!

I hope your lil guy is ok... (ok i know he's not yours, but he's your client!) do let us know if you get an update!

[sittingpretty]

This brings to my mind a serious question; if a dog does seizure while in your care and you cannot reach the owner (with in a reasonable time period), Do you take the dog to its vet? I would assume you'd have this all on paper when they first come into your business and sign an aggreement. But just a concerned question....

sittingpretty

[Smart-n-Pretty]

I wonder if mobile groomers limit the hours they work to when the vet's office is open?

[SwissNChow]

This brings to my mind a serious question; if a dog does seizure while in your care and you cannot reach the owner (with in a reasonable time period), Do you take the dog to its vet? I would assume you'd have this all on paper when they first come into your business and sign an aggreement. But just a concerned question....

sittingpretty

You should ask your vet for an opinion on this, but here is mine, but I am not a vet. For most dogs that have issues with seizures, the seizure is short, it stops without injury to the dog, and the dog recovers from the seizure quickly. If I had a clients dog seizure in my care, if I had the technology (cell phone) to record the seizure, I would make sure the dog was in a safe spot (empty floor or in cage) and record the dog during its seizure. I would then call the owner while monitoring the dog. If I could not reach the owner, and the dog appeared to be recovering nicely, I would simply monitor the pet. The only time the pet needs to be rushed to the vet is if the dog a) does not come out of the seizure quickly (say minute or less) or b) the dog clusters (multiple seizures in a row) or c) dog injures itself during seizure.

Whether or not a dog has seizures is a question that is worthwhile asking the owner before you groom the dog. It isn't something for you to panic over, but is nice to have the warning.

If I can't reach the owner at all, would I groom the dog? I think I'd have to play that one situationally. Some dogs are absolutely normal within a very short time, and others are affected for a very long time after a seizure. If the dog acted perfectly normal, I'd probably holler at the pet's vet and ask that vet's opinion. I know my vet would say groom the dog.

It probalby is appropriate for a dog that has had a seizure to go to the vet, but it is something that isn't an emergency and can normally wait for the owner. If I could get in touch with the owner and they wanted me to take the dog to the vet, I'd probably deliver it there, but would not stay with the pet as I don't generally have the ability to blow 1/2 my day with an unexpected vet visit for another's dog.

[PuppyFluffer]

I wonder if mobile groomers limit the hours they work to when the vet's office is open?

Around here, we have no less than 12 vet offices, 4 of which are open on Saturdays. Since we don't work on Sunday, there is ALWAYS an open vets office should the need arise.

[SharPeiMom]

I am so sorry that this happened. It hasn't ever happened to me with a client's dog but about 10 years ago it happened with one of my Shar Pei. I had let them outside and I was standing at the door watching when my male went stiff legged and just fell over. I thought he died. I went running and screaming but within a few seconds he came out of it and I never saw him do that again. I'll never forget how scared I was that day. I do always ask clients about seizures before I groom them but I guess you can never tell when it can start. How frightening. I hope the little guy is alright.