Hello
I have a 6 1/2yr old greyhound who has just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma. In order to best support him through the trauma of leg amputation and chemotherapy I want to feed him the best diet possible.
I want to give him homemade food so that I know exactly what he’s eating and would really appreciate any advice on the best things to feed him and what to avoid.
I have read (and been told) that I need to reduce his carbohydrate intake as sugar “feeds” the cancer cells, so I’m looking at good quality protein, vitamins and antioxidants plus anything else recommended to help him fight this.
Thank you
Hi Scooby, sorry to hear this sad news. I would suggest 80/20 dry foods are closest to your needs, or try feeding raw
Hello and welcome to the forum, albeit in sad circumstances. Hopefully the treatment will be successful.
My friend’s dog has recently been diagnosed with this condition but it is in the ribs. She mentioned the carbohydrate link the other day and before then I had not heard of it. Do you know if it is scientific fact or hearsay?
I cannot help you with a home prepared diet because I don’t have detailed knowledge of what constitutes a properly balanced diet in terms of ingredients, weights etc. I agree with David regarding 80/20 food but I feel that his second suggestion might be worth considering. There are some good ready meals on the market that would be easy for you to provide, leaving you to concentrate on helping him to recover.
If you are minded to try this, look in the Dog Food Directory and set the filters to raw complete. Natures Menu, Natural Instinct and Nutriment are just three in that group of foods.
Sorry to hear about your boy. It might be worth contacting Honeys, they will make up raw diet specific to your dogs needs. I know people that have used them and are very happy with the results
http://honeysrealdogfood.com/services.php
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We have been through this 4 times now.
- Accept you may not be able to get anything down them. Our last girl was always difficult with food and we resorted to steak, chicken breast, tinned tuna in desperation, anything we could get down her, after amp.
- Hold your nerve. And buy non slip rugs. And get good pain relief (the patches are the best thing ever). Good, spaced pain relief makes a huge difference to recovery.
- We had Meggie on raw before amp and chemo. I took her off raw during chemo and discovered freeze dried raw. It is the only thing that saved us from her (being a complete cow) starving herself to death. She has always been a cow with food.
Rather than home cooked where it is difficult to balance the essential minerals and vitamins we looked at a freeze dried raw (orijen and a locally produced one) as it is so low carb and you need to get so little down them to maintain weight and condition.
You might want to do some research into golden paste, turmeric paste. It may not be for you but the clinical research is quite promising.
Good luck. Our girl is over a year post amp and going strong! We caught it early, did amp and chemo as fast as possible. This was as soon as her stitches were out…
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm243/thewilderness27/IMG_5703_zps0lp8broc.jpg
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Thank you for all your kind words and helpful ideas, we really appreciate the support xx
I will look into raw food for him and thank you for the turmeric hint - I have heard that’s a good way to go.
Fingers crossed we have got it early and he can fight this
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Hello and welcome to the forum, so sorry to hear that your beloved dog is so poorly. Also sorry that you have been through this so many times Meggie.
A friend of mine with a 13 year old lurcher who is having stomach acid issues, also found that steak, tuna and chicken were the only things she could tempt her girl to eat. I hope he takes to whatever diet you decide to feed him. That is half the battle.
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Our experience is that after amp they are 10 times better - you have taken the pain away after all. If you get the pain relief right (fentanyl patches are excellent) they are up and about giving you a heart attack within days. On fentanyl we have had far few eating problems than on the other pain relief drugs.
The other top tip is to touch around the area lots, and if you can cover it with a stretchy elastic vest. The pressure over the area seems to really help with reducing nerve pain.
Our last one sailed through chemo without a blink but we did the protocol which is easier on the organs and 6 sessions. We had her on the freeze dried raw, or a good quality tinned food if we couldn’t get the raw down her, and our oncologist reckons it made a huge difference to her. She was tired the day after chemo and often not interested in food but this was a bit of a bonus really as less poo to double bag and burn!
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Pleased to report that our boy is enjoying his new raw food - is actually asking for more and greyhound owners will understand that’s a big thing 
Again many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to think of us and respond to my plea. I felt pretty alone and lost at the beginning but now, with your support and good wishes, feel much more positive.
Big loves and doggie snogs xx
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What a lovely, positive start to the day - thank you so much for the update. I have to say that I have never heard of ‘doggie snogs’ and had a giggle. Sounds delightful! LOL ;D