Epilepsy in Pets: Causes & Natural Treatments for Seizures
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Posted by Michael (Panama City, Fl) on 07/04/2011 ★★★★★
I have a 5lbs 4oz chiuaua who from the first year I had her suffered from seizures. Went to the vet who prescribed phenobarbytol which made her lethargic and begin getting fat and did nothing for the seizures. Even after at the end tripling the dose. I went online and spent about a week on research and finaly ordered norwegian fish oil. I only have to give her two a week and she has not had a seizure since. She is 5 years old now. The best thing is I do not have to force feed it to her I squeeze the gel caps out on a plate and she will happily lick the plate clean. The vet said that it would not work. He got quite when I told him she has not had a seizure in a year and does not had in meds in the last year except the oil.
Posted by Sandy3598 (Mobile, AL) on 07/01/2009 ★★★★★
YEA.. Honey really works!!! My mixed breed (Rot, Lab, Chow) has moderate to severe seizures. He was starting into a seizure I ran for the honey. He was not fully into the seizure so he was able to recognize me and able to lick the honey off my fingers; HE CAME OUT OF IT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. He usually is unsteady on his legs and takes him several minutes to hours to come around; again, he immediately was back to himself and needed to go outside.
It works for people too - I have a friend that has a friend with epileptic seizures, I told her about the honey and they were at the store purchasing honey when she had a seizure, they opened the honey and gave her some. She came out of it almost immediately and was amazed.
Posted by Cristina (Bucharest, Romania) on 08/16/2008
I have an eight year old French Bulldog. Last year I took him to the vet for his annual rabies shot and DHPP booster. Over the years I noticed he didn't feel too well the first few days after his shots, but it always passed. Last year, the day of the shot he was completely lethargic, and that night he had his first seizure. I told the vet, and since it started out with my dog crying, and it lasted for one minute at most, the vet said he must have had a nightmare. He kept having a seizure every night for the following month. I knew they were seizures when he couldn't control his bladder during these brief moments. Since he only had a minute long seizure a night, we didn't put him on any medication. After a month the seizures started coming further apart, every 2, 3 nights, and not every single night. After a year they were down to one every 2 months or so. Since his last shot his hind legs have also grown weaker. He used to be able to jump all over and run. He can't even climb stairs any more. And this doesn't seem to be getting any better. I only hope that by not giving him any more shots it won't get any worse. Vets in Romania still insist on giving shots every year. Some even advise pet owners to come in earlier, so the shot's effect does not expire and leave the dog unprotected. Since no laws are being issued to protect pets, I only hope that more dog owners start doing research on their own and start acting in the best interest of their furry friends.
Just writing a comment about my Chihuahua-Terrier dog, Julio. Heartworm meds are toxic to our animals. My beloved pet would have periodic seizures. When I stopped the heartworm medication, the seizures stopped. One Vet had him on them, another said why are you giving them to him? Does he have heartworms? He said he would not give them to him. I was grateful that it wasn't about $$$$, but about my pet. If an animal gets heartworms (most indoor door pets are not exposed to mesquito larvae,) which causes heartworms. A small amount of VCO in their diet will provide essential fatty acids, and is a natural cure for parasitic host. During hot summer months, I use 1/2 tsp. of Cloud Nine herbal dip in 16 ounces of water in a sprayer bottle to repel fleas, or mesquitos that would otherwise zoom in on my pet. You have to be diligent. Shake the bottle each time, and apply before taking your pet out.(be sure to apply to their undercoats, and paws too) A good brushing each day, and using the spray will help too. I hope this is a helpful tip for all pet lovers. Thanks, and God Bless! Deb
Posted by Taylor (Baltimore, Md) on 04/28/2012 ★★★★★
My dog Penny has been seizing for years, started out once or twice a year until it progresses and became monthly and then weekly. We tried phenobarbital, keppra, and bromide.. Some helped for a little bit but she still had a seizure about once a month. In November of 2011, she had a cluster of 9 seizures in a 48 hour period and was hospitalized. A friend of mine suggested I look at raw feeding and I started reading success stories with regards to raw food and epilepsy.
December 2011 I switched my dogs cold turkey to the prey model raw diet. Penny is now 5 months seizure free and counting! Additionally, both my dogs have more energy, no doggie gas, and their teeth are unbelievable! Moving them to this diet was the best thing I could have done.
