Nutrition for a Dog with Cancer..... Part 1

Once Max was diagnosed with cancer, we dove into researching everything we could on canine cancer, treatments, and how to care for Max. We had no clue about the journey that would lie ahead and we didn't know anything about
cancer in dogs or the care that Max would need.

It was a lot of research!!!

Overwhelming to be honest. There is just so much to know and things you should know that you would have never thought to ask!

If this is you and you are experiencing cancer in your dog, take a deep breath, don't panic, and know there are a ton of resources out there to help you! Yes you! Also remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. You are not going to learn everything right now and you will continue to learn months after your pet's diagnosis. My best advice to you is to not do this alone. Ask questions and when you think you have asked all the questions there are.... ask more!!

I am about to get on my soap box for a hot minute..... are you ready?

I am climbing up there. Ok

Here goes....

RELY ON OTHERS that have gone through this experience ahead of you!

GASP!

What did she say?

RELY ON OTHERS?!

Say what?!?!?!?!

Hear me out.

It's important to not go solely by what you read on the internet or what others have gone through, bc cancer is such a personalized disease.

BUT! BUT! BUT!

You can find trustworthy and reliable resources on the internet through articles written by renowned vets, specialists and others that have walked this path before you. Just because someone does not have a veterinarian degree does not mean they can't be helpful in what they've learned through this process, even if you are just getting emotional support from them.

As always, seek advice from your oncologist(s) and the medical professionals bc that is what they are there for! They are educated and trained to handle your dog's specific ailment and cancer and that is what they do.

If you learn about something from the internet or from a friend, take it to your doctor(s) and ask them about it. They will guide you and give you their medical expertise and advice. I did this A LOT (thank goodness our doctors love us!) and some things I had heard and read from others were not going to be ideal for Max during his treatment BUT (there is that BUT again!).... there were other things I had learned, and when I asked our doctors about it, they said "Sure! Absolutely do that!".

You have to remember, you are with your doctors and oncologists for a short period of time. They don't live with you. They are treating your dog. They have a short amount of time with you. They also have other case loads and patients to treat so they don't have the time to sit down with you to cover everything.

Most of your time spent with them will be to put together a treatment protocol and then to work that treatment plan. The extra things like nutrition, supplements, CBD, etc will be things you want to run by them and educate yourself with.

I was told early on in Max's journey to not go by what others are saying and to solely go by our doctors and vets but I will say, after walking this journey myself, I don't agree with that.

I DO THINK you need to run things by your vet and your medical team - DO NOT EVER put your dog on something that you are unsure of or that you simply read about. EVERYTHING should be ran by your doctors.

E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!

What I am saying however, is, do your research. Ask questions. Talk with others that have gone through this before you. Get advice. Get feedback. Then, take it to your doctor and medical team and get their opinions and final approval on things. MOST of what I know about canine cancer has been because of the research I have done and the questions I have asked. Not from what my doctors have told me. I am not saying our doctors are not great bc we are being treated by one of the TOP Vet schools in the entire country! They are AMAZING! WE LOVE THEM!

BUT, they only have so much time with you. A lot of what you will learn will come from your research and then going back and talking with your oncologist about it.

Hope this has made sense and was helpful.

Soap box done. :)

Back to nutrition needs for your pet with cancer.

Upon my research, I was running across information about pet food and cancer fighting benefits certain foods have in dogs with cancer and how a dog's nutritional needs would change with a cancer diagnosis. The interesting thing I found when researching was that there are not a lot of studies that have been done on dogs with cancer regarding food and nutrition.

Say this isn't so?!?!!? I KNOW!

But, it's true.

There have been studies done on people, cats, and rodents.... but not a ton of studies yet on dogs.

Hmph.

Sigh.

So let's dig deeper.

We started looking for a vet nutritionist so we could get some questions answered and vet nutritionists are hard to come by!

WHAT!?

Yep.

This is also true.

MSU doesn't currently have one, which was shocking to us. The nutritionist that was there has opened her own practice here in Michigan. I was able to track her down and get in touch with her to request a consultation but she is currently in Canada (eh) for the next year teaching but she directed me to a nutritional group at petdiets.com (https://www.petdiets.com/) that may be able to help us.

A little about PetDiets.com: Petdiets.com is the largest independent veterinary nutrition service with 5 nutritionists, all of whom are veterinarians and with combined 100+ years of clinical practice, research, teaching, industry and private consulting experience. They provide teleconsulting services for pet owners and veterinarians and they've been around for 19 years (they were started by Veterinary Nutritional Consultations which is an independent consulting service for professionals and pet owners that are seeking nutritional advice for their pets).

Since we really wanted to learn as much as we could about Max's nutritional needs during his cancer journey, we reached out to them and set up a teleconsult with one of their veterinarians so Colin and I could discuss questions we had on Max's nutrition and make sure we were on the right track with feeding him and taking care of him (see blog post about Max's food regime - https://maxiesadventures.blogspot.com/2019/07/new-food-regime.html ).

When you find out your beloved dog has cancer, their nutritional needs will change. The biggest thing that I learned and something that is important to know about canine cancer is that cancer feeds on sugars and carbohydrates.

The first thing we did was to put Max on a keto diet and remove most carbs from his eating/treat plan. We started feeding him a diet consisting of dehydrated raw veggies (Dr. Harveys Paradigm - $87.99 for a 6lb bag that lasts us a little less than 30 days) and homecooked organic proteins (chicken, turkey, beef, eggs). More info to come on this meal plan in Part 2 of this blog post.

By reducing the carbs, it can starve the cancer, which is the goal.

But wait!

There is more to know!

Just like people, when we go on a Keto diet, we tend to do it to lose weight. The same thing will happen to your dog when you place them on a Keto diet and remove the carbs, so you will need to adjust accordingly to ensure they are getting the right amount of protein, healthy fats, etc.

I am going to end this blog post since this blog post is going so long but I have Part 2 for this post for you now!

You can check it out here: https://maxiesadventures.blogspot.com/2019/09/nutrition-for-dog-with-cancer-part-2.html


I hope some of this info has been helpful so far for you in learning how to help your dog. Please comment below or message me if you have any questions!

xoxoxo,
Brenda and Max