I’m sure many of you have heard about the benefits of the regular use of honey to alleviate allergies in humans, but what about our canine companions?
K9 Honey, according to their brochure, is “the first raw, unfiltered honey designated by nature for your dog’s overall wellness and vitality.” Since I happen to have a dog that suffers from severe year-round allergies, I thought I’d give it a shot, at this point I was open to anything to help him! Just as some humans use honey, K9 Honey boasts the ability to aid in what’s called immunotherapy. The idea is that over time regularly consuming small amounts of allergens, like pollen, your body will build up immunity to the allergen.
K9 Honey boasts they use honey harvested from areas all over the country, which would potentially offer a wider variety of allergens included to help build your pup’s immunity up to more allergens. The benefits of their honey, according to their brochure, include providing your pup with antioxidants, powerful nutrients, antibacterial and antimicrobial components, and natural enzymes. K9 Honey suggests other added benefits, besides allergy relief, that include improved digestive function, prevention of infection due to viruses or bacteria, increased energy, kennel cough symptom relief (which many find honey relieves coughing and sore throats in humans as well), and prevention of ear infections.
The real questions though, does it work and will the dogs eat it?
Let’s start with the latter part of that question, and the answer is an enormous YES! My dog was PUMPED to gobble this treat down! The recommended dosage suggestion by K9 Honey for my dog was 2 TSP a day. They also suggested making it a meal topper, but I found that wasn’t necessary. My boy happily and excitedly licked it right off the spoon. He even got so used to this treat he would begin to dance as soon as I picked it up.
Now to go back to the first part of the question, does it work? Honestly, I can’t say for sure as my dog is on regular allergy meds from his vet. It didn’t cause him any harm at all, he enjoyed it, and his symptoms of itchiness have improved, but I cannot say for sure if the honey played a part or not. Speaking to his vet about it she said to follow the suggested servings to not overload his system with the added sugar, but since his blood work was otherwise perfect there was no harm in adding this treat to his regular allergy treatment.
Bottom line: Always consult your vet before adding any kind of medication or home remedy to your furry family member’s regime, but as long as your vet gives an ok then K9 Honey is definitely a treat they’ll enjoy to potentially give their immune system a boost!
