How to track your dog's seizures to share with your vet
Last reviewed 8 June 2026 · a 4-minute read for worried owners
After each seizure, write down five things while they're fresh: the date and time, how long it lasted, what your dog was doing beforehand, what the seizure looked like, and how long recovery took. A simple running log of these turns scattered scary moments into a clear pattern your vet can act on — which is far more useful at an appointment than trying to remember.
What to write down each time
- Date and time it startedClusters often matter more than single events; timestamps reveal them.
- How long it lastedNote the seconds or minutes. Even a rough count helps your vet see if episodes are getting longer.
- What was happening just beforeAsleep, eating, excited, a recent meal or missed dose, a loud noise — anything you noticed.
- What you sawWhich part of the body, whether your dog was aware of you, any drooling, paddling, or loss of bladder control.
- RecoveryHow long until your dog seemed back to normal: wobbly, hungry, disoriented, and for how long.
Why your vet wants this, not your memory
Epilepsy is managed on patterns over time — frequency, length, and whether episodes are clustering. Those patterns are what guide medication decisions, and they live in the weeks between appointments, not in the few minutes you're in the consult room. When you arrive with a dated log instead of “a few since last time,” your vet can see the trend at a glance and spend the appointment on what to do next.
Common questions
How long is too long for a dog's seizure?
A seizure lasting more than about five minutes, or repeated seizures without a full recovery in between, is treated as an emergency — contact your vet or an emergency clinic right away. Your log of past durations helps your vet judge what's normal for your dog.
What should I do during the seizure itself?
Keep your dog safe from stairs or furniture, dim noise and lights, don't put your hands near the mouth, and note the start time. Comfort comes after — during the event, calm and safe is the priority. Ask your vet what they'd like you to do for your specific dog.
Do I need to track seizures if they're rare?
Yes. Even occasional episodes form a pattern only visible across months. A rare seizure that suddenly becomes more frequent is exactly the kind of change a log catches early and memory misses.
What's the easiest way to keep a seizure log?
Whatever you'll actually keep up with — a notebook works. The advantage of a digital log is that the date and time are captured automatically and you can share the whole record with your vet without rewriting it. Taile is a free way to do this.
Keep the record without the rewriting
Log each episode in seconds and bring the full picture to your next appointment. Free for owners.
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