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Epilepsy in Bichon Frises: The Five Minutes That Matter Most

Quick answer

What is the first thing to do in a seizure?

Look at the clock and note the time. Duration determines urgency and it cannot be estimated reliably while you are frightened.

Watching a first seizure is genuinely frightening, and the single most useful thing an owner can learn is what to do with their hands and their phone during those few minutes.

Epilepsy in Bichon Frises: The Five Minutes That Matter Most infographic

Owners who have just witnessed a seizure and are shaken, and owners of a diagnosed dog who want to manage the condition more actively than simply giving tablets and hoping.

Important reminder

This guide is not medical advice. If your dog shows pain, sudden behavior change, or worsening symptoms, consult a licensed veterinarian.

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Check this first

Which Seizures Cannot Wait Until Morning

Most single seizures stop on their own within one to two minutes and, while alarming, are not immediately life-threatening. Certain patterns are, and the distinction is worth memorising before you need it.

A seizure lasting more than five minutes is an emergency. Prolonged seizure activity raises body temperature dangerously and causes brain injury, and it needs medical intervention to stop it. Do not wait to see whether it will end.

Two or more seizures within twenty-four hours, with the dog recovering in between, is called clustering and is also a reason to be seen the same day rather than the following week.

A seizure in a dog that does not fully regain consciousness before the next one begins is the most urgent presentation of all, and needs an emergency clinic immediately.

A first-ever seizure always warrants a veterinary appointment even if it stopped quickly, because seizures have causes beyond epilepsy: liver problems, low blood sugar, toxins, and in older dogs disease within the brain itself. Those need identifying rather than assuming.

A seizure in a dog that may have eaten something toxic is an emergency, and it is worth taking the packaging with you.

If any of these apply, call your vet or an emergency clinic now. The rest of this page is for the cases that are not an emergency.

What this problem looks like

Epilepsy is a tendency to recurrent seizures caused by disordered electrical activity in the brain. Most seizures are brief and self-limiting, but prolonged or clustered seizures are medical emergencies. Diagnosis begins by excluding causes outside the brain and, where indicated, imaging the brain itself. It is not a documented Bichon Frise breed problem, though individual dogs of any breed can be affected.

Common triggers

  • Inherited epilepsy, which is recognised in a number of breeds and typically begins between one and five years of age
  • Low blood sugar, a particular consideration in very small dogs and puppies
  • Liver disease allowing toxins to reach the brain
  • Ingested toxins, including some human medications, garden chemicals and certain foods
  • Disease within the brain itself, which becomes more likely as a cause in older dogs

Seizures are a common reason for emergency veterinary consultation across all breeds, and inherited epilepsy is among the most frequent neurological diagnoses in dogs generally. It does not appear on the Bichon Frise's documented health list, so it is not something to anticipate in this breed specifically, but any owner may witness a seizure and every owner benefits from knowing what to do.

Why this happens

Breed factors

No inherited seizure disorder is documented in the Bichon Frise, and this page will not manufacture one. The breed connection worth noting is a different one and relates to size. A dog of 12 to 18 pounds has smaller energy reserves than a large one, and in very small or very young dogs low blood sugar is a genuine cause of seizure-like collapse. That is a reason not to over-fast a small dog before procedures and a reason to mention any missed meals when describing an episode. Otherwise the causes of seizures in this breed are the same general ones that apply to dogs at large.

Environment factors

What a dog can reach matters here more than most owners realise. Human medications dropped on a kitchen floor, certain sugar-free sweeteners, some houseplants, slug pellets and antifreeze are all capable of causing seizures, and a curious 10 inch dog investigates the floor thoroughly. Beyond toxins, the environmental factors that influence a diagnosed dog are routine and consistency: medication given at irregular times, disrupted sleep, and household stress can all affect seizure control. Household safety is also environmental, since a dog that seizes near stairs or a hard hearth is at risk of injury.

