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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP I have a senior dog whom I've witnessed having one seizure, and it never happened again.  Took him to the emergency vet, but by then the seizure was over and they couldn't tell me anything without lots of tests, which I declined.  He seems fine now.

I had a foster dog with a diagnosed seizure condition. As long as she took her twice daily Zonisamide, she was fine.

Unless he starts seizing often, I would wait for your next regular vet appointment.  Ask what can be done.  Personally with an elderly dog I would do medications and reasonable accomodations (like, I dunno, pee pads in bed if they lose their bladder seizing) but I would not go crazy with tests, operations, etc.  [b]I respect that my beloved dog will die of something (as we all will) when nature decides, and I think it's better to expend those resources on saving more dogs, not costly and painful interventions for an elderly dog.
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Dogs do get confused and scared about seizures.  You can google and read descriptions of what it feels like to have a grand mal seizure.  Imagine being a dog with no way to understand this medical condition :(

All you can do is be there for your dog, giving comfort after the seizure, preventing them from hurting themselves during.

As an aside my brother also has grand mal seizures and has since toddlerhood.  He takes all different meds.  Again, all you can do during a grand mal seizure is be there for the person.  If it ever went on too long we would call 911 obviously, but for the most part, with his meds, just sitting with him during and after has been enough.  
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This is obnoxious and a slippery slope.  I've had a lot of dogs in my lifetime.   Some have lived well past what one would expect and still had a high quality of life, in part because I did tests when there was an issue and I provided care.  I didn't just give up and say, "eh, he's old; money is better spent on other dogs."   Of course, "painful" interventions are different.  But there are a lot of tests and medical treatments that aren't painful, and it is really up to OP to decide what she's comfortable with.  Blood work and x-raying the chest cavity to see if there's any indication of an enlarged spleen (which can cause a tumor) are not "crazy" or tortuous interventions.

Your attitude is in part why there are so many senior dogs at shelters and pounds.  People don't think they're worth it, that resources are better expended on younger dogs.  A year in a dog's life is a long time.  Sometimes the medical issue turns out to be an easily managed issue, but you don't know until you do some tests.  If it is an easily addressed issue and gives your companion another quality year or two of life, who are you to say that that isn't worth it, that those resources could be better spent saving "more dogs"?

[/quote]My attitude is in part why there are so many senior dogs at shelters and pounds?  Lady, you don't know me.  I adopted a senior dog with rotted teeth from FCAS.  I have fostered 7 dogs including dogs with serious medical conditions requiring significant efforts on my part to help the dog(s).  My eight foster dog, a 12 year old Chihuahua, is arriving this Saturday.  Who are YOU to say what resources should be spent saving "more dogs"?  Tell me what YOU have done to save dogs.   [/quote]

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