Epilepsy Remedies for Dogs

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Dietary Changes
Posted by Lisa (Rancho Cucamonga, Ca) on 10/26/2007
★★★★★

Many dogs who suffer from seizures benefit from a grain free dog food. This also helps with some types of cancers as the grain and carbs seem to feed the tumors.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Becky (West Valley City, Utah) on 06/06/2009

Thank you for your post!! Lari, our Australian/Border Collie has been experiencing seizures since Aug of 08. He was only just over a year old.
It is so very scary, and we hurried to our vet for help. It seems like the typical treatment is put them on meds until they no longer work and then kiss them good-bye. This is obviously not an acceptable treatment. Lari is on 2 phen/morning and night. and still experiencing seizures, on the moon cycles. He has been enjoying his coconut oil 1 tsp/per 10 lbs, and our fingers are crossed that it will help.

Please, let me know if you have had results with this treatment, or any other remedy would be much appreciated!!!!!!!

We love Lari!!! Thank you :)


Coconut Oil
Posted by Liz (Saint Louis, MS) on 07/04/2009

My dog has been experiencing seizures and I am very interested in trying the coconut oil. I was wondering, though, if anyone could tell me how long it takes before it stops the seizures and does it affect dogs as it affects humans(i.e. loose stools, weight loss)? Also, she is about 45lbs, any recommendations on how much to give her? I would really appreciate it if someone got back to me. I desperately want this seizures to stop and really hope this works!


Coconut Oil
Posted by Becky (West Valley City, UT) on 07/09/2009

Hi Liz, Lari has had great results with Virgin Coconut Oil. It must be virgin however, the other just isn't the same. Virgin is more expensive, but the other is just for cooking etc.

This is the first full moon that Lari hasn't had a seizure. He has been taking virgin coconut oil since the first of June. I found the dosage on a website that sells it, and they recommended 1 tsp per 10 lbs. I have been giving Lari 3 to 4 tsp. since it does speed up the metabolism and he is on Phenobarbital. It's so hard to know what to do!

He is also on a chicken, veggie, fruit, raw bone diet. I have also added tomato paste, mixed with an egg, oatmeal spinach or whatever i have available. He was always swiping potatoes and tomatoes so i googled and found they are both a good sources of magnesium, which a previous poster had recommended. Heck, i'll try anything and everything!

He's had no problem with loose stools, weight loss or anything else noticeable.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Sandy (Houston, Tx ) on 01/02/2010

Do you believe the full moon triggers seizures?? I hadn't really thought about that, but my Border Collie/Pointer's big seizure two nights ago happened during the rare full blue moon.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Anne (Manila, Philippines) on 01/27/2010

should i discontinue giving my dog phenobarb if i will give her virgin coconut oil and magnesium? Pls. help me as well as my 6 yrs old golden retriever, she's taking phenobarb for almost a year now and yet she's still suffering from seisure, i need your help very urgent coz she's having seisure twice a day for two consecutive day, im so worried...pls reply asap


Coconut Oil
Posted by Becky (West Valley City, Utah) on 02/03/2010

I'm very sorry. Is your dog doing any better? My dog usually has his seizures during the full moon, it is very strange. He was on phenobarbital along with the coconut oil and magnesium, last month I had to put him on potassium bromide as well. So the coconut oil and magnesium alone did not stop the seizures. It is very hard to know what to do.. I wish I could be more helpful.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Katie (Fridley, Mn) on 07/13/2010

I have a dog who suffers from seizures and I just wanted to give a warning to people. PLEASE consult your vet before giving ANY type of supplements, natural or not. Different things can react poorly or affect the absorption of the medication which could cause more problems. Usually a phone call to the vet is all it takes and it's always better to be safe than sorry.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Lin (E. Wenatchee, WA, Usa) on 01/14/2011

Besides pheno., I give my epileptic dog formula 303, (people also take this as a calmer), and lots of fresh vegs. These seem to help, vet select seizure med. (it is on internet), and thistle (as pheno. Is bad on their liver). I am just starting him on coconut oil.

