10 Most Common Reasons Why Your Dog Food Is Causing Seizures

Written by Tim Rhodes Last Updated: Sep 1 2024

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Man and dogs are two inseparable creatures, and you need to know that some dog food causing seizures can occur.

Happiness and laughter become the order of the day, especially when they’re together in fresh adventures.

However, these happy moments can suddenly change into scary moments not only for the dog owner witnessing his dog going through a seizure but also for the dog having that dreadful experience.

It’s overwhelming observing your dog change from his first jovial mood into a puzzled and unsteady state.

Many people have the slightest idea of how they should carry on during seizure occurrences, especially if it’s the first episode.

They can’t pinpoint something as the potential cause since the dog has no history of underlying health conditions.

10 Most Common Reasons Why Your Dog Food Is Causing Seizures

In this article, we explore the symptoms & causes of seizures in dogs, why your dog food is causing attacks, how you avoid seizures in your dog, and many more.

What Are The Signs Of Dog Seizures?

It’s a disheartening disorder, and the veterinarians will mostly refer to these occurrences as epilepsy.

Just like in humans, it may arise because of a sudden and irregular electrical rupture within the brains of your dog.

Therefore, we can describe epileptic seizures in dogs as replicated episodes of seizures, entirely depending on the seizure type.

We associate this condition with vigorous shaking or even convulsing and might go on for a minute or more depending on various dogs.

Without further ado, let’s dive right into dog seizure symptoms we need to note during these occurrences.

It’s essential for every pet owner to take these warning signs, for example, jerking, loss of consciousness, drooling, muscles becoming rigid, chomping, chewing of the tongue, and elements of foam at the mouth.

Some dogs may display characteristics like falling on the sides and use their limbs to make paddling motions.

It’s much horrifying during the episodes because sometimes it may involve unrestrained pooping and peeing.

Your canine friend may also display symptoms of confusion before the episodes, so you prepare psychologically.

However, seeing your friend in this disturbing state is overwhelming and frightening, especially if it’s happening for the first time.

Unsteadiness, disorientation, and temporary blindness are just some signs to expect from your dogs immediately after every episode.

These conditions are often confusing and demoralizing, which may cause your dog to go into hiding.

It doesn’t get any better when he slams into objects unintentionally or in circles.

What should you do during this time?

I’d suggest you don’t invade your dog’s space or stroke them as this will only worsen the current situation.

What Are The Causes Of Epileptic Episodes In Dogs?

While the victim dogs may seem normal after the seizure episodes, every pet owner would ask themselves this typical question; what causes dogs’ seizures?

Even though seizures in dogs may happen impulsively, stating one major cause is a little overwhelming because they can arise from short-term conditions or long-term conditions.

We may associate seizures in dogs to several factors such as environment, objects within your home, daily diets of your dog, stress, medications, to mention but a few.

Identifying one reason as a potential trigger or cause of dog seizures can often be tricky.

Still, if his seizure episode occurs within 30 hours, it qualifies as a reason that needs quick addressing.

To reduce the chances of seizures in dogs, check these possible triggers so you know how to manage them before they get out of hand.

Environmental Factor

Every pet owner would attest that the environment is an ideal factor in their dog’s life.

With that said, do you know that it can play a significant role in your dog’s seizure episodes?

Their environments include both your home and the immediate backyard.

These make perfect resting grounds and playing grounds, thus playing an excellent role in a dog’s life.

Regrettably, many things present in our environment might cause seizures in dogs.

Herbicides and insecticides we use around the yards are impending causes of dog seizures, and you need to do your homework pretty well to avoid further complications.

It should also worry you about the choice of treatments & decorations you use around the backyard, including your neighbors.

While the use of fertilizers and other grass treatments makes our yards seem beautiful, they may have some toxins, which are detrimental to dogs, and even result in a seizure.

Besides, some flowers and plants in our yards we consider appealing are toxic to dogs, making them vulnerable to seizure attacks.

