Brittany Ippolito
July 1, 2026
Why cooling diets aren't always the answer to your dog's inflammatory condition.
Heat is an observation, not a diagnosis.
Warm ears, warm paws, panting, seeking cool floors…
These are observations that tell us a dog is feeling warm, but they don’t tell us why the dog is warm.
One of the most common things I see recommended in dog groups is to feed a cooling diet whenever a dog develops itchy skin, hot spots, ear infections, or other signs of Heat. Sometimes that advice is exactly right, the dog heals, and the owner never looks back.
For another dog though, that advice may not bring the same healing.
The challenge isn't recognizing that your dog feels warm. The challenge is understanding what their body is trying to accomplish.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), cooling foods aren't simply foods that “lower temperature.”
Cooling foods encourage the body to conserve rather than mobilize. They often have physiological effects that are inward, descending, moistening, calming, heat-clearing, or detoxifying.
Those properties can be incredibly helpful for dogs whose bodies are genuinely overwhelmed by inflammation or whose fluids have become depleted.
But food therapy isn't just about reducing symptoms. It's about supporting the body's ability to heal, and healing is not a static process.
My own dog, Zeus, completely changed the way I think about cooling diets.
Zeus is a 6 pound poodle, with enough personality and energy for a dog ten times his size. If you met him, you would probably assume he was a dog that naturally "runs warm."
I certainly did, and whenever he developed signs of Heat, my reaction was to cool him down.
At first this seemed to work. Until it didn’t.
I began noticing a shift in his personality. He became quieter, less confident, less expressive. His energy retreated inwards, and the strangest part was that he actually became warmer.
When I changed his meals to better support movement instead of simply trying to reduce Heat, his confidence returned, his personality opened back up, and many of the signs I had been trying to "cool" began to disappear.
One of the core principles of TCM is:
Two dogs can both have warm ears, seek cool floors, and develop red, irritated skin.
One may truly benefit from cooling foods. The other may not.
Sometimes the Heat itself is the problem. Other times, Heat develops because something deeper isn't moving as well as it should.
Imagine a traffic jam.
What happens?
The traffic jam is expressing signs of Heat, but Heat isn't the root of the problem.
Now, imagine turning off all the engines.
Sure, things become cooler, but nobody gets home.
The real solution is not to cool. It is to restore movement.
Cooling foods absolutely have an important place in food therapy.
There are dogs that genuinely need them, and for some of those dogs they remain an important part of their long-term nutritional plan.
As healing progresses, the body's needs often change. A cooling diet may only be one phase of treatment and not necessarily the destination.
For example, a body that has already cleared much of its inflammation, or Heat, it may begin asking for something different: better circulation, stronger digestion, healthier movement, or the nourishment needed to rebuild tissues.
If we focus only on reducing Heat without asking why the Heat is there, we risk treating the symptom instead of supporting the process that created it.
Instead of asking:
"What cooling food should I feed my warm dog?"
Try asking:
"Why is my dog warm in the first place?"
The goal of food therapy isn't simply to cool a warm dog. The goal is to give the body what it needs to restore balance.
Sometimes that means cooling. Sometimes that means nourishing. Sometimes, as Zeus taught me, it means helping the body move again.
If you are having a difficult time assessing what your dog is communicating, book a nutritional consultation and let’s work through it together --> https://www.dogfoodtherapy.com/consultations
Looking for advice and help with your dog's diet and nutritional needs?
Book a one on one call with me where we'll go through your dog's history, habits and any current health concerns. You'll receive tailored recipes and food/herbal therapy guidance on what will best meet their needs. I am also available to chat if you have questions along the way!
