What causes seizures in young female puppies and why are they dying?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
My German Shepherd had puppies about 5 weeks ago. 4 females and 5 males. One female was a runt and died. Then, another female started having seizures but is still alive. A third female started having seizures and died in 24 hours. Now the last female is seizing. I've looked online and cant find anything. I cant afford to take them to the vet. Why is it only the females getting sick? Is someone poisoning them? Im so lost i have no idea what's going on.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on September 4th, 2017
I'm so sorry this is happening to your puppies! I doubt this is due to poisoning, although seizures can be caused by toxins. I would be more concerned about an infectious disease like Distemper or certain parasites, or a hereditary disease. It may be that the females are falling sick due to chance (and the male puppies might start getting sick). I don't think there would be much for you to do for the remaining puppies if you are unable to see a veterinarian, but you may want to consider having a necropsy (animal autopsy) performed if another puppy dies - this is often the best way to get a diagnosis since many tests cannot be performed on very young puppies.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on September 4th, 2017
Poor babies! They could have an infection, like Distemper, parasite, or possibly a congenital abnormality. You should take them to a vet for an examination and a work-up to determine the exact cause. Your vet can run some lab-work to help diagnose and then prescribe medications to help treat. Hope they get better soon!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
3 of our German Shepard mix puppies have been going into seizures and one has died 1 day after it started, another has been since a week and has to be hand fed. What can cause this?
Poor babies! They could have an infection, like Distemper, parasite, or possibly a congenital abnormality. You should take them to a vet for an examination and a work-up to determine the exact cause. Your vet can run some lab-work to help diagnose and then prescribe medications to help treat. Hope they get better soon!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
We have 9 4 week old puppies. Originally 12. 3 died last week. They started getting really weak, raspy then had a seizure and died. Now we have 3 more that are very weak?! Yes we’ve been to a vet and they are to young. Plus we only have 1 vet in my t
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! I am so sorry!! It is very hard when puppies are this young. The most common cause of illness and death in puppies are infections and congenital issues. Common infections that can affect the respiratory system and or the neurologic system are: Herpes, distemper, bordatella, influenza. Sadly I recommend doing special testing on the next puppy that dies to find out the cause. I would request PCR swabs to send off for a respiratory panel and biopsy any abnormal tissues on autopsy. Sometime we can not save them when we do not know what the disease is. If you can not get to the Vet in town go to a specialist or local Veterinary school. It is important to know what is going on. I hope this helps and I am very sorry this is happening. I suggest that the 3 currently ill puppies be seen at a more specialized hospital. I wish you the best!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My mom has a litter of foster babies about 6 weeks old. In the last week 2 have died suddenly. First they get tired, then start to vomit and within 24 hours they have a seizure and die. They have been to vets, given SQ fluids, Karo syrup for blood su
I’m so sorry for your losses. The only way to determine what the babies have died from would be to have a necropsy or postmortem exam done. I understand with foster pets this might not be financially feasible, but it may give answers and potentially help the remaining kittens. If all from the same litter they could have a congenital Disorder causing the seizures and death, or they may have been exposed to a virus while in utero or shortly after birth. Some toxins, exposure to flea control products, or medications can cause seizure and death. Diagnostic testing can be difficult with kittens this little but it may be worth discussing running a Health screen or viral panel on the remaining kittens to assess their health. Otherwise, the best thing to do is make sure they are on a good plane of nutrition, use only Anti-parasite products recommended by your veterinarian, and vaccinate as they get old enough. Thank you for taking care of these kittens, best of luck with the rest of th
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog died.she was having cluster seizures after taking her to vet her seizures stopped but was lying life less with open dryed eyes,the next day she was throwing blood,and on the last day she vomited green the vet took blood test before the results
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! I am so sorry for the loss of your dog Nancy! I see the blood work you attached. Her liver values (AST and ALT) and her kidney values were elevated (BUN and creat). I agree that a toxin is most likely the cause in a dog Nancy's age, even if she didn't contact the toxin the day the seizures started. Another possibility is something infectious, like Leptospirosis though they usually do not seizure. I have seen increased liver enzymes secondary to seizure activity (from the elevated body temperature and muscle activity). Again I am sorry for your loss!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hello I hv a female mini spitz 3 months old 4 to 5 days now she is having seiZures First she vomited 2ce then she falls and shakes all her limbs maybe one side more and her nexk too and involuntary blink of one eye Seizures happen up to 10 times a
I would be very concerned with Izzy having this many seizures in such a short period of time. Young, small breed dogs can suffer from a condition called a shunt. With this disease the liver is unable to filter out toxins like it normally would. When this happens and the levels of certain enzymes get too high they affect the brain and cause seizures. This happens more frequently after a meal. I would recommend having Izzy checked out by your vet. They will likely run a blood test to check her liver enzymes and a test called bile acids to see how well the liver is working. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this in your young pup! Hopefully you can get a diagnosis and start managing her seizures soon.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have 5 six week old puppies that where eating great playing drinking water, going to the bathroom ( poop normal and they peed like normal and still do ) my husband and i left for a couple hours came back and one pup had started having seizures thr
I’m sorry to hear about your pups! I recommend taking all of them to a vet right away. They could have gotten into something toxic while you were gone and might all need de-contamination therapy. That is usually meds to make them vomit and to soak up any medications left in the system. They may also needs medications to stop seizures and fluids to flush the toxins from their body. At their age, if they continue to vomit they will quickly dehydrate. I would go to an emergency vet right away. Good luck and kisses to the babies!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have three dogs...ovcharka, akita, and malinois. They all started getting stick and having seizures at the same time...like about 4 months ago. I've taken them to the vet and had full panels but no luck....I'm looking for a common denominator. I've
Intoxication with meds and poisoning are a main concern in these cases. Medications would include cyclic antidepressants, cocaine and other stimulants, diphenhydramine and other antihistamines; theophyiline and isoniazid.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Can strong smelling paint cause a puppy to have seizures
I suppose it's theoretically possible that paint fumes could cause seizures or other neurologic issues, but it would have to be an extremely severe exposure (i.e., trapped in a small space with very strong fumes for a long time). I have never seen a case of this, and in my experience it would be unlikely. If your puppy is having seizures, more likely causes of this would include hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), an infectious disease like canine distemper, a liver shunt, or ingestion of something toxic. Regardless of the underlying cause, seizures in a puppy are a medical emergency, so I would recommend taking Sasha to the vet immediately for an exam and treatment.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, a family members dog is is about 7 months. He’s a German Shepherd. He has been having seizures lasting for 2 minutes. The last one was yesterday. There have been increments of 3 episodes so far, it’s been happening every other day. What’s causing
Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian tonight if possible. It is worrisome to have so many seizures in such a short time frame. Seizures can be caused by a variety of reasons including low blood sugar, liver disease and a primary brain disorder. Bloodwork is usually done first to look for a cause. If one is not identified, this can indicate idiopathic epilepsy ( a seizure disorder with no underlying cause) or the need for further testing. He will likely need to be started on medication as well. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Can seizures in my puppy be removed permanently by treatment or by other things?
Seizures in very young puppies can be caused by many things and long term outlook depends on the underlying cause. Liver issues, infections to the brain and birth defects are all possible causes, epilepsy is uncommon in such a young pup. A diagnosis would be required in order to determine treatment - keep a log of all events - time and length of seizures, feeding time and type of food, any other signs or symptoms and schedule a full check up with your vet.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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