Allergies
Bulldogs have come to be associated with chronic allergies - BUT it doesn't have to be that way!!
What are allergies?
An allergy is an exaggerated and inappropriate immune system response to a particular substance.Allergies are a normal but unnecessary immune response to a benign foreign substance. Most allergens are proteins from plants, insects, animals, or foods.
Dr Morgan recently discussed an study in Finland looking at the potential genetic component to canine atopic dermatitis. They noted the most frequently affected breeds to be West Highland White Terriers, Boxers, English Bulldogs, Dalmatians Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Bull Terriers, German Shepherds, and English Springer Spaniels.
Factors that contributed to development of canine atopic dermatitis included:
An allergy is an exaggerated and inappropriate immune system response to a particular substance.Allergies are a normal but unnecessary immune response to a benign foreign substance. Most allergens are proteins from plants, insects, animals, or foods.
Dr Morgan recently discussed an study in Finland looking at the potential genetic component to canine atopic dermatitis. They noted the most frequently affected breeds to be West Highland White Terriers, Boxers, English Bulldogs, Dalmatians Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Bull Terriers, German Shepherds, and English Springer Spaniels.
Factors that contributed to development of canine atopic dermatitis included:
- Maternal history of canine atopic dermatitis (one study showed up to 65% of offspring will develop allergies if one or both parents suffered with allergies, while healthy parents gave rise to only 11% of pups developing allergies)
- Dogs with greater than 50% white-colored coat were at high risk of developing allergies
- Pups delivered to mothers that were fed non-processed meat diets (raw diets or home-made meat-based diets) resulted in lower risk of developing allergies than pups whose mothers were fed ultra-processed carbohydrate-based diets (dry kibble). Heat processing of food causes denaturation of food proteins, which promotes immunogenicity and allergenicity. Dogs fed non-processed meat diets have been shown to have a greater variety of microbial populations in the gut, leading to stronger immune function.
- Maternal deworming during pregnancy resulted in less allergies in the pups. Worm infection of the mother during pregnancy has been reported to have a long-lasting impact on the fetal immune system development and disease development later in life.
- Pups started on a non-processed meat diet as their first food had a lower risk of developing canine atopic dermatitis than pups feed ultra-processed carbohydrate diets (kibble). Improved microbial populations in the gut of raw-fed puppies stimulate immune tolerance development, protecting against allergies later in life.
- Pups with sunlight exposure for one or more hours per day during the first one to two months of age showed a significantly lower risk of developing allergies.
- Pups exposed to grass and dirt in the first two months also showed lower risk of developing allergies. Pups house totally indoors in urban environments developed significantly more allergies.
Symptoms of Allergies:
The most common symptom associated with allergies in dogs is itching of the skin, either localized (in one area) or generalized (all over the body). In some cases, the symptoms involve the respiratory system and include coughing, sneezing, and/or wheezing. Sometimes, there may be runny discharge from the eyes or nose. In other cases, the allergic symptoms affect the digestive system resulting in vomiting and diarrhea.
The most common symptom associated with allergies in dogs is itching of the skin, either localized (in one area) or generalized (all over the body). In some cases, the symptoms involve the respiratory system and include coughing, sneezing, and/or wheezing. Sometimes, there may be runny discharge from the eyes or nose. In other cases, the allergic symptoms affect the digestive system resulting in vomiting and diarrhea.
Treatment of Allergies:
Conventional medicine looks to just suppress symptoms. Suppressing symptoms means getting rid of them without addressing the illness or disease. It's basically a bandaid over a problem. Out of sight, out of mind. But if that bandaid comes off- the problem is still there. And worse, that bandaid may have made the problem worse.
Many vets have started prescribing a round of antibiotics and long term Apoquel for allergies without any attempts to identify and eliminate the allergen. Here's why this is a harmful choice:
The secondary skin infections will respond to antibiotics, but it will return as soon as the antibiotics are discontinued because the actual allergen has not been targeted. Sadly, many times dogs are prescribed over and over more antibiotics. Over time, the bacteria change, becoming resistant and requiring stronger antibiotics. If your dog has a secondary infection, then an antibiotic may be necessary - but understand this does NOT treat allergies. You MUST treat the underlying allergy or you will begin the cycle mentioned above.
