What To Feed A Dog With Cancer – Dog Cancer Diet

When a dog is suffering from cancer, diet plays an important role which helping to regain its quality of life and long lifespan.

In the case of the owner, it’s pretty confusing which diet is suitable for them. When a dog is suffering from cancer, it can bring depression, weightlessness, and weakness which are responsible to hamper the quality of the dog’s life.

So, in this situation, they require special nutrition. Due to the presence of cancer, they reduce their food intake. In this situation, their diet must be palatable and high in energy. The nutrition should be presided to maintain health conditions, prevent cachexia and inhibit tumor growth.

In cancer, the diet is preferably easy to digest with food rich in protein like meat, fish, and eggs. Beef is not recommended as it is tough to digest. Some processed dog food got the presence of larcenous ingredients in them. But it is not the only problem. Some proteins bring loss in bioavailability in the body.

Some food fiber and tannin also affect the minerals in the body like iron, zinc, etc. Selection of food is most important. We should choose that food that encourages cell development and discourage cancerous cell.

The reason behind weight loss in dogs

Nausea makes the dogs less interested in eating. It reduces their weight. Some cancerous lump formed in the mouth, intestine, and throat makes it difficult to eat, swallow, and digest. Especially, in the case of digestive tract tumor, which develops vomiting, loose motion, and reduced absorption of nutrients from the intestine.

Chemotherapy damages their smell and taste and also develops nausea and vomiting. Radiotherapy kills the cell surrounding the tumor, in the neck and shoulder, which reduces saliva production. Then it isn’t easy to swallow the food.

Cancer cells develop amino acids for their requirement that affects the body’s protein. The immune system produces a response against cancer which destroys the appetite.

Read Also: What to Feed Your Dog to Regain Health

Below is a list of things to include in the diet that you can choose for your canine friend.

List of things Feeding a Dog That Has Cancer

#1 Omega fatty acids (PUFA)

Some studies suggest omega fatty acids like EPA and DHA can prevent the further increase in tumor cell development. That means it’s a decrease in Cachexia. Fatty found is in various fish oil which also improves the immune system. The most preferred oils are non-farmed fisheries, cod liver oil, and green-lipped mussels.

#2 Carbohydrate

Glucose present in the bloodstream energizes the tumor cancerous cell to develop. Cancerous cells spilled the glucose into energy and lactate.

Dog’s body system converts this into energy. As this is an inefficient system, dogs waste more energy than developing. Tumors use simple carbohydrates for development.

So, it is imperative to choose low carbs food for your dog’s diet, so it is only used for the dog’s cell development and not for the tumor.

It is better to look for fruit and vegetable-based carbs content. Bananas, apples, and berries are such types of low glucose diets. Other than this, oatmeal, brown rice, peas, and honey are low in glucose.

#3 Fat

Weight loss in dogs happens from cachexia due to the loss of fats. One of the effects of cachexia is the reduction of appetite, which results in a low urge of eating. Due to metabolic changes, there is a reduction in fat cell development.

For this reason, the body uses existing fat storage to maintain its balance. Loss of fat is a bad prediction in the case of a dog suffering from cancer.

Fat storage helps maintain balance in short-term fasting when they don’t eat much due to illness. Omega fatty acid helps to prevent cachexia.

#4 Supplements

Varieties of supplements are available in the market, and some of them claim they are worthy. Regrettably, there is no such supplement available that can cure the diseases. But some research is under process to stop further growth of tumors.

#5 Green tea

Experiment shows that ECGC present in green tea can work against cancer. It has the ability to against cancerous cells for apoptosis. The only demerit is it stays very few tenures, so we have to consume it more, which is not suitable for dogs.

Read Also: 8 Excellent Ways to Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy

#6 Vitamin D

Experimental result shows that Vitamin D can obstruct cell development and nurture cell destruction. It is the reason for cell divergence that is the most crucial aspect of cancer treatment.

It is proven that vitamin D can stop unreasonable cell development. But it is not always effective against every type of cancer, but it is perspective too.

It is a fat-soluble substance and becomes toxic when consumed heavily. It is not permissible to feed ten thousand per international unit per kilogram for dogs.

#7 Protein

Dogs and cancerous cells both require protein for their development. Due to this, there is a reduction in protein for body mass and an increase in production in lever. It results in weight loss and immune deficiency. Hence, that leads to a prolonged period of healing wounds.

To prevent further loss of mass and reduction of protein, we need to feed our dogs high-calorie food consisting of good quality protein.

#8 Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

Foods like butter, milk, cheese, and cream consist of CLA. Many experimental studies show their ability to prevent cell development. CLA supplement shows a remarkable effect on breast cancer in dogs. However, it is not so popular to date.

Conclusion

Dogs suffering from cancer require good energy. Store palatable food that consists of 25-45 percent kcal from protein, 45-65 from fat, and the rest from carbs. Commercially prepared food should only be allowed after consultation with the vet.