What you can do at home (once it is not an emergency)

When to talk to your vet

Book an appointment after any first seizure, even a brief one, because causes outside the brain need excluding. Bring your video and your written timing. Go to an emergency clinic immediately, without waiting, if a seizure lasts more than five minutes, if two or more occur within twenty-four hours, if your dog does not fully regain consciousness between episodes, if a seizure follows possible exposure to a toxin, or if your dog is hot, distressed and unable to settle afterwards. Prolonged seizure activity raises body temperature to dangerous levels and causes brain injury, and it will not reliably stop on its own.

At home, alongside your vet's plan

  • Keep a seizure diary from the very first episode, recording date, exact duration, description, recovery time and anything unusual in the preceding hours.
  • Film any episode you can safely film, and keep the clips, since the character of an event distinguishes seizure from fainting more reliably than any description.
  • Secure all medication, cleaning products, garden chemicals and sugar-free products well out of reach of a small, curious, floor-level dog.
  • Give any prescribed medication at the same times every day without gaps, and set a phone alarm rather than relying on memory.
  • Make the areas your dog sleeps and rests safer: away from stairs, hard hearths and furniture with sharp corners.

More Bichon Frise health & behavior issues

See all Bichon Frise health problems, which breeds are prone to epilepsy, or the full Bichon Frise breed guide for temperament, exercise needs and ownership costs.

What to expect, and how you know it is working

Investigation of a first seizure usually begins with blood work within days, with further imaging depending on findings and on the dog's age. Where medication is started, it typically takes several weeks to reach a stable level, with blood tests to confirm it, and dose adjustments over the following months are normal rather than a sign of failure. Realistic treatment goals are fewer and shorter seizures rather than none at all, and most owners are told this honestly at the outset.

Success is an owner who no longer panics, who times episodes accurately, who knows precisely which patterns mean driving to an emergency clinic, and who keeps a diary detailed enough to guide treatment. For the dog, success is a life that is normal between episodes, seizures that are less frequent and shorter than they were, and no injuries sustained during them. Complete freedom from seizures is not the usual outcome and is not the measure to judge treatment by.

What to Do While It Is Happening

Almost every instinct an owner has during a seizure is the wrong one. The following is the whole job, and it is mostly about restraint on your part rather than action.

  • Note the time immediately. Duration is the single most important piece of clinical information and it is impossible to estimate accurately while frightened. Seizures feel far longer than they are.
  • Never put your hands or anything else near or in your dog's mouth. A seizing dog cannot swallow its tongue, and jaw movements during a seizure are powerful and involuntary. Owners get badly bitten doing this.
  • Move furniture away rather than moving the dog. Slide a cushion near the head if it is banging against something hard, but do not lift or restrain a seizing dog.
  • Dim the lights, turn off the television and keep the room quiet. Sensory input can prolong an episode.
  • Film it if you can do so without getting in the way. A short video is enormously helpful in distinguishing a seizure from fainting or from other episodes.
  • Stay back afterwards for a minute. A dog emerging from a seizure is disoriented and can be temporarily blind or unaware, and may snap without meaning to. Speak calmly before touching.

What to do next about epilepsy in Bichons

If you think your Bichon has epilepsy, the plan is three steps: write down what you have seen and when it started, book a veterinary appointment rather than waiting for the next flare, and take video of the behaviour or symptom before you go — the thing you are worried about rarely happens in the consulting room. Screening in the parents covers skin allergies, patellar luxation, bladder stones.

What the vet visit should produce is a diagnosis and a written plan, not just reassurance: what is being ruled out, what the monitoring interval is, and which signs mean you come back sooner. Ask what the treatment costs across a year rather than per visit, because that is the number that decides whether you are managing this condition or reacting to it.

Between appointments, keep a short log — dates, what you saw, what changed. It is the single most useful thing an owner brings to a follow-up, and for epilepsy it is often what separates a clear pattern from a guess.

