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Natural Ways to Improve Your Dogs Immune System

By Paula Fitzsimmons

A malfunctioning immune system in dogs can open the door to a host of diseases, such as infection, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and cancer. Keeping your dogs immune system balanced can help reduce these risks, and contribute to overall health and well-being, according to veterinary experts.

The immune system acts like a nonstop housekeeper, describes Dr. Donna Raditic, an American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) diplomate who does consulting on nutrition and integrative veterinary medicine in Athens, Georgia. It identifies potentially harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, then works to eliminate them before they can do harm. And a dogs immune system monitors cells to ensure theyre working properly. When other cells are aging or functioning abnormallysuch as a cancer cell reproducing too rapidlythe immune system attempts to step in and maintain proper physiological function and balance, Raditic explains.

When this system is compromised, your dog may become increasingly vulnerable to illness. An immune system thats off-kilter for an extended period can lead to chronic inflammation, which, in turn, can forge a path for disease. Diabetes, osteoarthritis, some liver and heart conditions, asthma, and cancer are just some of the diseases connected to inflammation, says Dr. Ken Tudor, a holistic veterinarian and founder of The Well Dog Place in Claremont, California.

Fortunately, there are some simple, natural steps you can take to strengthen your dogs immune system.

Encourage Your Dogs Innate Love for Play

Keeping your dog fit is one of the best ways to boost immune health and promote overall well-being, Tudor says. Storing excess fat weakens the immune system, he explains. Fat is the bodys largest endocrine gland, responsible for secreting more than 40 different inflammation-promoting hormones, he continues. Even the smallest amount of excess fat can increase the amount of these hormones in the body. Exercise burns fat, which can help counter inflammation, and thus the occurrence of disease.

Dogs are naturally active, so adequate exercise and play are important to their health. But exercise doesnt have to be a chore. In fact, it should be fun, says Dr. Laurie Coger, a holistic veterinarian and owner of The Healthy Dog Workshop. Activities she suggests trying with your canine companion include retrieving, playing, doing scent work, and learning tricks.

Ideally, any exercise program should be approved by your vet and based on your dogs age, breed, and general health. Generally speaking, if your dog is not doing a 15-minute mile, hes not burning enough calories, Tudor says.

Feed Your Dog the Right Foods

Your dogs diet is a cornerstone of good immune health. The gut contains about 70 percent of your immune system explains Dr. Susan Wynn, an ACVN diplomate who practices at BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospital in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The gut also contains your microbiomethe collection of hundreds of species of bacteriaand the bacterial balance in the microbiome is heavily influenced by the diet.

Coger says dogs are designed to eat a moist, meat-based diet, yet commercial dry foods are comprised of at least 40 percent starch. The problem with starches, she explains, is that they promote inflammation. In Cogers experience, vegetable and legume starches, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and lentils, are not as acidifying and inflammatory as starchy grains. Coger recommends a grain-free, starch-free (if possible) diet that also includes some fresh meat and vegetables.

Wynn adds that a diet containing a reasonable amount of good fiber and live bacteria from fresh foods is important to maintaining a healthy microbiome. As an example, many raw diets that contain only meat and bone do not support the best microbiome for dogs, she says.

Nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The best way to ensure your dog is eating an optimal immune-strengthening diet is to ask your veterinarian, Raditic recommends. We have nutrition guidelines provided by research, but these apply to what we call the generic dog and cat, not the individual, she says. Your veterinarian will understand these guidelines, but then must evaluate the individual patient and determine if these guidelines should be modified.

Consider Certain Supplements For Your Dog

To increase the effectiveness of the immune system, you may consider supplementing your dogs diet with certain nutrients. But Coger advises against buying a supplement for every possible condition. Giving your dog many different products makes it easy to overdo some ingredients, and conflicting ingredients can interfere with absorption, she warns.

Supplements that Coger does recommend are probiotics, which are coveted because they introduce beneficial microorganisms into the digestive tract. As Tudor explains, Healthy gut flora promotes improved gut immunity, which has shown to promote improved internal immunity.

If youre considering supplementing your dogs diet with probiotics, keep in mind that the canine microbiome differs from ours. So giving them the same supplement that you take, or treating them to a serving of yogurt, is probably not going to benefit them. A better alternative is to consult with your vet about dosing and appropriate probiotic species and strains.

