25/10/2024
18 VITAL NATURAL TIPS FOR DOGS SUFFERING SEIZURES...THE 2024 LIST...
Every year we have to update our list of essential tips for seizure sufferers, and this year is no different. Folk always want to know what we can put IN to stop them but with seizures, as with so many diseases, what we take OUT is often more important. You must stop fuelling the disease. Hence the first 5 are all stuff you should avoid:
⚡️ REMOVE ALL DRY FOOD
Studies show its highly inflammatory, spiking homocysteine and IgA in dogs https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311321747_Investigation_of_Homocysteine_Levels_in_Healthy_Dogs?fbclid=IwY2xjawGDF31leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHenVVf2KDMKbUeDnhG0wGygPm_MFB2hjHrolJzUgNnd_eWy3kdSZIedHAw_aem_HLfHpI4AoAB0Q2NgYftcaw.
What are the inflammatory factors? There are many. First, many of these products contain wheat gluten (the exact compound is gliadomorphin which, as the name suggests, is a morphoine-based compound...). Wheat is forboden for seizure sufferers. Further, studies show ultra-processed kibble is rife with mycotoxins from poor-quality grain and mallard reactive particles such as AGEs from over-processing, both of which can drive seizures in pets. Then there is the poor-quality fats, chemical preservatives and myriad of chemical compounds used in production (recently dry food was found to be rich in forever chemicals....https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/02/pet-food-contamination-forever-chemicals), all of which can play a role and none of which make your pet food label. As they say, if you can't pronounce it don't feed it to seizure patients.
⚡️ REMOVE CRAP TREATS
Wheat gluten gives dental sticks their toughness. In others, it's casein from dairy (the active ingredient there being caseinomorphin, another morphine based compound). Can't feed them. In fact, remove all chemically preserved treats and yes, this might mean plain meat treats you didn't make yourself. Think about it - how is it staying so fresh for so long in that warm, perspex box in the pet shop? A lot of pigs ears, dried meat and bone products come from lands far away and studies show they can contain toxic chemicals that can lay out your pet.
⚡️ REMOVE UNNECESSARY PARASITE CONTROL
This means removing all chemical flea & worm control (your pup has bigger issues now than the parasites he doesn't have...and seizures are listed as a very possible side effect of these compounds https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2018-11-15/four-flea-tick-products-linked-seizures-ataxia?fbclid=IwY2xjawGDI0RleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXF3qmmnU3qVdn-My8K9dA6HVVBVH5v8F1JsmSAZS3WJ2eW-7T_Mgh4v7A_aem_IzcrnJCN7KsPhwFPhgY6ngs). For natural flea, tick and worm ideas, please see www.dogsfirst.ie
⚡️ QUESTION UNNECESSARY BOOSTERS
All, give very, very serious consideration to their NEED of boosters, as your vet largely is not. There is zero evidence vaccines for viruses wear off after 1 or even 3 years, did you know that? And, despite the assurances, they are far from side-effect-free (hence it says on the pack that they are NOT to be given to animals with inflammatory conditions...), especially for small dogs who get the same dose as a Great Dane. Titre test your already-vaccinated seizure pet instead. More here https://dogsfirst.ie/puppy-and-dog-vaccinations-everything-you-need-to-know/
Heads us, vaccines for bacteria (eg Leptospirosis) DO wear off but then that one has some very major questions concerning not only efficacy but safety.
https://dogsfirst.ie/leptospirosis-vaccine-nobivak-l4-risks-and-side-effects/
⚡️ REMOVE HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS
Multiple studies now prove the forever chemicals so many of us use with abandon in our homes (chemical cleaners, plug-in air fresheners, scented candles, outdoor chemicals...) accumulate in pets to a far higher degree than they do us (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.9b00786). Remove all of them and consider cleaning your home and bedding with PRObiotic products https://dogsfirst.ie/product/probiotic-universal-cleaner-for-home-use-1-litre-concentrate/
⚡️ NEUTERING HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON SEIZURES
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090023319300930?fbclid=IwY2xjawGDJhJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHY-AXyQ2mbZi5TUhi5f1E6NUfYV9f5led8FRb6PfRwUeS-tmkiHeyGh_zw_aem_pIvFtr6Nsfg-Q_N_sLZceg
⚡️ FEED REAL FOOD - GET THEM INTO KETO
As ever, feed a fresh, meat and bone diet (full of fresh, unadulterated protein and bioactive compounds, low sugar and salt, fresh fats, free of chemicals and preservatives etc etc). I advise going with red meats, grass-fed, eg beef and lamb. Poultry is fed grain and crap. These meats are also higher in fat which will move your dog to keto which, studies show, reduces your risk of seizures, something we have known for 50 years. You think it's different for meat eaters?!!
