Canine Epilepsy
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Jean Kratzer
Posted on: April 21, 2007

I have a female border collie who will be 4 years old in March. At about 1 1/2 years she started having epileptic seizures. All the tests, including a brain scan, were done to determine if there were another disorder that was causing the seizures. The results were negative. Since then she has been treated with daily doses of phenobarbytol and potassium bromide. She still has seizures every two to three weeks. Sometimes they are single seizures and sometimes she has several in a row. I know that the phenobarb in particular has serious side effects, and indeed she appears to be much older than her age. Is there an effective, more gentle treatment that I can give my dog to control her epilepsy? (We live in France)

Given your dog has been dealing with this condition for a number of years and is presently on two very powerful pharmaceuticals, your question unfortunately is beyond the scope of this forum. My best suggestion is to seek the advice of a qualified professional in your area who has experience with both animals and herbs as your dog really would benefit from an ongoing relationship with such a practitioner. You might want to check the website of the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association (www.vbma.org) to see if a member is close to your location and, if not, contact their executive to see if they know of someone they can recommend. In addition, you might want to look at the use of a good, homemade diet as a number of commercial foods may exacerbate some nerve-based conditions. Further information and recipes can be found in the following works: Richard Pitcairn’s, "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats", "The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy and "The Barf Diet" by Ian Billinghurst. As well, please see the postings on this website (www.richters.com) entitled, "Collie and Seizures" and "Seizures and Homeopathic Hyoscyamus".

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