beimpactedbythepHoftheurine.(ThepHdefineshow
acidicoralkalineasubstanceis.)Onestudydocumented
thatdogswhoseurinewasalkalinized(pHincreased)
experiencedamorerapideliminationofphenobarbital
comparedtodogswithmoreacidicurine.

DietarycomponentsinfluencetheurinepH.Prescription

dietsusedtopreventbladderstonesand/orurinecrystal
formationindogsdosobysignificantlyalteringthepHof
theurine.Suchdietsshouldbeusedextremelycautiouslyin
dogsreceivinganti-seizuremedications.Thecombinationof
treatmentshasthepotentialtocauselossofseizurecontrol
atoneextremeandsymptomsofdrugtoxicityattheother.

Dietaryconsiderationswithbromidetherapy.

Potassiumbromideisanothermedicationcommonly
usedtotreatcanineepilepsy.Thebromidecomponentis
interchangeablewithnaturallyoccurringchlorideinthe
body.Thekeyhereisthatthebodymaintainsaconstant
sumofbromideandchloride.So,increasingonewillcausea
decreaseintheother.Forexample,asuddentransitiontoa
high-chloridedietwouldhastentheeliminationofbromide
fromthebody,resultinginlowerlevelsofbromideinthe
bloodstreamandpotentialreductioninseizurecontrol.
Conversely,toxiclevelsofbromideinthebloodstreamcan
occurifchlorideintakeissignificantlyreduced.

Sodiumchloride(salt)isthemajorsourceofdietarychloride.

Consistencyinwhatisfed,includingtreats,isofparamount
importancefordogsreceivingpotassiumbromide.

Dietarysupplements.

Inrecentyearstherehasbeen

muchinterestinhealthbenefitsoftheomega-3fattyacids,
docosahexaenoicacid(DHA)andeicosapentaenoicacid
(EPA).DHA,inparticular,hasbeenfoundtoplayan
importantroleinbraindevelopment.Inepilepticrats,
DHAandEPAhaveaprotectiveeffectonneurologictissues,
perhapsbecauseoftheiranti-inflammatoryproperties.It
hasbeensuggested,butnotdocumented,thatlong-term
administrationofomega-3fattyacidsmayhaveasimilar

effectondogswithepilepsy.Additionally,thesefatty
acidsareknowntoreducehighbloodtriglyceridelevels,
acommonsideeffectofphenobarbitaltherapy.

Taurineisanaminoacid(acomponentofprotein)that

hasbeenshowntohavepossibleanti-seizureproperties.
Astudyusingtaurineinalimitednumberofepilepticcats
documentedimprovedseizurecontrol.Nosuchstudies
havebeenperformedindogs.

Take-homemessages.

Clearly,thereisagreatdeal

moretobelearnedabouthownutritioncaninfluencethe
managementofcanineepilepsy,includingpossibleeffects
ofrawvs.homemadevs.processeddiets.Thelimitedknowl-
edgeavailableatthistimesupportsthefollowing
recommendations:

I

Talkwithyourveterinarianabouttheroledietmay

playinmanagingyourdog’sseizures.

I

Stronglyconsiderdietarysupplementationwith

omega-3fattyacidsforyourepilepticdog,particularlyif
phenobarbitalispartofthetherapy.

I

Ifyourdogisreceivinganti-seizuremedication(s),do

notalterhisorherdietbeforediscussingtheintended
changewithyourveterinarian.

I

Avoidhigh-salttreatsifyourdogreceivespotassium

bromideforseizurecontrol.

I

Donotalterthedosageofyourdog’santi-seizure

med(s)withoutfirstconsultingwithyourveterinarian.

I

Doyourbesttohelpyourdogmaintainahealthy

bodyweight.

I

ThisarticlehasbeenreprintedwiththekindpermissionofauthorNancy
Kay,DVM.Sheisadiplomate,AmericanCollegeofVeterinaryInternal
Medicine,andauthorofSpeakingforSpot:BetheAdvocateYourDog
NeedstoLiveaHappy,Healthy,LongerLifeandYourDog’sBest
Health:ADozenReasonableThingstoExpectFromYourVet.She
canbereachedatdr.kay@speakingforspot.comandhasanonlinepresence
atwww.speakingforspot.com,www.speakingforspot.com/blogand
www.facebook.com/speakingforspot.

SaberTails

IWinter2014

www.pbgv.org

31

PhotobyJaneSwason