Phew - what a crazy time we are living in. It seems like no matter where you are, you're unable to escape the wild ride that has been the covid-19 pandemic.

Here is the latest article regarding Covid-19 and our pets. It states "CDC has not received any reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19. Further studies are needed to understand if and how different animals could be affected by COVID-19."

Human pandemic worry aside, it's a great idea to boost your dog's immune system a few times per year (and when they get ill) as a preventative measure from canine illnesses such as canine cough and other things dogs come in contact with or develop.

There are a few easy ways we can support our dog's immune system and give it a natural boost via their diet in order to give them all the tools we can to keep them healthy, against common illnesses they come into contact with such as canine cough!

First of all, and this should be no surprise to anyone following my blog, is the gut. 80% of your dog's immune system resides here and keeping it happy is our first line of defence against any nasty invaders! Feeding a balanced diet with proper supplements and oils will ensure balance inside your dogs body. Second, we should add quality pre and probiotics to support a healthy gut environment and flora.

Probiotics produce the short-chain fatty acids lactic acid and acetic acid. Which discourage the growth of dangerous bacteria. This means less chronic inflammation within in the body, which is a big deal in disease prevention! Read an in-depth study on them here.

It's important that you chose the proper probiotic for your dog, as human store bought probiotics don't contain the exact type our woofers need! My go-to pre and probiotic is from the Adored Beast line, called "love bugs" and you can shop for it here!

Probiotics are something you can give a few times per week all year round in order to keep your dog's system in tip top shape!

Commonly used for human respiratory problems, Echinaecea also has many benefits for our dogs! Echinacea is the name of a herbaceous flower which is often gathered for its health benefits.

In a study in Switzerland, they found that Echinacea given to dogs with respiratory illness had symptoms drastically improve! Not only is it a great preventative, it also is a great way to naturally treat symptoms that are already there.

"Echinacea powder (1:3) was administered with the food at a dose of 1.0 g/10 kg body weight once daily for 8 weeks. Overall efficacy showed significant improvement for 92% of 39 dogs after 4 weeks of treatment and this was confirmed after 8 weeks. Significant reductions of severity and resolution of typical clinical symptoms, of clear nasal secretions, enlargement of lymph nodes, dry cough, dyspnea and dry lung sounds, were evident after 4 weeks." Awesome, right?!

Echinacea is a great choice to use as it is considered to have a wide margin of safety. It produces no known adverse drug interactions.

It works because it naturally contains echinacoside, a natural antibiotic that works the same as penicillin which can kill a broad range of viruses. When your dog is exposed to bacteria, his immune system fires up its defenses to fight off that bacteria. Echinacea works the same way, so when you give your dog echinacea, the immune system perceives it as a threat and powers up. But because echinacea isn’t harmful to the body at all, the immune system has nothing to attack so it stays boosted and ready to fight off bad invaders.

It's important when dosing with Echinacea that you use it alternating with breaks. You should give it for 2 weeks (or the duration of symptoms), then take a break and then start again as needed. It has been tested on dogs in powder form at a dosage of 45 mg/lb body weight given once a day.

Another great natural immune booster is Colostrum. When mammals are born, their mothers produce a special milk that contains colostrum. Colostrum jumpstarts the newborn’s immune system and provides vital nutrients. Bovine (cow) colostrum contains more than 250 beneficial substances, from simple nutritional elements such as protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals, to more complex material such as lactoferrin, transfer factors, growth factors, and immunoglobulins or antibodies.

Colostrum contains a hormone called Proline-Rich-Polypeptide (PRP). This hormone can either stimulate an under-active immune system or down-regulate an overactive immune system. Colostrum is extremely effective in supporting the immune system and a study found that colostrum was 3x more effective in preventing illnesses like the flu, than the actual flu vaccine!

"Dr. Maria Cesarone from Italy published her study in 2007 in which she compared the efficacy of oral colostrum to that of influenza vaccination in preventing flu illness. Dr. Cesarone found a two month treatment with oral colostrum was three times more effective in preventing flu illness than was influenza vaccination."

Another study shows that supplementation of diets with bovine colostrum influences immune function in dogs. "Dogs fed the BC (bovine colostrum)-supplemented diet demonstrated a significantly higher vaccine response and higher levels of faecal IgA when compared with the control group. Supplementing diets with BC also resulted in significantly increased gut microbiota diversity and stability in the test group. In conclusion, diets supplemented with BC significantly influence immune response in dogs."

If you’re giving a powder: give 1/8 teaspoon per 25 lbs of body weight, twice daily. If your colostrum comes in capsules: give small dogs 1 cap twice a day, medium to large dogs can have 2 caps twice daily. You can find a brand I recommend online here!

Lastly, we can continue looking to nature for remedies and take a look at medicinal mushrooms. The main ingredient in medicinal mushrooms are polysaccharides, also known as beta-glucan, which stimulate white blood cells. These are what will boost and simulate the immunity system. They are more than just a fungus - Mushrooms are complex organisms that hold great benefits to both humans and canines. They have thousands of enzymes, proteins and nutrients that we should all be introducing more of into our daily diets!

You want specific mushrooms for your dog when boosting their system: Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake, Turkey Tail and Cordyceps. Research shows they can improve immune system function and have a wide range of other important health benefits for your dog.

You can prepare the mushrooms yourself, however it's easier to find a quality product that is already in powder form! Here is one I recommend!

As with all my recommendations, I suggest you only add one at a time into your dog's diet so you can see how the react to the new addition.

I sincerely hope you and your woofers all stay healthy during this pandemic - sending love and healthy thoughts to you all!

Sources (aside from the studies mentioned in the article)

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/echinacea

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/colostrum

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/medicinal-mushrooms