Tremor in 3 year old chipin

Question
I have a 3 year old male min pin Chihuahua mix, I took him to daycare today and when I picked him up he was very playful, during snack time they gave him a doggy ice cream cone as a treat, then when I brought him home my daughter and granddaughter gave him 3 Milo kitchen beef flavored dog treats, about 20 minutes later he started to have a tremor- seizure, his whole body began shaking. I'm calling it a tremor because he was alert during the shaking which lasted less than 3 minutes, my daughter called it a seizure because his body was rigid during the shaking, whatever it was scared me. I'm not sure if it was caused by stress because he went to a new day care, from over excitement or if there is something medically wrong. This happened before about 2 months ago I took him to the vet his labs were normal and I was told it was not known why it happened it was idiopathic. My sister told me it could be from to much sugar because he had the doggy ice cream cone and then dog treats with the 3 re ingredient being listed as sugar, could his blood sugar cause cause tremors?

Answer

Hi Brenda,

It sounds like your dog had a seizure, not a "tremor".  No one knows what it is that determines when a dog will have seizures. The only thing we can predict about seizure disorders, is that it's unpredictable. Some dogs appear to have seizures very regularly, while in others, the seizures appear to be precipitated by specific events such as stress, or changes in the weather. However, when you try to use what's happened in the past to predict when the next seizure may occur, it's usually not very successful. For many dogs, there isn't a predictable pattern to their seizures.

Actually, low blood sugar can cause seizures in some dogs, in these cases the dog needs to boost it by giving it things like honey or any other sweet foods. I've never heard of sugar causing a seizure. Some dogs have sensitivities to artificial preservatives and  artificial colors in foods. I can't say if this is causing your dog's seizures, probably not given the infrequency of his seizures. Some studies suggest a link between diet and seizures in dogs.  You didn't say what it is your dog eats, you might want to try a hypoallergenic diet for at least 12 weeks. I can suggest some foods, if you'd like to get back t me. "Idiopathic" means the seizures are from an unknown cause, you might not ever know what is the trigger for the seizures.

You might feel good when you dote on your dog and give him sugary or sodium filled treats, but they aren't healthy for him. If it's a hot day, a dog will be just as happy if you give him an ice cube, as he'd be with ice cream. Baby carrots or an apple wedge or two (without the seeds) is a treat most dogs really love. They don't know that it's a healthy sugar-free treat that's fat-free. All they know is that they taste good.

It's a good idea to keep a notebook or a calendar where you can record when your dog has seizures. It's important to know how frequent and how bad the seizures have been. Keeping a history  of your dog's seizure activity will help your vet, should the seizures start to become more frequent and medication is called for.  Write things down as they occur.

A seizure once every two months probably doesn't require medication, but you would need to contact your vet if your dog has a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes, or if he has more than two seizures a month.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti