Why Do Miniature Poodles Dogs Get Seizures?




Adopt a Dog
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 12:31pm PST 
My grandmother has a Miniature Poodle that was just diagnosed with epilepsy. Her last Miniature Poodle was diagnosed with the same disease. Do all Miniature Poodles, or most of them, have seizures? It's so sad to see the little dog shaking and convulsing like he does. Do you think it could be the food she is feeding? I feed Freckles the same thing my grandmother feeds her dog and he has never had a seizure. It is called Pointer Blended Terrier Meat. Or is this just something that a lot of Miniature Poodles experience? Both her dogs came from breeders, but totally seperate breeders.

Farlekiin the- Dragonborn
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 12:34pm PST 
Epilepsy is pretty mysterious in dogs. It could be genetics, environmental, diet, or all three.

What is Pointer Blended Terrier Meat? I've never heard it and I can't find the ingredients. Could you post them if you can?

ETA: I hope she let both breeders know that her dogs have epilepsy. It's not necessarily the breeder's fault or anything, but it's good to always let a breeder know that an animal you purchased from them has a health condition.


"Epilepsy — A common cause of seizures in all three varieties of Poodles is "idiopathic epilepsy" which is commonly inherited. However, many factors can cause seizures besides idiopathic epilepsy and it is very important to have the dog diagnosed if seizures begin."




* Low blood sugar,

* low thyroid function,

* infections causing brain damage,

* ingestion of toxins,

* brain tumors, and

* vaccinations.


Edited by author Mon May 17, '10 12:38pm PST


Adopt a Dog
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 12:47pm PST 
Thank you Farley. She never told the breeder of her last Miniature Poodle, but I will tell her to notify this one. The ingredients in Pointer Blended Terrier Meat (what my grandma feeds to her Miniature Poodles and what I feed Freckles):

Cereals, meat and animal derivatives, minerals. Contains EC permitted colours.

We buy it at the feed store. I have to feed Oliver California Natural Lamb/rice cans because he has a sensetive stomach and can't seem to handle any other food. Thank you so much for the information, again. I really didn't know anything about epilepsy, other than it causes seizures. I feel so bad for my grandmother's poor dog. When he has a seizure he will fall over and start thrashing violently. My grandmother's last dog, a female Miniature Poodle, had the seizures so bad that they lasted for over five minutes. She was only 6 years old when she had a really bad seizure that lasted for a long time, and she never really woke up. She just kept having them until she died. It was so sad. I was there at the time, and I was really young, too. My grandmother was on the phone with the vet and we were so scared to move her to take her to the vet. She just eventually died after multiple long seizures.


Farlekiin the- Dragonborn
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 1:04pm PST 
Freckles that's awful I'm so sorry to hear that frown
Taking a glance at the ingredients I presume you're in the UK? That resembles the UK labeling system which is pretty vague. Cereals being the first ingredient is very vague, could be wheat, corn, soy, oats, or any fragments of these. However, they do make up the bulk of the food and quite possibly switching to a more natural food (ie one that is meat-based instead of grain based since dogs need meat, not grains) could help.
California Natural is a good food. Great for sensitive tummies. That would be even better to feed if possible.
I've also heard of several cases of people switching to home cooked or raw for their epileptic dogs and the seizures either completely stopped or became VERY rare.
Not saying diet is the direct cause of the seizures, but you never know, and what our pets eat is just as important for their health as what we eat is for ours =)

Adopt a Dog
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 1:09pm PST 
I really appreciate it Farley. No, we are not in the UK. We are in NYC. A lot of the food at the feedstores doesn't look like it's made in the US. There is one with some Chinese or Japanese labeling on it and just has a smiling Shiba Inu on the front. I guess because there are so many different people and cultures here, they try to accomidate all. I don't know. It's just what my grandmother always fed her dogs and suggest to me to feed. But, Freckles is the only one I feed it to. Oliver has a sensetive stomach, Darcy doesn't like it, and Carson has trouble keeping weight on. I might switch them all to California Natural. I don't know about home cooked or raw. I honestly don't know enough about that to try it with my dogs. I would be afraid I would be giving them not enough of something, or too much, or whatever. I like dog food because you know it is already balanced. Maybe I will bring a can of California Natural over to my grandmother's tonight, as she only lives a few floors above me.

Farlekiin the- Dragonborn
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 1:19pm PST 

ht tp://www.dogfoodanalysis.com


htt p://www.dogaware.com/

Very great sources of info!

Adopt a Dog
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 1:22pm PST 
Thank you so much. I liked the link to the other Dogster thread. That was really informative. I was looking online for some good dog food and I saw one called Mulligan Stew that looks really really good! Have you ever tried or heard of this dog food? I'm going to copy and paste the ingredients if that is okay.

Brown rice
Chicken meal
Chicken liver
Dehydrated alfalfa meal
Flaxseed meal
Herring oil
Dried cane molasses
Natural chicken flavor
Dehydrated cabbage
Inulin (from chicory root)
Dried kelp
Zinc sulfate
Vitamin E supplement
Selenium yeast
Dehydrated horseradish
Mixed tocopherols (natural preservative)
Potassium iodide
Vitamin D3 supplement
Rosemary Extract

Farlekiin the- Dragonborn
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 1:32pm PST 
It looks pretty decent but I'm not sure who manufactures it or how much it costs. I don't think a lot of dogsters have used it here. Maybe someone with some more knowledge about the product can give some input. smile

I know a lot of brands that dogsters really like and have a lot of experience with are Wellness, Acana, Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Go! Natural, Natural Balance, Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Whole Earth Farms, Holistic Select, Chicken Soup, Kirkland Signature, Diamond Naturals, Canidae, Solid Gold, Taste of the Wild, Merrick, etc.

The lesser quality brands are generally considered "junk food" for dogs as opposed to health food. These can include anything by Purina, Pedigree, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams, Royal Canin, etc.

Edited by author Mon May 17, '10 1:39pm PST

Addy, CGC

Let's go for a- walk!
Barked: Mon May 17, '10 2:04pm PST 
Honestly, I would not feed a dog a food in which "cereals" is the first ingredient, there are no named meats, etc. It's possible that nutrition contributes to your aunt's dog's problems.

I would have the tpoo checked out at the vet's, a full work-up included a blood panel. There may be something diagnosable, which would help in knowing what to do .

Another thing I would consider is, how is your aunt feeding her? How many meals? Many smaller dogs do better on three smaller meals a day, rather than two larger ones. For susceptible dogs, the blood sugar drop from the stomach being too empty can cause epileptic seizures.