Tumors and causes...

[Nick]

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My dog just had a tumor removed this week. I'm waiting for the biopsy results. My neighbors dog was just found to have a tumor also. We both go to the same vet and we both get all those shots that are reccomended by the vet. My question is: could these tumors be caused by the shots he's given? Also, what are the odds of two dogs living next door to each other having tumors(same type) at the same time? Is there anything I can do to prevent more tumors or is it just genetic? The vet gave a standard answer of "you can't tell why they occur".
thanks for your time, Nick Bubbico

[jcolt32]

Hey Nick. I'm a certified dog trainer and I also own a Pet Shop in NJ that specializes in high end animal foods. There are many cause for tumors and one biggie is diet. Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Pedigree, Purina and other commercial brands use high amounts of chemical preservatives as well as other questionable ingredients. And, the chemicals such as ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT are know carcinogens (cancer causing). What kind of food is the dog and the neighbor's dog on? If it's commerical, I can give you alternative foods that are equal to or lesser in price and much higher in quality. Some excellent foods are California Natural, innove, Canidae, Flint River Ranch (I'm a distributor of this), Wellness, Natural Balance and others.

Jeff

[Nick]

Thanks for replying. I've always fed him Purina. He's also always had bad allergies in the spring. I've done alot of reading on the link between diet and health. Now that he's had this tumor removed which was benign, I'm looking into ways to reduce his risk of getting more health problems. Of course the vet repeatedly tells me that some dogs just get them...but now I'm not so sure. I'm also considering stopping or cutting way back on the yearly vaccinations also.
Any thoughts you might have would be appriciated. You say you're in Jersey too? I'm in South Jersey, where's your store located? -Nick

[jcolt32]

Hey Nick. Purina is ok. But, it has many suspect ingrdients. My store is in Bloomfield (exit 151 on pkway). Where are you loacted? I cand help you find a store near where you live that sells all natural dog food. I mean ideally, we should prepare fresh food for our dogs. But, it sometimes not conducive to our lifestyle. This is why I recommend the higher end foods. They human grade ingredients and no chemical preservatives. You should stay away from the Purinas, Pedigree, Science Diets and Supermarket brands. The foods that are better in quality, you won't find them in Super stores. These food makers will only sell to independent pet stores. Some are hard to find. You have to be careful when taking nutrition advise from Vets. Hill's (maker of science diet) does the underwriting for nutrition chapters in vet schools. And many of their researchers even write much of the literature about nutrition. IF you want to chat, you can call me. Just send a PM and I'll forward you my number. Where are you located?

[Nick]

Hey thanks! I actually looked into Canidae and Flint River. I have two local carriers in my area. I'm going to look into these. I'll let ya know how things go. Thanks again, Nick

[jcolt32]

No problem. I did forget to mention supplements. Not sure if you ue any. But, Nupro is a good all around supplement. It also comes in a joint formula which is good for large breed or senior dogs. Wellness has a good all around supplement too. Immuno DMG is a great supplement for dogs and us too. In fact we gie our dogs the Immuno DMG and we take our doses right out of the same bottle. This isn't very well known but you can research on www.dmgdoctor.com - it's an excellent immune system booster. There are many more too but I don't want to ramble on. Well good luck.

[Mary Jo]

I just read this thread. Molly my 9 year old female Pit gets Mast Cell tumors. Last summer she had 2 surgeries and underwent chemo. This is her 2nd Mast Cell. She had one 2 years ago. There are tumors caused by vaccinations, they are referred to as vaccination site carcinomas but from what I have read, these are more common in felines. I have asked my vet to give Molly her vaccinations in differenct spots and they ahve obliged. Bull dogs are prone to Mast Cell Tumors. Not much an owner can do but have them removed surgerically. So, I check Molly constantly and when I see a tumor I run to the vet. This is the 3rd dog I have owned that had cancer, one was a Doberman who had Mast Cell, and a Great Dane that had bone cancer.

