# What are you doing to prevent cancer?



## MacandMe (Nov 17, 2017)

I'm not sure what's different with females, but my Vet told us that if we could wait until 1 years old to have Mac neutered, that it could help prevent cancer. He said there are new studies out suggesting that.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

1. No neuter
2. Avoid unnecessary vaccinations 
3. Supplement fish and meat in diet from time to time.
4. Avoid excess stress for dogs (stress impacts health). Keep your dog happy.
5. Feed as high quality food that you can. 
6. Check and treat sick thyroids
7. Do bloodwork every year after age 5.
8. Keep your dog lean and in shape.
9. Give your dog regular exercise and outings to keep them engaged and happy.
10. Treat immune system deficiencies as they happen or look into supplements and foods which support a healthy immune system.


----------



## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

Megora said:


> 1. No neuter
> 2. Avoid unnecessary vaccinations
> 3. Supplement fish and meat in diet from time to time.
> 4. Avoid excess stress for dogs (stress impacts health). Keep your dog happy.
> ...


AND enjoy every minute of everyday that you can with your little angel.


----------



## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

Karento5 said:


> Hi, I have a new 8 week old Ellie Mae who just joined our family. I want to do all I can to make sure she is with us as long as possible. Do you use flea and tick treatments? Any vaccinations you avoid? And how do you convince your vet if you want a holistic approach?
> Thanks in advance!
> Karen


This is an excellent question!! I asked myself the same question after I lost my beloved Yaichi to hemangiosarcoma in 2012.



Feed the best complete balanced diet that you are able to afford. I started Brisby as a puppy on Orijen which at the time I thought was the best and a quality food. I have learned since then from copious reading, having a holistic DVM and a homepathic DVM that a fresh food diet that is complete and balanced, preferably raw is best.
Avoid over-vaccination and unnecessary vaccination: I had Brisby get her puppy series ( DHLP, rabies,lepto, bortedella) and then "booster" vaccinations at 1 year. If I could turn back the clock, I would have opted for titer testing ( too long to write here) according to Dr Jean Dodds and Dr Ronald Schultz's recommendations. When Brisby was 4 and "due" for "booster" vaccinations I had titers run fro DHLP and rabies. The results showed strong immunity in all areas. I think that some people don't understand that once immunity is present in desired ranges, re-vaccination does not strengthen immunity, however rather compromises the immune system. I would never do lepto and bortedella again ( many serious adverse reactions from both lepto2 and lepto4, not to mention it only covers 4/250 known servovars) and don't do lyme, or any of the other newer vaccines. Our DVM will consider running titers again in 3 - 4 years time, if ever just to ensure immunity is still present.
Avoid Flea/Tick/Heartworm "preventatives" if at all possible. These are neurotoxins that do not prevent these pests, they kill them when they feed on our dogs blood. I use a natural essential oil spray when we are in the bush, supplement diet with fresh garlic and natural yeast. feed raw, keep Brisby's immune system as strong as possible and do due diligence in checking Brisby over as thoroughly as possible ( slicker brush, flea comb) to find any tick nymphs before they attach. I also have a SNAP 4Dx blood test run every 6 months ( more often if necessary ) to rule out heartworm or any tick borne diseases, which are highly treatable in the early stages.
Provide filtered water for drinking if possible ( to eliminate fluoride, chlorine, bacteria, other agents)
Keep your pup at a good weight and body mass; preferably on the lean side
Provide a good and appropriate amount of exercise and mental stimulation.
Avoid strong cleansers, fabreeze, lawn chemicals, garden pesticides
Keep your pups immune system as strong as possible by providing any/all necessary supplements, probiotics to the diet. Consider adding home made "bone broth" as part of your feeding regimen
Find a good holistic DVM and preferably a homeopathic DVM who will work with you in the interest of your pups whole body health.
If you are going to neuter, read all you can, discuss with a DVM you trust before making your decision
Watch "The Dog Cancer Survival Series". It is an outstanding documentary that will give you so much information to help you in your decisions.
Avoid steroids, NSAIDS and other medications that both/or suppress immune system and/or cause potential damage to other organs
Love and enjoy Ellie Mae ( I love her name!!) She is beyond adorable!!


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

The flea and tick thing is tricky for me because dogs who are in high exposure areas for ticks are more likely to get TBD's.... which may have long term health consequences, including cancer. It really messes up the immune system. 

