iLD Ask A Vet: What Diet Changes Will Help My Cocker Spaniel’s Autoimmune Disease?

i Love Dogs (iLD) premium canine supplements has a great tool that lets me communicate with owners on a worldwide basis. This topic is personally relevant to me, as Cardiff has an immune mediated (i.e. autoimmune) disease. The article originally appeared as: What Diet Changes Will Help My Cocker Spaniel’s Autoimmune Disease? Our just-turned 3-year-old Cocker Spaniel was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had to have a 4-hour blood transfusion, is on scheduled medication and has a blood test weekly. She is eating Purina Puppy Chow and chicken daily and taking a Pet-Tab, but we want to make some changes to help her heal. I just ordered a free sample of the Green Tea Antioxidant Boost supplement. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated. Thank You! – Carol Hi Carol, Thank you for your question. I am pleased to hear that you are seeking to boost the immune system health of your young Cocker Spaniel. My own dog, Cardiff, developed immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) at the young age of 2 1/2 years, so I know how frustrating it can be to deal with such a condition, from the perspective of both care provider and pet parent. Cardiff gets both immune system and antioxidant support by taking i Love Dogs Reishi with Green Tea tablets. During his episodes of IMHA, he developed warts (Canine Papilloma Virus, or CPV) due to his immunocompromised state. After a few weeks on the i Love Dogs supplement, the unsightly skin blemishes were completely gone. He has continued taking the supplement for general immune system support for more than three years. From now on, you are always going to need to pay very close attention to your dog’s immune system function, as we want to support her immune system without stimulating it to potentially destroy normal tissue (red blood cells, in your dog’s case). I would be very judicious when it comes to administering future vaccinations. Although vaccinations can help some dogs (and cats) have an improved immune system response to certain infectious agents, they can potentially be life-threatening to dogs with underlying immune system diseases. Work with yourveterinarian to create an appropriate vaccination strategy that is tailored to your dog’s needs (such as performing antibody titer blood tests as an alternative to giving an immunization; lifestyle modification, etc.). Additionally, avoid unnecessary stress, such as extreme heat or cold environments, dog parks, kennel facilities, cargo-based airline travel, etc. Also, always walk your dog on a leash so you can prevent her from sticking her face somewhere she could potentially eat something she should not (i.e., dietary indiscretion), or get stung by a bee or bitten by a snake (both of which can induce a severe immune system response). Regarding the food you are currently feeding your dog, please check out its extensive list of poor-quality ingredients and one-out-of-five-stars rating onDogFoodAdvisor.com. (Yuck!) In general, I do not suggest that my patients eat dry food (kibble). Kibble is made through a process called extrusion, where ingredients are cooked at a temperature of at least 400 degrees. This high-temperature process denatures proteins and deactivates enzymes that are vital to the digestive process. This is one of the reasons why I prefer that my patients eat freshly prepared, moist foods. Additionally, many dogs (and cats) don’t adequately chew their food, eat too quickly and tend to swallow kibble whole. In terms of Chinese medicine energy, your dog has a condition that is considered to be an excess of “hot” (i.e., Yang) energy, so I suggest she eats a “neutral” to “cooling” (i.e., Yin) diet that includes a combination of neutral and/or cooling protein and vegetable sources. Here is a brief categorization of common food sources: Proteins
  • Cooling: Turkey, duck, rabbit, fish (salmon, tuna, etc.), yogurt, cottage cheese
  • Neutral: Beef, pork, chicken eggs, beef liver, pork liver
  • Warming: Chicken, lamb, venison
I prefer the cooling and neutral proteins as food sources for dogs. Vegetables
  • Cooling: Spinach, broccoli, mushroom, green peas, cucumber
  • Neutral: Cauliflower, carrot
  • Warming: Sweet potato, pumpkin
While I prefer the cooling and neutral proteins, sweet potato and pumpkin are acceptable in moderation, even though they’re warming. Grains
  • Cooling: Brown rice, barley, quinoa
By the way, grains are not necessarily bad; however, the fractionated grains and by-products found in most dry pet foods (like the corn gluten meal found in your dog’s Puppy Chow) are less-than-ideal grain sources. Dry food is considered “hot” (adds heat to the body), so I recommend that my patients eat non-dry food. Moistening dry food is certainly better than feeding non-moistened dry food; however, I do recommend getting my patients off of dry foods completely. My preferred whole food option (which I feed to Cardiff exclusively) is Lucky Dog Cuisine (LDC), which contains exclusively USA-sourced ingredients, including humanely raised turkey (cooling), grass-fed beef (neutral) or fresh catfish fillet (cooling), matched with whole grain carbohydrates and vegetables. You could also switch her to a home-prepared diet. In doing so, I recommend creating a scientifically formulated and precise recipe to meet your dog’s dietary and metabolic needs by pursuing a UC Davis Nutritional Consultation. This is an undertaking that you must pursue with your veterinarian, as recent blood and urine test results are required. The process takes 4 to 6 weeks, and yields a diet and nutrition plan that is specifically tailored to your dog’s needs. Good luck, Patrick Mahaney, VMD, CVA Ask a Vet is intended for informational purposes only. If your dog requires veterinary attention, you should take him to your vet or animal emergency clinic for an examination. Click here to find a veterinarian near you. Have a question concerning your dog’s health? Send it to Ask a Vet. PHOTO: JeremyMcWilliams Thank you for reading this article.  Your questions and comments are completely welcome (I’ll respond). Please feel free to communicate with me through Twitter (@PatrickMahaney) and follow my adventures in veterinary medicine by liking Patrick Mahaney: Veterinarian Acupuncture Pain Management for Your Pets on Facebook. Copyright of this article (2013) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.