The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (15 page)

Depending upon which medications your dog takes, his other health issues and dietary needs, the treats I list here might not be appropriate for your individual dog. Always clear a new treat with your vet first.

A Cheat Day for your dog is a day when you give him an undeserved, unearned, delicious reward – just because he is your dog!

Dogs usually love Cheat Days. I recommend having one every five to seven days. On these days, give your dog a really yummy treat. Some examples are:

• Chicken breast cooked in low-sodium or slightly diluted bullion
  
• Lean hamburger, cooked in low-sodium or slightly diluted chicken broth (and strained)
  
• Turkey breast in diluted teriyaki sauc
  
• Human baby food from a jar (meat flavor are the favorites)
  
• Boneless fish cooked in a clear, low-sodium, slightly diluted broth or soup
  
• Lean lamb cooked in low-sodium or slightly diluted vegetable broth
  
• Peeled shrimp cooked in low-sodium or slightly diluted beef broth
  
• Lean pork cooked in slightly diluted chicken noodle soup
  
• Hardboiled egg whites chopped up in low-sodium or slightly diluted beef broth
  
• Tuna fish in water with a dash of Italian food seasoning
  

I hate to put any restrictions on Cheat Day treats, however, I recommend using low-sodium or salt substitutes, avoiding grains and sugars, avoiding cream-based soups, and avoiding carbohy-drate-rich foods like potatoes, peas, or carrots.

The power of Cheat Day is that it is new and unexpected. This unpredictability helps your dog’s mind stay optimistic, stimulated and excited. Keep Cheat Days coming and space them out, so that the element of surprise is always at work.

LIFE STORY

Duration:
30+ minutes

Indication
: every feeling

This powerful exercise is an uplifting and freeing way to reconnect with your dog. I learned about it from my dog-meditating friend, James Jacobson. When his little Maltese, Maui, was very ill and near the end of her life, he received thousands of messages from fans of his book (
How to Meditate with Your Dog
). One of them offered this exercise, as a way to deliberately connect with Maui before she left this world. Setting aside the time to do this exercise gave James some relief from his fear and helped him to deal with Maui’s illness. This is a simple exercise, but it can be very emotional. If you need to, go slowly or take breaks.

Have tissues handy.

Sit down with your dog and tell him his life story, out loud. Start at the beginning and go all the way through to the present.

Give as many details as you can. Starting with the first time you saw your dog, tell him as much

as you can, including:

Who was there?

Who arrived and left?

Where were you?

What did you two do?

What were the good times?

What were the tough times?

Making physical contact with your dog while you tell him his life story can enhance your con

nection.

If your spouse, children, other family members or friends are close with your dog, you might want to include them in this exercise. Your dog will bask in the love that surrounds him.

Don’t forget to tell your dog how you feel right now, sitting next to him and telling him his life story. Tell him what this is like for you.

This is a powerful exercise that can reveal just how deep your bond is with your dog. Once you reconnect with that bond in this conscious way, the motivation to be the best guardian possible may grow even stronger.

Up to here, I’ve been focusing on managing negative emotions and emphasizing how unhelpful those emotions are when dealing with your dog’s cancer. The opposite is also true; your positive, good moods can be extremely helpful in dealing with dog cancer.

Your good mood makes your dog feel secure and content in her relationship to you. As a pack animal, she experiences a deep need for this kind of security. Your kind, loving, compassionate, openhearted feelings can amplify your ability to deal with dog cancer, ease your discomfort, make you think faster and smarter, and change your perception of your experience.

Everyone’s experience is different, and I do not want to put any undue pressure on you to “perform well” during this trying time. However, there are people who transform cancer from a nightmare into a beautiful, moving experience. I’ve seen this happen with human cancer patients, family and friends, and guardians dealing with their dog’s cancer. If you open your heart and work through this time with your dog, you may be able to see the cancer as a “gift from God,” as a client named Sarah said.

“At first, I felt terrible all the time,” Sarah reported.

“But now, I feel so blessed to have this feeling of continuous, unbroken connection. I never gave myself the opportunity to open my heart this wide – even after three kids and my own personal cancer scare. But somehow, for my Sunny, I could do it. Every day, I wake up grateful that she’s alive, and grateful that she’s in my life, no matter how long we have together. Living with that attitude of gratitude is a miracle, and I don’t think I would have received it any other way. In the four months since she was first diagnosed, I have found more strength, stamina, courage, and hope than I ever thought I had in me. I will carry this with me forever. I wish she’d never gotten sick, of course, but I wouldn’t trade my new attitude for anything. It’s her gift to me, and I will always remember and honor her for it.

“Every evening before I go to sleep, while Madison is already resting comfort-ably on our bed for the night and the room is dark and quiet, I do the Pledge of Thanks, telling her all the reasons that I’m thankful she’s in my life. Some nights I tell her the same reasons over and over, and other nights I think of even more reasons I hadn’t already thought of. The list seems endless. All the while I also stroke her fur softly and the combination of these two activities helps to make me calm, ready for a good night’s sleep.”

– Christine Darg, Winnipeg, Manitoba

“The one I use daily is Pledge of Thanks. It allowed me to express and release my true feelings, after all your companion, your best friend has cancer which is extremely scary but you can talk it out and you have the best listener in the world. I would tell Uli, my boxer companion, how thankful I am for every new day and thankful that we have that time to do things we enjoy, thankful for God and the fact I was blessed to have such a wonderful companion to share each day with.”

– Jon Marshall, Norman, Oklahoma