Seizures and epilepsy in dogs and cats can be overwhelming, but a holistic approach focuses on calming the nervous system, reducing triggers, and supporting overall health. Through balanced nutrition, natural supplements, and stress management, pet parents can often improve their pet’s comfort and quality of life while working alongside veterinary care.
Feed a raw or gently cooked keto diet. Absolutely no kibble. Pets who are prone to seizures should not eat foods with rosemary extract.
CBD and Medicinal Mushrooms (15% off coupon; SAVINGPETS) can be very beneficial.
MCT oil can help reduce seizure frequency.
18 VITAL NATURAL TIPS FOR DOGS SUFFERING SEIZURES…THE 2024 LIST
Every year we have to update our list of essential tips for seizure sufferers, and this year is no different. Folks always want to know what we can put IN to stop them, but with seizures, as with so many diseases, what we take OUT is often more important. You must stop fueling the disease. Hence the first 5 are all stuff you should avoid:
REMOVE ALL DRY FOOD
Studies show it’s highly inflammatory, spiking homocysteine and IgA in dogs What are the inflammatory factors? There are many. First, many of these products contain wheat gluten (the exact compound is gliadomorphin, which, as the name suggests, is a morphine-based compound…). Wheat is forbidden for seizure sufferers. Further, studies show ultra-processed kibble is rife with mycotoxins from poor-quality grain and reactive particles such as AGEs from over-processing, both of which can drive seizures in pets. Then there are the poor-quality fats, chemical preservatives, and myriad of chemical compounds used in production (recently dry food was found to be rich in forever chemicals) all of which can play a role and none of which make your pet food label. As they say, if you can’t pronounce it, don’t feed it to seizure patients.
REMOVE CRAP TREATS
Wheat gluten gives dental sticks their toughness. In others, it’s casein from dairy (the active ingredient there being caseinomorphin, another morphine-based compound). Can’t feed them. In fact, remove all chemically preserved treats and yes, this might mean plain meat treats you didn’t make yourself. Think about it – how is it staying so fresh for so long in that warm, paper or plastic box in the pet shop? A lot of pig’s ears, dried meat, and bone products come from lands far away and studies show they can contain toxic chemicals that can lay out your pet. You can find healthy treats here.
REMOVE UNNECESSARY PARASITE CONTROL
This means removing all chemical flea & worm control (your pup has bigger issues now than the parasites he doesn’t have…and seizures are listed as a very possible side effect of these compounds. For natural flea, tick, and worm ideas, please see our flea/tick, heartworm and worm page.
QUESTION UNNECESSARY BOOSTERS
Also,, give very, very serious consideration to their need of boosters, as your vet largely is not. There is zero evidence that vaccines for viruses wear off after 1 or even 3 years; did you know that? And, despite the assurances, they are far from side-effect-free (hence it says on the pack that they are NOT to be given to animals with inflammatory conditions…), especially for small dogs who get the same dose as a Great Dane. Titre test your already-vaccinated seizure pet instead. More here.
Heads up, vaccines for bacteria (eg Leptospirosis) DO wear off, but then that one has some very major questions concerning not only efficacy but safety.
REMOVE HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS
Multiple studies now prove that the forever chemicals so many of us use with abandon in our homes (chemical cleaners, plug-in air fresheners, scented candles, outdoor chemicals…) accumulate in pets to a far higher degree than they do us.
Remove all of them and consider cleaning your home and bedding with PROBIOTIC products. Visit our pet safe household products page for safe products to use in your home.
NEUTERING HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON SEIZURES
FEED REAL FOOD – GET THEM INTO KETO
As ever, feed a fresh, meat and bone diet (full of fresh, unadulterated protein and bioactive compounds, low sugar and salt, fresh fats, free of chemicals and preservatives, etc.). I advise going with red meats, grass-fed, eg beef and lamb. Poultry is fed grain and crap. These meats are also higher in fat, which will move your dog to keto, which, studies show, reduces your risk of seizures, something we have known for 50 years. You think it’s different for meat eaters?!!
Awesome raw masterclass here for newbies.
ADD CBD
CBD (15% OFF COUPON: SAVINGPETS) from hemp or from that plant everyone smokes (if I mention it, this post gets banned in Canada…honestly…) is incredibly effective at reducing seizures. Look at the amount of studies supporting it . Your dog needs around 1–5 mg of CBD for every 5kg (12 pounds) of body weight per day.
ADD OMEGA 3
Good fats are CRUCIAL to controlling seizures. To this end, I recommend a good, therapeutic dose of omega-3 as dozens of high-quality studies show it’s awesome for seizure reduction. To this end, avoid the shitty, cheaper oils which can actually give more issues than they fix and jump straight to Algal Oil (often called “Vegan Omega-3” online). This is algae grown in glass tubes in a desert. It’s the same price give or take but is much cleaner. Keep it in the fridge, use it quickly. Your dog needs around 100mg per 1kg of body weight per day. Give that for a few weeks, then drop to half the dose.
