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Seizure Causing Foods Every Dog Owner Should Know About

I believe that commercial dog food is a culprit for many illnesses in a dog, and that it contributed to or may even have caused my dog’s seizures. My belief has come about because the seizures Cory was having were lessened after we no longer fed him hard dog food or canned dog food. Finally, he ceased having seizures altogether more than five years ago, and we never had to give him an anti-seizure medication. However, are you aware of the fact that certain foods can lead to seizures in dogs? There are a few of these that really took me by surprise.

* Chocolate. Nearly all pets owners are aware that chocolate can lead to seizures and to death for dogs. I’ll never forget the day that Cory found Jayson’s stash of Halloween chocolate. Before my son caught him, he had eaten a lot. Cory was very happy to have been eating chocolate as was evidenced by how hard his tail was wagging. Jayson called poison control and was advised to pour Hydrogen Peroxide liquid down Cory’s throat, which made Cory vomit. Lucky for us, I had a bottle of the stuff in the first aid cupboard! My son performed this emergency procedure outdoors. We were very lucky that Jayson found out about it soon enough so that no harm was done. If you think your dog has gotten into some chocolate, and you do not know how much time has passed, you should contact a vet right away. If you catch your dog in the act, then try the Hydrogen Peroxide treatment. What some people don’t know is that dark chocolate is even more dangerous to dogs than milk chocolate.

* Onions or Products Containing Onion Powder. These contain sulfoxides and disulfides which can cause damage to the red blood cells, resulting in the dog becoming anemic.

* Fish That is Undercooked or Not Cooked at All Particularly in Oregon and Washington, a lot of fish are contaminated with a fluke that is contaminated with a bacteria that is known to trigger seizures and possibly even death when eaten without it being cooked thoroughly. The danger is completely eliminated if you cook the fish first, although you have to be careful to get all the bones out of the cooked fish before allowing your dog to eat it. I am no scientist and don’t have the specific formula, but I have heard it said that if you freeze the fish at a certain temperature, the extreme cold will kill off the fluke and destroy the bacteria, thus eliminating the problem, you’ll have to do the research for length of time and the required temperature before you try this.

* Nutmeg is another to avoid. It never really crossed my mind to put nutmeg on Cory’s food, not even at the holidays, but it has been shown to cause tremors, seizures, and yes, even death. Just don’t share any of your cookies containing nutmeg with your pooch and you should be OK with this one.

* Mushrooms. Certain mushrooms have poisons that might lead to issues for dogs. This is particularly true for wild mushrooms. I knew this and was alert to keeping Cory away from mushrooms on our walks. ‘Leave it’ is a great command to teach your dog early.

* Food Made for Cats Poor Cory, he loves to lick the plate clean after our kitty’s done eating, and now that I found out about this one, he won’t be able to anymore. It turns out that cat food is too high in protein and fats for dogs to eat. You might still let your dog eat the crumbs left over from your cat, but you should not replace your dog’s food with cat food.

* Apple seeds. Apple seeds and other pits from fruit contain the poison cyanide, which can cause seizures.

* Grapes and Raisins. About the time that I discovered this information, I was reading a training book for dogs that actually advocated using raisins as training treats, even though they can cause kidney failure in dogs. Needless to say, the author was defensive when I contacted her with this knowledge and my concerns, stating that she had always used raisins as training treats for her dogs. All I can say is be aware of the risks and do more research before giving grapes or raisins to your dog.

* Egg Whites alone are also dangerous. It is OK to feed your dog a whole egg, but there is a danger in splitting the egg whites off and feeding them without the yoke, because they contain a protein known as avidin, which can actually deplete your dog of one of the essential B vitamins. The yoke seems to have an element that counteracts the avidin protein in the whites, so if an egg is eaten whole, the depletion of vitamin B is no longer an issue.

Belgian Shepherd dogs munching an APPLE -Their favorite, ‘treat’