★★★★★
Dietary Changes
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!
★★★★★
Taurine
Rescue Remedy
★★★★★
I give her a dropper full from this dosage bottle. Sometimes I can only get half a dropper in her mouth but it seems to be O. K. The length of time from the start of the seizure until she's back to normal is no more than a minute
Fastereft is a technique to help you release your stress and all emotional issues, e.g. Anxiety, trauma, depression, abuse, fear, anger etc. Etc.. I've been using it on myself for a couple of months and I can't recommend it enough. I thought I'd try it on my cat and the result was extraordinary. She is still having seizures but this shortens them dramatically. I think I'll try coconut oil as well.
Robert Smith founder of FasterEft is a most generous man and he has posted nearly 500 free FasterEft videos on Youtube so people can learn how to heal their emotional issues and stresses.
Do yourself a favour and check out his site, it is life changing stuff.
Ocular Compression
★★★☆☆
BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
Typically it will phases of the seize that include paddling, jaw extension, full ridigidy, bowel movements etc .. When I reached her early enough, ocular compression stopped many of the phases. Ive done it 6 times now with successful outcome..
The upside is an immediate recovery from the seize - almost no post ictal phase.. the downside is now, she has developed facial ticks when she is drifiting off to sleep ..
I've stopped using the technique now due to the fact that it looks to be very uncomfortable when she is trying to sleep and her face ticks her awake.
Hope this information helps others with seizing dogs - and virtually no medical remedy.
Potassium Bromate, Acupuncture
★★★★☆
Coconut Oil
Can anyone make any suggestions how I stop MaMa from tremors/shaking/swaying.
All assistance would be greatly appreciated
Ted
Coconut Oil
Lecithin and Belladona
★★★★★
I researched websites and found that Lecithin is a good supplement for seizures. He gets a daily dose of 1200 MG (He is 45 lbs). He has been weened off the phenobarbital so he wouldn't have withdrawal symptoms. Now if he has a seizure it is very mild and only last a short amount of time. That is when I give him Belladonna (bought from homeopathy site) and it stops them almost immediately.
Dietary Changes
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.
Dietary Changes
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:
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!
Get a Tick Panel
If I had a dog with seizures- I would rule this issue out. Testd codes are IDEXX 37161 or Antech SA330.
We do know these diseases can cause brain damage, deafness and aggression besides renal failure.
Magnesium
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
One day I took her to the feed store/pet supply store for some advice on the rash she had just developed. While we were there, she had 3 seizures. The very nice and concerned lady that was helping me, suggested I put her on a dog for called "Diamond". The one with no artificial additives or grains. I believe it was the chicken and rice recipe. She suspected "Treet" (my Rottie) had food allergies. Since I've been giving Treet the Diamond dog food, her rash has disappeared, but to my surprise, so has her seizures.
I didn't realize or attribute the disappearance of the seizures to the dog food until tonight. I was reading another comment from one of your reader's and they said that they feed their dog the same brand dog food (Diamond) because it does not contain and additive called "BTD or BTH" (they weren't sure of the exact name of the additive) because the additive causes seizures. I'm going to have to agree with that person. Treet hasn't had a seizure in about 2 months now.
The only thing that I've changed was her dog food. I feel confident it was the dog food that made the seizures disappear. It's a very scary thing to watch your baby go through that and you can't do anything to help. I am so very happy and relieved that she doesn't have them any more. Now I have to work on her constant ear infections. I'm going to try the Apple Cider Vinegar, Alcohol and Water mixture I read about. I'll keep you posted.
Dietary Changes, Avoid Tap Water
★★★★★
Dietary Changes, Avoid Tap Water
Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Avoid Heartworm Meds and Seizures
My German Shepherd mix had three grand mal seizures in one month, and I am still on the look out for a good cure. If he follows his pattern the next will be due this week. I used Bachs RR right after the seizure and fed him some kibbles to shorten the post-ictal phase with great success. I have changed his diet to Nature's Choice and am looking into alternatives.
Yesterday, I was under the impression he was getting a seizure, and in lieu of something better, I gave him a treat with four drops of Bachs RR. He slept through the night without troubles. We shall see, I guess.
EC: RR= Bach's Rescue Remedy
Heartworm Meds and Seizures
In addition, after the seizure scare, I do not update my dogs' vaccinations. The dosages are too toxic. However, my dogs are mostly indoor dogs.
★☆☆☆☆
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.
Dietary Changes
check the ingred. on van patten's dry food, and buffalo blue for a comparison.
Melatonin
★★★★★
IF the titre proves coverage...contact your board of health or whomever handles rabies vaccinations and let them know you want an exemption, have proof etc.
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for those with epileptic dogs,we have found,thank God that going by your dog's weight,melatonin(natural supplement)WORKS esp. IF your pet is prone to night time,early AM seizures--there is a website out here but unfortunately I can't remember their name,had a forum for epople to post questions/responses/their stories etc--what works..
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one thing finally dawned on us here--we had 2 wonderful dobies that lived healthy lives till 14-16 years---a VERY loooong lifespan for this breed. They were NOT vaccinated for all these diseases and only received a rabies the year nyc mandated it.
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Also,try to purchase the BEST natural /holistic food u can as it definitely makes a differencein your pets' lives....or prepare your own.
Coconut Oil
Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
EC: Perhaps some useful info in the the advice section of the Vaccination Side Effects page: https://www.earthclinic.com/pets/vaccination_side_effects.html#ADVICE