Are There Alternative Medicine Options for Canine Seizures?

Pet owners may wonder, are there alternative medicine options for canine seizures?  Canine seizures can be due to various conditions, although most commonly, they occur because of canine epilepsy. There are a number of treatments available for this illness in your pet, but the most typically-used ones involve drug therapy. For owners who are reluctant to administer drugs to their pets, or for those pets who don't respond well to drug therapy, there are some alternative medicine options that may prove successful in controlling, or even preventing, the seizures.

While there may not be conclusive proof that alternative medicine treatments will necessarily work effectively on canine seizures, some believe that such treatments can and do have an impact and help dogs who are suffering from seizures. A few of these alternative medicine options for canine seizures are outlined below. Remember that you need to speak to your veterinarian before beginning any treatment on your pet, or before stopping any prescribed medication.

 Acupuncture

• Basic acupuncture therapy is given to many epileptic dogs and is perhaps the most common type of alternative medicine for canine seizures.
• Needles are typically put into the dog's body in ten different areas, although this can vary depending on the type and severity of the seizures the dog has been having.
• The needles may be left in place during a brief treatment session, or they may stay in the skin for extended periods of time.
• Acupuncture is often used in conjunction with drug therapy, rather than by itself. It has a fairly good success rate among epileptic dogs, but results can vary widely.

Vitamin Therapy

• As with human epilepsy, diet and vitamin intake can affect, and sometimes control, seizures of various kinds.
• Canine vitamin therapy tends to center around the use of vitamin B6, magnesium, and manganese.
• It's also important to note that a dog experiencing seizures but who is not diagnosed as epileptic may respond well to vitamin therapy, since deficiencies of certain vitamins (B6 in particular) can lead to seizures in both humans and canines.

So, now you know what some proposed alternative medicine therapies are for canine seizures. Remember, always talk to your vet.