The American Beagler Forum

I have a 5 year old beagle whose epilepsy seems to have gone from 2-3 seizures a year to 2 per month. Although those 2 per month are milder than the 2 -3 he use to get a year, I would rather put him on natural supplements or herbs to help control his condition instead of the traditional drug therapy. Does anyone know where I can find such herbs or information? Thanks, Worf's worried Mom

Dear Asti,
Have you used some of the products listed on Purelypets.com? It looks like a couple of products might be good for Worf, EpiPlus and one of the selections of more natural dog food. I'm not sure that these products will control his seizures but hope that if I invest in them that they will lessen them. I'm at the end of my rope hoping to give poor Worf a better quality of life. Purelypets.com is a very informative site, and I have sent an e-mail to the nutritionist regarding Worf. Thanks for the heads up on the site. I'd like to use a natural method for Worf that I hope will lead to a long quality-filled life for him. With sincere thanks, imagine1701

I use 60mg of Ginko Biloba per day to control my 4yr old 25lb Beagle's ideopathic epilepsy. He was averaging 1-2 grnad mal seizures per month and has not had one inover a year. It has no ill effects on temperament as Phenobarb does.
However, I discovered this "cure" by accident. It has not been researched for humans or animals, but is definitely worth looking into...
On a side note, most forms of epilepsy ARE INDEED GENETIC, and these dogs should be neutered if they have not been already.

Sorry I didn't see your post imagine...I lost a female in '02 to a grand mal and had done some research into it, I wasn't able to save my girl and just wanted to share the info, but I have not tried it.
If the Ginko works for the other beagle, perhaps its worth looking into as well...
The lady that owned the stud dog to my female never told me she had seen other pups out of her male with this condition, and she STILL breeds this dog today! I just got an email from a fella last week asking about epilepsy - he bought a pup from this breeder a year ago, and low & behold.....seizures!
I'll be passing on the Ginko info to him as well...

Good luck with your buddies!

I just got an email from a fella last week asking about epilepsy - he bought a pup from this breeder a year ago, and low & behold.....seizures!

No kiddding???!!!
Do you mind me asking what breeder this is or what the kennel name is? Or what lines this dog is from?You can e-mail me privately at: HoundMusic80@aol.com or send me a PM if you don't want to post to the boards.
I'm always interested in collecting new info on health problems in the breed, and what lines they msot crop up in. If we know better, we can breed better. JMHO.

sorry, should thought I added it is another breed of dog, not the beagles

Epilepsy is considered to be passed genetically, but just because a dog has seizures doesn't mean it's genetic. Epilepsy can be caused by exposure to chemicals or poison, allergic reactions, head trauma, etc - and those can happen several years before the epilepsy actually shows itself. Seizures can also be a sign of a thyroid problem (which also could be genetic) or a brain tumor.