Iams dog food is a popular commercial brand of dog food claiming to include healthy ingredients to support a strong animal. Despite its popularity, Iams has been accused of causing sickness and even death in many dogs and cats.
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Seizures
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A seizure is an involuntary change in behavior. When a dog has a seizure it loses control of its muscles and sometimes its bladder, along with loss of consciousness or sensation, according to purelypets.com. Some signs of a seizure include salivating, urinating, loss of consciousness, violent shaking, muscle twitching, stiffness and altered vision. A seizure can last anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes and can be very scary for both you and your dog.
Causes
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Some common causes of seizures include brain tumors, genetic factors, low blood sugar, liver disease, exposure to chemicals or lead, vaccinations, head trauma and renal failure.
A veterinarian can run tests to determine why your dog is having seizures. He will rule out any underlying conditions that may be causing them and can decide if medication is needed to inhibit seizures from happening as often.
Dog Food
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The only time a dog food may cause a dog to have a seizure is if the dog is allergic to an ingredient in the food. Callofthedog.com states that dog foods use many chemicals and preservatives in their foods, and if your dog has an allergic reaction to them, it could result in a seizure.
Pet Food Related Diseases
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There are many diseases and sicknesses that can be related to a dog's nutrition and the ingredients contained within the food. Some of these can include kidney disease, obesity, urinary tract disease, heart disease, chronic problems with digestion, and hyperthyroidism.
Most commercial dog foods do not contain healthy ingredients that your dog's body requires. Commercial pet food companies often use animal byproducts, diseased meat, corn (which should not be fed to a dog) and many chemicals and preservatives.
Natural, homemade raw diets are the best foods to give to your dog.
Iams Dog Food
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In 2007, Iams was one of the many pet food brands that were recalled. Over 100 brands of dog and cat food were recalled due to animals becoming sick and even dying from renal failure. Cats were affected more than dogs, and there were 77,000 reported cases of sickened animals due to pet food. A chemical called melamine was put into the food to boost the protein content, and this is what caused the animals to become ill, according to bornfreeusa.org.
Since the recall, many consumers speculated that their dog had seizures due to Iams food; however, there has been no scientific evidence of the relationship between the seizures and the dog food. The consumers who made these accusations had not received a diagnosis of the cause of the seizures from a veterinarian.
Consumers have also accused Iams of causing severe diarrhea in their pet.
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