Rosemary and seizures

[dwerten]

yep it was me as i am very strict with my dogs diet after dexter almost died of pancreatitis and one night i was lazy and bought a rotisserie chicken that was rosemary so it was real potent and when i tasted it all i could taste was rosemary. Demi had no health issues at all ever for 4 1/2 years and i always added organic baked chicken with her food so being lazy i added a few pieces of the rosemary chicken that night and 12 hrs later almost exactly demi came to me and put her legs on my knees as if to pick her up and she opened her mouth and i saw bile in back of mouth as if to throw up and i set her down to vomit and she fell on her side and went stiff. I freaked and picked her up and she stood stiff and would not move - it was scary and read up and that is a petit mal as grand mal they convulse and petit they go stiff. I knew it was the rosemary as i had read not to give rosemary to dogs prone to seizures but demi was healthy so did not think anything of it so i knew that caused her to act that way. Her food is newman's own organic and it has rosemary and she has never had any reaction like this before so i think the rosemary was so potent it triggered it. So two weeks later i used the petzlife gel and that has rosemary in it and 12 hrs later she started vomitting so we stopped that too. Still on the food but i think the amount is so minute it has not caused issues but i wanted to wait for dental to switch foods so I may be switching her to natural balance. Still investigating but if you check rosemary is in alot of treats and dog food I believe it is a natural preservative is why. I was glad it occured before she went under anesthesia so i could warn them in doing propofol over ket/val. I am so glad my post helped in confirming this as that was my first post here as my friend who is on her and who referred me here wanted me to post here after it happened to demi but no one responded so i figured no one ever saw this occur in a maltese before. It was wild as demi has been totally healthy and blood work ok except her teeth issues

[dwerten]

here is some info on it

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels...ealthy_diet.htm

http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com/t...-dog-food.html

http://www.gentlecarepet.com/whatis_seizures_epilepsy

http://thebarfblog-emily.blogspot.com/2008...s-epilepsy.html

this one brings up another point i have read on is turkey meat is not good to give dogs prone to seizures as i believe the triptofan (spelling?) in it triggers something with them - see below

http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/2008/09/c...izure-faqs.html

I have even gone so far as to not use any shampoos or conditioners with lavender or rosemary in it as what is put on skin is absorbed into the body and blood therefore i will not take any chances with those two herbs

I have also read to avoid grains in dogs with epilepsy as that can trigger the seizures

I am on 55 dog groups and try to read alot after having 2 with health issues and now demi with the dental situation I have had to learn alot to be their best advocate

[KAG]

Thanks so much for the info, Brit.

Debbie, you're amazing!!
xoxoxoxo

[bonniesmom]

Thanks to Brit and Debbie for this valuable information! It's amazing what you can learn on SM.

[KAG]

Holy crap! Innova dry small bites has rosemary extract in it.

[Cosy]

QUOTE (dwerten @ Nov 15 2008, 10:03 PM)

yep it was me as i am very strict with my dogs diet after dexter almost died of pancreatitis and one night i was lazy and bought a rotisserie chicken that was rosemary so it was real potent and when i tasted it all i could taste was rosemary. Demi had no health issues at all ever for 4 1/2 years and i always added organic baked chicken with her food so being lazy i added a few pieces of the rosemary chicken that night and 12 hrs later almost exactly demi came to me and put her legs on my knees as if to pick her up and she opened her mouth and i saw bile in back of mouth as if to throw up and i set her down to vomit and she fell on her side and went stiff. I freaked and picked her up and she stood stiff and would not move - it was scary and read up and that is a petit mal as grand mal they convulse and petit they go stiff. I knew it was the rosemary as i had read not to give rosemary to dogs prone to seizures but demi was healthy so did not think anything of it so i knew that caused her to act that way. Her food is newman's own organic and it has rosemary and she has never had any reaction like this before so i think the rosemary was so potent it triggered it. So two weeks later i used the petzlife gel and that has rosemary in it and 12 hrs later she started vomitting so we stopped that too. Still on the food but i think the amount is so minute it has not caused issues but i wanted to wait for dental to switch foods so I may be switching her to natural balance. Still investigating but if you check rosemary is in alot of treats and dog food I believe it is a natural preservative is why. I was glad it occured before she went under anesthesia so i could warn them in doing propofol over ket/val. I am so glad my post helped in confirming this as that was my first post here as my friend who is on her and who referred me here wanted me to post here after it happened to demi but no one responded so i figured no one ever saw this occur in a maltese before. It was wild as demi has been totally healthy and blood work ok except her teeth issues [/B]

I read it and was just too busy trying to help my daughter's maltese to respond, but as you see, I didn't forget!
Thanks to you and your findings her little maltese is well and no sign of seizures.
I do remember reading dogs do not have to be epileptic to seize from the rosemary extract but can have a sensitivity to it. I wonder how many other herbs, foods, etc., could be causing such harm.

[harrysmom]

Thanks for posting this.... with Harry's medical issues, I have to be very aware of what he eats... so I
appreciate any and all food warnings.

Thanks,

Debbie

[susie and sadie]

Thank you so much for posting this information! I'd never heard of this.

[jasmyne's mom]

QUOTE (Susie and Sadie @ Nov 16 2008, 08:40 AM)

Thank you so much for posting this information! I'd never heard of this.[/B]

Me either. Thanks for posting this!

[abbey]

Brit~ Thanks for posting this! I am going to throw out the Eukanuba food I've been feeding Abbey. The store was out of Solid Gold Wee bites, so I picked this up. Abbey had a seizure in June & another in October. Abbey is very healthy, blood work checking out...etc. I'm not taking chances...so that food is going out in the garbage. Thanks again, Brit!