Raw Food Diet

Hi J.,
We feed our dog Flint River Ranch dog food, which is all natural dry food (no preservatives), and she hasn't had a seizure in 2+ years. We opted for this route because we couldn't keep up with cooking her food, but you can feed your dog a cooked meal that is tailored for an epileptic animal. A good website to check out is "www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com" for lots of great holistic tips for epileptic dogs, including the recipe for cooking homemade dog food. Good luck!!

Hi -- I think a dog having seizures might be a greater risk to a child than raw food. If your dog is like ours, she probably doesn't have any awareness or control when she's having seizures, which can be dangerous (and scary) for a child. For what it's worth, our dog has responded really well to anti-seizure medication. You might ask your vet whether it could work for you. Ours is a liquid, administered once a day mixed with food. It's not super-expensive -- about $35/month. Good luck.

We also have a dog with seizures and 2 young children in the house. We considered the raw food diet, but thought it would be too much. We give our dog EVO Innova (http://www.naturapet.com/), which is mostly a protein/veggie kibble with no grains, as sometimes the grains can cause seizures. Our dog is also on medication as the seizures were beginning to cluster and come more frequently. Since we started the medication, he has been seizure free for 6 months, and we are now cutting back on the levels. Good Luck!

We have three kids, ages 5, 3, and 9 months, and we have two beagles that eat a raw food diet. We actually get premade raw food rolls for our dogs. I just make sure that we wash our hands really well, and don't let the kids touch the dog dishes. So far we haven't had a problem.

the raw food diet is so good for dogs. good for you for trying it! as far as contamination, you don't want your baby around kibble either, so just take reasonable precautions to keep baby away from the dog food (and with the raw food diet it's not like it just sits there all day like kibble) and you should have no problem. it's a good thing to teach baby 'no!' when he gets close to the dog's feeding area anyway
raw food's really good for humans too.
:) khairete
S.

Hi, J. - I think if you are careful with hand washing, you should be fine. You might want to double check with your pediatrician. N. B.

Dear J.,
In general, a raw food diet is best for both animals as well as for people, though I realize you mean meat for your dog and I mean plant food for humans.
May I suggest an alternative solution? I market a product for dogs which allows them to have the benefit of raw foods while they eat a cooked or process diet.
If you would like to know more, feel free to email me at ____@____.com.
Blessings!
J. F.

J.,
my mom had a or has not sure if she put him down a beagle mix that has seizures and she NEVER gave him raw food at all. have you called your vet?? as for the cild... We always taught the animals dishes were a no no and a gentle hand swat was all that was needed. I have ALWAYS had animals growing up . I even cared for my horse that fouled a few months after i moved with my father to another city. I owned a Brittany Spaniel for 17yrs as well.... i NEVER gave him anything raw meat or oterwise ..... I would call and talk with your vet on this.
ShaunyO

Hi, J..

I had never heard of this raw food concept for animals, so I googled it. I have no experience with this, but I don't think it should be an issue. I would just probably clean your dog's food dish after each meal that he eats IN CASE your son touches it. With that said, as he starts to crawl and walk, I would make the dog's water and food dish a FIRM NO, so that (1) he knows not to mess with any dog's food, even though yours is gentle, others may not be... (2) just in case there is raw meat residue on it. Again, no experience... just what I would do in your shoes....

Take care.