Can Bad Diet Cause Brain Tumor in Dogs?

Can brain tumor in dog be caused by bad diet?

Can what you feed your dog predispose him to a brain tumor? According to the veterinarian whom I asked this question to, it’s possible that diet can be part of the multifactorial process that can increase brain tumor risk in dogs.

My parents’ dog was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 8 years and 10 months. And I thought, Dammit, I just knew it; I knew what they were feeding him would eventually cause something like this. One of the diagnosing veterinary neurologist’s assistants told my mother, “There was nothing you could have done to prevent the tumor,” after she asked what could have caused it.

Is it remotely possible that bad diet can cause a brain tumor in dogs? I posed this question to Dr. Michel Selmer, DVM, of Advanced Animal Care Center in Huntington, NY. He is not treating my parents’ dog, but he is my expert source for some of my dog health articles on this site.

Dr. Selmer’s response begins, “I believe that certain foods, additives, preservatives, processing agents, etc., can lead to an increase in incidence of cancer in general. I agree with you about your ‘pulling the trigger’ theory.”

My “pulling the trigger” theory is actually a commonly accepted theory in the world of genetic research: Genetics loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger. Many dogs are fed a bad diet; the vast majority of dogs are fed a diet that does NOT mimic the diet that nature designed dogs to consume; yet most 8 year old dogs do not have cancer.

I’m supposing that a combination of what my parents fed their German shepherd for eight years, and “bad genes,” led to the brain tumor. Purebred dogs are more likely to get cancer than mixed breeds. It’s no secret that some purebred canines come from a line of inbreeding.

Dr. Selmer continues, “You may not realize it, but you and your pet have spent your lives altering your genetic activity. When you took your first sip of wine or beer, you turned up the volume on your body’s genetic ability to detoxify alcohol. Every summer, when you strive for that perfect tan, you activate the genes that protect your skin. Genes are not a fixed set of preprogrammed instructions. They are a dynamic, active part of your pet’s life, responding each day to the environment and their diet.  Diet and the environment have the capacity to turn up the volume on some genes and silence others, vastly changing our health.”

From day one, I warned my mother about the possible harm of feeding the dog certain foods, namely processed meats, gravies from a can, and pancakes, waffles, potato chips, mashed potatoes from a box, and French fries, to name a few. I never told her or my father (whom I’ve witnessed feeding the dog apple butter on white bread) that these food choices could cause cancer, let alone a brain tumor.

Instead, I harped on the idea of general health and longevity, as well as weight control. My brother kept telling my mother to stop feeding the dog anything with grains, including pasta. Dogs should not eat grains! Grains suppress the immune system of dogs! In addition to the “human food,” the dog was fed standard dog food from a bag, plus doggie “cookies.”

A second veterinarian (an alternative practitioner) is now treating my parents’ dog. He told us, “If the immune system works, you won’t get cancer.”

I can’t help but wonder: Had my parents avoided feeding their dog anything that was processed – and that includes “dog food,” would the brain tumor still have developed?

That dog was also fed cereal, which, contrary to what the giant cereal companies have been advertising for years, is one of the worst things people can eat (with the exception of a very tiny percentage of minimally processed, whole grain cereals); many kinds of cereals are high in acrylamide, which was recognized in 2005 by the FDA to be a carcinogen, formed from the heating process used to make starchy foods. Many cereals are loaded with sugar, such as high fructose corn syrup.

“A little bit won’t hurt him,” was my parents’ mantra regarding processed food. Dogs’ bodies were not designed by nature to accept with open arms processed foods. Think of what dogs in the wild eat, what they have evolved over hundreds of centuries to eat: food in its natural state  –  raw! This includes vegetation; dogs are omnivores.

Toxins from processed foods and conventionally raised meats (manmade sugars, artificial colors and flavorings, preservatives, miscellaneous carcinogens, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics) accumulate in dogs. The day after you feed your pet junk does not begin at ground zero; instead, it’s an add-on to previous junk feedings!

I’ve never told my parents, and don’t intend to, that I think the dog’s brain tumor could have been prevented, indeed, with a diet absent of processed “human food.” I suspect that the incidence of brain tumors in dogs would be drastically reduced if dogs were fed a diet limited to raw meat from wild game or grass-fed livestock, plus organic vegetables and fruits. Keep in mind that some “healthy” foods are toxic to dogs, such as grapes, raisins, onions, cocoa, mushrooms and macadamia nuts.