We know human beings as physically and emotionally sensitive beings; similarly, dogs own the same attributes to their surroundings.

Therefore, any sensitivity in the home might cause dog seizures, just like in a man.

Ordinarily, many pet owners consider these as not worrying factors, but it’s prime time you started precautionary measures dealing with them as causes or triggers of dog seizures.

These factors include perfumes, loud music, scented candles, and smoke from cigarettes.

The products we use in the house may make our dogs susceptible to seizures, for example, cleaners with kerosene, pine oil, camphor, paint fumes, chemicals, to mention but a few.

It’s necessary for every dog owner to either try to get rid of these from their dog’s environment or make the dog stay away from areas when one or more harmful products are used.

Medications

A dog’s medication might lead to dog seizures.

More often, these would include vaccinations, flea and tick precautions, etc.

You must seek your vet’s services if your dog develops a seizure after commencing a new medication.

Stress

Make it a habit to help your dog go through stress successfully, as this might lead to seizures.

Unlike humans, they are less rampant in dogs.

Many factors may cause stress in dogs, for instance, fatigue.

Dogs will develop seizures, especially in early mornings or late nights when they experience body changes from their sleep and wake-up sequences.

With that said, do you know what could be the causes of these epileptic episodes in your dog?

Pinpointing one reason is hard as seizures can result either from acute conditions or long-term ones.

Ten Common Reasons Your Dog Food Is Causing Seizures

What your dog consumes every day is a possible start of dog seizures.

Some ingredients present in dog foods and treats make your canine friend susceptible to seizures.

To curb the chances of your canine friend developing a seizure episode, you can try steering clear of the things mentioned below.

1. Toxic Nutrient Levels

Your dog’s health is not only about the nutrients present in the food you choose but also dependable on the proportions.

Too much of it or too little of it is detrimental to your dog.

2. Extreme Levels Of Vitamin D

This has increasingly led to the recall of many dog foods back to the processing centers.

Extreme Vitamin D levels in dog food have damaging effects on the kidneys and the liver, heart, GI tract, and blood vessels in dogs.

The effects in dogs would include vomiting, blood in vomit, uncontrolled drooling, appetite loss, diarrhea, weak body, and excellent drinking and urination levels.

Tremendous vitamin D levels result in the trembling of muscles and even seizures in dogs.

3. Aflatoxins In Dog Food

There have been several food recalls because of intolerable levels of aflatoxin.

Aflatoxins result from fungi and have devastating effects on the liver.

We’ve already seen that any problems in the liver make your friend vulnerable to seizures.

Indications of aflatoxin contamination would include appetite loss, fever, bloody diarrhea, severe vomiting, and many more.

4. Molds In Dog Food

Improper storage of your dog’s food in the house may lead to harmful consequences for stains and spoilage.

Excessive heat, exposure to air, and humidity speed up the rates at which dog foods diminish and might result in mold.

Molds may trigger seizures in dogs because of the poisoning.

5. Heavy Metals In Dog Food

Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic may find their way into your dog’s food.

We may perceive the effects as long-term, but the real problem sets when their levels become extreme.

Even though the significantly affected dog foods are the ones with fish as an ingredient, it doesn’t imply that the rest are safe.

You should note mercury because it’s almost sure to cause seizures in dogs.

6. Use of Additives in Dog Food

Though safe to use in dog foods to prevent food spoilage.

Some research shows that shunning these preservatives and other artificial additives might help curb seizures in dogs, especially those already suffering.

7. Zinc Deficiency In The Diet

Zinc is an essential mineral in dog’s bodies because it helps in developing their brains.

Any deficiency levels in zinc affect the neurotransmitters negatively, leading to dog seizures, especially in the northern breed dogs like Huskies.

8. Deficiency Of Taurine & Carnitine In The Diet

While Carnitine helps in energy production and brain development, Taurine enhances the central nervous system.