I am adding to my list as he use to have one every 3 months, but the last 2 months he has had three to six in a row where he had to go to vet, so I am still working on it trying to help him.

You might check into these. I know the vet select seizure has helped for several years, expensive yes, but he's my kid.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Kim (Pleasanton, Ca) on 03/18/2011

Hi, I am new here, but am in desperate need of help/advice. I have a 7 yr old pug who was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was a little over 3 yrs old. He has been on pheno ever since. The dosage has slowly increased over the last 4 yrs. This past Sept he had a grand mal that seemed more severe than his usual seizures (he averages about 2 a year) and didn't seem to recover as quickly as before. He eventually seemed to get better (although has never seemed 100% since).

He had another grand mal this last Feb. This is where the nightmare really began. He seemed really different after his seizure (I inject him with valium during his seizures to keep him from going status), 4 days after his last seizure when I got home form work he seemed "off", then began panting for no reason, and only wanted to be literally on me (seemed afraid of touching the floor, couch, etc... ). I brought him to emergency and they put him on an IV of valium. He seemed better and then 2 days after that all of the weird symptoms started again. It has been going on like this ever since. I have been having to inject him (per vet's direction) almost weekly due to the constant walking, panting, staring up, etc... The vet believes these weird behaviors are pre-seizural. I don't know what to believe or think. I worry in my heart that it may be a brain tumor and not epilepsy but the vets (consulted 2 different ones) feel that is unlikely. They also say that we would be treating the symptoms of a brain tumor with the same drugs that we are treating him with now (they have added potassium bromide to the increased pheno). Neither seems to feel that radiation or chemo is really a good option if he did have a tumor. I feel like I may be watching my sweet little boy slowly start to die from whatever has been causing these horrific seizures.

I work full time and live alone which terrifies me and limits what I can do. And I don't even know if what I am doing is the best thing I can be doing for him. I'm afraid to take him off the meds (not home enough to monitor the effects) and I'm afraid the meds could possibly be doing him harm or nothing at all. I stopped his heartworm meds last month.

If someone could tell me where to get a good coconut oil I would happy to try that. Also, can I use the oil with the meds he's on? Any advice would be very appreciated and if anyone else's dog has had similar experiences I would love to hear how you handled them. I worry that I may be reading into behaviors that aren't actually abnormal (the panting for no reason, constant walking/not laying or sitting down for more than a minute, etc...).

Sorry for the long post and thank you.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Jona (West Virginia) on 03/11/2014

Our dog Sydney was just diagnosed as being epileptic and was prescribed phenobarbital. After reading about Organic Virgin Coconut Oil on this site, I'm interested in giving this to Sydney, but I was wondering if there are any interactions between the 2? I would feel absolutely horrible if I found out too late that they should not be used together.


Coconut Oil
Posted by Theresa (Mpls., Mn) on 03/12/2014

Hey Jona!

I reviewed the comments and it appears many have used both the pheno and the EVCO at the same time. Some simply stopped the pheno as it seemed to not be working. I urge you to work with your veterinarian to determine the cause of the seizures if at all possible. Some folks report keeping the seizures successfully at bay by feeding a home made diet.

Please report back and let us know how your boy does on the EVCO!


Sunflower Seeds
Posted by Barbara (Dayton, NEVADA) on 07/02/2007
★★★★★

Re Canine Seizures: When our 4 yo Brittany had his first seizure we weren't even sure what had happened to him. When he had a second two months later, I started to look for answers on the internet. Someone suggested giving him ground raw,unsalted sunflower seeds. This seemed like a doable thing so I got some from the health food store. He responded well and only had a seizure about once every 8-10 weeks. At 35 pounds we feed him 1 Tbls a day and we have learned to grind them fresh every day as they lose freshness very quickly. We also tried sunflower seed oil but that didn't work as well.


