Epilepsy Remedies for Dogs

Can you tell me what Chinese herbs they put her on? I have a 12 year old Maltese chihuahua with heart murmur CHF. She is on Chinese herbs heart qui and tea pills but now if she gets to excited and runs we are assuming she has a seizure. She will stop, lay on her stomach then stiffen up and fall over. This last about 1 minute. 5 minutes later she is back up and normal. I feed her human grade food I buy from www.evermore.com that is supposed to be grass fed and organic. She also get treats that are organic chicken, honey and sea salt. The seizures just started maybe a month ago after she was running outside. Now anytime she runs it happens. Help

Would be nice to know what herbs.

Hi Shelly from Houston.... I have a 6.5 yr old Jack Russell and she started having seizures when she was 5... She isn't on meds as the vet said to monitor them as she had them few of them, but recently she has been having them quite often... I have been thinking it is because of her food... so I am curious to know exactly what you do feed your dog? Not sure if I would give her uncooked chicken as I would worry she would get salmonella...

Hi Lori ~ My black lab/Shepard mix is 18 months and started having grand mal seizures in July. We immediately took her to the vet but they could not find a trigger or source for the seizures and diagnosed as Epilepsy. After discussing the meds I decided to instead try changing her diet to control the seizures first and spoke with a friend of mine who is a certified animal nutritionist and she suggested Raw Diet - We have been feeding our girl raw for little over a month and the changes in her are seen almost immediately - she is happy, more energetic, her coat is shiny and puppy soft, there is no dog smell or bad breath and her bowel movements are small and not smelly at all - complete change in her for the better.

I too was worried about everything I heard about raw eating, salmonella, etc. but they are completely false! Bella loves her chicken legs, gets chicken feet as a treat and gobbles up her chicken organs (excuse the pun) - I feed her on her own towel that I can throw in the wash after she is done and trained her to keep her food on the towel and voila! No issues.

As for her contracting some disease from the raw food that is also false - the enzymes in dog saliva/stomach kill bacteria so that is also a non-issue.

I could not be happier with the changes I see in my fur baby and she seems to be happier too! As for her seizures, she has only had 1 in a month since we have been raw feeding and she came out of it so quickly with little to no disorientation - and that was mainly because she got into the garbage :(

I strongly urge anyone who is considering going raw to give it a try - I promise you will see results and if you don't like it well then you can always switch back to kibble.

I have been feeding my dog raw food for quite a few years. I'm still having a hard time getting over the bone issue. I've given bones but never chicken legs. Could you give me some advice on the bones and what bones you feed?

Hey Sue!

RAW feeder friends of mine feed it all - neck bones, skulls, you name it. You might consider getting a meat grinder and grinding up the chicken leg bones. Most dogs that are weaned onto raw learn how to eat all the bones properly - but for those that are new to it the grinder works like a charm.

will a meat grinder grind bones?

Hey Sue!

A meat grinder will easily grind poultry bones and pork rib bones are fairly soft as well. I feed beef and pork neck bones when I can get them, but mainly I feed beef rib bones [Texas rib is the name of the cut] - I feed bones for the exercise and to keep the teeth clean. Avoid the huge knuckle bones, cooked pet store bones, soup marrow bones, leg bones/weight bearing bones.

Hi, I have a chihuahua mixed with jack Russell he's only 18monts old and he has seizures at least once a week. He's on meds but it seems like it's not working. Can you please help me on what I can do to ease them. It's hurts me so much to him go through this.

Hey Anna,

It is very hard to give advice on this topic without a veterinary work up to rule out medical conditions. Things like hyperglycemia and pancreatic tumors can bring on seizures, as well as epilepsy, and they may or may not require medication. The best advice I can give is to read up - google 'canine seizures' and start reading the articles. Please learn which seizures are emergencies so you know if/when you need to go to the doggie emergency room.

