When your dog is diagnosed, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed about how to care for them. You might worry if they’re feeling different, whether they’re in pain, or if there’s more you could do to slow the disease progression and help them feel their best.
One of the best ways to sense your dog’s mood is by watching their eating habits. And as their loving guardian, their diet will be one of the first things you scrutinize—especially when they aren’t feeling like themselves.
Why Is My Dog Not Eating?
Some treatments and supplements can cause temporary nausea or loss of appetite, but your vet can provide medications to help your pup feel better. However, what if you notice a change in their eating habits without a clear cause?
While skipping a meal now and then is normal—and most dogs self-regulate until they’re ready to eat again—cancer itself can impact their metabolism in a few ways:
- Chemotherapy may alter their sense of smell and taste, making food less appealing.
- Cancer treatments can reduce saliva production, making eating uncomfortable.
- Tumor cells (and your dog’s body responding to it) release compounds that suppress appetite and contribute to weight loss. Cancer can also disrupt protein balance in the body.
- Pain medications like opioids sometimes reduce hunger.
- Negative associations, like vomiting after eating a certain food, may make your dog avoid it.
Remember that every dog responds differently, so your pup may experience none, some, or only mild versions of these effects.
What Should You Feed A Dog With Hemangiosarcoma?
You’ll probably be tempted to jump online, and if you do, you’ll read wonders about many special diets, how they starve cancer, and how many dogs seem to have stopped progression because of it.
But before you get overwhelmed and make drastic changes, you should know that researchers still don’t fully understand the nutritional needs of animals with cancer. To date, no specific cancer diet has been proven to improve survival outcomes.
You’ll often hear that sugar feeds cancer, with many recommending low-carb, high-fat diets as the best approach. While this might help some dogs that are losing weight rapidly, adding high fat to an obese or senior dog’s diet could do more harm than good. High-fat diets can lead to pancreatitis – a painful condition you don’t want to add to your dog’s cancer battle. And if you rush to eliminate all carbs, the cancer will consume your dog’s fat and protein stores instead, which are crucial for maintaining their health.
Other owners swear by raw diets for reducing inflammation. But for dogs undergoing chemo or radiation, raw meat poses serious risks. Their weakened immune systems may struggle with the extra bacterial load, potentially leading to infections or even sepsis.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with these diets, and your dog may benefit from some—or perhaps not. The crucial point is that you should always consult an oncologist or canine nutrition specialist before making changes. Any new food plan needs to be nutritionally balanced and introduced gradually to avoid setbacks. Only a specialist can properly tailor a diet to your dog’s specific needs and cancer stage.
The most important thing to remember? The perfect cancer diet is the one your dog will actually eat happily! Your main goal should be helping your dog maintain weight, stay hydrated, and get enough energy. If your dog is thriving on their current diet – whether it’s commercial food or homemade – and isn’t having digestive issues, you may not need to change anything. It’s far better for them to enjoy their meals than for you to force-feed them or add so many supplements that they develop food aversions.
Every dog’s journey is different. Just because a particular combination of food, supplements, and treatment worked for someone else’s dog doesn’t mean it will work for yours. You should strive to find what’s best for them—on your own terms and through careful observation.
What Can You Do To Help?
A dog with cancer shouldn’t go more than 24 hours without eating. If this happens, contact your vet to rule out complications. But if your dog is ignoring their bowl (yet begging for your food) or eating less—despite your efforts—try these gentle ways to make meals appealing again:
- Consider using their favorite foods as delicious toppers – like shredded rotisserie chicken or mashed sweet potatoes – to create novelty and interest. The new smells and textures might just tempt them to take that first bite.
- Try gently spicing their food. Dogs enjoy the aromas of salt and sweetness, so things like coriander, turmeric, or ginger might help – but always check with your vet first about which spices are safe.
- For dry food, try adding warm water or a splash of bone broth to soften it and enhance the flavor. Warming the food slightly can also intensify the aroma (though avoid this if your dog seems nauseous, as strong smells might worsen it).
- To keep meals appealing, offer smaller portions more frequently rather than large meals. This helps maintain freshness—home-cooked food shouldn’t sit out for more than 20 minutes, and kibble starts losing its freshness when left in the bowl too long. Always wash your dog’s bowl thoroughly between meals—stainless steel or ceramic are best, as lingering odors can put them off their food.
- Create calm, positive mealtimes. Sit with them, try hand-feeding small bits, or just keep them company. Dogs pick up on our energy, so if you’re relaxed and encouraging, they’re more likely to relax too. If they turn away, don’t push it, put the food away and try again later.
- Separate meal times from medication times so they don’t associate eating with discomfort.
- Try different feeding spots around the house to spark interest and always make food easy to approach.
- Separate food components in their bowl instead of mixing everything. Like in the wild, dogs sometimes self-select what they need – which might explain why they devour carrots one week and ignore them the next.
- Remember dogs are pack animals. Sometimes eating when the rest of the family (or other pets) eat can make all the difference in sparking their appetite.
Final Thoughts
Watching your dog face the challenges of hemangiosarcoma is frightening, but your vet will be there to guide you through every change. While your instincts may tell you to search desperately for solutions, the most important thing is to stay calm and focus on giving your dog the best possible quality of life during this difficult time.
If all they’ll eat is chicken and rice, that’s infinitely more valuable than any cancer diet. Your presence, patience, and full attention matter more than any textbook solution, and having your dog happy and enjoying their meals already makes you the best dog parent ever.
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