Expert: Silva Mirovics - 1/9/2008

Question
We have a 12 year old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix named Samantha. Within the last year, she's started having mild seizures. We take her to the vet for her yearly exams and everything comes back fine, so we don't know what's causing these sudden seizures as she's never had them before. We found she has food allergies because we had to switch her dog food last year as she lost some of her hair  due to an allergic reaction from Iams. Now she's on another dog food & her hair has grown back nicely. When she's about to seizure (usually at night) she jumps up from sleeping, starts digging into the floor or couch, then falls onto her side & her entire body goes rigid! If we see her go into the seizure, we comfort her as best we can- she looks straight at us & it's obvious she recognizes us so she's still coherent, but she certainly looks very afraid. The seizures usually last anywhere from 2-5 minutes, and once she peed herself.  Is there a natural remedy you know of that could help her with the seizures?

Answer
Hi Steffany,
It is always best to leave a dog alone while they have their seizure, as it could be dangerous for you (she could bite by mistake).  Certainly comfort her afterwards.  If you are in the USA then you can go to www.petalive.com - they have an all natural seizure formula.  You can also try www.herbal-treatments.com who make herbal products for dogs.
I hope this is helpful.
Thanks,
Silva.