That said, one of the easiest things you can do to stack the deck against causing seizures in your dog is to feed him top quality groceries. Certain red food dyes have been linked to seizures in dogs; chances are if you feed a supermarket brand dog food, or any brand sold in a grocery store it is a less than recommended diet. I had a friend who fed her small breed dog the Beneful dog food and he had seizures; when she changed diets to a 4 star diet [rated on dogfood advisor.com] the seizures stopped. What you feed your dog matters a LOT. Also be wary of any diet that contains the herb rosemary, as while typically a good herb with antimicrobial properties, in some dogs will cause seizures.

Please report back!

Give your dog a raw diet. Have heard plenty of people change to all raw with good results and also give zinc. I had a dog with the same problem. I I gave her half tablet zinc she was a cross kelpie border collie. But you will have to go less than that - just once per day.

My dog, Ronin began having seizure at 8mo. old in December 2012. He was started on Phenobarb and until July his seizures were about once a month. In July he began going 4-14 days between seizures, and the frequency continued to increase. He had his first cluster seizure in October, and was loaded with PBr. He continued to have seizures ever 4-7 days. He recently began Keppra, and will be decreasing and discontinuing his PBr in the coming weeks. He went two weeks without a seizure, but had a post/pre ictal behavior episode after a week on Keppra, but no actual seizure. We currently feed him Grain-free Earthborn, and he is completely grain free, however we haven't confirmed it's grain related (he got into some friends grain dog food the day he had his seizure after started Keppra, but we're not sure if it was a coincidence yet). We continue to research, and have seen a few people say Rosemary may be their trigger... which our Earthborn dog food does have (and it seems most grain-free foods have! ). I have seen recent posts for nature's Balance and such... I was wondering what opinions were on dog foods for epi-pups?

Dear Brittany,

I read a post on Earth Clinic a few weeks ago about tap water being a possible trigger for seizures. Try putting your dog on purified water (not Brita filtered but better) and see if that helps. I keep learning about more and more contaminants in tap water. I now have our animals on spring water that I buy in 5 gallon containers at Home Depot. Oh and another post I recall reading some time ago was seizures caused after Rabies vaccination. Maybe there is a connection. Please let us know how your furry friend is.

Hey Brittany!

I'm sorry to hear about Ronin's seizures. Since they started young - 10 months - it sounds like Ronin is the poster pup for idiopathic [of unknown origin] canine epilepsy:

http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/basics/basics_index.html

These seizures tend to occur at quiet times - at night or during sleep.

Diet certainly is a factor to consider with seizures; feeding doggie "junk food" - pretty much anything commonly available at the supermarket is often full of nitrates and red food dyes and artificial preservatives can indeed result in seizures.

So the best diet for an epi dog? Home cooked IMHO. It doesn't have to be RAW - it just has to be fresh, pure and healthfully prepared.

I am unable to find "New Balance Ltd" dog food; I DO find Natural Balance Ltd dog food and am not impressed. It is also possible at the time of the original post on this particular kibble it WAS an exceptional diet, and has since changed hands; this happens far too often with top dog foods - they obtain a good reputation and then are sold to other companies that then change the formulas to include substandard ingredients. In your shoes I would consider Fromm - Gold Nutritionals - no rosemary, made in Wisconsin. If that doesn't suite search the brands that are easily available to you and use your 'control F' function to search 'rosemary' on each ingredient panel you review - the diets are out there.

In reading up on the topic -its been a few years since I had an epilepsy dog - I found this gem from Ted:

"06/16/2011: Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "You should discontinue the oil is correct. The oil buffers the electrical shortage, but it doesn't exactly solve the cause of the electrical shortage in its brains. It may be metal toxicity or excitotoxins as the other cause of seizures. But the fact he cannot stand may be viral, all oils tend to lower the immune system with exception of coconut oil. I would try a lysine and threonine, 1/4 teaspoon hourly 4 hours and in evening 1/4 teaspoon hourly 3 hours for 3 days."

