little dog maybe suffered a stroke?

You have described it very well Janreb, although Lucy doesn't fall over. I cuddle her and it is soon over. She also has only had 3 of these episodes in her whole life , all within the last 2 years . We'll see what the vet says.

My dog is an 8 year old Border Collie - apparently collies are extemely prone to this and it is not unknown for them to go down in the middle of working and then after a while just get up and carry on working.
I suppose over his 8 years he hasn't had more than 5 of these turns. They always start in the same way - he tries to get to me but his legs are all out of coordination and he falls over, he is never unconscious and he knows who I am and his eyes protrude too. I have found the best way to deal with him is to get to him as quickly as possible, I sit on the floor with him, talk to him and stroke his head. This calms him and the quicker I can calm him the quicker he recovers. It is the only time he wants a cuddle!
Would be interested to know what your vet says.

Thanks yogagran , janreb and apricot for all your answers. I looked at the link yogagran, and it is definitely not that. She recovers so quickly and has no head tilt. , just the strange " statue like" stance for a couple of minutes, and then the stiffness in her gait, and the protruding eyes. All over within 5 minutes. I think it must be a sort of seizure, just like your dog janreb. What sort of dog is yours and at what age did he start having them.? It really is most odd, as within 10 minutes as you say , she is rushing about again, woofing at the world as usual, and scoffing her food! I have booked a check up at the vet, just to be safe.

I'd get her checked out by your vet asap Dillonsgranma. It's really frightening for both of you when this happens. It happened to my collie a couple of times and she seemed to recover. My vet told me that dogs don't have strokes but I'm not sure that this is correct The vet said it was "Canine Vestibular Syndrome". Check out this link to see if it sounds like your dog:
www.suite101.com/content/what-is-canine-vestibular-syndrome-a51752

If it's any consolation - she went on to enjoy life till she was sixteen and a half

It sounds like a fit. My 3 year old dog started having fits recently, always in his sleep. The vet said not to start medication unless it becomes more than we can live with, because that means barbiturates for the rest of his life.
You need to see your vet.
apricot

My 8 year old dog has these funny turns too - no one seems to know what they are, they only occur about once every 12 - 18 months. Between time he is very fit and healthy and within 10 minutes of having one of these turns he is his normal self again. I have noticed they happen whenever I've put Frontline on him so have stopped using that now, although it may be just a coincidence. As they happen so rarely I am against putting him on pills unless they increase and we have to, but then we'd have to know what was causing it.

Thanks for your replies. I don't think it was due to fleas, as I front line her regularly and she doesn't scratch at all. I have an epileptic cat and this strange behaviour of "Lucy" , my dog, does not look like an epileptic fit to me. However, it could very well be a seizure of sorts. I'm sure they vary enormously. Unlike my cat, she is not at all distressed after the funny turn has passed. I just wondered if a mini stroke looked like the symptoms I have described. My cat has to take phenobarbotine to stop her fits, and it works beautifully. No fits in 10 years!

effblinder, sorry to hear about your cat. My cat also passed away last week. Very sad, and missing him badly, but now thinking of 'rescuing' another one in the next couple of months. The house just isn't the same, bless him.

Hi Dillons, my cat had sort of seizures a couple of times a day towards the end of his life (he passed away last week)
The vet said this was due to fleas biting him and scratching himself sent him into a seizure of sorts, which sound quite like what you described, except he would make an horrible strangled sound too. I don't know how much this would apply to dogs at all but I really hope your little dog is ok (what's her name?)

Could it have been a fit? Sounds like an epileptic seizure, but hard to know - perhaps vet need s to check her out?