"Our overall meta-analysis underlined the significant efficacy. The KD group is 5.6 times more likely than the control group to have a 50% reduction of seizures after three months of the diet or earlier"
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14737175.2022.2030220
Awesome raw masterclass here for newbies
https://www.drconorbrady.com/feeding-dogs-masterclass-1
⚡️ ADD CBD
CBD from h**p or from that plant everyone smokes (if I mention it this post gets banned in Canada...honestly...) is incredibly effective at reducing seizures. Look at the amount of studies supporting it below. Your dog needs around 1–5 mg of CBD for every 5kg (12 pounds) of body weight per day.
https://dogsfirst.ie/look-many-studies-support-use-cbd-neurological-conditions/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGDJ1FleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUoRxCrGATOvTdPGj9l5ALSsa6TWkp2857TZyM0cIY0JZPXTjv3RSBkEaQ_aem_RAxTZYA1jE4tTdYNj0f7wg
⚡️ ADD OMEGA 3
Good fats are CRUCIAL to controlling seizures. To this end, I recommend a good, therapeutic dose of omega 3 as dozens of high quality studies show it's awesome for seizure reduction. To this end, avoid the s**tty, cheaper oils which can actually give more issues than they fix and jump straight to Algal Oil (often called "Vegan Omega 3" online). This is algae grown in glass tubes in a desert. It's the same price give or take but is much cleaner. Keep in fridge, use quickly. Your dog needs around 100mg per 1kg of body weight per day. Give that for a few weeks than drop to half the dose. https://www.futurekind.com/products/vegan-omega-3?_pos=1&_sid=b06cbf5fb&_ss=r
⚡️ ADD MCT OIL
Check out this meta-review of available data on how effective MCT oil (that's the fats from coconut oil, stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8453917/.
Crucially, all dogs used in these studies were considered drug "non-responders" and no side effects were found:
"In one study, 10 of 21 dogs (47%) had more than 50% reduction in seizure frequency, with three dogs becoming seizure‐free"
"A nonblinded study investigated the effects of a 6.5% MCT commercial diet in dogs with epilepsy and found a reduction in seizure frequency by 33% over a 3‐month period"
"9 of 21 dogs (43%) had more than 50% reduction in seizure frequency, including two dogs becoming seizure‐free"
Again, the dose used in these studies were similar - that is 5% of the diet (or 9% of daily metabolic energy requirement, for the nerds).
As with omega 3 feel free to drop to half dose after 3-4 weeks or when improvements are seen.
⚡️ ADD VITAMIN E
With your pet now on a moderate-to-high fat diet (by the time you consider the omega 3 and MCT oil additions...) your pet needs vitamin E to help control the fat levels. The dose is 50 International Units (IU) for small dogs, 200IUs for medium dogs and up to 400IU for large-giants dogs.
Now, these requirements are based on dog s**t synthetic vitamin E supllements. You need less of the real stuff, do it gets a bit grey here.
Eg 10g of sunflower seeds might give you 5IU of vitamin E, if you can digest it all....meaning a small dog would need to eat 100g to get his daily fix!). A natural source such as wheat germ oil is great but you have to feed a lot of it to get the vit E hit needed here, so that's not ideal in a higher fat diet. But again, the RDA isn't to be trusted (it could be 50% less for the real stuff).
It's hard to say today what a good Vitamin E supplement is. It used to be just tocopherols, now they also contain tocotrienols but we know this is still only 50% of the vitamin / hormone complex.