Ninety Seconds That Felt Like Ten Minutes

Freya's four-year-old Bichon Frise, Sorrel, had her first seizure on a Sunday evening. Freya described it afterwards as lasting about ten minutes and was certain of it. At the clinic the following morning she was asked whether she had looked at a clock. She had not. Her vet explained gently that owners almost universally overestimate duration, sometimes by a factor of five, and that this matters because five minutes is the threshold that changes an episode into an emergency. Sorrel's blood work was normal and no cause was found outside the brain. Freya was asked to keep a diary and to time any future episode properly. The next seizure came eleven weeks later. Freya noted the time on the microwave clock as it started and again as it ended: ninety-four seconds. She filmed the last thirty of them. That number, and the eleven-week gap, were what her vet used to decide that monitoring rather than daily medication was appropriate for now. Sorrel has had four seizures in three years and takes nothing.

Key takeaway: The clock is the most valuable instrument you own during a seizure, because the decision between watching and driving to an emergency clinic turns on a number nobody can estimate accurately in the moment.

Frequently asked questions

Is epilepsy a Bichon Frise breed problem?

It is not among the health issues documented for the breed, which are skin allergies, patellar luxation, bladder stones, cataracts and dental disease. Inherited epilepsy is recognised in a number of other breeds. Any individual dog can have seizures, so knowing what to do matters regardless of breed statistics.

How do I tell a seizure from a faint?

A seizure typically involves stiffening, paddling, chomping jaw movements, drooling and often loss of bladder control, followed by minutes of disorientation. A faint is floppy rather than rigid, brief, and the dog gets up and behaves normally almost immediately. Video removes the guesswork entirely, which is why it is worth capturing.

What is the post-seizure phase like?

Dogs are commonly disoriented, restless, unsteady, temporarily blind, ravenously hungry or thirsty, and sometimes clingy or withdrawn. This can last minutes to several hours. It is part of the event rather than a separate problem, but it is worth noting how long it lasts because that information is useful over time.

Does every epileptic dog need medication?

Not necessarily. Treatment decisions typically depend on how frequent the seizures are, how long they last, whether they cluster, and how the dog is between them. A dog with one seizure a year may reasonably be monitored. Once medication is started it is usually long term, so the decision is made carefully rather than reflexively.

What should I write in a seizure diary?

Date, time of day, duration in real minutes, a short description, how long recovery took, and anything unusual in the preceding hours including food, activity, stress and any medication. Over months this reveals patterns that no single consultation could, and it is what treatment adjustments are actually based on.

Can I do anything to reduce seizure frequency?

Consistency helps: medication given at the same times every day without gaps, regular routine, and avoiding known triggers if the diary reveals any. Never stop or change anti-seizure medication suddenly, since abrupt withdrawal can provoke severe seizures. Any change should be planned with your veterinarian.

Quick answers

View more answers
Health

What is the first thing to do in a seizure?

Look at the clock and note the time. Duration determines urgency and it cannot be estimated reliably while you are frightened.

Health

Should I hold my dog's tongue?

Never. Dogs cannot swallow their tongues, and hands near the mouth during a seizure get seriously bitten.

Health

When is a seizure an emergency?

Longer than five minutes, two or more in a day, or one that starts before your dog has recovered from the last. Go immediately.

Health

Does a first seizure need a vet visit?

Yes, even if it stopped quickly. Seizures have causes beyond epilepsy, including toxins, blood sugar and liver problems, that need excluding.

Costs

Is lifelong seizure medication costly?

Medication plus the periodic blood monitoring that accompanies it forms a meaningful recurring expense over a fourteen to fifteen year lifespan.

Related DogBreedCompass guides

  • Bichon Frise exercise-induced collapse – Collapse episodes without seizure activity have a different differential entirely.
  • Bichon Frise cardiac disease – Fainting from a cardiac cause is the main alternative explanation for a collapse.
  • Bichon Frise liver disease – Liver problems are one of the causes of seizures that must be excluded.
  • Bichon Frise cost of ownership – Long-term medication and monitoring belong in a realistic budget.
  • Bichon Frise breed guide – The breed profile lists the health issues documented for Bichon Frises.

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