ADD MCT OIL
Check out this meta-review of available data on how effective MCT oil (that’s the fats from coconut oil, stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides) .
Crucially, all dogs used in these studies were considered drug “non-responders” and no side effects were found:
“In one study, 10 of 21 dogs (47%) had more than 50% reduction in seizure frequency, with three dogs becoming seizure-free.”
“A nonblinded study investigated the effects of a 6.5% MCT commercial diet in dogs with epilepsy and found a reduction in seizure frequency by 33% over a 3‐month period.”
“9 of 21 dogs (43%) had more than 50% reduction in seizure frequency, including two dogs becoming seizure-free.”
Again, the dose used in these studies was similar – that is, 5% of the diet (or 9% of daily metabolic energy requirement, for the nerds).
As with omega-3, feel free to drop to half the dose after 3-4 weeks or when improvements are seen.
ADD VITAMIN E
With your pet now on a moderate-to-high fat diet (by the time you consider the omega 3 and MCT oil additions…) your pet needs vitamin E to help control the fat levels. The dose is 50 International Units (IU) for small dogs, 200IUs for medium dogs and up to 400IU for large-giants dogs.
Now, these requirements are based on dogs stool synthetic vitamin E supplements. You need less of the real stuff, so it gets a bit grey here.
EG10g of sunflower seeds might give you 5IU of vitamin E, if you can digest it all….meaning a small dog would need to eat 100g to get his daily fix!). A natural source such as wheat germ oil is great but you have to feed a lot of it to get the vit E hit needed here, so that’s not ideal in a higher fat diet. But again, the RDA isn’t to be trusted (it could be 50% less for the real stuff).
It’s hard to say today what a good Vitamin E supplement is. It used to be just tocopherols, now they also contain tocotrienols but we know this is still only 50% of the vitamin / hormone complex.
You’re probably looking at a sunflower oil reduction-type product for the best “natural-ish”, purified source that we see many more natural pet foods using as their antioxidant today. I’m struggling to love that idea though. I’m currently recommending this stuff today , but I’m not wed to it as I realise I’m a touch confused on this one today, truth be told.
HOMEOPATHIC BELLADONNA
Another worthy addition is homoeopathic belladonna. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Especially when in dose it induces seizures!!! But the dose is the key. In minute, homoeopathic doses I guess it works like antivenom. Supportive studies here.
To this end, natural vets have all sorts of stuff up their wizard’s sleeves. Find a list of some that do Zoom consults here.
Also, go to our veterinary referral page for vets we have that do online consults.
PROBIOTICS
I used to recommend over-the-counter probiotics for seizures as, studies show, they can help .
This shouldn’t surprise us, the gut flora are very much suspected to be at play. The reason we know this is because a gut flora reset by Faecal Microbial Transplantation capsules is shown to virtually eliminate seizures in many patients.
If it were my dog, I would try FMT as the whole, healthy biome (bacteria and yeast, at least the air-breathing kind) from a healthy patient offers better long-term prospects to the patient when compared to one or two species made in a lab.
I like the capsules made by Legacy Biome (15% coupon: savingpets).
CONSIDER TAURINE / EPITOR
Bren is always going on about Epitor so there must be something to it. It’s essentially the amino acids taurine and tyrosine with some vitamin B2 and zinc. Well worth a shot as Bren knows his stuff here (but don’t tell him I said that).
Others simply reach for taurine and tyrosine supplements and I have heard good things.
CLEAN UP THE MOUTH
Bad oral hygiene, gingivitis and periodontitis are very significantly related to increases in seizure severity in (human) patients with epilepsy.
Raw meaty bones do it cheaply and safely, here’s how.
For all other cases, I recommend Dr Brady’s Dental. It’s AWESOME at naturally cleaning teeth (or your money back).
2 parts L-taurine and L-tyrosine to 1 part L-tryptophan added to her dinner every day.
Visit our dental page for more tips.
DON’T FORGET ELECTROLYTES
Your dog would benefit from having a choice of electrolytes now as seizures drain them. As opposed to adding them to his food (we don’t know how much of what they need), you can add the most important ones to water and they will select it themselves based on smell (called Zoo Pharma Cognosy). To do this, you might leave out 3 bowls of water (anything but plastic). In one is fresh water, in the second some water with some good, raw salt dissolved in (eg sea salt, teaspoon per 500ml of water), and in the third one try adding “magnesium water” (available in all health shops).
