Often, a special diet is required for dogs diagnosed with cancer. Specific dog food as prescribed by your veterinarian will help your canine battle the disease and live the longest life possible. In addition, your vet can suggest certain foods that your sick dog must avoid. Several vets recommend a homemade diet for canine cancer. Homemade diets offer supplements and meet dietary recommendations that fight off cancer cells.
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Nutrition
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Dogs with cancer need to have a diet that is limited in carbohydrates. This will reduce amino acids and strip the tumor cells of energy. A vet may increase the dog's fat intake to slow down tumor growth. To help repair damaged tissue, protein must be maintain in a dog's diet. In addition, vets might suggest that owners cook homemade meals for their dog that meet their recommended nutritional allowances.
Homemade Diets
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If your vet recommends putting your dog on a homemade diet, you must carefully select the best ingredients. It's best to use organic ingredients whenever possible and avoid herbicides, growth hormones and pesticides. Owners can create homemade meals for their dogs using ingredients such as turkey, ground chicken, eggs, brown rice, carrots and many other healthy vegetables.
Diet Creation
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Cook heart or live parts and make meat patties for your dog. Feed eggs, yogurt, vegetables and cottage cheese to transition your dog into a new dietary plan. A dog with cancer should have a diet that is 75 percent meat and 25 percent vegetables and fruits. Use some variety every day to keep your dog eating. As the cancer progresses, you'll notice a decreased appetite in your dog. Raw bones are also recommended to help your dog keep eating. Keep plenty of water down all day and use only small amounts of food at a time. Don't try to force food down your pet, allow your dog to eat as much as it feels it can at that time.
Supplements
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Antioxidants and vitamins that are used by humans can be incorporated into the diet of a dog with cancer. This includes beta-carotene, selenium and vitamin C and E. Also, green team ginkgo biloba and grape seed can be added to dog food as well. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to be a powerful treatment for cancer in dogs because it helps stabilize the progression of cancer and damage to DNA.
Dog Foods to Avoid
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Avoid feeding your dog grains. Grains are carbohydrates that fuel cancer cells to grow in the body. Avoid entirely all low-grade commercial dog food because it offers little to no nutritional value for your dog. If you're unable to cook homemade meals for your pet, you should carefully look at the labels of commercial dog food for ingredients that should be avoided. Remember, that the first ingredients listed should always be meat. If meat is not listed at the top, then this product should be avoided because it only hinders your dog's ability rebuild tissue in the body.
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