Top 5 Ways to Prevent Cancer in Canines
No dog parent would ever want to hear the frightening news of their dog being diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is a widely spreading deadly disease that involves an abnormal rate of cell growth. Cancer accounts for nearly half the pet deaths that occur above age 10.
As the causes of canine cancers are still unknown, it’s better to prevent the disease from developing at first. Here are five ways to prevent cancer:
Reduce Exposure to Toxic Chemicals:
Daily usage of pesticides like flea or tick repellents, garden chemicals, cigarette smoke, household cleaners, and flame retardants contain toxic chemicals.
Tick and flea repellents, that is, spot-on treatments have caused 40, 000 critical situations, including 600 pet deaths, according to the EPA reports of 2009.
Studies conducted by Tufts University have shown that exposure to lawn chemicals, specifically professional lawn cleaners, increased the risk of malignant lymphoma by 70 percent in dogs.
As it’s impossible to remove all the toxins from your pets, you can reduce their exposure to such chemicals. Along with that, consider detoxifying the dog’s body by following various diet programs suggested by the vet. Also, reduce the usage of flea and tick-repelling products to monthly usage.
Reduce Over-Vaccination:
Vaccinations should be used to maximize protection and minimize the risk of specific diseases according to the breed, nutrition, and vitality of a dog. The functions of vaccines are to strengthen the immune system rather than over-stimulating it with excessive vaccinations.
You can try titer tests to find out the vaccine levels. Simply use boosters for specific viruses that have tittered low on the tests. Besides this, combination vaccines via one injection are not recommended.
Anti-inflammatory Diets:
Inflammatory processes within the body create a favorable environment for abnormal cell proliferation. Thus, inflammatory diseases create a major risk of cancer in dogs.
Carbohydrates provide glucose molecules that are required by cancerous cells to grow and multiply. Major food sources of carbohydrates are fruits, starch-containing vegetables, and processed grains.
Foods containing high-quality fats do not provide cancer cells with the energy to grow. Thus, they die in a few weeks.
Anti-inflammatory foods contain low omega-6 fatty acids and high omega-3 fatty acids. Low-quality dog foods usually contain high omega-6 fatty acids, which increase inflammation. Here are some of the best dog foods for your pooch.
Organic, whole, and raw dog food diets are the most reliable ones to feed your dog. They have high-quality protein content and high omega-3s. Adding vitamin or mineral supplements to the dog’s diet can also help in the prevention of cancer.
Prevent Obesity:
Research has shown that low-calorie intake leads to reduced chances of tumor development. Calorie restrictions cause tumors to be blocked by body cells.
Why does obesity increase the chances of cancer? It’s because obesity causes increased glucose levels, high insulin sensitivity, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the body, which are all linked to promoting cancer.
With the increasing obesity epidemic in canines, the cases of canine cancers are also increasing. Moreover, obesity promotes inflammation, and inflammation promotes cancer.
Spay or Neuter Your Dog:
Spayed or Neutered dogs have zero risks of getting testicular or ovarian/uterine cancer. Get the female dog operated on before her first heat cycle to reduce the chances of her developing mammary cancer. This step will greatly reduce your worry about your dog developing cancer due to hormonal imbalances.
Final Verdict:
Your dog is equally prone to the cancer epidemic as you are! It’s necessary for every dog owner to know these preventive measures to reduce the risks of such deadly diseases.
