Dog Community

Help! Heartbroken!

Posted : 5/16/2006 12:12:27 PM

Hi, All!

I have four dogs:
   Red: pointer mix, female, age 12 rescued in FL at age 2
   T: mixed yellow dog, male, age 8 rescued from an interstate in TN at age 1.
   Scowt: beagle, male, age 5 rescued in KS at age 3
   Becky: border collie mix, female age., 18 mos, Katrina rescue

Red is on chemotherapy for a terminal mast cell tumor and T just came home yesterday from the emergency hospital having had a blood transfusion and bone marrow biopsy for a yet undiagnosed but probable non-regenerative anemia resulting from an even more severe cause. In the last ten years, we have also lost three other dogs to cancer at ages 14 (bladder cancer), 14 (cancer, type unknown) and 13 (mast cell cancer). We have moved all over the country, so I can't help but think that it's more likely that there is a nutritional link than an enviromental link as we have had them almost exclusively on a well-known but supposedly nutritious moist and dry dog food.

After doing a little research on prepared dog foods, and being horrified by what and whom (possibly even their own species) they have been eating, I am not putting another bite in their mouths until I know what it is and where it came from. Right now I am cooking for them, primarily "casseroles" made of lean ground beef, mixed vegetables, brown rice, eggs and cottage cheese, with an olive oil based gravy. I do cook the beef so I can rinse the fat because my dogs tend to be a little pudgy (which is a little tough for me because I have been a strict ethical vegetarian for years).

While I have no problem continuing to cook for my dogs, I have two questions for which I am seeking your advice. The first is, whether or not there are any premium dog foods that are cruelty free and contain ingredients that are fit for human consumption. I am thinking that mixing a dry dog food with the casseroles I am making might be worth considering.

The things I have been preparing are loaded with calories so portion sizes need to be a lot smaller (one of the reasons I am considering adding dry) . Any suggestions on veggies, fruit that they will probably like that can be added to their meals that will fill them up without packing on the pounds?

Thanks in advance. I've been reading the threads and am enjoying what you all have to say.

Gail

Posted : 5/16/2006 12:47:48 PM

You're certainly at a good place to start changing over to a better diet - this forum is full of information.

We'll start off with saying that if you're dogs tend to be pudgy, aside from portion control, carb control is also essential. Your dogs are far better off with more fat and less carbs in their diet than less fat. A dog's body will utilize the energy provided by fat far better than what is offered by carbs. Fat is an essential part of a dogs diet.

Home cooking is a great thing - just make sure you are providing adequate nutrition - ie., balancing the calcium

hosphorus ratio and providing all essential nutrients. Glenda I'm sure will be along - she has a stew she makes for her crew that is nutritionally sound.

There are some kibble companies out there that make a great product - human grade, well, I suppose that depends on your definition of human grade.

Some good kibble made by good companies:

Innova
Timberwolf Organics
Canidae
Solid Gold
Eagle Pack

These companies, in my opinion, provide the best kibble on the market with good quality ingredients.

Many people feed a combination of home cooked, kibble, raw, etc. with great success and often find their dogs become healthier and happier when incorporating fresh foods into their diets.

jessies_mom

Posted : 5/16/2006 2:12:02 PM

Welcome to idog; I'm sorry to hear you have two dogs with cancer. I don't have anything to add to lovenewfies list of foods; it is an excellent list. Callie( user name calliecritturs) has had dogs with cancer and will probably be along to give you some information on a diet that can help a dog fight cancer; a good person to ask about a cancer diet is Monica Segal. She is a canine nutritionist and will write a cancer diet specifically for your dog and work with your vet. Her website is :
[linkhttp://www.monicasegal.com/]http://www.monicasegal.com/[/link]

If Callie isn't along soon you can e-mail her. I hope you can find the information you need here to help your dogs.

dyan

Posted : 5/16/2006 3:02:34 PM

I really don't have much help,,, but others here do...as was said you sure came to the right place. But I just wanted to say it is really great of you to take care of the dogs as you are! Bless you!

Patt

Posted : 5/16/2006 5:18:32 PM

Welcome to i-dog, I'm happy that you joined. I am so sorry to hear about Red. I lost a Dachshund to cancer last year we did two years of chemo and radiation. I fed high quality kibble but did not do the cancer diets. I know you will get lots of suggestions here. One thing I did was join the K9 Cancer list, it is the best around. The members are very knowledgeable on Cancer treatments and diets.

[linkhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCancer/]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCancer/[/link]

Good luck and keep us posted.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 5/16/2006 11:34:23 PM

I'm so sorry to hear about your babies! Lew Olsen has a cancer diet listed on her site. Here is the link for you.

[linkhttp://b-naturals.com/Jun2004.php]http://b-naturals.com/Jun2004.php[/link]

ron2

Posted : 5/17/2006 5:37:18 AM

I heartily second what Jessiesmom and Dyan had to say.

"When you have done so unto the least of these, you have done so unto Me."

SavestheStrays

Posted : 5/17/2006 10:51:47 AM

Thanks for the good suggestions on kibble that have come in so far. I am doing research on each of them right now. It seems that the more I learn, the more I get concerned about even the best of products. There is definitely a learning curve in all of this.

I'm also grateful for the links and resources that are being suggested. We are fortunate to live in a metro area that can provide specialized medical care for our two dogs with cancer, so we should have a solid diagnosis for T in the next few days. Once we know what he has specifically, we can move on with a diet that will address his particular needs.

Pam

Posted : 5/17/2006 1:15:02 PM

I will just briefly say that supposedly, cancer loves carbs. So you need to get rid of them and replace with good cooked green veggies that are pureed afterward. The only dry dog food with no carbs is EVO.

My dog has a tumor and I am feeding raw meat and cooked green/orange veggies and some fat. I am awaiting my consutlation with Monica Segal. Monica has a little guide book for cancer diets for about $5 . I reccomend you get it. Her website is in the posts above.

sooner

Posted : 5/17/2006 1:19:47 PM

ORIGINAL: Hollysmom

The only dry dog food with no carbs is EVO.

That's not quite true, EVO advertises 12% carbs, so it is low carb, but not no carb. There has to be some kind of carb in there or a dry kibble won't stick together. But it is true that cancer cells thrive on carbs, especially grain carbs.

I know Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon and Nature's Variety Raw Instinct are also grain-free and I *think* they are just as low in carbs.

Savesthestrays, you're getting great advice here. I'm so sorry to hear about your dogs - sending good wishes to you!!!!