Your dog’s immune system is not comprise by just one organ but is the result of many separate systems working in unison. Each separate system playing a crucial role in the proper functioning of your dog’s immune system. The limp system, digestive tract and your dog’s skin all play a role in protecting your dog’s good health. This is precisely why proper nutrition is so important to your dog having a healthy immune system. Your dog’s food is “fuel” for his body. The better the fuel the better your dog’s body will function.
When your dog’s health is suffering and his immune system is compromised he can be unable to fight simple organisms and become sick. Sometimes when your dog’s immune system is weakened it looses the ability to recognize itself and attacks the body. this is called a autoimmune disease. Many times a dog displays many allergy symptoms because his immune system is not working correctly.
It is my belief that so many dog health problems are rooted in poor nutrition. Dogs are fed highly processed dog food that has been cooked to death. In addition many dog foods are full of fillers, toxins and chemicals that all destroy your dog’s good health. Is it any wonder that your dog’s immune system is not functioning correctly? Think about it. What would your health be like if you ate a highly processed food your entire life? Sadly, we are seeing this in the USA now as more and more people are living on fast food and highly processed food. Heart disease, cancer and obesity are at epidemic proportions and getting worse every year.
The best way to support your dog’s immune system and help him heal himself is through feeding the best dog food possible. And you can make the best dog food right in your kitchen.
I have a 9 month old pomemo his name is Jax. I have been feeding him brown rice with cooked red meat because he will go from diarrhea to loose but formed stools. I am not sure if this stool loose but formed is normal for this breed. I try to mix blue brand dog food with the brown rice meat mix but then it seems he starts with the loose wet stools. So I put him back on just brown rice/ground meat mix. I don”t mind cooking him food but I want to give him the right foods. Could you please send me some recipes that are good for Jax. I would like to add veggies with the ground beef brown rice mix but am not sure which are good for him. Any advice
Joanne,
Try the “Easy raw dog food recipe” I’ve never had a problem with loose stool in dogs fed this recipe. Make sure you feed the recipe not some version and mixture and you should be fine. Also it is important to follow the introductory method that is presented to prevent dietary upset. Click here to view this dog food recipe.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share these truths with us! I am fascinated by this! It is exactly what I have been learning about for us(humans) as well. Nutrition is the key to health! What we put into our bodies is going to determine how our bodies perform. I have been studying this philosophy under Dr. John Christopher and the School of Natural Healing. I am so thankful I am able to find the same philosophy to help me keep my dog’s health at an optimum.
Bless you, Haben in Alabama
Hi again! We just got our dog from a rescue facility. We were told that he was just treated for heart worms which is like chemotherapy for dogs(their words). If this is true than they eradicated his whole body of all good bacteria and so forth! So my question is what do I do now to help heal him and get his body back to where it needs to be?
Thank you again, Haben
Haben,
Try feeding the easy cooked dog food recipe, click here to view this dog food recipe. The supplements in this recipe contain beneficial bacterial cultures that will help repopulate your dogs digestive system.
What do you recommend for fleas! Do you just use the regular stuff like “Frontline” or is there a more natural answer?
Thanks again, Haben
Haben,
I have found dogs fed raw meat based diet are less attractive to fleas than dogs fed kibble. that said, fleas will infest both. If I get a infestation I use Program and Capstar. Both these products work well. I then bath my dogs in an essential oil shampoo. Click here to view the one I use.
Very interesting website. I have a 13 yr old Westie, male recently diagnosed with inflamatory bowel disease. I now realize he has had this problem for about 11 of his 13 yrs. He has been on a raw food diet for about 10 yrs. He currently is in a diet food trial prescribed by a vet. His meals consist of Science diet hydrolyzed protein (Hill’s Z/D) or Royal Canin HD diet. I am following this [plan for 8 weeks to see if his disease is food related. However, I am not happy with the dog food. I would like to get him back to a raw food diet but need help determining what proteins to feed him. Can you help with this problem.
Irene,
You said he has eaten raw dog food for ten years, can you tell me what he has eaten? How did he respond to the recipe?
Ed,
Your website is wonderful. Great information. My 2.5 year old female pitbull was diagnosed with Masticatory Myositis (autoimmune disease) a couple months ago. She has been on prednisone for almost 2 months to control it, but she will be off the pred in about one more week. I have been feeding her Sojos brand homemade dog food with ground turkey for about a month. I am also supplementing with The Missing Link Recovery and Detox formula as well as Demamarin and a pill called Immuno-Support. Would adding the Dinovite be of any benefit in addition what she is already receiving in supplements? I don’t think I need the LickOchops, as she should be receiving plent omega fatty acids via the Missing Link. Any help would be appreciated!