Their deficiency in your dog’s diet interferes with his neurological function, thus making him or her susceptible to seizures.

9. Extreme Blood Sugar Level

Extreme levels of blood sugar might lead to seizures in dogs; therefore, avoiding foods with a top glycemic index is helpful to your canine friend.

10. Poor Quality Dog Food

Dogs with allergies are vulnerable to seizure attacks.

The allergic reactions are because of low-quality dog foods from the stores, thus to avoid further complications, it’s necessary to invest in quality dog foods.

What You Should Know About Chemicals Causing Seizures In Dogs

We’ve already seen some common reasons why your dog food may cause a seizure, but it’s important to note that ingestion of toxins in food is a significant trigger of dog seizures.

Below, we’ve created a list of all chemicals and ingredients that may cause dogs’ seizures.

Caffeine

Dogs are hypersensitive to caffeine, and the effects are not appealing if you give little attention to them because it can lead to death.

If your dog swallows foods with caffeine content or undergoes medications with caffeine, then the effects won’t be pleasing.

Every pet owner needs to note symptoms resulting from caffeine poisoning.

Apart from the seizures, he will display vomiting, high blood pressure and temperature, increased heartbeat rates, anxiety, and many more.

Xylitol

Xylitol is an ingredient we blend in processed foods to make them sugar-free; it’s available in baked foods, peanut butter, breath mints, to mention but a few.

When your dog eats food with Xylitol, there will be some changes in his blood sugar levels, leading to a further insulin level rise.

What you perceive as insignificant levels of this ingredient might be intolerable, especially to the young puppies.

This will not only develop seizures, but it will also lead to body weaknesses, fainting, and vomiting.

Ethanol

Any slight contact with the skin, this chemical may lead to reduced activity levels in any dog’s central nervous system, for example, poor coordination, stupor, unconsciousness, to mention but a few.

Besides, it gets more alarming because extreme levels start injury to the body cells and may even cause a heart attack if you give little attention to it.

Exposing your canine friend to industrial chemicals such as paints, gasoline, dyes, and inks are great starting points of ethanol poisoning.

It’s a good idea to make sure we keep our decor items, including perfumes and medicines with ethanol content, out of reach of our dogs to keep them safe.

Proper storage and disposal of your food around the house are also essential because some may contain ethanol, such as raw bread dough, fermented fruits, and many more.

Dogs roaming the house may find access to these, leading to intoxications and other life-threatening problems.

Exposure to ethanol causes seizures in dogs and anxiety, vomiting, confusion, extreme body temperatures, and dog muscles trembling.

An extreme intoxication level gets more devastating if left unattended because it might lead to organ breakdown and, finally death of your pet.

Dark Chocolate

We can measure the concentration levels of chocolate by considering the levels of theobromine in it.

Theobromine makes chocolate very poisonous to many dogs.

Every dog’s health state depends on the levels of chocolate eaten; significant levels of dark chocolate in your dog’s body system will cause vomiting, uncontrolled urination, diarrhea, anxiety, panting, and dehydration.

Therefore, dogs overeating chocolate often leads to seizure episodes coupled with shaking of muscles, and more devastating, heart failures.

Poisonous Plants

Most pet owners would attest to the satisfaction their walk with their dogs around the garden or yard brings to their lives.

Do you know that free-roaming of your pet might lead to poisoning or seizures?

It would help if you kept off your dogs from plants such as Brunfelsia, mushrooms, and sago palm during those outdoor adventures.

Besides, consuming compounds with harmful chemicals such as insecticides and rat poisons might also result in dog seizures.

It’s solely every pet owner’s responsibility to note all the above chemicals and ingredients, plus their symptoms in dogs.

Therefore, if you love your canine companion, consult with your vet to discuss the situation before everything gets out of proportion.

How To Avoid Seizures In Dogs

Curbing episodes of seizures from occurring yet again relies entirely on the remedy plan that every pet owner takes in dealing with the problem at hand, especially for those seizures happening because of poison.

The remedy of certain epileptic seizures may compel one to adopt a long-term medication procedure that will only begin after determining an attack distressing the dog.

Every pet owner needs to invest in the best precautionary and therapeutic measures for the seizures we consider recurrent, cluster seizures, and brutal attacks.

With that said, do you know of ways of preventing seizures in your dogs?

Worry not because we are here to help.

Check out our list below on the typical ways to prevent seizures in dogs.

Anticonvulsants

We consider potassium bromide as a customary procedure that we could use in treating epilepsy amongst dogs.

Some dogs are impassive to these standard treatments and may need blending of other anticonvulsants, thus consistent research on contemporary anticonvulsants.

Before using any anticonvulsants, make sure your vet prescribes it for your dog, and you must ensure the proper use of the prescription in dealing with your dog seizures.

Ensure incessant dose application to your dog for the rest of his life once you offer the primary dose to him.

Upon authorization with precise directives from your vet, then you can stop using the anticonvulsants.

Otherwise, sudden stoppage puts your dog vulnerable to dangerous seizures.

Besides, be cautious when handling medications; mismanagement will only intensify dogs’ seizures, especially when taking dogs whose history shows no vulnerability signs.

Prescription Diet

Most pet owners would rely on a prescribed diet to curb the further spread of certain health complications in dogs.

Diets are significant in treating underlying dog problems, such as kidney issues, digestive complications, obesity, sensitivities, skin and stomach, metabolism, and low energy output.

Prescription diets, therefore, come in handy for dog owners in dealing with seizures by reducing risks that may arise from such foods.

These will effectively manage epileptic episodes because of the natural ingredients and raw food incorporated within the foods.

Ideally, a prescribed diet works towards meeting all the dogs’ nutritional values since they enhance the usage of gluten-free, wheat-free ingredients and have optimal levels of proteins, amino acids, and Omega-3 & 6 fatty acids.

To boost your pet’s central nervous system and well, steer them towards a safe path, it’s essential to invest in a diet that has excellent levels of fatty acids.

On certain occasions, Vitamin C becomes deficient because of anxiety induced by seizures.

Therefore, we would advocate for extra health supplements that feature Vitamin C to improve your furry friend’s immune system.

Best Dog Food For Seizures

We can manage seizures with slight changes in the dog food we feed to our pets every day.

Certain health conditions in dogs might grow because of some minerals’ deficiencies, thus creating foods specifically meant to address such needs.

Vitamins and nutrient contents are significant aspects you should consider when picking dog foods ideal in seizure management.

With that said, herein, you’ll find essential information to help you out in picking excellent dog foods that might be beneficial in putting an end to seizures in dogs.

Always check to find out whether the choice you make for your dog has excellent natural ingredients to save your dog from falling prey to toxic additives and poisons.

Make it a habit to go for foods rich in healthy animal fats because these would offer excellent support to your pet’s central nervous system, thus less susceptible to seizures.

Omega-3 fatty acids make excellent pillars for dogs’ muscle development; thus, investing in foods rich in such minerals is beneficial to your dog in the fight against seizures.

Last, buy goods that not only enhance your dog’s immune system but also fortify his heart muscles.

Final Thoughts

From the above, we’ve seen that an episode is a sign of either toxic elements in the dog food causing seizures or other factors emanating from your immediate environment.

Although one seizure does not pronounce your dog epileptic, be wary of these incidences because they show something wrong with your pet’s neurological system.

A repeat in the sequences is a clear sign of seizures developing to greater levels, thus the need for careful consideration.

Please pay attention to the signs your dog displays and make informed choices towards saving his life.

However, do not let seizure problems ruin all the happy moments with your loved one.

We hope that we have helped somehow and that you will implement some of the advice that we have mentioned above.

If you have any suggestions for us or any useful information you think you should share, please leave a comment below.