Building Resilient Defences

· by Glendon Lloyd Dip.Canine.Nutrition Dip.Dog.Nutrigenomics

The Gut-Immune Axis in Dogs - Supporting Their Best Health

The Gut-Immune Axis

Why This Matters

If your dog seems to catch every bug going around or battles recurring infections, the answer may lie not in boosting immunity, but in supporting the gut. Approximately 70% of immune tissue resides in the gut, making it ground zero for disease resistance.

What the Science Shows

  • The gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) is the body’s largest immune organ
  • Gut bacteria ‘educate’ the immune system, teaching it to distinguish between threats and harmless substances
  • When this education fails due to dysbiosis, the immune system may overreact (allergies) or underreact (infections)
  • SCFAs (short-chain fatty acids) promote regulatory T cells that prevent excessive inflammation whilst maintaining pathogen vigilance

How to Support It

  • Feed prebiotic fibres to support SCFA-producing bacteria
  • Maintain gut barrier integrity with L-glutamine and zinc
  • Include omega-3 fatty acids for balanced inflammatory responses
  • Consider postbiotics for dogs with impaired bacterial populations

Key Insight

A healthy immune system isn’t about maximum strength — it’s about appropriate responses. The gut trains the immune system to react proportionally.

Recommended: Bonza Superfoods & Ancient Grains + Bioactive Bites ‘Biotics’

(Foundation + Targeted Support)

✓ Superfoods provides comprehensive gut foundation with pre/pro/postbiotics

✓ Biotics delivers concentrated microbiome support to optimise the gut where 70% of immune tissue resides

✓ Combined approach strengthens the gut-immune axis at its source — a thriving microbiome that properly educates immune cells

DISCOVER THE SCIENCE OF THE GUT-IMMUNE AXIS

About Glendon Lloyd Dip.Canine.Nutrition Dip.Dog.Nutrigenomics

I have had dogs from the day I was born. Much to my Mum's amusement, my Dad bought home Zetta, a beautiful corgi puppy , as his contribution to our new family!

Fast forward to 2018 and Catherine, my wife, and one of our dogs Poppy, were both diagnosed and treated for cancer within months of each other

Diet and its impact on health, cancer particularly, led me down a rabbit hole of discovery.

I consumed information voraciously - on our diets, our dogs' diets and the impact these have not just on health but also the health of our increasingly fragile planet.

I was humbled by the time and expertise given so freely by doctors and vets, canine nutritionists and scientists, academics and agronomists. The more I learned the more I understood there had to be a better way to improve not just our health but also our dogs and the planet's.

The result of my trip down that rabbit hole is Bonza, a plant-based dog food (and now supplements) that elevate our dogs' diet beyond simple nutrition to a diet that inspires a healthier everyday life for our dogs and the planet.

I am continually researching the nutritional impact our dogs' diets have on their health and wellbeing and the ingredients and nutrients we should include in, and exclude from, their food to deliver longer, healthier lives.

I am delighted that my trip down the rabbit hole has led to me completing a Diploma in Canine Nutrigenomics and a Diploma in Canine Nutrition being awarded a Distinction for both my coursework and theses!

ADD LIFE TO YOUR DOG'S YEARS

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