What are hypoglycemic seizures?
When blood sugar drops too low a seizure will sometimes result. In dogs this is seen most frequently in young puppies that are otherwise healthy. It is the most frequent cause of seizures in puppies in breeds, like Australian Shepherds, where very early onset epilepsy is not reported. A young puppy’s reserves of blood sugar are limited; if it is tired or stressed and hasn’t eaten recently a hypoglycemic seizure might be the result. Give the puppy a little honey or something else sweet and it should recover quickly. If it does not, a trip to the vet is in order.
Can adult dogs have them when engaged in vigorous exercise?
It’s unusual but not impossible that an adult dog in a physically active situation might have seizures due to hypoglycemia. In an older dog, if the seizure has clearly been tied to a hypoglycemic episode you should ask your veterinarian why the dog’s metabolism set it up for this. It might be as simple as when/what you are feeding but it could be more serious than that. If you’ve got a dog that is so work focused it may not eat or drink, you need to monitor that. Make sure it takes breaks occasionally and that it gets some food and water.
Are hypoglycemic seizures hereditary?
Unknown. To be on the safe side, if you breed an animal that exhibits this on more than one occasion as an adult it might be a good idea to choose a mate from a family where this is not known to happen.