A seizure feels far longer than it lasts, which is why the record has to be built deliberately rather than remembered afterwards. Your role divides into three parts: keep her safe while it happens without interfering with her body, capture the episode's shape in notes as soon as she settles, and store those notes where a pattern can emerge. None of this requires you to interpret anything. Vets repeatedly say the same thing about seizure histories — the owner's timed, plain account of what the body did, in what order, for how long, is the evidence they work from, because the dog in the consulting room is usually entirely herself again.
While She Is Seizing
Start a timer or note the clock the moment you realise what is happening; duration guessed afterwards is nearly always overestimated, and duration guides the vet's urgency. Move furniture, shoes and anything hard away from her rather than moving her, and keep other pets and children out of the room. Speak to her calmly, but do not hold her down, do not try to pin her tongue, and keep your hands clear of her mouth entirely — a seizing dog can bite without knowing, and nothing belongs between her teeth. Dimming a harsh light and quietening the room costs nothing. If another adult is present, one of you can film from where you stand; if you are alone, lean the phone against a wall only if that takes two seconds and no leaving her. Her safety outranks footage every time.
The Minutes Afterwards
The recovery period is part of the record, not an epilogue. Note the clock when the movements stop, then watch how she comes back: confused or clingy, wobbly on her feet, walking into furniture as if she cannot judge it, ravenously hungry, or falling into a deep sleep. Time how long it takes before she recognises you clearly, responds to her name as usual and walks steadily. Write down any drooling, vomiting, or toileting during or after the episode, and whether she seemed herself by the next meal or stayed subdued. Recovery shape varies between dogs and between episodes in the same dog, and that variation is precisely what the vet wants charted rather than averaged away in a summary like 'she was fine after'.
Building the Record, Episode by Episode
As soon as she is settled and safe, write the episode up in a fixed order so nothing depends on memory. Start time and duration first. Then the sequence as it unfolded: what you saw first, whether her body stiffened or paddled, whether both sides moved or one, whether her eyes were open, and whether she answered your voice at any point. Then recovery, timed as described above. Finish with the day that preceded it — sleep disturbed or normal, meals eaten or missed, excitement such as visitors or a long journey, anything she may have eaten that she should not have, and any regular medicine given late or missed. Mark guesses as guesses. Across several episodes, this fixed order lets the vet compare like with like and spot whether a pattern — time of day, preceding excitement, lengthening duration — is forming.
When the Call Cannot Wait
Some episodes are not a note for the next routine appointment. A seizure that does not stop calls for emergency help while it continues; so does a second seizure arriving before she has properly recovered from the first, or a cluster across one day. Phone urgently too if she injures herself during the episode, struggles to breathe once it ends, or stays confused far beyond her usual recovery. A first-ever seizure, even a short one with a clean recovery, earns a same-day call and advice on what happens next. When in doubt, phone and read your record aloud — a complete timed account lets the vet judge urgency in seconds.
Stored in her Pet Passport within KinsLe, each entry sits beside her vaccination and visit history, turning separate frightening evenings into one clear timeline her vet can read.