A healthy immune system is necessary for the health and well-being of your pet. His immune system acts like a surveillance and defense system for his body. It watches for foreign substances, viruses, bacteria, toxins, parasites, and destroys them.

A healthy immune system will keep your pet happy and healthy, and it is up to you to maintain it. Luckily there are several easy and natural ways to boost your pet?s immune system.

The importance of a quality diet

The best way to boost your pet?s immune system is to feed him a nutritious, high-quality diet. Your pet can?t stay healthy if he?s not getting the vitamins and nutrients he needs. Try to avoid pet foods that contain a lot of chemical preservatives or fillers.

Protein is especially important for the immune system. It helps your pet fight off viral and bacterial infections and even recover from injury. Protein should make up at least 20-25 percent of an adult dog?s diet.

It is also important to make sure that your pet is getting enough of these nutrients:

• Zinc
• Iron
• Vitamins B6, E, A, C
• Folic acid
• Selenium
• Copper

Many pets benefit from vitamin E supplements.

Making sure that your pet gets the nutrients he needs is important for his immune system and general health. But don?t go overboard; sometimes taking too much of a nutrient, like vitamin A, zinc and iron, can actually weaken the immune system. And just like in people, consuming too much fat and/or calories is also detrimental for pet immune systems. Obesity, a growing problem for companion animals, negatively affects the body?s ability to fight off infection.

Antioxidants for pets

Pets can benefit from the consumption of antioxidants, just like humans. Technically, antioxidants don?t boost the immune system. They actually give the immune system a break by cleaning up oxidizing chemicals caused by cell damage and decreasing chemicals, like histamine, that cause cell damage. Antioxidants can be found in supplements like:

• Vitamins C and E
• Grape seed extract
• Quercetin
• Ginkgo biloba

Echinacea for pets

This familiar herb works for pets and humans. It stimulates the immune system, and has antiviral and antibacterial properties as well. If you would likek to give your pet Echinacea, veterinarians recommend feeding your pet Echinacea for 3-4 weeks and then alternating with a rest period of 3-4 weeks.

Arabinogalactans for pets

Arabinoglactans come from the larch tree, Larix occidentalis. This plant stimulates the immune system and also has anti-inflammatory properties. It can be used when the immune system needs to be stimulated, for viral or bacterial infections, fungal diseases, etc. It may also be used during cancer treatment.

Vaccines and chemicals

Beyond diet and supplements, there are other simple steps you can take to boost your pet?s immune system and keep him healthy. One suggestion is to make sure your pet only receives vaccinations when needed. Not all veterinarians agree that pets need annual shots. A blood test can determine which vaccines your pet actually needs. You should also minimize your pet?s exposure to chemicals, and only use chemical prevention products (fleas, heartworm, etc.) when completely necessary.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Immune System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.