How to Naturally Boost Your Dog’s Immune System

A strong immune system fights all the potential infections and responds to them accordingly, keeping the dog healthy. Considering how dogs spend a lot of time outdoors, exposed to various environmental influences, their health must be taken care of, and immune system kept strong. Aside from keeping the dog stress-free, offering them healthy food, and staying up to date with the vaccinations, you can do several other things to boost your dog’s immune system.

Take care of their hygiene

Proper hygiene is vital for a dog’s health. While they may be spending every day sniffing and licking pretty much everything, that still doesn’t mean that they’re immune to everything. Even though they’re much more resilient to various bacteria and infections than humans are, dogs still need to be properly cleaned and taken care of in order to stay healthy. Some of the germs that the dogs collect on their feet or coat may help in fighting various diseases, but you still need to wash the canine regularly.  Furthermore, try to keep the dog away from areas that contain many viruses or bacteria from other animals. Brushing the teeth is an essential part of personal hygiene as well, so don’t forget to do it for your four-legged friend. With various specially designed snacks and toys that dogs can chew on, you won’t have to go through the trouble of forcing the dog to stay calm while you brush their teeth.

Let them socialize

Dogs love to spend time with other dogs, as well as with humans, so keeping them isolated is never a good idea. That will lead to stress, which can later cause severe depression, thus weakening their immune system. Therefore, always keep the dog in the company of other canines or yourself. It will increase their physical activity, which will automatically keep them happy and boost their immune system.

Wash their toys

Even though the dogs’ natural instincts lead them to explore, sniff and lick basically everything, they’re not immune to dirt. Therefore, make sure to keep the germs at bay and wash the dog’s personal belongings regularly. Reduce the daily microbe load, and wash their bowls and toys to keep their immune system strong. However, don’t use too aggressive soaps or detergents, but only wash the bowls in lukewarm water, unless they’re too dirty. Always dry the toys and bowls completely, to avoid germs spreading out in moisture. Also, keep the spare toys, dog food and all the dog supplies in a moisture-free environment, to avoid any bacteria spreading, or the food going bad before the expiration date.

Feed them antioxidants

Antioxidants prevent various diseases, slow down ageing and boost the immune system. Therefore, make sure your dog has plenty of red beans, pinto and kidney. However, don’t feed them too much beans, to avoid bloating and gas. Avoid feeding them raw meat, eggs or fish, because they often contain Salmonella. The optimal amount of proteins, enzymes, vitamins and fibres will keep the infections at bay and boost the immune system of a canine.

Fight parasites

Keeping the dog parasite-free helps the immune system work well. Heartworms, ticks, fleas and worms tend to strain the immune system, making the dog more prone to infections. Therefore, protect the dog from all sorts of germs and parasites, and visit the vet regularly to keep the canine healthy and parasite-free.

Probiotic supplements

Introducing probiotics into the dog’s nutrition is an excellent way to boost their immune system. With a capsule or two a week, your dog will get the sufficient amount of probiotics that will help kill harmful pathogens in the intestines. Not only do they boost the immune system, but promote good digestion as well.

Keeping a dog’s immune system strong will help the canine stay healthy and fight infections. Therefore, make sure you know how to boost the immune system in order to prevent the dog getting sick.

By Guest Author

Puppy Education is a site dedicated for dog owners on how to train and look after their puppy. If you have a puppy and would like to share your own experiences and knowledge, you can write for Puppy Education.