Pets are a huge part of our lives, and dogs are one of our favorite domesticated friends, so it is of the highest importance that we care for them the best we can, and one of the things that can quickly effect the health of our dogs are canine seizures, which is when you can see them visibly shaking at odd times.

If you're wondering technically what a seizure is, it's basically when neurons in the brain just start randomly firing off. The outward signs of this can be anything from a temporary loss of awareness all the way to wild physical thrashing around. Recurring seizures are known as epilepsy, but seizures can still occur without you having that official condition.

Stress is one contributing factor to canine seizures, and it can come in many forms, from random doggy nightmares to being excited about strangers to being threatened by other dogs or animals, or being in physically uncomfortable conditions. Just like people feel stress, dogs feel stress; that's something every pet owner should be aware of.

In addition to stress, dogs can also get a buildup of toxins in their brains, and this may contribute as well. Many times these toxins come from low quality food, which is a far cry from the pre-domestication diet of other animals in their environment. A vet once told me that we are typically now feeding our domesticated pets the equivalent as if we were feeding our children a complete diet of potato chips.

Inside this food there are several things that contribute to toxin buildup including food coloring, dyes, preservatives, antibiotics and artificial flavoring. These unnatural ingredients have chemicals in them that will make their way to the brain eventually, and cause that random firing that results in seizures or other possible discomforts.

There are other reasons than food that a dog may have seizures as well, such as concussions, heartworms, if you have any chemicals or fertilizers around your house, if there are any toxic plants around, etc. There is also the matter of genetics, as certain breeds are more likely than others to fall prey to seizures or other health conditions.

In addition to seizures, dogs in poor health may also have hair loss and shedding, inflammation of areas related to back injuries, joint pain issues, arthritis, low energy, and problems with itching and their ears. All of these health problems are related to each other, just as the case is with regards to people.

So if you want your dog to live a happy and healthy life free of canine seizures, make sure that you know as much as possible about the food that you feed it and whether you are stressing them out or not.