Whether your beloved canine companion suffers from chronic yeast infections, skin problems, arthritis or hip dysplasia; it's time to take a look at the facts regarding dog enzymes. In terms of ensuring your dog's health, longevity and happiness, this may be one of the most important things you read.



Digestion is a process that is facilitated by digestive enzymes. These enzymes are both created in the dog's pancreas but are also supplied when your dog eats foods like raw meat and vegetables or ingests a specially designed enzyme supplement.

Since enzymes are destroyed during the cooking process, most kibble dog foods lack these necessary vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids, probiotics and digestive enzymes that a dog needs to maintain optimal health. When a dog's pancreas has to overwork to supply these necessary enzymes, the digestive and endocrine systems become stressed. This can lead to several severe health problems as the dog enters early middle age, if not sooner.

One solution to the problem of enzyme deprivation is to reintroduce a digestive enzyme in the form of a supplement to your dog's daily diet. By providing a digestive supplement to your dog's daily diet, many health problems are at least minimized if not eliminated entirely.

Besides aiding in disease prevention through a boost in the immune system, the addition of a digestive enzyme reduces inflammation of the joints and can often help clear up severe allergies as well. For dogs that have chronic problems with their joints, especially larger breeds, dog enzymes can mean the difference between a lively healthy lifestyle or a quality of life that is so poor that euthanasia must be considered.

In the event that surgery is necessary, an enzyme supplement can speed-up the recovery process by reducing fatigue and infection that occur after inoculations, as well as the grogginess and the disorientation from the use of anesthetics. Digestive supplements can also help if the tissue around a surgical wound has been irritated.

Mention to your veterinarian that you would like to start your dog on an enzyme supplement before the surgery. Keep in mind that most vets do not carry these types of supplements and choices are limited at pet stores, but you can find a few premium digestive enzyme supplements online.

Some dogs or breeds (including mixed breeds) that are deep chested are susceptible to "Bloat", a life threatening condition that causes a gas build-up in the stomach. The dog's stomach is unable to expel gas through the normal process of flatulence, belching or vomiting which causes the stomach to dilate, expand and flip itself.

This is a condition that every dog owner should be aware of, especially since it can happen at any given time. Again, this is life threatening and a true emergency with as little as a half an hour to get the dog to the vet.

The job of digestive enzymes whether through raw food or a supplement is to support healthy digestion and with a healthy digestive system, there is little gas or flatulence.For a dog that gulps his food or the deep chested dogs, a dog enzyme supplement will ultimately aid in preventing "Bloat".

I know for a fact the importance of dog enzymes because I have seen the results myself. I have a Doberman that gulps her food in two bites and a Yellow Lab that suffered with severe allergies for many years. Although they have always been fed an ultra premium dog food; before adding a digestive enzyme to their daily diet, they both suffered with constant flatulence.

These days their coats are beautiful and their skin is intact. Their digestive systems are healthy and they have very little flatulence. Any allergy problems are minimal now. For years I traveled back and forth to the vet's office for the same problems with the same results, "none"; now my dog's see the veterinarian for basic check ups once a year.

When thinking about your dog's health, it is important to look ahead and take control. Consider what the addition of digestive enzymes can do for your dog and how much better your dog's health could be.