Prednisone was the first conventional medication vets used for allergies. Prednisone and other steroids work by suppressing the immune system. While short term steroid use is the appropriate response to an acute allergic reaction (hives, respiratory distress, etc), the side effects of chronic use for general allergies should not be acceptable! According to Dr Judy Morgan, chronic use of steroids, anti-inflammatory medications, and immune-suppressant pills and injections totally ruin the ability of the body to heal. Many will develop cancer or die of overwhelming infection.
After the devastating effects of steroids became more apparent, veterinarians then started using Atopica (cyclosporine) to treat allergies. Cyclosporine was initially developed to prevent organ transplant rejections in humans - it suppresses the immune system to prevent the body from rejecting the transplant. Atopica has a devastating and destructive effect on the immune system. You can read more about the Atopica and Deva Khalsa VMD's concerns here. Unfortunately, Atopica is still used today for some dogs, which is alarming … the FDA has 17 pages of adverse events for Atopica in dogs!
Enter Apqouel. The new "miracle" drug being handed out like candy. We have seen so many times that vets are prescribing Apoquel without fully disclosing the many serious risks to their clients. In all honesty, many vets are falsely reassured by the pharmaceutical company that this medication is safe, and they unfortunately do not do their own research to confirm this. Even the FDA is warning that Apoquel is NOT a safer choice (read their letter to Zoetix here.)
Fact: Apoquel demolishes essential parts of your dog’s internal disease-fighting systems.
Why is this important to understand? The following information was written by Deva Khalsa VMD (Updated On May 1, 2020) -
Apoquel affects the body’s kinases. Kinases are signaling compounds that cells use to communicate with each other.
In the 1980s, an Australian chemist discovered some new ones. They’re known as JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and TKY2.
With the growing epidemic of dog allergies, pharmaceutical companies saw an opportunity. They developed a drug that would stop these JAKs in their tracks. And they sure succeeded.
Oclacitinib maleate, under the brand name Apoquel®, is a Janus kinase inhibitor. That means it stops JAKs from doing their job.
JAKs are key elements in controlling both growth and development. These particular JAKs do the work of:
Apoquel’s mechanism is to interrupt JAKs … and prevent them from working.
Without JAKs your dog’s immune system cannot function correctly.
Read more: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/wouldnt-give-dog-new-allergy-drug/
So can Apoquel cause cancer?
The following information was written November 24, 2019 By Will Falconer, DVM:
Did you know that, for decades now at least, immunologists have known that you and I and every animal on the beautiful blue planet are making “mistakes” in our cells every day?
They are called mutations. Mutations happen during cell division, which is pretty much a non-stop process in a living being. When you’ve worn out a liver cell or you’ve got to knit a cut back to normal closed skin, it’s cell division that makes this possible.
But, like all biological systems, cell division isn’t a perfect process. Some “oopsies” happen, and the copy comes out wrong. Some mutations are harmless, some, when certain genes are involved, cause runaway cell division way past what’s necessary.
The result? Tumors.
Tumor cells are in me and you and your dog right now.
We likely have regular battles waged on cancer cells that never become tumors. Why? Our immune system correctly “saw” these cells as foreigners. And called in the guard, like white blood cells, complement, interferon, natural killer cells, etc.
And like those kinases, known to be great communicators that help coordinate the attack on the wayward cells leaning towards becoming cancerous.
What’s Apoquel good at?
Taking OUT some of those kinases, remember?
Is an immune communication breakdown possible, when we mess with the kinases?
I’d bet on it.
And, it’s as if Zoetis never got the memo about how important our immune system is to prevent cancer:
APOQUEL may increase the chances of developing serious infections, and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or **pre-existing cancers** (emphasis mine) to get worse. — company literature
Pre-existing cancers?
Isn’t that what we’ve known about for all these decades?
They are ALL pre-existing until they get a green light to grow, aren’t they?
Read more here: https:/vitalanimal.com/apoquel-dog-1/
Conventional medicine looks to just suppress symptoms. Suppressing symptoms means getting rid of them without addressing the illness or disease. It's basically a bandaid over a problem. Out of sight, out of mind. But if that bandaid comes off- the problem is still there. And worse, that bandaid may have made the problem worse.
Many vets have started prescribing a round of antibiotics and long term Apoquel for allergies without any attempts to identify and eliminate the allergen. Here's why this is a harmful choice:
The secondary skin infections will respond to antibiotics, but it will return as soon as the antibiotics are discontinued because the actual allergen has not been targeted. Sadly, many times dogs are prescribed over and over more antibiotics. Over time, the bacteria change, becoming resistant and requiring stronger antibiotics. If your dog has a secondary infection, then an antibiotic may be necessary - but understand this does NOT treat allergies. You MUST treat the underlying allergy or you will begin the cycle mentioned above.