And fleas as well, do cause a lot of stress/discomfort for the dogs and could cause other illnesses. Among else, you don't really need a full outbreak of fleas to cause major skin problems for your dog. A lot of dogs are super sensitive and have hotspots and other conditions that mess up your dog's immune system. 

And them other parasites - like worms - likewise cause a host of problems, including messing up the immune system. 

^^^ 

I personally do not do flea/tick treatments year around. 

I do heartworm pills - either heartguard or Sentinel between March or April through Oct.

We've had a mild fall here in Michigan, so I will be giving my guys both 1 more pill next week and possibly even January, depending on if it finally gets cold enough. Normally the last pills are given in Oct.

Flea preventatives - to me, it depends on whether you have a outbreak or not. 

We recently had an outbreak in my home. One of the nearby houses is frequently used by short term renters. And one of these people was a guy who had two dogs who had a flea problem. And they came on our property a few times. <= I marked the connection because directly after some interaction between the dogs, I had both my guys scratching quite a bit.

Fleas are so rare a problem that finding 1 flea on either dog was an outbreak.  And finding 1 flea meant there were probably others in their beds and in the house. 

Every time Bertie would itch like crazy, I'd find a flea on him. Only 1 flea with me going over him with a flea comb. Jacks never scratched, but I found fleas on him as well. <= We have never had a flea problem since 20+ years ago when he boarded a dog at a kennel and he came home loaded. Finding any fleas on my dogs (who sleep in my bed with me) had me just creeped out beyond belief. 

So both boys got a Simparica. Just 1 pill each. Within a day all the itching stopped. The meds cover the dogs for 30+ days so that should wipe out any other fleas that are in the house. 

Simparica also targets ticks which gives me some thought for next April and/or the next time I go up north and need to prevent ticks. 

Last year, we went hiking in Manistee forest up north and my dogs were loaded with deer ticks by the time we got back to the car (we were out for about 8 hours and through heavy brush). I only use tick preventatives in months where ticks will be bad or if I'm going to an area that ticks are pretty bad.

But anyway, long schpeel aside...

You don't have to cover for fleas/ticks/worms unless you are at a time of the year and in a place where they are kinda bad. And then I personally believe in a conservative route as far as treatment. I don't believe in dosing the dogs every month year round.


----------



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

We do very minimal vaccines, only the ones required by law (rabies and distemper). Our youngest male is going to be showing, so he will also receive the canine influenza vaccine as well as bordetella since he will be around many other dogs. One vaccine to avoid at all costs is lepto. The side effects from this vaccine are horrific and it has even been deadly in some cases. If your dog ever were to contract lepto, it is much easier to treat than the effects of the vaccine are. The lepto vaccine is usually mixed with distemper, so if you are getting a distemper vaccine, make sure it does NOT contain the lepto vaccine. With some vets, you need to be fairly firm about this as they will try to push the vaccine on you. Luckily, our vet does not. As far as flea/tick preventatives, we only do them during the spring, summer, and early fall months and we do oral treatments that we get from our vet. Our vet actually informed us back in September that many of the over-the-counter flea/tick meds, such as Frontline, Advantix, etc., are no longer effective because fleas and ticks have built up an immunity to them over the years. For supplements, we just do fish oil. We do have a dog with mast cell, so he gets some other supplements, but our other dogs only get fish oil every day with their breakfast.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

jwemt81 said:


> We do very minimal vaccines, only the ones required by law (rabies and distemper). Our youngest male is going to be showing, so he will also receive the canine influenza vaccine as well as bordetella since he will be around many other dogs. One vaccine to avoid at all costs is lepto. The side effects from this vaccine are horrific and it has even been deadly in some cases. If your dog ever were to contract lepto, it is much easier to treat than the effects of the vaccine are. The lepto vaccine is usually mixed with distemper, so if you are getting a distemper vaccine, make sure it does NOT contain the lepto vaccine.


I refuse to do the flu vaccine. And we don't do bordatella either. 

Talking to people who did the flu shots (it's a series of 2 shots) this summer because of the ridiculous panic everyone was in - they are saying they will not do it again. 

Now if your dog is being sent out with a handler - and will be literally in a kennel type situation - you likely will be required to do both by the handlers. 

We do lepto every year because there have been very local cases + my dogs swim/hike through pondy areas. It's done separate from all other shots. Have never had a reaction.


----------



## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

Karento5....I think it's wonderful that you are getting many opinions here and experience from what others do that they feel is the best for their beloved dogs. Bottom line is that we all do what we feel is best and right in our frame of reference and "belief" system.

