“Charlie” is a handsome 7 year old Dachshund who presented last fall for sneezing blood and not acting like his normal perky self. His temperature was normal, as were his x-rays and his bloodwork, but his eyes were a bit bugged out and he was definitely dazed acting. Because his eyes were bugged out, it suggested either his blood pressure or his eye pressure were high. His blood pressure was 190/177!! Dogs’ blood pressure should be just like ours: 120/90. Talk about alarming!!
Charlie immediately started taking to medications for blood pressure: enalapril and CoQ10. Interesting research has shown that the nutrient CoQ10 can reduce blood pressure about 10 points, just as more standard blood pressure medications, like enalapril, can. (Oh, and the blood sneezing immediately stopped, too.)
Charlie’s owners love him to bits and wanted to know what else they could do to help. My answer: stop feeding dry dog food as it is full of salt and salt increases blood pressure. They did and Charlie immediately started eating balanced meals of home-cooked people food.
Over the next two months, his blood pressure went back to normal and he was weaned off his medication. That fast, Charlie’s blood pressure went back to normal!!
Now, when he comes for a weekend of sleepovers, he’s back to his spunky self, plays with his sister and the other boarding dogs, and we expect him to be with us for many years to come. Bonus – his sister gets super healthy food too.
Dr. Cathy Alinovi DVM
As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Cathy treated 80% of what walked in the door — not with expensive prescriptions — but with adequate nutrition. Now retired from private practice, her commitment to pets hasn’t waned and she looks forward to impacting many more pet parents through her books, research, speaking and consulting work. Learn more at drcathyvet.com
jb
March 28, 2015 at 10:33 pm
Better to put him on a raw diet than cooked. He is missing amino acids, enzymes & other trace nutritional needs by cooking his food. Hope you are not adding fruits & vegetables. Instead add organ meats, 10%/90% to raw meat & bone.
Bet his values will be better.
jb
March 28, 2015 at 10:36 pm
By cooking meat for him you are eliminating L-Arginine. It is an amino acid the promotes nitric acid in the body that relaxes the arteries, hence lowers blood pressure.
Dr Cathy
March 29, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Arginine is still present in cooked foods. Overcooked foods denature protein and cause loss of full amino acid availability. This article gives one example of differences between cooking temperatures, digestibility and presence of amino acids, including arginine, in feed.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061252
See items 37 and 42 on the following list – raw turkey vs cooked – arginine is still present.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000089000000000000000.html
Anne
March 29, 2015 at 8:26 am
Thanks Dr. Kathy!
Ed Richards
July 6, 2023 at 1:45 pm
What is Charlies Weight and what was the dosage used for him ?