Question:
In a previous column, you mentioned that wheat gluten could cause seizures in some dogs. Do you know whether there are some ingredients in which wheat gluten is "hidden"?We don't feed our dog anything with wheat gluten listed on the ingredients. But what about things like wheat flour, wheat bran, etc.? Is wheat gluten present in those and other foods? Is wheat gluten the only kind of gluten that can cause seizures in some dogs? We often see things like corn-gluten meal and wonder about that.Our 6-year-old dog, Yon, has had seizures for several years. They were becoming more frequent and longer in duration. As soon as I read your column, I checked the ingredients of Yon's food, and wheat gluten was in some of it. So we got rid of everything that had wheat gluten on the list of ingredients. Yon went for almost a year with only two seizures (that we witnessed), and they were brief compared to others. He's recently begun having them again, but they're not as long in duration as previously. We're wondering whethe
D.K., La Plata, Md Jan 14, 2007
Answer:
It was a Swedish veterinary research report put out several years ago, as I recall, that linked wheat gluten with seizures in some dogs. Other wheat products may contain some gluten, so it's best to avoid all wheat ingredients in dogs prone to seizures, just in case wheat is the culprit. Highly processed commercial pet foods may also contain undesirable additives like "natural flavor enhancers" -- i.e., monosodium glutamate, which can also cause some dogs to have seizures.Of course, there are many other factors that can cause dogs to have seizures, and only too often the cause is never determined. Try my basic home-prepared, wheat-free diet for dogs, listed on my Web site at http://www.twobitdog.com/drfox.
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