Its cold and winter and skin dries so easily - so tempting to add oils to the diet yet that is contra indicated. In addition, the mention of excitotoxins - MSG is a big one, BHT and ethoxyquin [both preservatives] are also, however live vaccines have them as well: do consider stopping all vaccinations if you can [rabies is the only one required by law -as your vet for an exemption] and certainly discontinue any spot on or internal parasite treatments and the like. Also consider dosing - per Ted - lysine and threonine, 1/4 teaspoon hourly 4 hours and in evening 1/4 teaspoon hourly 3 hours for 3 days.

Also consider Dr. Ackerman's Epilepsy & Seizure Control Supplement - it looks super affordable [when it was recommended a couple years ago! ] as well as eliminating all non-'green' cleaning products; consider Dr. Bronner's soaps for washing the floors, etc.

Several contributors recommended Taurine, an amino acid that is a long lasting anti-convulsant that has proven to help some seizure dogs. Capsule form is best as tablets contain fillers. The dose is 500mg per 25lb once or twice daily.

Source: http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/taurine.htm

Another nutritional supplement for brain support is Lecithin - 1200 mg/50 pounds has worked for 1 contributor. And yet another poster found ground raw, unsalted sunflower seeds - 1 table spoon per day - to help keep seizures at bay; grind them fresh every day as they lose freshness very quickly.

Homeopathic Cuprum Met 3x was recommended by one contributor; another posted "when I give him Belladonna...it stops [the seiuzure]almost immediately." With homeopathy if its the right remedy it will be effective very quickly and may make a huge difference.

Thinking really outside the box, check this out [my own holistic vet uses this technique as well]:

"12/03/2011: Wendy from Melbourne, Australia: "My 15 year old cat started having seizures about two months ago. As soon as she starts, I grab her and continuously tap FasterEft style on the point above her eyebrow all the time saying "Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go" until the seizure stops. It usually stops within 10 to 15 seconds. (Go to Robert Smith's website fastereft.com for info on tapping. ) I then hold her and cuddle and reassure her and give her Rescue Remedy. I fill a 30 mil dropper bottle with spring water and add four drops of Rescue Remedy and I keep this bottle handy."

This is another possibility to consider:

http://drsircus.com/medicine/medical-marijuana/buy-legal-medical-marijuana-cannabidiol-cbd-industrial-hemp

It is a Hemp Oil Supplement that was very successful for one contributor.

You may find additional remedies on this site:

http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Alternative.html

Good luck, and please keep us updated!

Specifically, BHA, short for Butylated Hydroxyanisole, and BHT, Butylated Hydroxytoluene, are both artificial preservatives added to oils to slow down deterioration. BHA and BHT (as well as ethoxyquin) are used in numerous pet food brands, including both "premium-grade" brands like Science Diet (even their prescription diet product line) and lower-grade brands like Alpo and Pedigree, to replace vitamin E, which is removed during oil processing. Studies have shown that BHA and BHT promote liver disease and other medical problems.

My beagle started seizures in summer of 2007. He was a stray, so I do not know his background. We had a titer done for rabies and he tested negative, so he got ONE rabies shot and that's all he will have. No other booster shots, so that could not have been the trigger for his seizures. Seizures started two years after we brought him home. I cook my own dogfood (brown rice, greens, chicken). Sometimes they get raw, so I don't think food is the trigger. We had an expensive medical blood test done and no underlying medical issue to trigger seizures. His seizures were not severe enough to put him on Phenobarbitol and I would not have wanted it anyway. He had a seizure about once a month. His first two seizures were severe enough. He would fall over the day after. I searched alternative remedies and found Native Remedies Co on the internet. I give him EaseSure. He had two mild seizures after I started him on that and in September his seizures stopped. He had NO seizures for 9 months and he had a mild one again last week. Only a few seconds and shook it righ off. Went to play right after! Ingredients in EaseSure is Passionflower, Skullcap, Hyoscyamus (30C), Belladonna (30C), Cuprum metallicum. He gets 8 drops in the morning and evening. I am happy using the product. Also, when he goes into seizure I give him Rescue Remedy. I also have him on enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

