Dog Seizures in Bitches Who Have Recently Given Birth (Eclampsia) Symptoms

1. Happens one to three days after giving birth.

2. Dog Muscle twitching.

3. Dog may have grand mal seizures as the problem worsens.

What Causes Dog Seizures in Bitches Who Have Recently Given Birth (Eclampsia)?

This condition is caused by the lack of calcium in the mother's bloodstream, without sufficient amounts of calcium in the dog's body the nerve cells cannot function properly and become unstable causing abnormal effects as the nerves discharge impulses spontaneously and make the dog experience muscle twitching. These muscle twitching and muscle tremors may then develop into mild seizures, grand mal seizures, and then possibly death if left untreated.

The lack of calcium and the underlying cause of this condition is due to all the produced calcium going to the newly born puppy through suckling to make them have strong bones, nails, and teeth.

This is an easily treated condition but without attention leaves the mother of the puppies continuously feeding the young without absorbing any of the nurturance in the milk leading to a slow decline of health in the mother.

What Your Vet May Say or Do

The symptoms should easily be diagnosed as eclampsia on inspection and short questions from the veterinarian. From here the vet may take blood tests to confirm their strong inkling and then proceed to inject calcium into the dog which will take immediate effect.

Once the mother of the puppies is stable a recommendation of calcium supplements in their diet may be given along with suggesting to hand feed the puppies for a short period so that the unused calcium in the mother's milk can be left to get absorbed into the body.

After about three days of this treatment the mother should be perfectly able to cope as normal but calcium supplements in the diet may still be needed.



Other Possible Conditions

Dog Grand Mal Seizures
Dog Petit Mal Seizures
Dog Abnormal Brain Development
Dog Heart Problems Causing Seizures
Dog Kidney Problems Causing Seizures (renal encephalopathy)
Dog Liver Problems Causing Seizures (hepatic encephalopathy)
Dog Primary Epilepsy
Dog Seizures Caused By Chemical Poisoning
Dog Tumor (causing seizures)
Strokes in Older Dogs