You're probably looking at a sunflower oil reduction-type product for the best "natural-ish", purified source that we see many more natural pet foods using as their antioxidant today. I'm struggling to love that idea though. I'm currently recommending this stuff today https://amzn.to/3AiNIxP, but I'm not wed to it as I realise I'm a touch confused on this one today, truth be told. Welcome any thoughts you guys might have.
⚡️ HOMEOPATHIC BELLADONNA
Another possible addition is homoeopathic belladonna. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Especially when in dose it induces seizures!!! But the dose is the key. In minute, homoeopathic doses I guess it works like anti-venom. Supportive studies here
www.facebook.com/DogsFirstIreland/posts/1872954369434597
However, before you go lobbing in remedies, remember all patients are different. It might not be the right fit for all. When it comes to homeopathic belladonna it needs to be done holding the hand of a professional. To this end, here is a list of natural vets with homeopathy and all sorts of other stuff up their wizards sleeves. Find a list of some that do Zoom consults here
https://www.drconorbrady.com/natural-vets
⚡️ PROBIOTICS
I used to recommend over-the-counter probiotics for seizures as, studies show, they can help www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/.
This shouldn't surprise us, the gut flora are very much suspected to be at play. The reason we know this is because a gut flora reset by Faecal Microbial Transplantation capsules, is shown to virtually eliminate seizures in many patients (great review work here https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2024.1386205/pdf)
If it were my dog, I would try FMT as the whole, healthy biome (bacteria and yeast, at least the air-breathing kind) from a healthy patient offers better long-term prospects to the patient when compared to one or two species made in a lab.
I like the capsules made by Legacy Biome. They're pricey (around €180/£150 for 30...and British folk beware, Brexit ensures a surcharge of around £30 on a tub...) but deliver promptly and, crucially, are very effective. Use code DOGSFIRST15 for 15% off your purchase.
https://www.legacybiome.com/products/healthy-gut-restore-fmt-for-dogs
⚡️ CONSIDER TAURINE / EPITOR
Bren is always going on about EpiTor https://amzn.to/3BQZekH so there must be something to it. It's essentially the amino acids taurine and tyrosine with some vitamin B2 and zinc. Well worth a shot as Bren knows his stuff here (but don't tell him I said that).
Others simply reach for taurine and tyrosine supplements and I have heard good things.
⚡️ CLEAN UP THE MOUTH
Bad oral hygiene, gingivitis and periodontitis are very significantly related to increases in seizure severity in (human) patients with epilepsy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24456623/
Raw meaty bones do it cheaply and safely, here's how https://dogsfirst.ie/raw-faq/how-to-feed-a-dog-bones/
For all other cases, I recommend Dr Brady's Dental. It's AWESOME at naturally cleaning teeth (or your money back)
https://dogsfirst.ie/product/dr-bradys-dental-prothyroid/
2 parts L-taurine and L-tyrosine to 1 part L-tryptophan added to her dinner every day.
⚡️ DON'T FORGET ELECTROLYTES
Your dog would benefit from having a choice of electrolytes now as seizures drain them. As opposed to adding them to his food (we don't know how much of what they need) you can add the most important ones to water and they will select it themselves based on smell (called Zoo Pharma Cognosy). To do this, you might leave out 3 bowls of water (anything but plastic). In one is fresh water, in the second some water with some good, raw salt dissolved in (eg sea salt, teaspoon per 500ml of water) and in the third one try adding "magnesium water" (available in all health shops).
⚡️ IF ON SEIZURE MEDS, STUDIES SHOW THEY ADD HEAVY METALS WHICH ARE CLEARLY INFLAMMATORY
DogRisk love doing studies on seizure dogs. Two that stand out are this one https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16698 and this one https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.1066851 which both show the erratic mineral contents in seizure dogs but, perhaps more importantly, suggests anti-seizure meds, specifically potassium bromid, might affect trace arsenic metabolism in the dog. This is very bad news long-term for such dogs. Chlorella binds arsenic from their system.
In line with the above, don't add to food but offer on the side. Mix a teaspoon with a drop or two of water to make into a paste. This will bind nasties from the gut. If the dog wants /.needs it, they'll take it. Feed separate to meds (if meds in the morning, offer it in the evening)
***
Want to understand more about epilepsy? Check out our article
https://dogsfirst.ie/seizures-and-epilepsy-in-dogs/