Do your own due diligence. Read, consider, read some more, join some groups...see what they have to say and then make the best decision you feel for Ellie Mae. We are the "parent", the provider. These wonderful souls trust us to make the best decisions for them. 

Kate, I am glad you chimed in here for what you do for your kids!! 

Personally, we have had a really bad tick year here in Southern Ontario ( I have only found 3 attached to Brisby this year, with an average of 2/year previously and we are in the bush everyday. We are going in for a SNAP 3Dx in 2 weeks ( the 4 - 6 week interval to see if any of these ticks were carrying disease, which is the optimum interval after a tick attaches)

I think what's really important here is to understand what the risks really are to our dogs relative to heartworm, tick borne diseases, lepto, vs the risks to our dogs vs the so called "preventatives', vaccines etc. If a disease is caught early, for example, dependent on probability of occurrence, the availability of testing to ensure your pup is safe and disease free without subjecting their entire system with toxins, is it worth compromising a dog's immune system for an "if come"? I guess that's an individual decision we all must make. 

I have an amazing DVM...I am very fortunate.

Brisby and I go in the bush everyday, she goes in stagnant puddles...and yes, we do have heartworm, lepto and lyme here. 

My choice is not to give her any of that stuff. I will test her a minimum of 2X's.year and monitor her very closely if I see any shifts. I won't give her that "poison" in my frame of reference, however that's me. If there if cause to treat I will.

This may or may not be beneficial to you and others:

Heartworm Facts: Prevalence, Medication And Alternative Treatment - Dogs Naturally Magazine

https://www.facebook.com/groups/322967551247441/

Bordetella: Does Your Dog Really Need the Kennel Cough Vaccine? - Dogs Naturally Magazine

Understandably, if one is showing a dog or is in competition, the requirements perhaps are different. That said, I would still never compromise my best friend by giving the above. 

I guess one question may be, why don't wolves, coyotes, foxes etc. all die from heartworm, lyme, lepto? After all they are in the elements their entire lives and they are close ancestors of our dogs with the same/similar genetic make up?...


----------



## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I cannot remember where I read this, but I read that the use of flea and tick meds correlates with lower cancer risk, possibly due to the fact that flea and tick bites cause inflammation that may trigger other things later. Using flea and tick meds prevent bites therefore prevents inflammation. We know that chronic inflammation leads to DNA damage and cancer development. I think at the end of the day all we can do is what we think is best for our dogs. I don't currently give flea or tick meds because where I live there isn’t a real problem. 

Something I do is give organic turmeric powder with fresh ground black pepper and fish oil every day. The oil and black pepper is supposed to increase the bioavailability of curcumin in the turmeric (of course the fish oil has other benefits too). I have been using this for a long time now, but I just did a paper on this specific study regarding curcumin and pancreatic cancer -- curcumin alone (without the aid of established treatments) increases pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell death by interrupting the pathways of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins that prevent cell death. 

Another thing is that with every meal I give raw pureed brussels sprouts and organic blueberries (fresh in summer, frozen in winter) for the extra antioxidants. I don't know if anything I do truly help, but it doesn't hurt. Even on trips, I bring a small food processor with me so I can give the girls their antioxidants. Yeah, I'm *that* dog lady. No I'm not grinding coffee beans in the next room, I'm pureeing frozen blueberries for my dogs.


----------



## Karento5 (Nov 22, 2017)

Thank you everyone for all your advice and wealth of information! I live in a pretty small town and I really hope to find a holistic DVM close by. When I spoke to my vet about all my concerns I don't think she really understood or will comply to my wishes. 
She has never even performed a titer test.
I have started all my dogs on the Tumeric with black pepper. I use coconut oil. Where do you find fish oil that is not in a capsule form? I only give Ellie Mae a smidgen at this age as she is not even 10 pounds. 
I am so thankful for all of your support and advice!


----------



## silver9 (Jul 11, 2017)

My breeder had me on the slow growth / limited food plan. I'll probably keep his calories on the lower side. Animal studies (not dogs but mice I think) have shown longer lives with reduced calories. It may not necessarily be due to less cancer, but the most basic biology of cancer can be described as simply uncontrolled cell growth (by a cell with mutations). The more you expose the body to cell growth triggers, the more you'll increase the odds of cell mutations and cancers. Where exactly the mutations are coming from in Goldens at such a high rate seems isn't something that I've gotten a good answer on from vets (I think it's still part of the big GR study). At least with humans we know some of the main culprits (smoking, radiation / UV radiation, charred meat, etc..). These things tend to cause mutations though, not necessarily increase growth (though they can mutate the gene that slows cell growth and then cancer has its early start). 

