muscle spasms

Question
hello, thank you for taking my question. I have a female pom about 6 years old. she seems to be happy and in good health but every so often out of the blue she will start to shake and her legs will draw up to where she cant walk straight. I just lay her on the couch and in about five minutes it passes and shes just fine. I havent noticed anything inpeticular setting them off, usually shes just sitting around quiet when they happen. do you have any clues as to what this might be? thank you

Answer
Hi Laura,
She may be having seizures. What you are describing sounds like what Veterinarians call idiopathic epilepsy, where there is no way of knowing when it will happen, and actually nothing you can really do when it does.  Some seizures are brought on by toxins, medications, allergies etc, but when there is no apparent reason such in your case then it is referred to as epilepsy.  There are other possibilites though.   Another cause of seizures is anatomical or structural disease in the  brain. This is brought on by brain tumors, bleeding in the brain or circulatory problems in the brain.   To be positively sure what is causing the seizures in your dog, you probably need to have her checked.  Another reason to have her checked is so she can be put on meds to prevent the seizures.   

God Bless,
Becky