Epilepsy, BHA, BHT

[mhibbs]

Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and was looking to see if anyone else has had any experience with this.

Our older dog, Sele, has epilepsy. She was rescued in 2000, and was believed to be around 1-2 years old then--so that makes her 10 or so now. She used to have seizures more frequently and was put on phenobarbital. Through bloodwork, it was shown that the phenobarb was hardly even registering enough to be working, so we weaned her off of it. Previously, she had seizures fairly often--one to two every few months at least (regardless of being on the phenobarb). At the time, she was eating Pedigree lamb and rice or Alpo prime cuts (I know, not the best choice of food--have since become a wiser pet owner and can afford good food).

I read an article online somewhere when researching epilepsy in dogs trying to help Sele. Interestingly enough, I found that BHA and BHT (both cheap preservatives found in many lower quality dog foods and treats but used widely in human foods) have been correlated with an increased rate of seizures in epileptic dogs. This was around December 22nd of last year that I read this article. So, since we were moving and Sele was getting a new start, we had already decided to start her on a better food. We chose Blue Buffalo after reading good reviews on it and it is free of cheap preservatives. She's had one seizure that we know of since we switched foods (it was shortly after the move, sometime between December 22nd and January 10th). So it's been a year now and she's been seizure free (knock on wood). Now it could be a coincidence that the seizures have stopped based on switching food as she's also living in a slightly less stressful environment (fewer animals, although she loves other animals most of the time). But it seems like the food must have at least part of a role in her not having seizures.

Has anyone else read or experienced anything like this with BHA and BHT?

Here's a picture of her. Some people think she's a dalmatian mix, others see border collie or pointer--who knows

mana and nina.jpg (4.45 KiB) Viewed 942 times

[Bobbie]

Not here.. mine get Canidae, which has neither, and two of them have seizures. I can't say that they wouldn't be worse if they did get something else, but I can't say they wouldn't be better, either.

Interesting, and I'm glad it worked for you.

[axcelle]

Yes, absolutely. My 3 year old mixed breed began suddenly suffering seizures which we eventually linked to the BHT in Beneful. I began cooking for him and was able to successfully wean him off the phenobarb. After a year I started feeding a prepared kibble again, Life4K9, which is completely free of preservatives, mixed with the homemade diet, as well as Blue Buffalo now. He has been seizure free for 2.5 years and off the phenobarb for 1.5 years. My vet was astounded by this and we have saved the lives of several dogs in her practice that we have gotten off of Beneful and other cheap grocery store brands which use dangerous preservatives. We've also "cured" several "epileptic" dogs by changing their food to a healthy kibble or homemade diet.

[CarolC]

axcelle

[Bobbie]

Someone else told me their dog went seizure free after switching to raw. We have been using a grain-free but over the last few weeks were using up some California Natural which does have grain, so maybe there is something to that.

However, stress is a huge factor so I'd be inclined to think your move to a lower stress environment had as much or more impact.