Amanda,
I’ve never used Missing Link so I’m not sure how it will perform. Try it out and see. When you run out then switch over to the Dinovite and Lickochops.
Thanks for your input!
Our dog recently had to undergo surgery to remove calcium stone in his bladder. He’s also just finished a course of IV chemo for lymphoma. We are putting him on your cooked dog food recipe but are concerned about adding the egg shells due to his breed tending to develop bladder stones. He’s a 12 year old Lhasa Apso. We also have a 5 year old Shih Tzu whose was just diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia – would he benefit from your cooked dog food diet as well? He has had a successful blood transfusion and seems to be on the mend. Thanks for your good work!
Ed,
I recently discovered my 5 month old puppy fancy has the demodectic mange. What puppy food should I feed her to help boost her immune system. The vet prescribed her ivomec liquid but I heard that doesn’t really get rid of it permanently. Any suggestions?
Kenney,
Try feeding her the chicken and rice dog food recipe. Dogs with demodectic mange often suffer with a zinc deficiency. The Dinovite dog supplement contains a highly absorbable form of zinc, so it may help if she has a zinc deficiency. Demodectic mange can take a while to clear up and tends to look worse before it gets better.
I bought a boxer puppy for myself at Christmas. It has been a disaster since day 2. She was diagnosed with coccidia, guardia, and worms (forgot what kind but not the normal puppy kind) Last week she was also postive for demodectic mange. I had a skin scraping done when she was in to get spayed. I have been using Dinovite for a few months but recently upped the amount. I don’t want her to have to go through the dips. I recently, after much ready came to the conclusion that her problem is her immune system instead of the problems at hand. I also started giving her fish oil, ester-c and omega 3’s. I hope she turns around physically after a few weeks.
Deb,
You are correct in trying to improve your dog’s immune system. It can take a little while, 6 months, to get the demodex under control but it can be done by improving your dog’s immune system. Sometimes more bald spots appear in the process because the hair follicle was already damaged. Try feeding one of these recipes, it will also help.
The Dinovite is a great addition because it contains a highly absorbable form of zinc called “zinc methionine” and most dogs suffering with demodex have a zinc deficiency. It also has “direct fed microbials” that will support a healthy digestive system. A healthy digestive system is the source of a strong immune system.
Hi,
I have an 8 year old chihuahua mix dog who is allergic to everything…No, REALLY! She had tests and is allergic to all trees,grasses, weeds, grains, insects, and a few fungi. Allergic to potato, rice, barley , pinto beans, oats, corn, wheat, and soybeans. She’s not allergic to beets, meat, eggs, and brewers yeast. I’ve been feeding her z/d and she’s still scratching till she bleeds.. And I just looked at the ingredients on the label and it has starch as the first one, which I’m guessing is either potato or corn.
Do you think a raw food diet would help? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Ann
Ann,
I would start off with the yeast starvation dog food recipe, feed this for at least six months and see how she does.
Hi, I have a Mini Pin of 2&1/2 year old. He weighs 23lbs. He always had skin problems since puppy. The entire thing was attributed to food allergy or some kind of allergy. He was put on to unnecessary medications like prednisone, antibiotics & antihistamines. Last vaccination made it worse and then it was finally diagnosed as Demodex Mange. I am taking the route of Holistic approach to fight with Mange. I am trying to improve his immune system. Mostly all these days I have fed him cooked chicken and rice, with occasionally fish oil, Cod liver oil, Probiotics Yogurt, rarely bbq pork rib meat. He likes in chicken meat only drumsticks. Any kind of suggestion to improve his immune system with Chicken rice diet will be followed. I tried cooking salmon. But he refuses to eat. Please help. Thanks Sunitha
Sunitha,
There was a study done on demodex and the researcher found that all the dogs with generalized demodex were also deficient in zinc. Add dinovite to your current diet, it contains a highly absorbable form of zinc and also helps boost the immune system.
Hi, we recently got our Dog from India , it is a 3 year old Shih Tzu. It had skin problems such as demodicosis and Pyoderma in advanced stages. He recently got admitted due to server infection and also his immune is very low at all times. Right now he is not eating any dry food or any food other than boiled chicken liver and boiled egg.
we really need your help as we are prepared to cook meal for him every time needed. Please advise.