Another supplement to consider is fish oil, which contains inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids. Tudor says fatty acids are essential because they temper the inflammatory response. Getting adequate amounts via diet can be tricky, however, so he recommends giving your dog a fish oil supplement.

Tudor also recommends curcumin, the active ingredient present in turmeric. Aside from containing anti-cancer properties, curcumin is also an anti-inflammatory and a pain reliever, he says.

When considering any supplement, understand that not all brands are created equally, Raditic says. There have been studies where they looked at probiotics, for instance, and some did not contain what was on the label, some contained inactive bugs or wrong names, she says. Its buyer beware.

Coger advises buying from well-known companies that use high-quality ingredients and whose products are tested for purity. She says the presence of a National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) seal on a label is a good indicator that the product youre buying is genuine.

Harness the Healing Power of Dog Massage

Touch, massage, and similar methods can be beneficial for dogs because they promote relaxation and healing, which, in turn, affect overall health, Coger says. While there is limited veterinary research on the effects of massage on animals, human-based studies have shown that massage can reduce levels of stress hormones in the body. In addition, a research review published in 2014 stated that moderate pressure massage contributes to enhanced immune function (increased natural killer cells and natural killer cell activity) among many other positive effects. Although we cant be sure, it seems reasonable to think that dogs could experience similar benefits from massage.

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3 Easy Ways To Naturally Clean Your Dogs Teeth At Home

In this article, we shall discuss how to clean your dogs teeth naturally at home by using all homemade ingredients. This ensures the best health for your dog.

Its exciting to teach various commands like sit and stay to your dog and there are a lot of online resources for the same including my article on sit and stay with distractions.

However, being a parent, its your responsibility to keep your dogs teeth clean for the reasons we list below in this article. Cleaning the dogs teeth is not that simple as playing games, a lot of care goes into keeping healthy teeth. The list includes:

• Dog Teeth Cleaning Treats
• Dog Toothpaste
• DIY Dog Mouthwash

Dont worry, weve got all the possible ways that you need to know in this article. The information covers topics from bad breath to plaque. We even have some easy tips for you listed below. So brace yourself and bookmark us in case you need to reference any of the information at a later stage

Plaque in Dogs Teeth: Why Does It Happen?

Every dentist has some sort of info-graphic in their clinic about plaque. If you havent read it or want to know about it in context of your dog then dont worry, weve got you covered. A very simple explanation of what is plaque and how it builds up in dogs teeth is described below:

All living beings eat food and your dog is no different. Every time the dog eats those treats, cupcakes or his favorite recipe, sticky plaque starts to builds up on the teeth. Plaque itself is a film of bacteria.

This population of bacteria starts to party on the food that is left in the mouth or stuck within the teeth. Over time, plaque starts to thicken and takes the form of tartar.

Tartar can lead to periodontal disease in which the gums in the mouth start to pull away and hence causes weakness in teeth. It also causes pain, infection, inflammation and can even lead to tooth loss.

It is important that we mention here that in dogs teeth, once plaque has built up, it takes 36 hours for it to turn into Tartar. So the problem can become serious quite fast and that is why the complete knowledge of keeping dogs teeth plaque free is so important.

Why You Should Remove Plaque from Dogs Teeth

1. You want to stop wasting resources

You will be surprised to know that once plaque has turned into tartar, removing it yourself wont be possible. Removing Tartar requires you to take the dog to a professional vet clinic/hospital where your pet is treated by first giving him anesthesia.

The bill for this professional Tartar removing service can pinch you hard. Moreover all this time, pain and money can be easily saved by taking care in the first place!

Removal of tartar requires scraping dogs teeth which is a skill in itself. Check the following video for the same:

2. Get rid of doggie bad teeth breath

As told above, Plaque is a film of bacteria, which gives bad breath to your dog. By avoiding the formation of plaque on your dogs teeth, you and everyone can enjoy your dogs company without any bad breath issues.

3. Add more years to your dogs life

Bacteria is never good. It will also affect the overall health of the dog. You can easily give 2-5 years of life to your dog by taking care of his teeth. Think about it, a daily routine of cleaning teeth that takes so less time can give a healthy life to your beloved four-legged family member.

