In my last blog post we talked about how there has been a lack of studies done on dogs with cancer and nutritional needs/protocols and there has especially been a lack of research on ketogenic diets and dogs with cancer.
I mentioned PetDiets.com, which is the resources we used to get additional information to make sure we were feeding Max properly and giving him the right amount of nutrition while on his cancer journey.
I ended my last post about cutting out carbs to starve the cancer while feeding your dog.
You can learn from our mistake here! Read carefully!
We were excited bc we thought we were doing the right thing with Max's new food regime, and while we were on the right track, we were missing out on some healthy fats for him that would allow him to maintain his weight.
When we switched him over to a Ketogenic diet, he was getting WAY less than 20g of carbs per day. He is eating a lot of fibrous veggies and proteins but since he had very little carbs and his diet didn't have a lot of fat in it, he started to lose weight.
While for us, we may get excited when we drop a few pounds - for a dog and especially a dog with cancer, losing weight is not something you want.
In a matter of about 5 weeks, Max had lost around 7lbs.
Another reason Max was losing weight was because he was fasting and skipping meals prior to (and sometimes after) each treamtment. He had treatments for 5 weeks in a row, so he was skipping MEALS one day a week, for 5 straight weeks.
Something that is important to know about feeding a dog with cancer is that dogs (and people) can eventually get what is called "Cancer Cochexia". This is a metabolic condition that causes weight loss, loss of appetite and fatigue. Dogs can lose muscle mass and their immune system can be affected by this.
It's important to know that tumor cells get their energy from glucose in the dog's bloodstream, so it is very important that dogs get the right carbohydrates that will give them energy without giving their tumor energy. Simple carbs like those from grains are the sources of glucose that tumors use and feed on, so your dog should be limited with these types of carbs and only be fed low-glucose carbs from things like fruits and veggies.
Both your dog and their tumor need protein to survive, so make sure to give your dog enough protein so it can maintain muscle mass and to help keep their immunity strong even with the tumor taking some.
It's important to note, too, that too much protein gets converted over to carbs.
SAY WHAT!?
Yep.
It's true.
Too much protein can be hard on their kidneys as well as constipating them.
(insert picture of my head spinning here)
So, the first thing we learned was that we needed to get Max back to his ideal weight (or slightly more) to avoid Cancer Cachexia and to allow him room for the meals he would skip during chemo weeks when he may not be feeling the greatest. It's also good to know that when they have treatment days, they will fast prior to treatment and probably skip a meal or two that day which can cause weight loss, so keeping them at their optimal weight is important.
Once we noticed Max losing weight, we focused on adding in healthy fats and adding additional meals for him.
Pre-cancer, he would eat 2 meals a day. Breakfast & dinner with a bunch of goodies throughout the day (kong bone, treats, veggies, fruits, etc).
When you feed a dog with cancer, especially if you switch over to a food regime like ours, it will AMAZE you how much food they are eating. We were SHOCKED at the quantity of food Max was getting per meal when we looked at it BUT he was eating fresh food now instead of kibble (we do give him 1/4 kibble per day - I will talk more about that below).
With the meals he was getting, he was easily eating more than I was in a day!
Since we needed to add in more healthy fats, we made sure to put it where it would count. Instead of feeding him organic chicken breasts, he was fed organic chicken thighs, since thighs are higher in fats. With turkey, he would eat ground turkey that had 7% or more of fat. He gets either greek yogurt or cottage cheese for lunch, both of which are full fat and made with whole milk (nothing reduced fat or skim).
Max started putting weight back on slowly right away once we bulked up his feedings, added lunch and a late night (7-8pm) meal, and once we focused on healthy fats.
Here are some pics of his meals and lunches:
For treats, instead of just fruits, we give him kale treats (2 a day) which is how we give him his CBD oil, and I freeze greek yogurt in ice cube trays (and I add a few blueberries and cut up strawberries) for a fun frozen snack.
Here is Max with a yogurt stache!
