How Changing My Dog’s Diet Saved Her Life
This week my vibrant King Charles Cavalier, Chloe, turned 10. That might sound like no big deal, but Chloe was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2013 and her oncologist believed she only had three months to live.
The fact that she is still happy, thriving, showing no signs of cancer is pretty amazing.
The vets are still stunned. The oncologist surprised. They can’t understand how she’s still alive and chasing squirrels. When I told them I changed her diet, they looked at me as if thinking, “Oh, that poor woman really thinks she healed her dog just by changing her diet.” Some doctors don’t believe in the power of foods and nutrition. Their focus is on treatment, not prevention. But I believe if we eat the right foods, we have the power to reverse symptoms and prevent disease. And now I believe we can do the same for our pets.
After Chloe was diagnosed, the oncologist recommended we start chemo right away, but I decided to see what I could do naturally to keep her feeling good and symptom free.
Research. Research. Research.
Over the next week, I looked into the raw food diet for dogs and cats. The concept behind feeding your pet raw food is allowing them to eat the way they use to eat living in the wild. A healthy raw food diet includes foods like muscle meat, bones (preferably ground for safety), organ meats, organic vegetables and fruits like broccoli, spinach, kale, parsley, apples and blueberries, as well as organic pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
Since I wanted to decrease Chloe’s inflammation and make her body more alkaline (cancer has a really hard time growing in an alkaline environment), I decided to give the raw food diet a try. It made sense to me and I figured it couldn’t hurt. More than two years later, Chloe is still thriving with no sign of cancer.
So what do I feed her exactly?
Well the diet I feed Chloe came recommended by a good friend of mine, Nancy Addison. She is a nutrition expert and certified wildlife rehabilitator with expertise in pet and animal diets. Without hesitation, she recommended I feed Chloe the following twice a day:
- Raw Food Brand: Primal Pet Foods (different type of meat each week)
- 2 cups of finely-chopped raw kale and parsley (grind in food processor to reduce to approx. ½ cup – enough for two meals)
- ¼ tsp. of cod liver oil (gives Omega 3s + Vitamin D)
- ½ scoop of green powder (optional)
- ½ – 1 oz. filtered water
Each week, I rotate the meat source between venison, lamb, duck, beef, chicken, and turkey & sardine. Chloe loves them all and is always excited to eat. This diet worked perfectly with her system from the very beginning. She hasn’t had any issues with digestion or elimination since being on this diet.
Depending on your dog’s weight, I recommend you thaw the suggested number of frozen nuggets in the refrigerator overnight. Since Chloe weighs 15 pounds, I feed her six nuggets a day — three at breakfast and three at dinner. I grind the greens right before serving and combine all of the ingredients in her bowl.
Honestly, I don’t know if it was the raw food diet that healed Chloe or if we just got lucky. But regardless, this is definitely a diet that can give your pet more energy, vitality and reduce symptoms caused by the common food allergens like wheat, corn and soy found in conventional dog foods.
Obviously, I am very happy I switched Chloe to raw food. If you decide to give it a try, please let me know how it goes in the comment section below. I’d love to hear.
Happy Trails!
Candace