The golden years will be full of dignity and less pain for your pet. By removing plaque from your dogs teeth, you will add more years to his life! Ive written a complete hands-on experience about how I took care of my senior dog and explained all issues and solutions in one good article.

Easy DIY Solutions for How to Clean Dog Teeth Without Brushing

Today I am going to be teaching you three DIY recipes to freshen your dogs breath and clean his teeth. If you search the internet, you will find a lot of ready to use products on Amazon.

The list of problems that can arise in your dogs teeth has already been covered a lot.

These ready to use products in the market are usually advertised as aids to keep the dogs teeth clean. But what you learn here will be made of natural ingredients and no chemicals.

As a side note, if you want to check on skin solutions for your dog then follow my article on this website only at skin allergies solutions.

Home Recipes for Cleaning Dog Teeth

I have 3 recipes to share which are very simple to make and use. I shall give complete details on how to make them at home and also how to use them with your dog so that he likes these and wants more quantity. These are tried and tested by me and you can just trust them with full confidence.

I just want to emphasize here that the ingredients used in all recipes are commonly found in every household and I have tried to make it very easy to follow.

#1: Natural Dog Teeth Cleaning Treats

There are also ready to use breath treats available on Amazon

So were going to make some fresh breath mint and parsley treats.The first ingredient is 1/2 cup of coconut oil. Now we could handle coconut oil in two different ways depending upon if the silicone molds tray is to be used or not.

1. For this recipe, were going to melt the coconut oil, because we shall pour the final mixture into the silicone tray for molds (shown in the above picture).
2. If you dont have the silicone mold, you can also leave the coconut oil as it is in the bowl. You will still add in the other ingredients as described below. In this case, youll just roll treats into balls (the only difference is shape of treats here).

Coconut oil is usually in a frozen state, we will melt it in the microwave. Coconut oil is good for your dogs skin and coat. It also helps with fighting plaque and tartar on their teeth.

The next ingredient required in this dog teeth cleaning treats recipe is 1/4 cup of parsley. Now parsley is good at fighting the bacteria in their mouth. And then, an 1/8 of a cup of mint, and mint is just to help freshen their breath.

So were just going to stir this together. And once its stirred and everything is mixed together, we shall pour the mixture into the silicone trays. We have the silicone tray on a cookie sheet because its easier to transfer into the freezer without spilling it.

So once we have all of the ingredients mixed together, as I said, coconut oil, parsley, and mint. We will just pour them into the silicone trays. Once we got everything poured into the silicone molds, the last step is to add ground turmeric. Turmeric is really good, its anti-inflammatory, a natural antibacterial, and its all around, its good for all of their organs.

We shall sprinkle turmeric on top of each treat. We dont need too much. When we got all of this done, we need to put the silicone tray in the refrigerator until the treats harden.

If you did it the other way without using the silicone molds and rolling the treats into the balls. Then also the same thing needs to be done, sprinkle turmeric on top of the balls, and keep them in the refrigerator.

Watch these videos for more in-depth recipes on teeth cleaning treats:

My dogs always go crazy over these whenever I take them out of the refrigerator.

#2: DIY Dog Mouthwash

So for this next recipe, were going to make a DIY dog mouthwash. Its a really simple recipe. Firstly, were just going to start off with about four cups of water. To this water, we need to add fresh parsley. Mince the parcely, but not too finely, just so that its easier to strain after we boil it.

We have about 10 mint leaves that we just chopped up a little bit to get that flavor out of them. Next, we need to boil this mixture for about 5 to 10 minutes, to get all those flavors into the water. And then, well come back and strain it, and show you how to use it.

For me personally, the average boil time for this doggy mouthwash is about seven minutes. We let it cool and then we strain the leaves out.

As you can see in the picture above, its green in color, from the mint and the parsley. And then we shall pour it into the spray bottle.

The dog mouthwash smells really good and fresh. You can use this mouthwash by spraying it on your dogs teeth daily. And youll use it until their breath freshens pretty much.

And as soon as they start to get bad breath again, you can bring it out and start spraying it on their teeth. Well, thats how you use the doggy mouthwash.

If you want to use a ready to use the product then this dog mouthwash spray on Amazon is also ok to use.

