Raw diet and chemo

[selah]

My dog started chemo last week and the oncologist told me she doesn't reccommend the raw diet while on chemo since his immune system is compromised. Has anyone heard this before? I am skeptical only because the vet always cautions me against raw (even when he's healthy), but I wanted to check with other raw feeders-- what would you do?

I have been giving him a cooked meal since the chemo, and I may just keep doing that to be on the safe side.

 

[victoria1140]

The big problem with the chemo is it compromises the bodys immune system so it can't fight off infections .

I have talked to some small artisan raw meal producers recently and they all say its better during chemo to cook the food .the only reason l can still feed Max raw is because he is on metronomic chemotherapy and it doesn't kill of the white blood cells or healthy cells.

There are lots of ways to boost your furkids immune system though during this time.k9 immunity plus,apocaps,turmeric,aloe vera juice,certain homeopathic remedies,etc.

Best wishes,its an emotional time,did you read the book by Damien dressler?

 

[Puppypeoplenj]

There are lots of great facebook groups to pose this question on. I would try rawchat and rawfeeding, they aren't very warm, or even very nice (to be honest) but they give information supported by scientific studies, not opinions.

 

[Wheaty]

I'm not a vet, but I'm a medical doctor for little two-legged people. . I worked on the paediatric oncology ward as a part of my training. We did not let the kiddies on chemo have even runny yolk or soft cheese due to the high risk of infection from the bugs that we would not even notice with intact immune system. I can't imagine it is different for doggies.

Hope all goes well.

 

[shellyk]

I don't have professional knowledge of this but some anecdotal stories related to it...

1) When I looked into the two main Service Dog training groups - one of them didn't allow raw fed dogs because of the risk of salmonella to patients from the dog.

2) When my husband went through Chemo and was immunosuppressed one of the Nurses said to be careful of the dog (who wasn't even raw at that time). I asked his Oncologist and he said the benefit of being with the dog outweighed the risk.

In my research about raw feeding I read that there are risks to people of salmonella due to feeding dogs raw - not to the dog because they digest their food so much faster than we do.

I find it frustrating when Vets don't support raw feeding and promote foods like Science Diet... I would want to feed my dog the healthiest diet while undergoing such strenuous medical treatment but I think you are right to feed a cooked meal just to be safe and not have to worry about your Vet. I hope this treatment works for you dog.