[KARIG4]

Isn't it curious how the standard answer is always "cause unknown". And yet diseases and cancers are all too common and acceptable these days. Every other dog owner I talk to has a pet with disease, cancer, allergies, etc. and I can't believe all the medications these are all on. Seems nobody questions it (not you) and accepts the bills and drugs.
For you to question vaccinations is a smart decision. Another big contributor is commercial foods...along with flea medications, heartworm, processed rawhides, pig ears, and all the like. These are all toxic, chemically made, and dangerous. These build up in their system use after use.
On food..there is no such thing as "high quality" food. The foods that say all natural and no preservatives are really not natural. They are a step above grocery store and vet foods, but not biologically appropriate for our carnivoure/meat eating/animal eating dogs. Thier bodies/organs/eyes/intestines/skin/teeth are designed to eat whole raw foods. This includes mostly raw meaty bones, some organ meat, a little veggies, fruit, etc. Same stuff they eat in the wild. Domestication, and the invention of dog food (50 or so yrs ago) has not changed the insides or the nutritional needs of the canine. All of the processed, commercial foods are mostly grain based. They are not designed to eat grains. Grains digest at double the rate meaty bones do. Grains cause allergies, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases. Grain based diets grow the dog at a faster rate (contributes to hip displaysia and more)
Vaccinations are also a cause for disease and immune disorders. Dogs fed a natural diet (raw foods) have a healthier immune system, bones are denser, more muscle mass, etc. etc.
Preparing a raw diet takes only minutes each day. And it's mostly cheaper than a lot of bagged foods. As for supplementing...the only supplement I use is Omega-3 (fish oil) that is necessary for my pit's skin and fur.

[Nick]

I agree. Health problems in domestic animals have been increasing drastically over the past decade. Since we all want to do the best for our family pets, we listen to the "experts" and go along with mostly everything they say. Since doing my own reserch, I've deceided to look at all these "meds" a little differently. My dog has had some bad allergies and tumors in his 3 1/2 years. Could it be from all the meds? Flea & Tick, Heartworm meds and vaccines?
http://www.leerburg.com/vaccinosis.htm
http://www.leerburg.com/allergy.htm
http://www.leerburg.com/qaheal.htm
Check these out...Nick

[jcolt32]

I do not have experience feeding my dogs a raw diet. But, I do agree that a properly prepared fresh diet is much better that kibble. But, there are very good dry and canned dog foods on the market. I like Canidae the best because 3 of its first 5 ingredients is a meat protein source. They do not use low grade meats either. Yes there are some grains in there. They also use natural ingredients - except for some vitamins/minerals. But, they are not bad for mammals. If you can do BARF, it's a no brainer. But, there are excellent "high quality" diets on teh market today. Many of these diets use hormone free chicken, free range chicken, grade A USDA approved meats, etc. Some foods that are real good are: Canidae, Karma(organic), FLint River Ranch, Innova, Wellness, Cal Natural, Nat Balance. And, canned foods are up and coming. Merrick just launched their canned food line. It's pretty amazing. Whole chicken parts, carrots, etc. I even ate it. It was pretty good - just needed a little salt - haha.

[libbyvoodoo]

My 10 year old piggy bull died almost four years ago of cancer. She had many "bully bumps" most of her life. She had breast cancer when she was seven, but the cancer that took her from me was a very strange one. I was in her muscles, mainly her heart. There was a little boy in our town that died of the same cancer a year later. There was not a lot the doctors (for humans or animals) could do for either of them. It was awful. I now have a red nose (he was very abused when he came to us) and i check him every night for bumps! It's called dog massage! I will know as soon as a bump comes up, and off to the vet we go!

[jmann4]

I would like to say I'm sorry you lost your dog. It's hard and non-pet owner's really can't imagine how much heartache this causes.

You will see them again that I'm sure of.

Do you know the name of the cancer they had?

[Amy]

Boxers are another breed that gets a lot of mast cell cancer and my friend who does boxer rescue had one that went through many surgeries to remove mast cell tumors. She heard from somewhere, not ever sure where, that giving dogs with mast cell benedryl once daily would help and it sure did in his case. The tumor he had quit growing and he never grew anymore after that.

I don't know that giving benedryl once daily is good either, but....I thought this was really interesting.