#3: How to Make and Use Baking Soda Based Dog Toothpaste

Alright, so this third recipe is a DIY toothpaste recipe for the dogs. We start off with three springs of fresh parsley. Then we add three mint leaves, two teaspoons of coconut oil, two teaspoons of water, two tablespoons of baking soda. We also add 1/2 of a teaspoon of salt, one beef bouillon which is added just for the flavor.

Then we shall sprinkle some ground turmeric. This toothpaste isnt meant to be like the consistency of human toothpaste.

It is going to be a little bit grittier and a little bit wetter, and thats good enough. I have also heard good things about Petrodex Enzymatic Toothpaste available on Amazon here.

We shall grind this up in the Ninja Bullet/Blender, and then Ill tell you how to use it. We can put the toothpaste into a plastic bag for storage which makes it easier to dispense into these awesome toothbrushes (shown in the picture below). You can get these toothbrushes in the nearest dog store.

I know from experience, and its really hard to get the dogs to cooperate and stay still when youre trying to brush their teeth. And these toothbrushes offer a simple solution, to allow them to brush their teeth by themselves.

The dog toothbrush has an opening at the top, where you dispense the toothpaste into. And then the paste holes down the center of two sides of the toothbrush. When dogs chew the toothbrush bristles, the toothpaste dispenses out.

It also has these bristles that will scrub their teeth, tongues, gums, inside and outside of their teeth. The toothbrushes have two little handles at the bottom of the toothbrush.

These handles make it easier for the dog to control and handle the toothbrush, while theyre chewing on it.

While the dogs chewing on these toothbrushes, hes also cleaning his teeth and promoting a good gum and mouth health.

Top Tips to Keep in Mind for Dog Tooth Brushing:

1. Choose toothbrush wisely: Use a canine toothbrush or finger toothbrush (you can get them from Amazon)
2. Starting when the dog is puppy helps a lot: One can start to use toothpaste options at an age of 8 weeks for best long term results. In fact, I have written 19 tips for new puppy owners which should help decide on common confusions that puppy owners have.
3. Your dog may not like the finger toothbrush: Sometimes you may need to use finger toothbrush (available for purchase on Amazon) which looks like as shown below. For using such type of brush, you will need to teach your dog that you touching his teeth is OK. This will require some training on your part.

1. Patience and Time are in high demand: Having your dog to get used to tooth brushing will take time which in turn requires patience from your end. Being clear on this point helps to get the desired results. When starting out, you want to slowly increase the use of a toothbrush.
2. Staying Easy and Calm is the key: There will be moments when your dog will go crazy on seeing toothbrush or using toothpaste. If you also get tensed at the moment, the results will be poor for both of you.

Learn More With the Helo of Videos

General Tips for Making Any DIY Solution

• Use herbal ingredients like Turmeric, Parsley and Kelp
• Just like you, daily teething will help your dog.
• If your dog is not liking it and starts to get aggressive then stop immediately and try later.
• There are also some dental wipes available in the market which you can try.

More 10 Second Hacks on How to Clean Dogs Teeth

Use Cinnamon in Dogs food: Cinnamon has antibacterial properties due to the antioxidants present in it. Sprinkling a teaspoon of cinnamon powder can help fight tooth decay in the long run.

Brush Dog Teeth With Coconut Oil?: Simply dip the toothbrush in coconut oil and let the dog use it as a chew toy. Dogs love the flavor of coconut oil which in turn gives them natural teeth cleaning solutions.

Use Probiotics Rich Diet: As we discussed earlier, all of this cleaning discussion is because of the bacteria in the mouth. Probiotics rich food like bananas, apples, mushrooms, and green leafy vegetables should be included in the dogs diet.

Conclusion on Natural Way to Clean Your Dogs Teeth

With nearly 5 hours of videos and tons of resources to go through in this article, obviously you wont be able to soak it all in at once. But this resource is here for you to come back to again and again.

Overall, this article provides you everything you will need to get started with the proper cleaning of your dogs teeth.

However, the ability to stay motivated and make sure to put these homemade products to use needs to come from you. It will go a long way in helping your dog.

So that is it for our three DIY recipes, for dogs fresh breath and clean teeth.

References

1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12917-020-02281-y
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/089875649901600302