Hi guys, does anyone know of any good supplements to add to food to help boost a poorly dogs immune system. My mums 4yr old JRT keeps having reoccuring infections resulting in him having discharge from both nostrils. He has been given a course of antobiotics and is fed on nature diet lamb and rice with garlic /evening primrose/omega 3 fish oils capsules added.
Cheers, Clare

Hi K/b :)  Do you know whats causing the infection & how long has it been happening?

You could try tincture of echinacea, natural VitE & vitC. Manuka honey has anti-bacterial properties so maybe a teaspoon daily would help but its very expensive These are good immune boosters but you really need to get the bottom of the infection. Has the vet taken a sample of discharge to determine the bacteria? It could be a specific a/b is needed. Garlic is good, are you giving it fresh, it should be crushed for the dog to get full benefits :)

Echinacea augustafolia is one of the best immune system boosters

Hi MM, where would I obtain this from???? Thanks, Clare

http://organicnutrition.co.uk/products/indherbs/herb-echinacea.htm I feed organic food to my dogs so opt for an organic sourse for as much as possible & always have a bottle of the tincture in

Cheers MM

Hi Christine, yes he has taken swabs. He was poorly as a puppy, mum got him as an unwanted pet and he had nasal swabs taken then too. It turned out he had a viral infection with traces of e-coli and a few other nasities. At least twice a year he comes down with an infection usually  making him a little chesty with a discharge from both nostrils. We where giving him crushed garlic  but he usually was sick soon after so we have plumped with the capsules. When you say natural vit E/C are these in capsules too??? ThankS, Clares

Hi K/b one of my girls had ecoli & other bacteria infection in her lungs a few yrs back, her syptoms were just a cough now & again. She had a course of a/b`s & it went away but came back again :rolleyes: she had a combination of a/b`s & they worked a treat & its never come back again :)

I get mu echinacea from baldwins, choose between organic or non organic. First links about it :)

<a class='url' href='http://www.healthnotes.info/uk_db/healthnotes.cfm?ContentID=2081004#Reference-List'>http://www.healthnotes.info/uk_db/healthnotes.cfm?ContentID=2081004#Reference-List</a>
<a class='url' href='http://www.baldwins.co.uk/perl/go.pl/shop/adv-search-results.html'>http://www.baldwins.co.uk/perl/go.pl/shop/adv-search-results.html</a>

Also from the same place Quest VitC time release & they have a choice of vitE 

ps forgot yes vitE in capsules as well

Cheers Christine The vet seems to think that he will always have this weakness at certain times of the Year , don't know if she would agree but my mum would love to just give him that something extra to help his immune systemand to know that she is doing everything to help him. Thanks for all the help guys, Clare

Hi Clare, if you look after his immune system theres a good chance he`ll be able to fend it off. Look into Manuka honey, thats very good as well :)

http://www.manukahoney.co.uk/order.html

Have a look around you may find it cheaper in health shops but make sure its umf active and the real stuff :)

How much does your dog weigh?

Hi Christine I think he weighs around 7-8kg. Cheers Clare

Hiya ok then start the Vitc at a low dose, too much will cause the squits, if that happens you cut back on the amount. Its called bowel tolerance level so suggest you try a childrens dose of maybe 50gm to start off with then increase it slowly till you find the level he can take :)

If you like I`ll put a few links later about dosage for you to look at, or maybe Tohme will see this post & tell you, think she remembers them off by heart :)

Looks like T hasn`t got the dosage, so go with a childs dose ie: 200 iu of VitE. :)  Have a look at the sites below about VitE

http://www.mercola.com/2005/may/11/pet_vitamins.htm

200iu is fine for small dogs, 400iu for large, however be aware what else is in the diet if feeding commercial or other supplements such as EPO etc.

Thanks Tohme. With regards to probiotics waht would yu recommend???

[link]http://www.genitrix.co.uk/products/lactob.htm[/link]

My homeopathic vet recommends these, they are not cheap, failing that any OTC product via Holland And Barratt or similar which have at least 4 preferably more strains of bacteria.  You cannot OD on these.

regards

Cheers tohme. Clare

Garlic, echinacea, goldenseal, Vitamin C with bio flavonoids, I would also look at homeopathy in this case if there is a recurring nasal discharge issue, sounds as though it is the symptoms that are being treated not the cause.  If ABs are given add probiotics to the diet to repopulate the gut flora which will also remove toxins from the system.  HTH

Thanks so much for the advice guys, mum says thanks too. I will order some of your recommendations asap and let you know how we get on. Thanks again, much appreciated, Clare