IF ON SEIZURE MEDS, STUDIES SHOW THEY ADD HEAVY METALS WHICH ARE CLEARLY INFLAMMATORY
DogRisk loves doing studies on seizure dogs. Two that stand out are this one and this one which both show the erratic mineral contents in seizure dogs but, perhaps more importantly, suggest anti-seizure meds, specifically potassium bromide, might affect trace arsenic metabolism in the dog. This is very bad news long-term for such dogs. Chlorella binds arsenic from their system.
In line with the above, don’t add to food but offer it on the side. Mix a teaspoon with a drop or two of water to make into a paste. This will bind nasties from the gut. If the dog wants /needs it, they’ll take it. Feed separate to meds (if meds in the morning, offer it in the evening).
Written by Dr. Barbara Fox
Vaccinations are to be given to healthy animals ONLY. This means that if your dog or cat has a chronic medical condition, including such things as diabetes, autoimmune disease, allergies, seizures, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc., it is NOT healthy and should not be vaccinated. The insert that comes with a tray of vaccine vials states “…for immunization of healthy animals…”
Vaccines are not composed of just the inactivated or modified pathogen (i.e. distemper virus) and saline. There may be up to twenty-two other additives, including such constituents as:
These components can cause serious adverse reactions. They can lead to chronic disease because once injected into the body, they remain in the body for years, sometimes for the entire lifespan of the animal (or person).
ASIA = “Autoimmune Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants” is a very real condition recognized by the National Institute of Health and can affect people and animals post-vaccination. This is where the adjuvants (namely, aluminum) cause serious inflammation of any or all organ systems. Aluminum is highly inflammatory and is difficult to leach out of the body once it enters.
Always ask for an adjuvant-free vaccine if possible. Research homeopathic remedies that you can use prior to and after vaccinations to help detox your pet’s body.
If your pet has ANY illness or disease, it should NOT be vaccinated. Ask your veterinarian for a medical exemption. If he or she will not write one, find a new doctor.
No veterinarian should be unwilling to write an exemption if an animal is ill or is old and frail.
However, a medical exemption will only work IF the boarding or grooming facility will ACCEPT an exemption. It is up to the individual facility to deny or honor your request.
They also must abide by state laws, and unannounced visits from state inspectors are commonplace. If the facility has not been abiding by the laws, the owner can be fined. In the worst case scenario, the business can be shut down temporarily or even permanently. They are between a rock and a hard spot on the vaccine issues.
Vaccine titers are an excellent way of checking your pet’s immune status. Titers are blood tests that check for antibodies against a specific disease (i.e. distemper or parvo). If a dog has sufficient antibodies against parvovirus, for example, it would not need to be re-vaccinated until the levels fall low enough where a booster may be warranted.
Essential oils can offer gentle support for calming the nervous system, helping maintain emotional steadiness and reduce stress-related triggers. They do not treat or cure seizures, but they may help encourage a more balanced and regulated nervous system.
Key Benefits
Recommended Essential Oils
These essential oils work best as part of a holistic plan, alongside appropriate veterinary care, to support calm, emotional balance, and nervous system harmony in dogs prone to seizures.
Recommended Essentials Oils Products:
Dr. Judy Morgan (2025 Holistic Veterinarian of the Decade): “This Drug Might Cause Seizures.”
“Feline Epilepsy – Causes, Symptoms and How To Support Your Cat” by The Adored Beast Team.
Dr. Judy Morgan (2025 Holistic Veterinarian of the Decade): “Causes and Treatments for Seizures in Pets.”
“Supplementing for a Dog with Seizures” by Dr. Judy Jasek.
“Seizure or Syncope” by Dr. Judy Morgan.
Dr. Judy Morgan (2025 Holistic Veterinarian of the Decade): “Let’s Talk About Seizures.”
If you have a question on this topic that wasn’t answered here, we invite you to ask it in our Facebook group.
While diet alone is not a cure for seizures, nutrition can play an important role in supporting overall brain and nervous system health. Many pet parents choose fresh, species-appropriate diets that avoid artificial preservatives, dyes, and highly processed ingredients. Working with your veterinarian can help ensure your pet receives balanced nutrition while managing an underlying seizure disorder.
Stay calm and keep your pet safe by moving objects away that could cause injury. Do not put your hands near your pet’s mouth. Time the seizure if possible and observe any unusual behaviors before or after the event. Contact your veterinarian immediately if the seizure lasts more than five minutes, multiple seizures occur close together, or it is your pet’s first seizure.
Some holistic veterinarians recommend supplements that support neurological health, such as omega-3 fatty acids, medicinal mushrooms, MCT oil, magnesium, and antioxidant-rich foods. Because every pet is different, supplements should be introduced carefully and discussed with your veterinarian, especially if your pet is taking anti-seizure medications.
This is what we would do:
Diet Recommendations
Product Recommendations
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