Dog Community

canine cancer

Posted : 2/14/2012 1:10:18 AM

When I had Honey in this week my vet was telling me that he is seeing more and more cancers, especially cacners he rarely saw when he started out 20 years ago. He said last week 3 days in a row he confirmed bladder cancer in a dog each day, something never before. He said he might see a case onece every month or so, but three in 3 straight days was unreal.

He thinks to much stuff is put into most of the food these deays and I think it is to many drugs. Fifty years ago our birddogs got rabies and distemper and that was it. Except for osing two to distemper (which my vet tells me wa not all that great back then, often causing the diseast) most of our dogs live to ripe old ages. We didn't lose (except one was poisoned) earlier than 8 or 9 years of age.

today they get so darn many vax, plus heart worm prevention (that is a must), and many get treaed monthly or even more often with flea/tick stuff. We never had a dog with allergies like we see today. Today they are pumped full of steoirds, etc to combat allergies. I also think food additives are part of it. hubby hauls chemicals and it is down right scarey knowing what some of the stuff is that is put in food, drugs, etc. One he hauls, the drivers call it "miracle growth." iIt is mixed with chicken feed and makes the chickens grew about double their normal rate. So apparently even if you cook for your dogs (I do cook part of Honey's food), they still get stuff they don't need .

DougB

Posted : 2/14/2012 10:22:51 AM

I agree with the chemical problem, but part of the problem is we are just more aware of problems and more willing to treat a pet illness. I believe that, on average, we spend more time in contact with our pets now than we did 20 years ago, and are more concerned with their well being. As a result, I believe our pets are living longer, and we see more of the age related problems-including the cancers.

calliecritturs

Posted : 2/14/2012 10:35:25 AM

The vast majority of kibble is preserved with BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin and in most states they don't have to put it on the label -- simply because the way most states laws are, they ONLY have to put on the label what THAT company adds to the food.

So if they buy from a meat source where the meat is already "preserved" with massive amounts of those chemicals they don't even have to list it on the label.

Freedom

Posted : 2/14/2012 11:23:34 AM

I was surprised to see you are in Texas, when I glanced to the left after reading your post. One of the vets around here is advising us to use distilled water not tap or filtered water for our pets. The water here is very acidic - acid rain! - and it is increasing the bladder stones cases in the northeast dramatically over the rest of the country. (on a per dog basis)

Cancers, same thing, changes in diet and environment, same as for us humans.

sandra_slayton

Posted : 2/14/2012 12:19:59 PM

Hubby delivers that "miracle growth" as the drivers call it to Tyson and Pilgrims Pride chicken farms. He has not hauled it in a while. But he does haul to many different factories and plants and knows of chemiclas going into foods and he thinks it down right scarey,.

Supposedly they have stopped adding antibiotics to animal feed but i guess they are allowed to add steroid type stuff to feed and fertilizer to make animals and palnts produce faster and grow faster. No wonde what i buy t the grocery store isn't near as good as what we grew on the farm. Can't rememvber the lat time I had a really good watermelon like we use to grow.

But at rate, as callie said, the chemical used to make the chickens (and probably other meats) grown twice as fast must be absorbed into the meat, and that chemical is not listed on the dog food bag.

I had never thought bout the water deal. That is scarey also. If the dogs need to drink that bottled water, humans should as well. I grew up on well wter and when out hunting or playing in the fields, we would drink from the streams and none of us ever got sick. But I am talking 55 or so years ago. I wouldn't dare drink out of a stream now, even after walkingup stream to make sure nothing like adead animal was in the water.