Ok.. I have a ( NORMALLY HEALTHY) boxer who's 8 yrs. Old. He out of the blue had a TERRIBLE seizure, foam looking stuff coming out of his mouth, shaking head, jaws locked, teeth were showing, he got stiff, etc. I have been with him LITERALLY ALL DAY!! He has had them ALL day... My heart is BROKE watching him go through it. I read your HONEY remedy, I gave him some to lick, he LOVES IT, and he got a drink of water, he wasn't drinking until now, and, 10 mins have gone by, so far, so good... I will keep you posted. You can email me anytime... Kmz13 (at) yahoo (dot) com.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REMEDY! Shannon
Posted by Kim T. (Chilton, Wi, Usa) on 04/09/2011 ★★★★☆
My dog Parker is an Aussie mix and was diagnosed with epilepsy about 2 years ago, and he also has severe allergies, both food and environmental. Of course I followed what my vet said and that was to put him on Pheno. Well he was still having seizures while being on this medication so we consulted with the vet again, and he just wanted to up the dose and add a second medication. I said no way. So on to my own research.
We have changed his diet to a gluten-free one. That is working fabulously. We have seen great results so far for both the epilepsy and his allergies. We are not feeding dry kibble, nor are we doing a raw diet. He could not handle the raw diet at all so after a little more digging, I found an awesome food alternative from The Skye's The Limit in Canada. Their food Canine Life comes in several formulas and they can also custom-tailor it if the dog is allergic to any of the ingredients. This food comes in a pre-mix and you make them into muffins. All healthy ingredients and you can make a variety for the dog by changing up the ingredients you add.
We have also been using a product called Xango Mangosteen Juice. It can be used for people as well and is meant for helpling inflammation. He is getting 1 ounce twice a day. We are at the point where we are able to wean Parker off of the Pheno! We have also seen improvement with his always inflamed paws due to his allergies. When they are really bad we use Xango's Pericarp oil topically for his paws when allergies are really bad.
Along with the juice supplement, Parker gets chiropractic alignments every 2-3 months by a veterinarian certified in animal spinal manipulation. This has been an amazing investment for him.
I have also been told that adding vitamin B will help too, but I just heard about this so I have not tried it yet.
Posted by Beaglemama (Charleston, Sc) on 03/22/2011 ★★★★★
I just wanted to say THANK YOU! My 5 yo beagle has horrible seizures and has been having them more regularly. This morning he started to have one and, having read your post, I ran to the kitchen for the honey. As soon as it got into his system the seizure completely stopped!! It worked and he loved it!
Posted by Joanne (New Brighton, Mn) on 02/22/2011 ★★★★★
Our male Viszla/lab mix has been having seizures for nearly 4 years, and we have discovered that we need to watch his diet carefully... No MSG, or wheat, cheese, or foods with coloring. He loves fruits and vegetables along with Natural Balance dog food. I keep ground beef for treats in the frig.
I would like to pass on to you a remedy that I read on the internet for the 'post-ictal' phase... That's the stumbling around phase where they seem to be blind at first and stumble into furniture and try to walk through walls. (At a hundred pounds, that's a lot of damage! ) The minute he goes into his cluster seizures (which occur with the full moon) I gently press on one of his eyes for 8 seconds on, 8 seconds off for maybe 4-5 cycles. At first the eye will be darting around, but it quickly settles. This releases the amino acid GABA into the brain along the optic nerve.
The results are simply amazing! No more stumbling!
Posted by Shelly (Houston, Texas) on 09/18/2010 ★★★★★
Our lab started having seizures in April 2009 when she was 5 years old. I immediately took people's advice on this website to monitor her diet. Through a process of elimination of trying different, healthy dog foods, we found that she was highly sensitive to products with Rosemary... Even a cracker that she picked up off the floor catapulted her into seizures. So we took her off of dog food with Rosemary. Things got much better, but then she started having cluster grand mal seizures later in the fall and it had gotten to the point where she was having five seizures in 30 hours... Absolutely horrible! We completely eliminated dog food and dog biscuits from her diet and she has been seizure free since April of 2010. We determined that she was sensitive to the processed corn in dog food.
We feed our lab raw chicken legs (not cooked because the bones splinter and are dangerous for them to eat), one in the morning and one in the evening as well as other raw or cooked meats. We also feed her many different foods that we eat... Raw carrots, cauliflower, green beans, cottage cheese, boiled or raw eggs, pastas, rices, breads, baked or mashed potatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables that are not toxic to dogs. We mainly avoid leftover dishes that have too many spices or onions and such. I keep a list inside a cabinet door in the kitchen to remind me on what she can eat. As a result, we have a very healthy, happy lab. It's a little more work and maybe a little more expensive, but we no longer have the stress of watching a family member suffer. Plus, she is at a healthy weight because dog food can be very fattening. I urge you to not put your dog down or feel like you have to spend so much money on vet bills and meds, unless it is necessary. Most likely, it is caused by something that they are ingesting, so please look at that first. I hope that this helps.
