The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (65 page)

How to Give fish oil

Administer fish oil in the same way you administer krill oil. For these doses, I assume each 1,000 mg soft gel contains about 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA. Check the label on your bottle to see if this is true for your brand and adjust accordingly. Remember to work your way up to these dosages over fourteen days if you are just starting your dog on a fatty acid supplement.

Up to 10 pounds:
1,000-2,000 mg daily

Dogs 10.1 - 35 pounds:
3,000-4,000 mg daily

Dogs 35.1-60 pounds:
6,000-9,000 mg daily

Over 60.1 pounds:
10,000-12,000 mg daily

Note that the doses are given in a range. This is because there are so many brands, which each formulate the oil in different ways. Use these doses as guidelines, rather than hard-and-fast rules. Alternate the use of krill and fish oil every month.

Fish oil may have some blood thinning effects. Stop giving fish oil ten days before any surgery and wait until ten days after surgery or after sutures are removed or dissolved before giving it again.

I do not recommend cod liver oil as your fish oil supplement. Cod liver oil contains high levels of fat-soluble vitamins, ingestion of which can lead to serious toxicity levels. I discourage using salmon oil from the name brand EHP, also. In an independent analysis, Consumer Labs found that EHP’s salmon oil actually contains less EPA than stated on the label. Since EPA is such an important source of omega-3 fatty acid, there’s no excuse to skimp. Other brands of salmon oil are fine to use.

Vegetables which are low in carbohydrates and have anti-cancer benefits are an important part of your dog’s cancer diet. For example, brightly colored vegetables are important: at least one publication has shown that dogs (Scotties) that ate colored vegetables three times weekly had a lower risk of developing the most common form of bladder cancer. You can mix and match these vegetables or just include one in each meal: shiitake mushrooms, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, (cooked) mung beans and red or yellow bell peppers.

I prefer fresh vegetables, or you can find these vegetables in the frozen food section. To prepare them, steam or boil until they are very soft to make them easy for your dog to digest. Once cooked, chop or process the vegetables into fine pieces or a puree.

If you are choosing to feed your dog a partially raw diet, I advise pureeing raw veggies. Roughly chop the vegetables, place them in the bowl of a food processor, and puree them until they are mush. This will help your dog fully absorb their nutrients.

Stay away from high-carbohydrate vegetables like potatoes, carrots, peas and corn. These vegetables break down quickly into simple sugars in the body and may end up feeding the cancer. Also, do not feed onions, because they are toxic for dogs.

Your dog will definitely benefit from a good source of calcium, which is a vital mineral for all sorts of normal body functions. Bones and teeth need calcium, of course, and did you know that your dog’s muscles can’t contract without it? Similarly, muscle strength, proper blood clotting, regular heartbeats, inter-cell communication and even the transmission of signals from one nerve to another are all vital processes that require calcium. Because dogs cannot produce it in their bodies, they must get it from their diet. Good sources of calcium include cottage cheese, chicken or turkey necks and calcium citrate tablets. The necks can be simmered according to the low-temperature cooking recommendation above. Adding necks at least a few times a week is ideal, because the phosphorus found in the bones is an important nutrient.

Do not give the anti-cancer antibiotic doxycycline within two hours of a meal containing calcium. The calcium will bind the doxycycline in the stomach and block its absorption.