The American Beagler Forum

Is there a way to determine the difference between a hypoglycemic versus an epileptic seizure? Also interested if anyone knows whether a dog having a hypoglycemic fit needs to be given sugar to come out of the seizure, or will it just pass on it's own, like a regular epileptic seizure?

Curious to know because we recently bought a 5yo dog whom, to my knowledge never had prior history of seizures. He has been fed a low carb diet with me, 90% raw occasionally supplemented with oats, and 10% kibble, most recently Wellness CORE grain free 34/14. We also went from feeding twice daily to once daily about 2 weeks or so before the seizure. He was VERY lethargic during that time. The seizure lasted only about 30 seconds and was very, very subtle. Sitting on the couch, looking up, staring into space, and not responding when I called him. His eyes were unfocused, he was trembling slightly. I have an epileptic dog so am very used to seeing seizures, and figured this might be one. So I placed the dog on the floor to see what he'd do, and unfortunately, he proved me right and just fell over, stiff, and shook a little. Then was able to sit up, and it was over as fast as it started. After the seizure he was back to his usual self, no more lethargy at all.

I've been talking to other breeders with closely related dogs and found no incidence of epilepsy/seizures, save for a littermate sister, who supposedly had a few hypoglycemic fits. (btw, the sister is also fed raw, if that makes any difference) I find it suspicious that two littermates have seized. He's been to the Vet and we should have blood test results on Mon or Tues. But just curious if anyone can tell me if there is any difference at all between hypoglycemic & epileptic seizures ...

What did you find out i have a dog that does this that i see once every 6 months

YES,There is a difference.Hypoglycemic is low blood sugar.If it is Hypoglycemic ,sugar,honey, syrup. will help

Danny King wrote:What did you find out i have a dog that does this that i see once every 6 months

Well, right after I posted this, we had a second dog seize, by chance this was also our epileptic Beagle. His meds did not stop the seizure this time around, so we figured there was something underlying going on.
A Vet visit confirmed that both dogs had low blood sugar - one was 38, the other 42 for blood glucose. As I understand it, anything under 45 is low. We *think* the problem was the feed because the first dog did begin to have other symptoms of hypoglycemia such as extreme lethargy where he could not be roused from a deep sleep This went on for the 2 weeks they were on the food - then unfortunately, they both had seizures ... The 5yo dog also had elevated BUN & cholesterol levels indicating dehydration & stress on the kidneys. The theory is that the potatoes in the food, which was the only starch so made up a good bulk of it, was causing spikes and crashes in their blood sugar levels b/c potatoes raise the blood glucose.
Neither dog has had a seizure since, thankfully, but we're watching the 5yo b/c he is one we eventually want to breed ... If he has another seizure I'll rule out food and most likely it will be epilepsy. If they have seizures on a regular basis (which can be every few weeks to months) it's most likely epilepsy ...

Just wondering did your vet. recommend any type of dry dog food that may help with this or any that you should stay away from? Also have you had problems while hunting them or is this all at home? All the low sugar problems I have seen are only in the field hunting.