How to Get Help for Dogs With Canine Epilepsy
Watching your family's best friend suffer canine epilepsy can be heart wrenching, especially if you feel like there's nothing you can do to help. Unfortunately, many dogs deal with canine epilepsy, but the good news is there are ways that you can help them. You and your family can take some simple steps to adjust your dog's lifestyle in ways that could give your dog relief.
Instructions
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Feed your dog raw foods. Veterinarians believe that a healthy balance of proteins, amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals are essential in managing canine epilepsy. Raw foods provide the most forms of these essentials but must be tailored to your dog's specific needs. Speak with a vet to devise a raw food diet that benefits your dog.
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Eliminate grains from your dog's diet as much as possible. The three most common food allergies dogs experience are corn, wheat and soy. Grains also offer no nutritional value to dogs-in fact some experts call grains an "anti-nutrient" because they can cause allergies, digestive, liver and gallbladder problems, which can be catalysts for seizures.
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Join an online support group, such as Raw Recruits, Barf Basics or K9Nutrition List. Chat with other dog owners and experts who can give you firsthand advice on how to help your dog.
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Take comfort in the fact that you and your dog are not alone. Certain breeds are genetically predisposed to canine epilepsy. Some of these breeds are beagle, dachshund, Labrador retriever, Golden retriever, collie, keeshond, Belgian tervuren and British Alsatian. Speak with other owners of these breeds to see if they have any past experience with canine epilepsy.
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Speak with your veterinarian about medications. The most common medications used for canine epilepsy are phenobarbital and potassium bromine (or a combination of both). Valium, Dilantin and Neurontin are also used to help dogs cope with seizures.
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