Could this Dog Seizure be Giardia

Daisy is a 8 month old Red Nose Pitbull. There is a unused, man made pond at the back of the property. She has been in it. Yesterday, she seemed to be fine, after putting her to bed at approximately 9:30, she woke me with whimpering. I tried to get her outside, thinking she had to go to the bathroom.

She started having seizures, and could not use her back legs. For approx. 1 hour she had seizures, lost control of her bowel movements and foamed at the mouth.

Daisy weighs approx 30-35 lbs, was a rescue dog. I've had her for 3 weeks. Prior to that she was fostered for approx. 3 weeks. All shots and spaying were done after her rescue. She's been healthy and active since I've had her until last night.

Vet Suggestion Dog Giardia and Canine Seizures

Hi Kathleen,

No, I don’t think that dog giardia is a likely cause of Daisy’s seizures. If she were my patient, I would perform a physical and neurological exam and run a blood chemistry panel, complete blood count, urinalysis, and fecal exam looking for a cause for her seizures.

If nothing was evident and she had returned completely to normal, I’d recommend a wait and see approach. If she never had another canine seizure, it’s likely she got into some sort of toxin that caused the symptoms you describe. If she continued to have seizures, we’d have to decide whether we were going to continue looking for a cause (e.g., with an MRI of her brain) or treat her seizures symptomatically.

Good luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM