Doggie Diets - conflicting advice (canine eplilepsy/seizure related)

Well - it's almost as bad as the human diet industry.

High carb, low protein - no grain, raw - commercial, natural .... how are we supposed to know which to opt for?

I have recently pretty much ditched grains in favour of a natural, raw type diet with meat, bones,fruit & veg. I've seen these recommended on various canine epilepsy sites and Loki loves it.

But going through my old doggie notes, I came across a Burns leaflet, which said to feed a dog that has seizures a diet high in complex carbs (brown rice) and low in protein! So the opposite to what I've started to do.

I used to give Burns for breakfast and a home cooked meat, veg & rice for dinner but in all honesty, kibble was never that popular with Loki so I know he prefers real meat and isn't missing it .

But now I'm thinking what if I've got it wrong and it worries me as the diets are quite different? I suppose Loki did get his seizures on the original diet witha large amount of rice included, but even so; I find all this conflicting advice really confusing.

I wouldn't make very big changes to the diet without having advice.

I would ask advice from the company supplying the food of where you purchase food from or just contact the vet to ask.

Min xxx

Hi L/S what can I say?
Read the experts views & go by how Loki does. I`d go for a raw diet over any complete, now matter how good it is, it can never beat fresh/living food

I`d not feed Burns food now, tho at one time a few yrs ago I was doing everything I could to export it to Gib & very nearly did Its a very good *complete* diet, but I still believe the best for dogs is raw

My favourite book is Dr Pitcairns, I started off my dogs with his regime & its the best thing I ever done for them Then I progressed to no grains etc. But I gave them every supplement I could to get them back to full health.

Now my dogs thrive on all kinds of things, grains, pulses veg, fruit etc. But their diet is made up of mostly meat & bones & eggs & the rest as a come as you need it basis I mix n match & Pitcairn gives you lots of scope to do that & its all worked out for you

I think you`re looking for an answer that isn`t there, sorry sometimes there isn`t one

You`ve got good links I know stick with the good wholesome foods

Going to add, you`ve got links to some extremely knowledgable people Linda. Get in touch with them & ask their advice.

Thanks Christine - I wouldn't want to go back to kibble; I don't like the idea of kibble, even a better quality one, so no worries there . Can you imagine Loki's reaction if I presented him with a plate of kibble after all this lovely fresh food? No, it's mainly the carb/protein proportions I'm concerned with.

This is just a tuppence-worth and is not intended to conflict with anyone else!

All I can say is that Snorri-dog has not had a siezure since he started on the raw minced leftovers we get from our butcher, BUT, he has been on medication for all that time, too. Success could be down to either.

His epilepsy is hereditary - his brother Jacob has it, too, as did an older brother, Mickey. I don't know much about Mickey (other than I've been told he "grew out of it"), but Jacob lives on canned food, which may or may not be significant. He is medicated, too, but has had some "breakthrough" fits - not many, but some.

All I'll say is - avoid canned foods like Pedigree Chum, Bonus and the like. All I know is that Snorri has been fine since he came off canned food, but it could be just coincidence. I do know that there's no artificial crap in what he gets now, and that can't be bad.

Snorri

Forgot to say you can contact those people direct & talk to them, ask your questions they are very approachable

No matter how good a *complete* diet is, it is not & can never be food in its natural state.

You`re getting hung up there with carb/protein, don`t!! He needs protein more than carb. Take the time to read thru the links I`ve given or better still, ask the questions direct to the many peeps who know about these things

Get in touch with them Linda & ask away, they love to help

I dropped Pedigree Chum a few months ago and both Daisy and Poppy are passing less diaorrehea. I mix their diet with Chappie and either chicken (and the bones) or tuna, and egg (scrambled or boiled) and some toast for breakfast and they seem to be doing fine.

I think one common misconception about feeding raw is that it must be really high in protein because of all the meat but it's actually not! The protein in most meats is actually lower than in alot of kibble isn't it? That might be one thing to consider.