I'm so sorry that and he went through that. It sounds like he had a seizure.

Though 5 minutes is a long time for a seizure, so maybe he just ate something that didn't agree with him?

My male dog has occasional seizures, and they are very difficult to watch. There isn't really much you can do during a seizure, except get things out of his way so he doesn't bang into anything and hurt himself. Be careful putting your hands near his mouth, he may bite without knowing it.

Mine doesn't bite, I try to hold him gently so he doesn't thrash around too much, and talk to him softly.

There are medicines that they will put a dog on that has seizures, but first they will tell you to track his seizures. It could be that he will never have another one. My Rocky was put on zonisimide after his seizures became more frequent and more violent.

Hoping for the best ...

Years ago I had a cocker spaniel that went through seizures just like you describe. Except she also lost control of her bladder, she would throw up, lasted a few minutes. The vet was suggesting putting her down, saying cocker spaniels were very prone to those problems & medication was very expensive then. I took her home, then got to thinking what had changed, & realized we had switched dog food recently. Changed her dog food & the problem vanished. The vet didn't think it was the food, but I was always convinced. It started & ended with that brand of dog food. Probably isn't your dog's problem, but maybe something to think about.

I had something similar happen. The next time this happens look at his eyes. If the pupils are moving in all directions he is having something similar to vertigo in humans.

Our dog had trouble walking and I thought he was having a stroke, as this affected his hind legs. Then he started shaking with fright and panted so heavily I thought he was having a heart attack. The dog is older.

I got him to the vet the next day and the first thing they did was look at his eyes and his pupils were bouncing in all directions. The vet said that being off balance scared the dog and thus the panting, inability to walk steadily and shaking was the result. It seems the dog was confused and got scared because he didn't understand what was happening.

The vet said this seems to happen in mostly older dogs and may last a day or two and then goes away. It doesn't appear to be a chronic or serious condition. In fact, he said it may never happen again. It just looks scary when it happens.

Also, prior to this event one of the dogs (we have two older ones) vomited and thankfully pooed (literally exploded) on our washable kitchen floor rather than our beige carpeting. Then both refused to eat. When the dog that routinely cleaned the cat's litter box refused to eat I was convinced it was the food. I had been feeding them a Purina brand for years.

The vet said to boil a chicken and serve the meat with rice. Both dogs devoured it. I then went to our local feed store and they recommended a good brand of dry food for older dogs.

The odor of a boiling raw chicken is horrendous so I buy the broiled Costco chicken, remove the meat and put the carcass and skin in a cheesecloth bag. Add celery, lots of chopped carrots and water and simmer for a few hours. (Do not add onions-they're poisonous to dogs.)

Pick the meat off the bone, add more veggies, and lots of cooked rice. The end result is a tasty broth with all sorts of goodies dogs love. I add this to their dry dog food and they're in 7th heaven. I also chop up some of the big chunks of chicken and add it in and of course it also makes good sandwiches for us as well. Sometimes I even add a chopped hard-boiled egg for extra protein.

The pot of soup lasts about a week.

Since then I've had no vomiting or diarrhea and the dogs are eating with gusto (thank you Costco for those inexpensive BBQ chickens) and the dog who had the stumbling problem seems to be over it.

Sorry for the long-winded reply, but I'm beginning to think the major dog food companies are, or always have been, putting more junk and animal refuse in their foods.

Anyway, making "dog soup" every week is not my most favorite job, but both dogs seem so much better that I find it worth the effort.