Brain power foundation blog

The Canine Cancer Diet:

Most canine cancer patients will do best on a grain free commercial dog food supplemented with the addition of a partially cooked or raw food diet.  If you are concerned with how your dog will react with a raw diet, start off with rare cooked meat and slowly wean them to raw.

Due to the high acid in their stomach, dogs are not susceptible to the bacteria that humans are and a raw diet is a benefit to them. Their stomach acid also allows them to digest bone. 

The raw food diet (or BARF diet – Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods) should consist of 75% meat and 25% fruit/veggies

BARF Diet Ingredients:

Bones – they MUST be raw – cooked/smoked bones are never safe as they will splinter

Meat – chunked or ground (beef, lamb, chicken, pork, etc)

Offal (liver, kidneys, heart, unbleached green tripe (which can be purchased in a can at your local gourmet pet food store))

Vegetables – (broccoli, spinach, celery, bok choy, carrot, capsicum)

Fruit – (whole apple, whole pear, whole grapefruit, whole orange)

Other Goodies - Whole egg, flax seed, garlic, kelp, alfalfa, kefir

Yogurt and cottage cheese are good to mix with the fruit/veggies to entice the dog to eat them 

Recipe – 1 week of raw meat patties for a 50 pound active dog

4 lbs ground meats – beef and/or lamb and/or chicken and/or turkey

2 cups raw goat milk or 1 cup yogurt or cottage cheese

3 raw eggs

1 apple

1 glove garlic

2 carrots

1.5 pound mixed veggies (such as sweet potato, broccoli, zucchini, kale, spinach)

Mix in food processor and make into patties to freeze

No two dogs are alike in the amount of food they require; dogs typically eat 2% of their body weight, but more active or dogs with a high metabolism may require 3-4%. 

It is a good idea to give the raw diet in the morning and some dry, grain-free kibble in the evening.

You can also be creative and give chunked meat along with a mix of fruit/veggies/yogurt.  Change is good to ensure a variety of nutrients. 

Other Dietary Supplements to Enhance Chemo-Therapy:

• Vitamin E – 400 iu per day
• Selenium – 100 mcg per day
• Beta-carotene - or raw carrots, grated, if the dog likes them
• Green tea extract (decaffeinated) 50 -100 mg/day
• Grape seed extract
• Quercetin

These ingredients are all antioxidants. While antioxidants enhance the effectiveness of some of the chemo drugs, they may interfere with other chemo drugs. If the dog is on chemotherapy, discuss with the oncologist whether the dog should be taken off these during the course of chemo. The information on this is changing daily.  See Dr. Messonnier's book "Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs" chapter 7, for more specific details on this subject. If your oncologist is not familiar with antioxidant-enhanced chemotherapy, perhaps you could recommend to him or her this book.

Membrane stabilizers such as omega-3-fatty acids, gamma-linolenic acid and coenzyme Q-10 are also important additions. Antioxidants can be good for preventing and treating canine cancer, but do not add additional Vitamin C to the dog's diet unless specifically recommended by your vet. Dog's make their own Vitamin C.

Many veterinarians feel that antioxidants should be stopped three days before, and resumed one week after the completion of the radiation or chemo treatment. This comes from earlier assumptions and is not necessarily the latest info. It is crucial you work with your oncologist to achieve maximum effectiveness in your dog's treatment!

Immunomodulators that should be used in all canine cancer patients.

• K-9 Immunity™ should be used at a dose of 1 capsule per 10 lbs per day to enhance immune function and cancer recognition.

• K9 Transfer Factor ™ or Transfer Factor Plus Advanced Formula ™, or other transfer factor product should be used to enhance bio-availability of the K-9 Immunity™. Usual dose is 100-200 mg / 10 lbs / day

Optional Immune stimulants that may be beneficial:

• Echinacea: This plant is an immune-system booster. You can find Echinacea in health food stores in several forms:  tablets, tinctures, capsules, and extracts of dried or fresh roots. American doctors aren’t familiar with Echinacea but in other countries there as been a lot of research done. Follow adult dosing directions. 

• Astragalus: This comes from the root of the plant, Astragalus membranaceus. It has been used in China to fight respiratory infections including colds and flu. Studies in the West have confirmed its immune-boosting and antiviral properties. Follow adult dosing directions.

Other purported Anti-Cancer herbs:
 

• Cat's Claw: Uncaria tomentosa, comes from Peru and was used to treat arthritis and cancer. Studies have confirmed that it has antioxidants and immune-enhancing properties. For small dogs, use ¼ the adult dosage and for medium dogs use ½.

• Pau D'Arco: This herb is extracted from the bark of the Tahebuia genus tree in South America. It contains lapachol and other phytochemicals which produce anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory results.  For small dogs, use ¼ the adult dosage and for medium dogs use ½. 

Other Dietary Supplements: