You are what you digest. The same is true for your pets. That’s why many vegetarians and pet nutrition experts increasingly recognize digestive enzyme supplements. Digestive enzymes are produced in the pancreas and salivary glands and help break down the protein, carbohydrate, and fat components of food for use by the body. As animals age, the production of these enzymes often slows down. Supplements are particularly beneficial to aging animals with slumping enzyme production. Deficiencies can also be genetically related, and symptoms will show up among puppies.

Research shows a strong connection between deficiencies and diseases-both acute and chronic. Common signs of deficiencies are voluminous stool, often with undigested fat clearly visible; animals who eat their own feces; and animals who are overtly underweight despite big appetites.

Many holistic veterinarians use enzyme supplements as a primary tool in dealing with many different problems. In some cases they recommend enzymes alone, while in many others it is one part of a multiple-remedy approach. Improved hair coat and skin, increased vigor, a reduction in allergic problems, and maintenance of good body weight are typical benefits of supplementation. Many animals also become more resistant to disease and infections when supplemented. Veterinarians say that enzymes may also aid older animals suffering from joint ailments. By enhancing digestion and absorption of nutrients, including antioxidants and the mineral magnesium, the body is better able to counteract harmful degenerative processes.

Digestive enzyme formulas contain the individual enzyme components that break down different kinds of food. Protease is the enzyme that breaks down protein. Amylase works on carbohydrates, and lipase is the fat-breaking enzyme. Veterinarians advise that it is important to use supplements with a balanced formula of enzymes.

Over the years, highly effective plant-based enzyme supplements for pets have been developed from Aspergillis orzae (a fungus) that are much less expensive than prescription products derived from animals. These supplements are widely available in health food stores and pet stores.

Deficiency and Malabsorption-Alfred Plechner, DVM

Malabsorption, the inability to properly absorb nutrients from food, is a major problem that isn’t talked about much. I find that about 70 percent of my patients cannot digest food properly. Often an animal has plenty of enzymes, but our modern foods are so concentrated and have so many unnatural combinations that they appear to outstrip the ability to break them down.

Splayed toes and cow-hocked legs are signs that animals aren’t absorbing their calcium correctly. I see this all the time. This is a reflection of malnourishment in general. The whole system is being shortchanged.

The classic sign of a trypsin deficiency is an animal eating its own stool. Trypsin is a major pancreatic digestive enzyme that contributes to the breakdown of protein, fats, and carbohydrates, in my practice I routinely test animals for trypsin. Over the years I have determined that nearly a quarter of them have small or moderate trypsin deficiencies.

The impact of deficiency can show up early in puppies, as soon as they start eating solid food. They may grow at a slower pace or not reach full size. The signs could also possibly take several years to show. Often there is an allergic like dermatitis, hair loss, and red, scaly itchy skin that an animal gnaws on constantly. You may see large stools, often with undigested fat clearly visible. In some rapidly growing puppies and hunting and working dogs, the Malabsorption may cause a weakness and lameness.

Dogs with an enzyme deficiency are often thought to be thin despite a ravenous appetite. This is not so in every case. Sometimes the deficiency may contribute to obesity. Many commercial foods have poor-quality, adulterated sources of protein that are hard to break down. The carbohydrates may be easier to break down. So an animal eating voluminous amounts of food in order to get more nutrition will take in more-and absorb more-carbohydrates. This translates to more calories and may result in weight gain.

The causes of trypsin deficiency are basically twofold:

1. Genetic. When I first became interested in this problem, I traced a deficiency problem through generations of German Shepherds, Dobermans, and Irish Setters. Now I find it in virtually all breeds, including mixed breeds. The problem is a hormonal-immune disorder due to contemporary breeding practices (see Plechner’s explanation of this disorder in chapter 16).

2. Acquired. Viral and bacterial infection, or any insult to the pancreas, can affect trypsin production. The aging process also slows down the pancreas and often interferes with enzyme activity. I find this problem present now in practically all breeds, pure or mixed, regardless of age. It shows up earlier in life if the genetic hormonal-immune imbalance is more severe.

With or without such deficiencies, many dogs simply do not have the digestive juices to break down the highly concentrated and processed foods they are fed. The result is malabsorption of food and often food allergies (see section of food allergies). If not enough nutrition is extracted from the food, dogs may be attracted to stool that is loaded with undigested food. Dogs love cat stool because protein levels are way too high in cat food and cats cannot digest the food totally (see stool eating later in this section).

Another aspect of malabsorption is when dogs eat nonfood items. You would be surprised at some of the things they eat. Plastic. Socks. Panty hose. Thread. String. Paper. This unnatural craving is called “pica.” In my opinion it is caused by a number of things, such as an enzyme deficiency in which the animal can’t fulfill its nutritional needs; a mineral deficiency-that is, not enough trace minerals in the diet; and food sensitivities that aggregate the gut and interfere with proper absorption.

