I Don't Want to Make the Same Mistakes with my New Dog

In the past, I have done whatever my veterinarian has advised. She is an amazing veterinarian; knowledgeable, caring, compassionate and a wonderful person, and I don't blame her for anything, but both of my dogs have died at an early age from cancer.

This time I want to do everything right: Feed him the best food, give him the best medicine--but I am reconsidering whether I should do EVERYTHING my veterinarian asks. For example, she put my last dog on a food that was good for helping her lose weight, but the ingredients were not very natural or healthy, and the food contained unhealthy preservatives.

Secondly, she puts all of her dogs on heartworm medication, even though when I asked her how many cases of heartworm she had seen in our area, she answered that she had not seen one yet. Heartworm is a terrible disease, so I did not necessarily regret putting my dog on this medication, but I would not do it if the risks outweighed the benefits for our geographical area.

My question is rather vague, but is it possible that some of the vaccinations and modern medicines that we are giving to our dogs may be causing cancer or other ailments?

Beyond healthy food and good exercise and affection, what steps can I take to avoid having another cancer casualty?

Are any of the non-required vaccinations harmful to a dog?

I don't know what schedule your vet recommends, but until very recently the usual recommendations have been really excessive. That's starting to change now, slowly. You do want to be sure to get all the puppy shots, rabies at 4 months, and then get another set of boosters at 1 year. Thereafter you don't need to vaccinate any more often than every 3 years. If your area lets you get a 3-year rabies shot rather than a yearly shot, do that also.

Regarding heartworm prevention, if you live in an area that has cold winters, you do not to give preventative year-round. I almost got into an argument with a PetSmart vet tech about that last year, who was very obviously just trying to sell more product, trying to tell me that it doesn't get cold enough in the winter (in Ohio!!) to kill the mosquitoes. I would challenge her to take a stroll in January and tell me how many mosquitoes were out. If there's heartworm in your area, you do want to take steps to prevent it during the warm times of year - but keep in mind that that stuff is a poison, and don't give more of it than you need to.

Finally (lest we start the periodic flame-wars up again), I'm big on a raw/homecooked diet as outlined in one of my very favorite pet-care books:

Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

If you can't/don't want to go to this extent, though, at least become very familiar with the ingredients list of the commercial foods out there. Make sure the first ingredient is a whole meat source, not a grain, meat meal, or meat by-product. The vast majority of grocery-store brands do not qualify.

Hope that helps!

Yes, my dog can get a three year rabies here.

Also, we do have cold winters, I would say. I'm in AZ but at a relatively high altitude. (My profile says I live in Phoenix, but that is just the nearest city anyone would recognize; I'm actually north of Phoenix, and up in the mountains).

Thank you so much for your info. I'm going to print out your post and bookmark the site you recommend.

This is truly on my mind. This is my third dog and I don't want to mess this up. I'm SICK to death of my animals dying of cancer.

There's a thread in there about high-quality natural pet food

They might charge you for it, though.

They look pretty woo-woo, but Dr. S always had very good advice about vaccinations and food. Never pushed the alternative medicine with us, because that wasn't really what we were looking for.

http://animalhealingcenter.com/index.htm