Dietary Changes
Posted by MrmDeLuca (Phoenix, USA) on 05/05/2007
★★★★★

When my father was released from the hospital from a possible heart attack, he was put on a strict diet. In keeping with his diet, he would eat baked chicken with heaps of garlic, tomatoes, and onions. My father, hating the food, would always pass it along to his dog. Well this otherwise healthy dog had a seizure one day, for the first time in its life. All three ingredients, consumed in excess, are known to be fatal to dogs. He's never given the dog his chicken again. The dog has never had a seizure since. To my own dog I give only a quarter of a clove every other week with no problems.


Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Posted by chris (Escondido, California) on 04/12/2007

I have a five month old puppy. Her name is Starbuck. She is now having seizures. Funny but when we first got her she was a jewel, smart, calm and everyday we were amazed at how wonderful a dog she was. As good dog owners we took her to get her shots. Everything started happening AFTER she started her shot series. First she was vaccinated against Parvo. One week after getting the shot, she contracted Parvo, we almost lost her not to mention the 2000,00 we paid to put her in the hospital. She was house bound to decrease the chances of getting Parvo. How she contracted is debatable i suspect it was the vaccines. She survived and of course we were thrilled. We bonded, trained her to do amazing tricks and welcomed her as a part of our family. She was house bound still at this point. All was well and to continue being the responsible dog owners we are, continued with her shots.. one week after receiving her third set of vaccinations, she began having seizures.

Now our sweet dog is having seizures on a weekly basis. I will not elaborate on how stressful and heart breaking as well as expensive this is but I completely understand all the emotions other dog owners are having when their pet goes through this.

We are now on the usual drugs which are not really working. She cant go out to play or anything that causes excitement. If she has too much fun she suffers from seizures when she goes to sleep. The seizures have become clusters mainly on the weekends.

They have not told us that because they happen in her sleep, that may be "significant". Translation: Now we have to go to a specialist. We cannot afford this and if the is what the vet tells us, we will have to make the decision to either give her away or have her put to sleep. THis is heart breaking to say the least.

I believe that these problems are caused by vaccinations. I am not a veterinarian, i am just looking at cause and effect.

Another reason I believe that vaccinations are the culprit is the experience i had with my ferret Duke. Duke was a healthy, fun loving house bound ferret, and being the responsible pet owners we are we took Duke to the vet to get his first series of shots. He had an immediate reaction to the shot and suffered an allergic reaction. One to two weeks after receiving his shots he began to get sick, no one could tell us why. I tried to save him, staying up nights, forcing food and everything else I could do to help him, but he just wasted away and after losing so much weight and suffering a seizure we had him put to sleep. They never determined the cause and we spent 3,000 on tests.

Shots are a necessary evil I understand but I also believe that they kill our animals, cause family members all sorts of heartbreak and drain our bank accounts. My only hope is that if we ever decide to bring another animal into our house we pray that they will survive the vaccinations.

Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Posted by Erin (San Clemente, Ca) on 11/20/2010

My mini schnauzer started having seizures after her vaccines they get at age 1.5 ish. Since then I have kept track and most of her seizures happen a few weeks after her bi-annual bordatella vaccine. My vet and I agreed to never give her that vaccine again. I fear its only a theory and hope that it proves correct. Only time will tell. I will refuse to get her rabies in the spring and hopefully the law will not come after us. Lol.


Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Posted by Diamond (Salisbury, Usa ) on 06/18/2011

Chris, from California; Here is a website of many sites that may interest you.....

http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-ifyou.html

Here is yet another one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing


Vaccines and Seizures in Dogs
Posted by Deb (Watertown, MN) on 02/21/2007

There is some evidence that epilepsy in dogs can be caused by all the unnecessary booster vaccinations. Dogs usually start having seizures at 2 years old after their booster shots are given. Most vaccinations given puppies should last their lifetime. Check the internet for more detailed information on this subject.This I know is not a remedy but possibly a preventative.

EC: Read more about Vaccination Side Effects here.



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