Why I Feel Nutrition Is Very
Important for DM Dogs
Copyright 2006, The Dog Lady Barks,
all rights reserved
It has been more than two years since I lost my girl Jingles, to degenerative myelopathy.
This past summer, July 2005, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and required a right, radical mastectomy, along with removal of several lymph nodes, a few of which tested positive for cancer. After researching my options, I said "no" to chemotherapy (a very personal choice) as I don't believe in putting toxic chemicals in my body, thus trashing the immune system. I was also aware of the side effects of chemo, some of which are permanent, and didn't need that on top of cancer. Please note, the following is strictly my opinion from past and current experiences, only...I am not a medical professional.
A close neighbor of mine is a vegan, and we had several discussions about eating healthy, i.e., totally organic fruits and veggies, drinking spring water, staying away from dairy, refined sugar, processed foods, any kind of meat, and also fish, due to the contamination in the waters. There are many other things I have to avoid due to my bc (breast cancer.)
I decided to become a vegan, and initially, wasn't thrilled about it. I knew I needed to do this, as well as taking the right supplements from the right sources, in order to strengthen my immune system, to help me fight bc.
Breast cancer, like DM, is thought to be an immune system disease, and I came to realize that organic was the only way to go, to avoid the pesticides present in conventionally grown fruits and veggies. When reading the labels on processed foods, they contained all sorts of artificial colorings, flavors, preservatives, etc. I have also since learned that "natural," does not mean the same thing as "organic."
For many years, I was very careful about what I fed Jingles, as dog food, the same as human food, can be nothing but junk. You have to pay a lot of attention to the ingredients, not the price, as many very cheap foods, can cause a lot of problems for your pet, i.e., you will save nothing but cancelled checks from your vet. Jingles had demodectic mange as a puppy, which is an immune system problem, thought to be genetic. I would not feed her any biscuits with artificial colors and flavoring, so I often baked biscuits for her. I was also as careful as I could be about her dry food, again avoiding the supermarket foods, and purchased the best specialty food I could find for her, and one she would eat. Ever since she was a puppy, I always shared my apples, and other locally grown fruits and veggies. She loved green beans, cooked or raw and ate them like candy. She also loved sardines, and any fish I caught in the lake, and either baked or broiled (ex seasoning.)
Having gained a bit more knowledge due to my bc, I began to recall the special diet and and supplements I began giving Jingles, the last years of her life, which worked well for her. I had never given one thought to the source of the supplements I bought for her...I sure as heck would now, as all supplements are not the same....source counts! Same thing with all those fruits and veggies I fed her, which would have contained pesticides, and the fish that lived in waters that were contaminated from many things. I don't feel any of this is helpful for a DM dog. Being that I have to keep my diet as "clean" as possible, and take care in selecting the source of my supplements, I am doing the same for my current GSD mix. I share my organic veggies which are appropriate for her, each day, and have succeeded in creating another "pest" for myself lol. I also give her the supplements recommended for a healthy GSD, some of which my source is New Chapter.
I don't know if any of the above would have made a difference for my past girl, or the many past/current DM dogs, but feel that it's an important step in the right direction, and worth the effort. I don't know if the "only organic" diet I am on, plus the supplements will help me win my battle with bc, but I can say this, I have never felt better, since I totally changed my eating habits, rather than embark on a treatment of toxic chemicals. Hindsight being what it is, perhaps many DM dogs, would not have developed the disease, if they and their parents had better nutrition from the get-go, instead of the crap we unwittingly fed our dogs. Same thing with myself. If I had never consumed "junk food," diet sodas, refined sugar, processed foods containing ingredients we all should stay away from, and fruits/veggies containing pesticides, perhaps I may have avoided bc. As a child, there was no such thing as "convenience foods," and "fast foods," so I ate healthier, when younger.
I don't recall who it was that said "we are what we eat." It makes a lot of sense to me, now that I am aware of how important proper nutrition is, building a strong immune system, in order to avoid/fight serious diseases. Hopefully, the air we all breathe will become less polluted and free of "political hot air."
The above article is the opinion of The Dog Lady Barks
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