He is putting weight back on with this new regime now thankfully!
And here is what Max thinks of his new food regime!
As you can see, he is pretty happy! :)
A few other things we learned that may be helpful for you:
1. Healthy dogs should get on average the same amount of protein in grams as their body weight. For example, if your dog weighs 36lbs, they should roughly get 36g of protein per day. For dogs with cancer, the protein amount needs to be higher bc the tumor will take up some of that protein.
2. On a dry matter basis, your dog should be getting moderate to increased proteins at around 30-45% of their daily diet. (dry matter basis is explained below)
3. Dogs with cancer should have moderate to high fat intake at around 25-40% (on a dry matter basis)
4. Dogs with cancer should have no more than 25% carbs in a day.
5. Dogs with cancer should have Omega 3 fatty acids (although supplements can affect chemotherapy so this should typically come from food sources).
6. Dogs with cancer should have arginine in their diet. Read here about arginine: https://en.wikivet.net/Arginine_-_Nutrition . Chicken thighs are high in arginine so if you are feeding them chicken thighs, they should be getting the proper amount.
7. Always choose chicken over beef. Beef has a lot of fat, and although your dog needs fats, healthy fats are more important. Chicken has a lot of nutrients that your dog needs and it's easy on their stomach. It's always good to have a good rotation of proteins for your dogs, but most of their meat based protein should come from chicken for your dog with cancer.
Side note: I boil my chicken thighs for 40 minutes on the stove top and then shred it.
8. Another tip we learned along the way is that too much protein can cause constipation (just like in people). We noticed Max straining to poop and we noticed when we did give him carbs (we went back to feeding him 1/4 cup of grain free kibble a day mixed in with his other food which has other nutrients in it that he needs) his poop looked better and there was not much straining. To help him with straining as well, I give him 1/4 teaspoon of MetaMucil (regular, not flavored, and make sure it doesn't have sugar substitutes in it) in his breakfast and then 1/8 teaspoon with his dinner.
To sum up: Current recommendations for cancer management in adult dogs are as follows (Dry Matter Basis (DMB)): 1 Digestible carbohydrates: avoid excess, <25% DMB, or <20% of the food’s Metabolizable Energy (ME) Fat: Provide a large proportion of energy from fat = 25-40% of DMB, or 50-65% of the food’s ME Omega-3 fatty acids: >5% DMB Omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio: as close to 1:1 as possible in formulation Protein: avoid deficiency – provide in excess of adult requirements = 30-45% DMB or 25-40% of the food’s ME Arginine: Provide foods with arginine >2% DMB
To figure out Dry Matter basis:
To determine first the % dry matter by subtracting the moisture % from 100, then dividing each nutrient by this number.
This will provide a means to compare nutrients across diets with different moisture levels (dry, canned, or homemade/fresh diets), and a means to compare to recommended nutrient levels for cancer management.
Example: Guaranteed Analysis (As Fed) = Crude protein - 12%, Crude Fat - 16%, Moisture – 67% Dry Matter = 100 – 67 = 33% or 0.33 Crude Protein (Dry Matter Basis) = 12 / 0.33 = 36.3% Crude Protein DMB Crude Fat (Dry Matter Basis) = 16 / 0.33 = 48.5% Crude Fat DMB
I know this is a lot of info but I promise once you figure out their food regime, you will feel much better and confident knowing that you are feeding the dog and not the cancer AND that you are giving your furry loved one the right nutrition for their journey.
I could recommend PetDiets.Com. They are $$ but it is an investment in your dog. We paid $200 for a 30 minute teleconference call but I was able to put together a list of questions before hand and we made the most of our time on the call. They also send you a written summary of everything discussed so you don't have to be writing like mad while you are on the phone.
I hope some of this info helped you and if you have questions please don't hesitate to reach out! You can do this! Your dog can do this!
Cost of TeleConference:
$200
Much love from Max and I!
xoxoxo
Brenda
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