What's the rationale behind vaccine limitation with regard to cancer? I'm guessing it would be beneficial to have less provocation of the immune system (via vaccine) & no subsequent proliferation of T-cells - thereby theoretically reducing lymphoma risk... but that would just be my guess based on the basics. Human vaccines work the same way but don't cause lymphoma as far as we know.


----------



## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

This isn't necessarily related to cancer prevention, however perhaps at some point it will be proven to be a catalyst, particularly when/if cells mutate in pre-cancerous or early cancers. 

Cancer cells derive their food source from carbohydrates ( sugar, starch, anything that is digested that turns into sugar ) Many studies, including the Ketogenic diet have "starved" the cancer cells by eliminating foods which contain sugar, carbohydrates, starches etc. 

This is where I believe that diet is key for both healthy animals and humans, in addition to keeping the immune system strong and not compromising it by unnecessary bombardment of substances that throw the immune system out of balance and/or turn on the body in ways that manifest as GI problems, allergies etc.

Most kibble has a very high sugar content which you will never see listed on the ingredients in the food. In order to keep those kibble nuggets together and crunchy, starch must be used in all foods including the premium brands.

If any of you haven't seen this, it's well worth the watch IMHO.






https://www.dogsfirst.ie/sugar-causes-cancer-in-dogs/


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Okay, I'm going to be the wet blanket in the discussion.
While the above suggestions are all wonderful and probably do no harm, there is zero solid scientific evidence that any of them make any difference, except keeping your dog lean and well exercised, avoiding lawn chemicals, and not smoking around your dog.
There is absolutely no peer reviewed, valid scientific evidence that vaccinations cause cancer of any sort.
There is absolutely no peer reviewed, valid scientific evidence that flea/tick preventatives cause cancer of any sort. 
There is absolutely no peer reviewed, valid scientific evidence that feeding one food, or type of food, makes any difference in cancer, either in terms of development or of progression of the disease, except a very small study about carbs and lymphoma.
So the bottom line is....
Feed the best food you can afford. 
Get whatever vaccinations you and your vet deem prudent in your personal risk situation.
Keep your dog lean and well exercised.
Avoid known environmental risks, which are basically only lawn chemicals and smoking.
Love your dog every day, enjoy your dog every day, make memories every day. Most things you do or don't do won't make any difference in the cancer roll of the dice, so just make the most of every day you have with your Golden.
(Not to be obtuse, but actually other species in the wild DO die of lepto, lyme, etc., and furthermore, the life expectancy of most wild canids is only 3-4 years, excepting wolves which is about 6 years according to National Geographic. I would hesitate to draw too many conclusions from comparing dogs to wild canids in any way).


----------



## Jessie'sGirl (Aug 30, 2010)

It's an interesting topic. 
It is true that animals in the wild are infected and do sometimes die from some of the diseases for which we often vaccinate our dogs. 
The raccoon population in our area was almost wiped out ( according to my vet) by an outbreak of distemper a few years ago. 
I think you really have to consider where you live and what is going on in your area, and make choices accordingly.
Lepto has become a real concern here recently, Jess had never had the vaccine before but is now fully vaccinated against it. 
Nova Scotia has become a Lyme disease hotspot. Our temperature are still usually above freezing, despite it being the end of November. We are still seeing ticks. I'll continue with the tick meds until I am satisfied that the temperature will stay low enough to keep them away.
My husband had Lyme this summer, it is quite a nasty thing.Luckily for him, he was treated early in his illness.
I feed what I consider to be a good quality kibble, and try to add fresh veggies or fruit every day , keep his weight down, and make sure he gets lots of exercise. 
I think he lives a pretty stress- free life.
His sire is a healthy 14 yr old. I hoping he will be too.


----------



## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I should add that although the study I referenced showed that curcumin does increase cancer cell death, the study was done with cancer cells cultured with varying concentrations curcumin solution. We know that there is anti-cancer activity when cancer cells are exposed to curcumin, but in a real life application, how much turmeric/curcumin we ingest that actually reaches the tumor site (is it enough make an impact?) is another issue.


----------

