There are many different factors that can affect your dogs chances of being diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, studies show that cancer is the leading cause of death in adult dogs. From environmental factors, to breed, age or diet, there are obviously numerous components that are involved in the potential for a cancer diagnosis.
However, studies show that there are some key components that can be pinpointed in cancer diagnosed dogs that can help us understand how to potentially stave off this horrible disease.
We'd like to discuss two clear components that all dog owners can understand and be proactive about. Those 2 elements are your dog's diet, and fixing your pup.
Starting with the latter, a study from the National Institute of Health shows from analyzing data from over 3,000 cancer diagnosed dogs, that the median age of diagnosis was 8.8 years old, however, neutered and spayed dogs were diagnosed at significantly later ages than intact dogs. This is a clear indication that fixing your dog can absolutely affect the possibility of your dog being diagnosed with cancer. As rescuers who have multiple reasons to fix our rescue dogs, we believe this reason is one that every dog owner should understand and be on board with. We have heard so many owners over the years argue about why they don't need to fix their dog, however this reason alone should be enough to change their mind.
The second component of your dog's health that you can be proactive about is their diet and exercise. The same study concluded that there was an inverse correlation between the onset of cancer and the dogs weight; meaning that bigger or heavier dogs were more prone to be diagnosed with cancer at an earlier age. Obviously breed and genetics play a role in this statistic, however we know that a healthy, balanced and natural, organic based diet along with daily exercise can positively affect your dogs weight and overall health, and therefore can minimize their propensity to contract disease like cancer.
As seen in our Diet blog posts, adding nutrient and antioxidant rich fruits like blueberries, apples or cucumbers, essential fatty acids like coconut oil, salmon and flaxseed oil, as well as veggies like broccoli, carrots, celery, sweet potato, spinach, kale and turmeric can all be a great way to keep your pup on a healthy track and rid the body of toxins that can over time manifest in disease. Be proactive in keeping your pup healthy by adding exercise and a natural, organic based diet to your pups daily routine, and of course, spay and neuter your dogs to minimize the chances of a cancer diagnosis in the future!
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