[Janis J]

My Australian Shepherd has idiopathic epilepsy. I just read an article in ‘Veterinary Practice News’ which recommends a ketogenic diet for epileptic dogs – in other words, a diet low in carbohydrates, moderate in proteins, and high in fat. I have encountered similar recommendations elsewhere. I have been looking at grain free dog foods, but none seems quite to fit the description. (My dog is being medicated but still has occasional seizures.) Any suggestions? Janis

[Susan]

Yes, Im reading a book called ‘Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs’ By Lew Olson, PhD..She recommends a Low-Glycemic diet, high in protein & fat & low Carbohydrates…there are stories through out her book, one is about a dog called Jake a Doberman/Labrador mix, who started to have seizures when he was 3 years old, Jake was whats called a “Cluster” meaning he always had multiple seizures close together, Despite trying everything from conventional medications to acupuncture, his owner Jo was unable to get the seizures under control.. After exhausting all the usual medical avenues, Jo started to look elsewhere for alternative treatments, joining an online Epilepsy group, one of the things recommened by the group was a raw diet. With nothing else left to lose Jo started Jake on a new raw diet, Within five months Jake had gone from having seven seizures every two weeks to one a month, Her vet was astonised at the drastic improvement a raw, fresh food diet had made when all the other treatments failed..There’s more on how she explains how the sugar in carbohydrates can affect epilepsy, hypothyroidism, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, & yeast infections & how a low-glycemic diet is a good defense against all of these conditions.. Dogs dont have a nutritional need for carbohydrates..there’s more to read but too much to write..she has simple recipes in her book for illnesses, its an excellent read, its online for around $10..

[T]

A commercial raw diet may be the easiest way for you to try a very low carbohydrate diet for your dog. The major brands are relatively easy to feed (frozen patties) and contain all the vitamins and minerals to sustain life long-term. For example, Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw frozen patties have very low carb content.

Tabitha

Here’s an article on my blog about a few brands of commercial raw food:
http://naturalalternativesvet.com/cooked-and-raw-dog-food-comparison/

[Shawnna G]

I have a Irish Wolfhound mix who is epileptic and we are in the process of switching over his food.
Our vet warned us about three things when switching his food over – Turkey (which can effect the seizure threshold), Rosemary (which can cause seizures in some epileptic dogs) and salt (because if interacts with his medicine).
I was looking at Natures Variety – however be careful because most of their products have Rosemary in them. I decided on a homemade diet (we may do raw after he fully adjusts) and Acana limited ingredient dog food. (About 3/5 homemade and 2/5 Acana).

[Author]

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