I was asked to write this week’s article by our receptionist Amanda as Eva, her lovely pug, has recently started having seizures.

Amanda reminded me how worrying it is for owners to witness their pet have a seizure or “seizure-like” episode.

It is not uncommon for dogs and cats to have seizures and therefore it is worth knowing what to do if this happens to your pet.

The subject of seizures is enormous so I am not going to go into specific detail about diagnosis and treatment, more focus on what you should do at home.

Most seizures or episodes of collapse are short lived, your pet will generally fall to their side with an apparent loss of consciousness, sometimes they will have spasms in their legs, sometimes their limbs will go rigid, sometimes they will lose bladder control and sometimes froth at the mouth.

The reason I keep saying “sometimes” is that no two collapse episodes will be the same.

As owners you need to make sure that your pet is away from anywhere where they might fall and hurt themselves (for example, if they are at the top of stairs then try and gently move them away).

You need to make sure the space around them is clear and the room is as quiet and calm as possible.

In the first instance do not feel you have to phone the vets straight away, observe what is happening, keep your pet safe, if you can time the episode and observe it well that is useful and in the vast majority of cases the episode will settle in minutes.

More about what to do after a collapse episode and in more complicated cases next week.

* Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083