Providing Your Pet With Quality Emergency Care

A lot of dogs can have seizures at various times in their lives, and while this occurrence isn't painful to your pet, it can certainly be upsetting for you to watch. Whether you've just seen your dog have a seizure for the first time or this has happened repeatedly, it's important to discuss this topic with your local veterinarian. They'll want to run one or more tests to determine why the seizures are happening, and they can also discuss some treatment options with you. Here are three ways that your vet can help your dog's seizures. 

Medication

The most common approach for dealing with a dog's seizures is to prescribe anticonvulsant medication. There are many different forms of medication on the market that can lower the risk of your dog continuing to have seizures and/or reduce their intensity. Generally, a vet will prescribe this medication if your dog is frequently having seizures; they might not opt for medication if only one seizure has occurred so far. Your vet will prescribe a specific dose of this medication and may make adjustments to the dose in the months ahead, based on how your dog is reacting to it.

Acupuncture

More and more veterinarians are recommending alternative forms of treatment for various health conditions. It's easy to find a veterinarian who does acupuncture on dogs. If your vet doesn't administer this treatment, there's a good chance that one of the other vets at the clinic is trained to do it. Your vet may recommend trying acupuncture as a way to manage your dog's seizures. If your vet recommends acupuncture, they'll likely suggest that you visit the clinic for regular acupuncture treatments. They'll then have you monitor the dog's behavior to see what effect this treatment is having on the seizures.

Information For You

As part of their approach to help your dog's seizures, your veterinarian will provide some useful information for you. A lot of pet owners don't know how to respond when their dog is having a seizure, which can increase the stress of this occurrence. Your vet will walk you through a series of steps to keep in mind in the event of a future seizure, including doing your best to comfort the dog, keeping obstacles that may cause harm away from the animal, and more. They'll also encourage you to stay calm and note any differences between this seizure and those in the past.

Contact a local vet to learn more.