Prednisone was the first conventional medication vets used for allergies. Prednisone and other steroids work by suppressing the immune system. While short term steroid use is the appropriate response to an acute allergic reaction (hives, respiratory distress, etc), the side effects of chronic use for general allergies should not be acceptable! According to Dr Judy Morgan, chronic use of steroids, anti-inflammatory medications, and immune-suppressant pills and injections totally ruin the ability of the body to heal. Many will develop cancer or die of overwhelming infection.
After the devastating effects of steroids became more apparent, veterinarians then started using Atopica (cyclosporine) to treat allergies. Cyclosporine was initially developed to prevent organ transplant rejections in humans - it suppresses the immune system to prevent the body from rejecting the transplant. Atopica has a devastating and destructive effect on the immune system. You can read more about the Atopica and Deva Khalsa VMD's concerns here. Unfortunately, Atopica is still used today for some dogs, which is alarming … the FDA has 17 pages of adverse events for Atopica in dogs!
Enter Apqouel. The new "miracle" drug being handed out like candy. We have seen so many times that vets are prescribing Apoquel without fully disclosing the many serious risks to their clients. In all honesty, many vets are falsely reassured by the pharmaceutical company that this medication is safe, and they unfortunately do not do their own research to confirm this. Even the FDA is warning that Apoquel is NOT a safer choice (read their letter to Zoetix here.)
Fact: Apoquel demolishes essential parts of your dog’s internal disease-fighting systems.
Why is this important to understand? The following information was written by Deva Khalsa VMD (Updated On May 1, 2020) -
Apoquel affects the body’s kinases. Kinases are signaling compounds that cells use to communicate with each other.
In the 1980s, an Australian chemist discovered some new ones. They’re known as JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and TKY2.
With the growing epidemic of dog allergies, pharmaceutical companies saw an opportunity. They developed a drug that would stop these JAKs in their tracks. And they sure succeeded.
Oclacitinib maleate, under the brand name Apoquel®, is a Janus kinase inhibitor. That means it stops JAKs from doing their job.
JAKs are key elements in controlling both growth and development. These particular JAKs do the work of:
- Policing the body against tumor formation
- Controlling body growth and development
- Forming white and red blood cells
- Ensuring antibody-producing B cells, and “policing” T-cells are functioning well.
- Regulating inflammatory response
Apoquel’s mechanism is to interrupt JAKs … and prevent them from working.
Without JAKs your dog’s immune system cannot function correctly.
- JAK1 is vital for the constant surveillance within your dog’s body. Its job is to find and destroy abnormal cells that have become cancerous … before they form tumors.
- JAK1 is a crucial messenger. It’s needed to destroy invading parasites, fungi, bacteria and viruses.
- JAK2 is central to the production of bone marrow stem cells. These cells then become red and white blood cells and platelets.
- Your dog’s antibody system (B cells) and its killer-cell system (T cells) need JAK3 in order to work properly.
- These JAKs all talk to each other and share information to keep your dog’s body healthy.
Read more: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/wouldnt-give-dog-new-allergy-drug/
So can Apoquel cause cancer?
The following information was written November 24, 2019 By Will Falconer, DVM:
Did you know that, for decades now at least, immunologists have known that you and I and every animal on the beautiful blue planet are making “mistakes” in our cells every day?
They are called mutations. Mutations happen during cell division, which is pretty much a non-stop process in a living being. When you’ve worn out a liver cell or you’ve got to knit a cut back to normal closed skin, it’s cell division that makes this possible.
But, like all biological systems, cell division isn’t a perfect process. Some “oopsies” happen, and the copy comes out wrong. Some mutations are harmless, some, when certain genes are involved, cause runaway cell division way past what’s necessary.
The result? Tumors.
Tumor cells are in me and you and your dog right now.
We likely have regular battles waged on cancer cells that never become tumors. Why? Our immune system correctly “saw” these cells as foreigners. And called in the guard, like white blood cells, complement, interferon, natural killer cells, etc.
And like those kinases, known to be great communicators that help coordinate the attack on the wayward cells leaning towards becoming cancerous.
What’s Apoquel good at?
Taking OUT some of those kinases, remember?
Is an immune communication breakdown possible, when we mess with the kinases?
I’d bet on it.