I have a three year old Beagle/Jack Russel mix. We got her when she was 9 months old. When she was about 2 years old, she started having seizures. The first time it happened, I didn't know what it was. She was playing with our boxer puppy and they were running, she fell over and landed on top of a duffle bag. When she didn't get up, I went over and noticed that she was shaking. I picked up up and she was stiff and shaking, eyes glazed over and her teeth were clenched. I thought she was scared from the fall. So I was holding her and talking to her and noticed that she was not responding to me at all. Well, then she tried to walk and kept falling down, still shaking. I thought she hurt her leg or something and was going into shock, so I called the vet. He suggested that she was having a seizure. He told me to wait about 10-20 minutes and call him back if she was not any better. Well, she finally was able to walk again...but continued to slobber for about an hour or so afterwards. Since then she seems to have one about once a month sometimes more often, that I know of. She goes in her cage at night and sometimes her blankets smell like urine and we have to wash them. So, I think she's been having some at night or early in the morning before we get up.

I have been feeding her Diamond Dog food for over a year now. I switched to that brand when we got our puppy boxer because it was comparable to Science Diet, but cheaper in price. So, she gets the Adult formula. Reading through these postings, I see some of you have said it helps because of the absence of BHT or whatever is in a lot of dog foods, but for my dog the food additive must not be the problem. Still trying to figure out what is causing her seizures. I'm going to try the coconut oil and see if that helps her.

It is heart breaking to see her go through it and sometimes they last for so long or she will have clusters with little breaks in between.... maybe a minute or less where it looks like she is coming back around and then starts to shake really bad again. All I can do is pet her and tell its okay and she is almost done. I hate watching her go through this.

Taurine an amino acid has proven to help some dogs. Capsule form is best as tablets contain fillers. The dose is 500mg per 25lb once or twice daily. Taurine is a long lasting anti-convulsant and I believe is considered very safe. Magnesium Taurinate supplies both Taurine and Magnesium but I'm not sure of quantity.

Another, very important factor is vaccine damage. Vaccines can cause encephalytis (sorry if not spelt correctly) swelling of the brain, this can lead to seizures. If it were my dog I would give no more vaccines, flea or tick treatments. They can all affect the brain.

Hope this helps.

Science diet (hills is also a science diet product)is one of the worse dog foods there is for an epileptic, or any dog. Read the ingredients. Bio-products, corn, preservatives, soy etc. which no dog should have.

check the ingred. on van patten's dry food, and buffalo blue for a comparison.

As someone below said, seizures are not a death sentence, so don't despair. My dog, a border collie mix, began having seizures probably about about 4 years old. We put him on phenobarb at the recommend of the vet and increased or decreased accordingly. When we saw that his seizures had decreased for some time, we decreased the dose ourselves. He has not had a seizure that I have seen in several years now, and I have decreased his meds again. He is now 15 years old, and very active, not heavy, and a joy to have. As an aside, I feed him Ol'Roy dogfood in the bags, as well as people food. He loves vegetables, fruits, salmon, meats.

I know this is an old conversation, but I still reference it often and figured I would throw in my two cents in. Be aware of the pesticides! My collie mix has seizures every full moon even though she is on several medications. When I moved into a new townhouse she started having seizures that didn't coincide with the lunar cycle. It took me a while to figure it out, but every time I simply walked her over the neighborhood grass to go to the mailbox, she would have a cluster within the next 3 days. Once I started keeping her on the pavement through the neighborhood, the out-of-phase seizures stopped. The neighborhood management was incredibly helpful and provided me with the MSDS for all the chemicals they use.