April 03, 2020 4 min read
Autoimmune disease in dogs can be one of the more stressful diagnoses for pet owners to receive from their veterinarians. There are numerous causes for the disease and it is never easy to pin down exactly what causes the disease and keeps it difficult to treat. The basic thing pet owners should understand about the disease is that the body’s immune system is attacking itself because it identifies healthy tissue as unhealthy or viral tissue. The disease can be found in a vast subset of conditions, including but not limited to: lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, Cushing’s, Bullous Pemphigoid, and Pemphigus complex. These conditions can happen at all ages during a dog’s life, from infancy to old age, but obviously they are considered more serious when a dog is very young or very old.
Below we’ll go over some more specific information about autoimmune disease in dogs, including possible causes and symptoms, as well as treatment plans, including all-natural and organic alternatives to pharmaceuticals known to cause negative side-effects. Keep reading to learn more!
Causes for autoimmune diseases in dogs are considered vast and varied, and it is often hard for doctors to figure out exactly what got things started in the first place. Veterinarians may point to poor diets composed of toxic compounds or unhealthy animal byproducts, medications such as steroids or sulfa drugs, ticks, seasonal allergies, etc. Some also consider over-vaccination to be a possible cause for the disease. That being said, there is also a genetic component to be considered, and it is very possible that many dogs that come down with an autoimmune disease were predisposed to do so because of their ancestry and breeding background. It is important to have your dog in for a full work-up at the veterinarian’s office, that way all possible causes can be considered. If an environmental factor is thought to be causing the disease, there is a good chance making simple changes in your home can turn things around for your dog.
If a dog is genetically predisposed to develop an autoimmune disease, symptoms may show up early on in life, but generally, symptoms from these conditions often make their onset mid-life. Symptoms can remain localized or spread to multiple parts of the body, depending on the underlying cause of the condition and how aggressively the body’s immune system reacts. Below are just a few symptoms common to autoimmune diseases in dogs:
These are some of the more common symptoms known to autoimmune disorders, and they can vary depending on how early they’re found and treated, and how severe the underlying cause is. Dog owners who keep a keen eye on the health of their dogs should realize when one or more symptoms develop and contact a veterinarian ASAP.
Until recently, autoimmune diseases in dogs were commonly treated with pharmaceutical products. Unfortunately, many pharmaceutical products often exacerbate the problem, making the disease difficult to treat and making it something pet owners have to deal with for a long time. Dog owners looking for an organic, all-natural alternative to pharmaceutical products will be happy to learn of the benefits of CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabis-derived compound that is thought to have the potential to fight inflammation at the root level and keep dogs from suffering from unneeded pain and discomfort. By interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system, a newly discovered system in the body that is thought to play a role in everything from regulating body temperature and healthy digestion to symptom management, CBD, whether in oil, edible, or topical form, is thought to be able to reduce pain and inflammation, restore balance to the body, reduce cell damage from autoimmune attacks, reduce the amount of autoimmune attacks, and slow T-cell production to moderate a dog’s immune response system.
It can be a huge help to dogs suffering from one or more symptoms of autoimmune disorders to have a dietary addition like CBD oil lessen the toll the condition causes their body without risking negative side effects. That is one of the pluses to incorporating an all-natural, organic treatment plan. CBD for dogs and autoimmune diseases were never studied together in the past, but increasingly, research is pointing to the ways in which the cannabis-derived compound may be able to fight inflammation and keep it at a low level, when included in a dog’s diet on a consistent basis. King Kanine can help dog owners find the right product for their pet, as well as help them adjust the dosage, that way they can rest assured knowing they’re giving their little friend the best treatment possible.
Have any more questions about autoimmune diseases in dogs and how CBD might help? Reach out to one of the experts at King Kanine today and get your questions answered. Be sure to join our community of informed readers and shoppers, too, by commenting below. King Kanine is at the forefront of all-natural treatment plans for pets, and we care about your opinion. Get in touch today!