Support Canine Heart Health
Canine heart health is obviously an important part of caring for your pets. Believe it or not there are things you can do to naturally support your dog health problems right at home. Supporting canine heart health is one of those things. If your dog has been diagnosed with heart disease whether it is canine heart murmur, valvular disease, enlarged heart, dilated cardiomyopathy or congestive heart failure there are things you can do to improve your dogs health and well-being. You can also expand their life span.
You obviously need to have the assistance of a good veterinarian to help you diagnose canine heart disease. They may suggest conventional medicines be started right away if your dog is in a more advanced stage of heart disease. Congestive heart disease is on such condition. If you need conventional meds. or have already started them, it is critical to support your dogs kidney and liver, as they can be damaged by the meds. Go to Canine Kidney for ways to do this.
One very important thing you need to do immediately is to begin feeding your dog an all natural dog food. Look under Natural Dog Food for ideas of high quality foods and ways to make your own dog food.
The heart is a muscle and muscles can be strengthened, just like if you are doing body building. If your dog has heart disease it just means that the heart has gotten weak. Your job is to build it back up. To do this you can use the following supplements.
* Hawthorn Berry Extract: This herb has been used for centuries to treat heart disease. It also helps treat circulatory problems and respiratory illnesses. Hawthorn contains antioxidants, oligomeric procyandins and quencetin. These compounds help dilate blood vessels, improve blood flow and help the heart pump more effectively. For a dog on conventional heart medicine use 2 droppers full each day. Give one in the morning and one in the evening on food.
* Co-enzyme Q-10: This vitamin like substance that is present in the heart, liver, kidney and pancreas among other body parts. It can benefit dogs with heart and blood vessel problems as well as congestive heart failure. Give around 60 mg/day for a 40 pound dog.
* Flaxseed Oil/Fish Oil: Flaxseed oil is one of the natural remedies for treating canine heart disease. It is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids which are very beneficial to a healthy heart. Flaxseed oil has been shown to help regulate the heart beat. It is best to use a liquid cold pressed oil. These have to be refrigerated. Give about 3000 to 4000 mg. per day. It will have a nutty flavor and most dogs like it. Just pour it over their food.
Fish Oil can be used as an alternate to flaxseed oil. You can use them interchangeable. Fish oil can be cold pressed or you can buy gel caps. Poke a hole in the gel cap and squirt the fish oil on your dog's food. Give about 3000 mg per day.
* L-Carnitine and Taurine: L-Carnitine is a natural substance which helps the cells of the body carry fuel (like fatty acids) to the heart. Taurine is an amino acid found in the body's muscles. It is found most abundantly in the heart muscle. It helps maintain cell membranes, regulates the heart beat and protects the heart from calcium overload. Most dogs can get enough of these things from food, however if they don't the deficiency can lead to heart disease. There are tests are supposed to accurately determine a deficiency, but they are not reliable. The only way to get a truly accurate reading is to do a biopsy on the heart. This is not done on a living dog. If you dog has heart disease, just use these supplements. They will not harm your dog, they can only help. Give 1000 mg. of L-Carnitine per 10 pounds of body weight. Give 500 mg. of Taurine per 10 pounds of body weight. Divide the doses in half, giving half in the morning and half in the evening.
Dog health problems can be very scary, especially when it comes to heart problems. You can help improve your pets quality and quantity of life by just using some proven techniques like including supplements in their diet. There are some products that are available that combine many of the necessary supplements into one so you just have to give one thing. Just remember that if your dog is already sick you need to give high enough amounts of these supplements to benefit them.
One special note; if you are using conventional medicine, which is most likely the case, please go to the page on canine kidney and liver health and read what to do to help support these vital organs from damage while on heart medicine.
Always consult your vet for medical problems.
Tell me about your situation. Email me at naturalremedies4pets@yahoo.com. I will respond with ideas to help you with your pet.
If you would like to get a Heart Supplement that has proven to help many dogs live longer and happier lives, click Heart Health.
Return to Natural Remedies 4 Pets from Canine Heart Health