The solution for these kind of problems is often fairly simple-the addition of a good nutritional supplement. The product I use is Power for Life, made by Terra Oceana (805-640-9429). With a wide range of trace minerals, enzymes, and whole-food factors, it covers the malabsorption problem very well.

Dosage — Follow label instructions.

{citation: part 2, pp. 134-137}

The Alcohol Cooler-Alfred Plechner, DVM

If the temperature is over 90 degrees and the animal is showing signs of being bothered by the heat, such as panting or drinking excessively, apply some rubbing alcohol to the pads of the feet. This will help bring down the temperature.

{citation: part 2, p. 180}

WHY SKIN ALLERGIES?

Medical dictionaries define an allergy as “a hypersensitive state acquired through exposure to a particular allergen.” An allergen is any substance that can cause an immediate or delayed reaction. Such substances include pollen, dust, mold, food, chemicals, or an insect bite, such as a fleabite.

Humans sniffle, sneeze, cough, and wheeze when their bodies have been “insulted” by an allergen. Dogs most frequently itch and scratch. The difference has to do with mast cells, specialized cells in the body that respond to allergens by production of a chemical called histamine. It is the release of histamine that triggers symptoms by causing small blood vessels to leak and ooze fluid, resulting in a swelling of tissue. In humans, the mast cells are highly concentrated in the area of the eyes, nose, and windpipe. That’s why people with hay fever experience nasal congestion, a result of leaky vessels and swelling in the nose. In animals, the cells are concentrated on the sides of the face, paws, armpit, and groin. “A common saying is that if your pet is a face rubber, foot licker, and armpit scratcher, then he’s probably allergic to something,” says Ernest K. Smith, DVM, secretary of the Academy of Veterinary Allergy and Clinical Immunology, as quoted in a 1994 article in the Orange County (California) Register.

Many sensitive people are intolerant to multiple substances. This can cause unique combinations of physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms. The same is true for animals. Skin is affected most frequently, but intestinal disorders, behavioral disturbances, seizures, and other problems also occur, both with or without a concurrent skin problem. New allergies can arise any time an animal is exposed to any substance for a period of time. Some allergic reactions appear after exposure to a single allergen. Others appear only after exposure to multiple substances. It depends on an animal’s individual resistance.

{citation: part 2, pp. 224-225}

Enzymes Plus Trace Minerals – Alfred Plechner, DVM

In combating skin problems, a plant-based digestive enzyme supplement for pets is very beneficial. Add it directly into the food. The enzymes improve nutritional absorption. Older or sickly animals are very often deficient in digestive enzymes. Supplementation benefits the entire system, including the skin.

I also recommend a good nutritional supplement with trace minerals because the soil we grow our food in is often deficient in minerals. Minerals are the building materials of strong bones, tissue, teeth, nails, and hair coat. Along with the major minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc, there are dozens of other lesser-known elements-needed in tiny, trace amounts-that are important for health. Mineral deficiencies are involved in many common disorders. I reached this conclusion through the simple step of supplementing the diets of animals with natural products containing seventy or so different minerals. Supplementation with minerals is highly beneficial. Within a six-month period I usually see the following results:

* Improvement in general health.

* Darker, thicker hair coat with increased luster.

* Reduced scratching.

* Reduced flakiness.

* Better maintenance of body weight with reduced caloric intake.

* In geriatric dogs, increased activity and improved condition of hair coat.

* Animals plagued by fleas appear to be less attractive to insects. You can see that affect usually within a few weeks.

Many of my clients supplement enzymes and trace minerals for both healing and general prevention. I recommend a palatable product called Power For Life, made by Terra Oceana (805-640-9429), which contains an effective array of enzymes, nutrients, and trace minerals. When dealing with a skin problem, use the enzymes and minerals therapeutically for seven days straight and check for progress. If you don’t see improvement by that time, continue the supplements but switch your animal to a simple diet such as cottage cheese and potatoes. If you start seeing improvement, then start adding back individual foods, a single food a week at a time (see Plechner’s add-back plan in the food allergy section). If that approach doesn’t work, you probably need to look at imbalances in the animal’s hormonal system (see chapter 16).

Over the years dry, itchy, scaly skin has often been treated with fatty acid supplements. Fatty acids can indeed help the quality of the skin and hair coat if there is a deficiency, which is, in fact, fairly common. However, food allergies, deficiencies in digestive enzymes, and imbalances in hormones can also often create this same unhealthy skin condition. And is there is an enzyme deficiency or imbalance, the fatty acids may not become absorbed and reach the skin, instead they bind with minerals and fat-soluble vitamins and go out with the stool.

{citation: part 2, pp.234-235}

Power For Life: Follow label instructions