And, it’s as if Zoetis never got the memo about how important our immune system is to prevent cancer:
APOQUEL may increase the chances of developing serious infections, and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or **pre-existing cancers** (emphasis mine) to get worse. — company literature
Pre-existing cancers?
Isn’t that what we’ve known about for all these decades?
They are ALL pre-existing until they get a green light to grow, aren’t they?
Read more here: https:/vitalanimal.com/apoquel-dog-1/
So what can we do for allergies that IS safe?
According to Dr Morgan, You Can't Solve Allergies if You Don't Fix the Diet!
- Improving the diet. In order to heal a leaky gut, a species-appropriate diet must be fed. The feeding of starches such as grains, potatoes, and legumes which break down to sugar, feeds the yeast and causes more inflammation. Feeding high-starch, highly processed food will not bring about good gut health. It is impossible to change the "allergy" outcome without changing the diet if the dog or cat eats a diet high in potatoes, legumes, or grains.
- A raw diet can manage a lot of food allergies. And it can also create an overall healthier dog with a stronger immune system to fight off environmental allergies.
- For more severe allergies in adult dogs, we recommend doing an elimination diet. This means feeding only meat/bone/organ of ONE SINGLE animal. No fruits, veggies, or treats of any kind. Do this for 6-8 weeks. Once stable, you add in ONE thing at a time. Just one! Then you can see what your dog is truly allergic to. It’s how we discovered blueberries were a huge trigger for Lucy. We never would have guessed that. We use My Pet Carnivore and start with a novel protein. Rabbit is cooling, according to Chinese medicine, which often makes it a good choice for allergies. Pork is neutral and we often start with this if rabbit is unavailable. Dr Morgans books From Needles To Naturals and Yin&Yang are an excellent resource for nutrition and health, and discuss Chinese medicine theory in more detail.
- There is a well-known connection between the microbiome (bacterial population) in the gut and healthy immunity. Chronic use of antibiotics destroys the microbiome, resulting in overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeast, swelling of the intestinal cells lining the gut, and an event called "leaky gut", where bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles are allowed to enter the bloodstream, setting up an immune reaction.
- Pre- and pro-biotics should be added to help repopulate the gut- we like Adored Beast Apothocary, as well as Answers Pet Food line.
- Digestive enzymes can also be used to help break down the food and lessen the work of the damaged bowel. The amino acid glutamine can help heal injured cells. Glutamine is found in high-protein foods such as meat and fish and in supplements.
- AnimalBiome offers a Microbiome Test. According to AnimalBiome, "We use genetic sequencing to detect bacterial imbalances, identify which groups may be causing problems, and tell you how to fix it. Our detailed test report provides personalized diet, lifestyle, and supplement recommendations to improve pet health." We have used this test with some of our rescue dogs (Hermione) to identify what pre/probiotics she is needing (or has in excess).
- Regular bathing with natural products to soothe the skin such as Kin+Kind, Skouts Honor, and Natural Dog Company
- Application of AnimalEO French GreenClay is very soothing to irritated skin. It can dry weepy, moist wounds. It cools and soothes irritations on the skin. It can act as an antibacterial as well as an anti-fungal.
Foot soaks with epsom salt can help relieve inflammation
- Acupuncture can be helpful for allergies. During Lucy's flare ups (which happened in the autumn when the leaves started to fall), she would get weekly acupuncture sessions.
- Finding a holistic vet knowledgable on Chinese herbs is also highly recommended. There are several options available, and a TCVM can help chose the right one.
But it’s not always just about diet. What about the environment? The following are toxic to both humans and pets and should be avoided.
- Fragrances in detergents
- Dryer Sheets
- Fabric Softeners
- Carpet Cleaners / Powder fresheners
- Floor cleaner such as Fabulouso, Pine Sol, etc
- Plug in air fresheners
- Fabreeze sprays
- Candles
- Fragrances in detergents
- Dryer Sheets
- Fabric Softeners
- Carpet Cleaners / Powder fresheners
- Floor cleaner such as Fabulouso, Pine Sol, etc
- Plug in air fresheners
- Fabreeze sprays
- Candles
Dogs Naturally Magazine also recommends replacing your chemical cleaning products with more natural options. This does double duty: it protects your dog from the harmful ingredients in the cleaners. And it can prevent the allergies that may come from exposure to them. You can find a bunch of safe recipes that won’t irritate your dog here.
Dogs Naturally Magazine reviews some natural methods of allergy support:
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