convulsion

Question
Hi! my name is daniela, and im from mexico... i have a question about my
standard schnauzer. His name is Lolo, and he was born in august 2005. Since
he was a puppy we used to give him chicken and meat that my grandmother
specially prepared to him, and we also gave him dog food, but not to much
because he doesnt like it a lot. We really take care of him, we dont give him
chocolate or anything with sugar to prevent events. Well the point is that
since august 2007 he started to present convulsions each month or month
and ahalf. We always go with a veterinarian which i really dont trust a lot, but
is a friend of my dads. He said that we only give him dog food nothing else,
but thats all! its the only answer he have given to us. I read that the schnauzer
have hypoglycemia, is that right? so they really need to be healthy.  so i dont
think the food has something to do with it.

When he has a convulsion  we have seen that he always have temperature or
an infection , once was an infection in the throat and the last time in the ear.
Maybe when he is sick the convulsion is given... i dont know, thats what think

When he has the convulsion he first vomits and he pee too, maybe thats
important

thats why im writing you because i saw u are an expert and i will thank u a
lot if u have any information or anything that could help us.

thanks

Answer
Seizures can have many causes, including hypoglycemia. Some are hereditary, some are due to over-vaccination, or gluten allergies (yes, some foods can cause them). Yes, some illnesses can also cause seizures, particularly if the temperature goes too high.

It sounds like you are feeding your dog a diet that is too high in meat protein; a good diet also contains fruits and vegetables (or a well-balanced kibble/dog food).

Here is an article written by John B. Symes, DVM, (DogtorJ.) that you might find interesting, titled "Idiopathic Epilepsy - The Dietary Solution" http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id21.html In this he explains how gluten-free diets can help dogs with epilepsy. Here is his primary webpage, http://dogtorj.tripod.com/ ...fascinating stuff!

This site http://www.worldwidehealthcenter.net/articles-115.html also talks about the benefits of gluten-free diets in epileptic people, plus a few other things that might be useful. Talk to your vet about this if you are thinking of trying some of it, but I put him on something like a duck and potato dog food diet that has a minimum of ingredients. It won't hurt and it just might help!

More information on epilepsy: http://www.purelypets.com/articles/epilepsyarticle.htm

http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/