I've had four dogs since living in south Florida since 1979. They are inside dogs and I have used lavender and skin so soft if they happen to be outside during times that there were many Mosquitos. None of my dogs have ever been on heart worm prevention. I had them tested annually however, to ascertain that they did not get bitten by an infected mosquito. I have to say however, that I cook for my "children with hair" and use alternative remedies as the norm - thanks to websites as Earth Clinic. My German Sheperd was 17 when she passed away.
Posted by Krisanne (Birch Run, Michigan) on 03/15/2008 ★★★★★
To everyone who has a dog or cat with seizures, I'm sorry for that, it's the worst. I have a seven year old German Shepard that started having them when she turned two. I took her to the vet and they put her on medicine, that "might harm her liver over time" I gave her the pills for three years, with still a few seizures.
One day I went into PetSmart and was talking to the salesperson about animals,when it led into my shepard and her problem. She told me that her boxer had them to and that there is an additive in dog food called BHT or BHD that is found to bring on seizures. In amazement and anger I decieded to buy a dog food without this additive in to see if it was true and if it would help. I bought a very expensive bag of food that cost $39.99 a bag, not caring as long as it was true. Long story short, it's true! After that I started searching around for a reasonable priced bag of food because we have a 102lb. not fat just big, Golden Retriever too, and they eat alot!
I found a great bag of food at Tractor Supply called Diamond brand food. Just look on the back of your food bag if you see the three letters BHD or BHT, I really can't remember the exact three letters but it starts with a B. If it's in there I would change. Even some of the brands you think would be O.K. are not. Please try this it has been great with her not having seizuers any more. Good Luck I hope it helps.
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
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I can only add that you might want to dose activated charcoal and betonite clay to help with the detox. Also raw, organic garlic - crush a clove and let it sit for 15 minutes before feeding - can help with detoxing the bowel as well.
Posted by Petguitar (New York) on 02/27/2013 ★★★★★
For years my Maltese has suffered from canine seizures. We have tried every suggestion found on the web and on this website, but his seizures returned.
What seemed to work was to put him on Organic Pet Food and cutting him off of all human food.
Then we accidently discovered that Gluten might be the culprit when he was given a tiny piece of pizza crust. 4 hours later, he had a seizure. A first one in about 2 months. So I started to search for "Gluten causes seizures" on the web and found a ton of articles that verified this suspicion. Gluten intolerance sets your brain on fire.
This makes so much sense to me and remembering that he didn't have any seizures (when he used to have 5-10 seizures per month prior) for a few months since I stopped giving him human food.
Hope this helps someone out there. The worst thing you can do is taking your pet to the vet and getting drugs, IMO. Try a gluen free diet for your dog, even yourself, if you have seizures.
Posted by Iheartmybabies (Moorestown, Nj, 08057) on 06/29/2012
Hi Everyone, First time poster, long time reader here. I want to thank everyone who posts here for their valuable time and imput - it's helped me with my four dogs for so many different issues.
Today I'm posting about my 4 pound chihuahua, Louise. Years ago she had 2 seizures, a year apart and that was it. This past December, shortly after applying Frontline, she went into cluster seizures - major foaming at the mouth (could have filled a bathtub with all the foam), the shaking, etc. I had her at the vets for 3 days in a row. Everytime the valium started to wear off, she'd go back into the seizures. Finally she came home and all was quiet for a bit, and then it was a seizure here and a seizure there. Not the foaming at the mouth kind anymore, but what my vet called "petite" grand mal seizures. Her tests for Addison's Disease came back negative, even though her potassium levels were off the chart and more recently I've become convinced it's epilepsy.
Recently her seizures have become much more frequent, usually in the middle of the night. My other chihuahua wakes me up when Louise starts a seizure and thanks to the great folks on this website, with the use of Honey and a cold compress on her back, she usually comes out of it pretty quickly. However, I can't be here everytime she goes into a seizure and as everyone here knows, it's just heart-breaking to witness. I tried some BSM and virgin cocnut oil and she had a seizure that night. I know it's not long enough to tell if it helps or not, but with her tiny size I just don't want to put her through a million experiments. I definitely didn't want to put her on the seizure meds from the vets - again, with her tiny size, the damage they could do could far outweigh any benefits. So, anyway, after much research (and that's an understatement), I decided I wanted to keep it simple, clean and easy. I wanted organic food, NO rosemary, I wanted taurine and magnesium, etc. Raw would probably be a better way to go, but I have 4 dogs and not a ton of time/money. Not that Louise isn't worth it, she is, but like any diet (people or pets) I wanted something that I knew I could and would stick with.
