If a seizure is happening right now
Look at the clock first. If the seizure has lasted5 minutes or more, or your dog has hadmore than one seizure without fully recovering between them, veterinary guidance is clear: this is an emergency. Call your vet or the nearest emergency clinic now and head there.
If it started moments ago: stay calm, keep hands away from the mouth, move furniture clear, and keep timing. Most seizures end on their own within a few minutes.
What's typical, and what's not
A generalised seizure usually lasts one to three minutes, even though it feels far longer in the room. The convulsing itself often stops within about a minute or two, followed by a recovery period that can look worse than it is.
Veterinary consensus draws the line at five minutes. The International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force (IVETF) defines a seizure lasting five minutes or longer as status epilepticus, a true emergency. A prolonged seizure can drive body temperature dangerously high and can injure the brain, so it needs a vet immediately, not a wait at home.
Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center gives the same advice: seek emergency care for any seizure over five minutes, and formultiple seizures in a short window.
While it's happening
- Time it. Note the clock when it starts. The duration is the single most useful fact you can give your vet.
- Keep your hands away from the mouth. Dogs cannot swallow their tongue. Fingers near a seizing jaw get bitten.
- Clear the area. Move furniture away, and gently slide your dog back from stairs, ledges or water. Don't try to hold the body still.
- Lower the stimulation. Dim lights, quiet voices, other pets out of the room.
- If someone else is there, film it. A short video answers questions for your vet that memory can't.
After it stops
The period after a seizure is called the post-ictal phase. Disorientation, pacing, temporary blindness, wobbliness, thirst and hunger are all common, and it can last minutes to hours. Keep the room calm and block the stairs until your dog is steady again.
Once your dog is safe, write down what you saw while it's fresh:
- start time and duration
- what the movements looked like, and whether your dog was conscious
- anything unusual in the hours before
- how long recovery took
If you'd rather have a sheet ready on the fridge for this, ourfree printable seizure log has a space for each of those.
When to involve your vet
- Always after a first seizure, even a short one. Cornell advises a veterinary exam after any first-time seizure.
- Same day if seizures come in clusters (two or more within 24 hours). More on that in ourcluster seizures guide.
- Immediately for anything at or past five minutes, or repeated seizures without full recovery between them.
Every decision about medication belongs to your vet. If you're unsure whether what you saw warrants a visit, call. No good vet minds that call.