Return to site

Immune Health

The immune system is collaboration between cells, molecules and fluids in the body. When the body is healthy, everything is works well together. When the body has threats, the immune system is stimulated to fight threats and restore health.

The immune system knows when there are threats and it can protect against a lot of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens that challenge the body daily. Unfortunately, our dogs’ bodies are being "overloaded" with dangerous chemicals and pollutants in the environment that their bodies can’t get rid of naturally. When this happens, inflammation appears and the immune system works overtime. Eventually, if the immune system can’t fight it and if topped off with a dog that has a predisposition to cancer or other illnesses, it can create disease.

The goal of prevention is to avoid compromising immune system vs. waiting to treat a condition. Inflammation can appear on their skin, especially since pollutants can enter through their skin. Often dogs can’t tell you what’s going on inside their body and by the time symptoms show up, it’s often too late or a long and hard battle with pain and suffering. Just like in humans, knowing genetics can help you plan your prevention. If the breed has a genetic health issue such as heart disease or cancer, there are many things you can do to keep the immune system in good health.

• Fresh filtered water
• Frequent exercise
• Good quality preservative free food
• Self-awareness of your stress being picked up by your pet
• Supplements and vitamins (I highly recommend working with your vet)
• Limit use of toxic chemicals such as cleaning supplies, air fresheners, laundry detergent, paint, lawn fertilizer, etc.

Here are a few interesting articles I’ve found over the years, along with supplement I found helpful:

Chemicals in Foods
The biggest eye opener for me was an episode on Dr. Oz, which has since been taken down off his website because of a class action lawsuit with Monsanto. The episode example showed how after one ingested conventional sweet potato showed traces of chemicals in urine of a child. That was shocking to me and I kept thinking about how small and delicate our dogs are and how the same chemicals and hormones are in our dogs’ food. I found this article below that speaks to chemicals in our foods:

http://healthybodydaily.com/dr-oz-in-case-you-missed-it/dr-oz-organic-vs-non-organic-pesticide-residue-found-in-kids-urine/