So today, I picked up a bag of Potato and Venison New Balance dog food. It has everything I wanted for her and NO rosemary extract (that was tough to find). After reading a ton of positive reviews, I also ordered Dr. Ackerman's epilepsy/seizure control supplements. ! 0.00 on Amazon. I bought a small bag of New Balance dog treats too, again without the rosemary extract. I feel good about having made these changes. The Ackerman supplements won't arrive until next week sometime, but I really feel that the New Balance combined with Ackerman's supplements, we're going to finally see a decrease in her seizures. I'm also trying to give her bottled spring water but it's tough when the other 3 dogs drink it too.
One added note: Louise is 7 years old and because of her small size, I never had her spayed. I regret that now and may still do it as my intuition tells me that these seizures may even be hormonal triggered. She was in heat last Decemeber and she's in heat now - both times when the seizures really kicked in. I'll let you know in a few weeks if we had any success!
I have a question about Milk Thistle, my dog has been on Pheno and potassium bromide for many years. He went 3 years without a seizure on this combo meds, but he gained a lot of weight and just didn't want to run and play anymore. He is 6 year old Maltese, any way we tried winging him off the Pheno and switching to Keppra; however he started having cluster seizures then so we went back to the Pheno and Potassium bromide and he is now seizure free again since middle of November. He takes 48.6 mg pheno twice a day and 300 mg once a day potassium bromide.
He doesn't have any issues YET with his liver should I still consider giving him Milk Thistle?
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.
My 2 1/2 yr old pointer just had a terrifying first seizure. he is on Interceptor which I will stop immediately. But what is this VCO you mention? (" A small amount of VCO in their diet will provide essential fatty acids, and is a natural cure for parasitic host"). Thank you.
Posted by Pat (Montgomery, Texas, Usa) on 04/11/2010
Heartworms are not caused by mosquito larvae. The microfilariae are transmitted to the dog from the bite of an adult mosquito. So all it takes is one infected mosquito to bite your pet and its got heartworms. Especially if you live in the South where we have an abundance of mosquitos. Heartgard kills the microfilariae, it doesn't kill adult worms. I recommend this product. If you live in the south and don't have your pet on a heartworm preventive then it is only a matter of time until your pet gets heartworms even if it is an "inside" pet.
Heartworms are epidemic in the Gulf Coast area. Dogs WILL get them if no preventative is used. My problem is, I suspect Heartgard is the reason for my Border Collie/Pointer's seizures that have started at 5 yrs old. I'm switching to ProHeart, which use a less toxic chemical, and I'm using a smaller dose than is recommended. I'll have her tested in a couple of months and again after the first big cold spell of 2010, but I'm guessing she will be heartworm free. In addition to decreasing the toxicity of heartworm meds, I'll be using herbal remedies as a back up. If you don't live in this area, you have no idea how bad the mosquitos are. And I refuse to keep my 3 dogs indoors all the time because they need to be outside enjoying life. Good luck to everyone on this thing...
It's me again.The one with the husky/lab mix pups.They just turned 18 mo on Sat.We lost our male this past Mon.He hadn't had any seizures since April 23.Sun.he was having cluster seizures;about every 2-3 hrs.He was howling,barking,and whining after coming out of each one.That is the worst thing my family has ever gone through. My female will NEVER get another booster shot.When I took our male to the vet he said-ironically-this is the age when "epilepsy" shows its ugly head. Duh, this is when people give their dogs their boosters, because you tell us to.I've let everyone I know not to give boosters to their dogs.There is no sense that this wonderful young dog should have died or had to go through this.I truly feel for everyone who has lost a dog so soon after booster vaccinations.It's time to get mad and take action!
Posted by Michelle (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 04/29/2007 ★★★★★
dip the tip of your finger in honey given orally will bring any person, as well as dogs and cats, out of a diabetic and an epileptic seizure immediately.
Posted by Carolyn (Dalton, GA) on 08/03/2006 ★★★★★
I have a 7 year old yorkie named Bogie. He was having seizures and I quit feeding him hotdogs of any kind or brand. He has been seizure free for the last 6 months.
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