Cancer Dog Food - Homemade Commercial or Alternative Diets

The word "cancer" is fraught with emotion. For many people it calls forth images mental images of inevitable suffering and death. Cancer is often quite treatable through surgery and medical interventions. Diet also plays a large part in treating a dog with cancer. Although diet can not cure cancer, it aids in the maintenance of the dog's health during the course of other treatments.

Simple sugars aid in the spread of cancer through a dog's body. Most ingredients that end with the suffix "-ose" are simple sugars that contain processed sugar or sugars from fruit. For that reason many cancer diets have few ingredients that include simple sugars such as lactose (milk sugars), sucrose, or dextrose. Carbohydrates in these food are instead consist of complex carbohydrates. Grains like barley and rice supply complex carbohydrates in diets appropriate for dogs with cancer.

Homemade Cancer Dog Diets
Although commercial diets are available by prescription, some owners still prefer to prepare meals for their dogs with cancer. These diets are no more difficult to prepare than other homemade diets and require no special handling unless the dog's illness requires it. A good homemade diet will contain large amounts of high-quality, easily digested protein. It should also contain a large amount of high-quality fats, such as fish oil or olive oil. Fat is needed in a cancer diet as it transports the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, in addition to providing support for a healthy coat.

Cancer diets are typically high in protein, due to the problems associated with carbohydrates. Because of the high amount of protein in these diets, they are not always appropriate for dogs with liver or kidney problems. The high fat content may also make these diets inappropriate for dogs with pancreatitis. Commercially available diets may be more appropriate for dogs with these special needs.

Commercial Cancer Dog Diets
Commercial diets have been specially formulated to meet the needs of the dog with cancer. Some dog food manufacturers, such as Hills and Iams/Eukanuba have developed special low carbohydrate/high fat diets for dogs with cancer. These diets can be used in conjunction with medical and/or surgical interventions to treat a dog with cancer; however, they are not to be considered as a treatment or cure in and of themselves, despite their prescription status.

Alternative Cancer Medicine For Dogs
Those practitioners who recommend alternative medicines suggest feeding foods containing antioxidants and phytochemicals in cancer diets for dogs. Alternative medicine is not always supported by adequate independent research. Some of the recommended fruits and vegetables are whole grains, nuts, soy beans, citrus peel, onions, leeks, and chives. Grapes and raisins should be avoided, even if they contain antioxidants, because some dogs have been known to react badly to the chemicals that they contain. However, in most cases, feeding these fruits and vegetables to your dog is not harmful. Always consult your veterinarian when using alternative medicines.

Next article: Diabetic Dog Food - Homemade and Commercial Diets