Every day, more is being learned about cancer and its prevention. While cancer prevention techniques continue to evolve, all experts agree that certain lifestyle choices can directly influence cancer risk. Similar to humans, you can make several changes that can have a positive impact on your pup’s health. Although many cancers in dogs are unpreventable, there are some changes you can make to reduce the risk to develop cancer. Based on limited studies in veterinary medicine, and many more in human medicine, below I share four simple recommendations to keep your dog healthy and hopefully cancer-free.
🐾 Spay or neuter your pup. Spaying or neutering your dog can significantly reduce the risk of developing certain cancers. For instance, spaying a female dog before her first heat significantly decreases her risk of developing mammary gland tumors . Similarly, neutering a male dog reduces the risk of testicular cancer, although this is not a highly deadly form of cancer in dogs.
🐾 Minimize Sun Exposure. Just like humans, dogs are prone to sunburn, and sunburns can lead to skin cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanomas, and hemangiomas. If your pet spends a lot of time outdoors and has a light coat color, consider options to protect your pup from the sun.
🐾 Your pup should have a healthy weight. In the past 30 years, the prevalence of obesity in both people and pets has increased despite substantial efforts to address the problem. Obesity influences the health and the wellbeing of people and animals. Some studies have found that obese dogs have an increased prevalence of benign and malignant neoplasms when compared to lean dogs.
🐾 Avoid toxins. There is reasonable evidence suggesting that occupational exposure to herbicides results in an increased risk of developing some cancers. For example, some studies have shown that exposure to lawns or gardens treated with herbicides was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer in dogs. Another research also demonstrated that dogs living in industrial areas and exposed to paints and solvents developed lymphoma at a younger age than dogs not exposed to those chemicals. Therefore, avoid the use of toxic chemicals at home that can potentially harm your pup and also other family members.
Similar to their human companions, dogs live healthier lives if they eat healthy foods, exercise frequently, and stay away from harmful substances.
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