Should you take dogs with seizures?

It is not too common, but a lot depends on the severity of the condition and the control the anticonvulsants provide. Some dogs respond well to seizure meds, and as long as proper attention is given to particular aspects of their care (stress, sleep, etc.) it "shouldn't" be a problem.

That said, it was absolutely irresponsible of the owner to spring that on you at the last moment. As a matter of fact, that should really be brought up in conversation BEFORE the Meet-n-Greet takes place. It would have given you an opportunity to politely decline if you wanted to, and it would have given the owner the opportunity to find a sitter willing and able to handle a seizure if one occurred.

IMO Meet-n-Greets are an essential part of the booking process and should not be overlooked.

I would have felt very unprepared and duped, in all honesty. I agree with what the others said that the owner should have told you before hand. I've learned from past experience (though nothing as severe as that) to ask a couple of questions in my first response. My 2 main questions are: 1) How is the dog with other dogs of all sizes and 2) Does the dog have any medical conditions or medications I should know about. I've definitely foregone the Meet & Greet in last minute situations and I've been lucky that in most cases it was great. However, I did exchange extra messages with them to make sure I covered anything I would have in the Meet & Greet. I think most appreciated how thorough I was in absence of that. Seizures are definitely not a common medical problem and even though the owner is probably used to it, most other people are not and it can be very scary. As hard as it can be, I would recommend you give the owner feedback that they should disclose that information prior to booking in the future. Though, they may have been turned away by other sitters because of it so decided to put you in that awkward position. I, personally, would probably take the dog and would clearly document the seizures in updates to the owners and gently let them know it was stressful. I hope this helps!

This is another example of when a meet & greet is skipped, especially combined with last minute booking, it often results in problematic situations. During the meet & greet, it's likely you would have asked more questions and been able to interact with the dog and owner more.

If the owner sprung something on me at drop off that I wasn't prepared for, I'd call support before the owner left to check into re-assigning the stay to another sitter - either at that time or if necessary as a back up with plan to transfer as soon as possible. I don't think seizures are common. More importantly, an owner not disclosing potentially serious on-going health issues prior to arrival is much less common, especially after building a relationship which starts with a proper meet & greet.

I completely agree that is was irresponsible of the owner to spring the mention of seizures on you, and upon return, I'd be having a serious talk with the owner. Totally unacceptable. I have personal experience (owned a dog that dealt with epilepsy) and I can tell you that 4 minutes is a VERY LONG seizure. This dog should be under veterinary care and on some sort of medication. Was it? With every seizure, it affects the brain. Yes, the seizure will pass and there will be a period (called post-ictal stage) where the dog won't behave the same, essentially it's a reboot period for the brain. The first time our dog had a seizure, it growled at us as if we were new and we were invading his territory.

IF meet & greets are skipped in the future, I would highly recommend asking about any medical needs prior to drop off. My three main questions for any dog I think about sitting are: 1) are there any medical conditions? 2) do they do well with kids (I have 3, one being a toddler so very important to me)? And, 3) what are their normal routines.

I am very sorry this was sprung on you. We went through months and months of repeated seizures and I don't wish them on anyone.

Edit to directly answer your questions: Seizures are uncommon but do happen. I would personally still take the dog but I do have personal experience with dog's having seizures so know what to do and/or expect.