My BC had a seizure and he's overheating

[mudlover71]

I've read all of the posts on seizures and my 3 year old had blood tests done after his seizure. And as you all know the tests were inconclusive. My question is more about him overheating when we exercise him and if the two could be related. He used to be able to run for an hour or more without any problems in the heat(70-80 degrees). Now when I take him out he's only good for 20-30 mins before he gets too hot. Is this common for Border Collies??

[2 Devils]

Overheating to the point of heat stroke can cause seizures, even death.

 

If your dog is overheating easily you need to cutback on the play time. You may also want to wet him down before and after play, make sure he has water to drink during exercise and you may be able to extend the play time by also giving some breaks in between. If you do a search on overheating or heat exhaustion you will see some recent threads on it including signs to look for. You may also want to look into a cool vest.

 

My border collie overheats so play time is very short. A cool vest was recommended for Tempe and we have been researching but just not sure of the best one. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[bcnewe2]

Overheating can cause seizures and if your dog gets overheated once it seems to come on much easier after the first time.

Humidity not temp. is more important to me for overheating. When the humidity is high here we can be out in low 80's and still only be able to run or play a very short time before I need to get all my dogs to water. I figure if I walk a mile with the dogs off leash they've probably done more like 5 miles. I'm sweating like a horse with only a mile here in the humidity so I know they are just as hot. If my dogs are getting wobbly I consider that to late. Their tongue is a better sign. The more tongue hanging out, the less dog you have left.

 

I recently had an older dog have a seizure. Never had one before that I knew of and has not had one since. Overheating was not an issue. I didn't take her to the vet but I'm keeping a journal to see if there is anything unusual going on. That way I'll have a record for the vet if she has another one. I didn't bother to get blood drawn right after the seizure as I didn't think it was a good time to get a base line on her and since she is otherwise healthy didn't think it'd tell me anything about the seizure. But in the near future I will have one run for later refrence if needed.

 

Be careful.

Kristen

[Shetlander]

What is he doing that he's running for an hour?

 

I had a coworker who lost his dog to heatstroke while out running with him many years ago. They were in the middle of nowhere and he couldn't save him. The temps were in the low 70's that day.

 

I can't say if your dog's increased lack of heat tolerance is related to his seizure, but I would encourage you to be very cautious with him when the temps are much above 70. If my dog was "too hot" at 20 minutes, I'd make him take a break at 10 minutes. Shade. Water. Rest.

[Rave]

Heat stroke can cause seizures. I recently had that happen to my 3 y.o. Without knowing more specifics about the seizure(s), it's hard to even speculate. Obviously your vet is your best source of info.

 

Just a reminder to check for tick borne diseases, since they can cause seizures, and it's the right time of year for it. And diseased ticks are EVERYWHERE, EVERY STATE, so don't think it might not be a problem in your area.