Thank You!
Ravi,
Try feeding the easy cooked dog food recipe or the easy raw dog food recipe. Dogs love either one, they are simple to make and very nutritious.
Ed,
Thank you , any other herbal/natural supplements to boos his immune ?
Ravi,
Use the supplements in the recipe and all will be well.
I have a 6 month old dog named sassy. She was diagnosed with demodectic mange 2 months ago, the vet gave me amitraz dip to dip her every 2 weeks and i got a dog vitamin for her immune system that i give to her everyday. I tried doing the chicken and rice dog food recipe that you mentioned in a different answer, and i couldnt get my dog to eat it. I dont want to dip her in amitraz anymore because it hurts her skin. Please help.
Christy,
I’ve never had a dog not eat one of the recipes. Fast him for 24 hours then offer a small amount. If he does not eat it in 10 minutes pick it up and offer again tomorrow. Do this until he stops the shenanigans. You can also try feeding the yeast starvation dog food recipe.
Hi Ed, We just discovered your site and are ecstatic to have this wealth of information. So many of our rescue dogs come in with a miriad of problems and we are always trying to find healthy ways of helping them without poisoning there systems with tons of chemicals.
One of our wonderful volunteers has recently had her rescue pup diagnosed with Hemolytic Anemia. We all agree that it is a reaction to vaccinations that were recently given. Which diet would you recommend to help her? She has responded to Pedialyte, puppy formula and is on a course of prednisone. We are looking forward to your help with this.
Pattie,
I think any of the recipes would be fine but I like to start off with the easy raw dog food recipe.
Ed,
Hi again, Me and my husband have been feeding our dogs the chicken & rice cooked recipe and things are going well. We are about ready to switch to the easy raw food diet.
Here is my question
We have a 44pd black lab mix that has had what a vet terms as a bleb for about a year now. It looks like a bubble with pink dots on it. It is on her chest. She had a few smaller ones before and they went away in less than 3 months. The vet said that they are common in black lab & black lab mixes and they are generally benign and go away on their own but this is the biggest and the longest one. We have not had it checked for cancer yet, as we are trying to see if it is related to her old diet. We are going to give these recipes with the supplements you suggested about 4 more months before we pay for a test or worse case, the surgery.
The dog picture that is posted on your website actually looks like our penny. Have you any experience with “these” blebs or anyone else on this blog, it would be very helpful.
Thank you
No, I’ve not had experience with them. Some of my dogs have had moles but they have never been a problem.
My 5 yr old chihuahua/rat terrier has degenerative polyarthritis which is an auto-immune disorder and greatly affects her gait. She has been taking prednisone, tramadol and Atopica(an immune suppressant drug). She just finished a round of antibiotics due to infection and has very high liver function values from her last labs. We are rechecking her labs in a few months..but if the supplement we started to reduce them does not work she may go into liver failure. We cannot stop her prednisone, which is causing the liver damage..or she can’t walk. Is there some kind of food I could prepare that could help her immune system and teduce inflammation naturally. I am trying to only give her all natural snacks etc..but she has been on the same dog food her entire life (Iams) and am a little scared to change it…but am willing to try if it may increase her health and potentially her life expectancy. What could I try?
Lisa,
Try any of the recipes they are all very nutritious and dogs love them. Pick the one you are most comfortable feeding.
Ed,
I have a one year old English bulldog that has had immune system issues since we got her when she was 4 weeks old. She has most recently developed mites, which has been particularly difficult to rid her of. She has had 4- 5 “dips” and although her skin is looking better she continues to itch/ lick/ chew her paws, ears. Her anal area bothers her as well. She is also prone to rashes on her tummy which I am am treating as heat rash (as you probably know bulldogs over hear easily) . She is currently on nutro source salmon flavor ; however she continues to itch. I do believe Gerti can benefit from a raw food diet, and am willing to try anything to avoid taking her to the vet as often as I have been. Would raw game meat work? Such as elk? And if we run out of game meat can I switch to beef? Also heard that fish oil is can help with her coat/ itchiness? Any suggestions? Would you recommend allergy testing? Also – for a bulldog she is smaller in size – 40 lbs would she qualify for large dog or medium for your supplements? She eats 2 cups food a day. Thank you for your time.
Yes, wild game like elk is fine. Just substitute the beef or chicken with the elk. You can use the medium dog size it should be fine and I would use the Supromega fish oil too.