Protection Step # 1

Prevent any Exposure to Herbicides and Pesticides in Lawns and Gardens.
Keep your dog off of any lawn, public or private, if you don’t know whether it has been treated with chemicals. This unfortunately means almost all public lawns, and many public parks. Some hotels treat carpets and other fabrics with pesticides. Read Purdue University research, recommending that Scottie owners keep their dogs away from areas treated by pesticides:
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/canblad.htm

Protection Step # 2

Weight Control and Carbohydrates .
There is a correlation between carbohydrates and cancer. Keep carbohydrates to a bare minimum. Keep your pet at a slim but not starving weight in which you can feel the ribs when you put your hands on its rib cage. Most Scotties should be between 19 and 22 pounds or approximately 8.5 to 10 kg; a very large Scottie could go up to 12kg. Every kilogram is critical on the small Scottie body.

Not all Scotties fall into the above standard. Much depends on the Scottie’s bone structure and frame. Regarding weight, one breeder stated: “ideal weight is totally dependent on the frame size of the Scotties. There are some Scotties with huge frames, which need to carry more weight to have an "ideal" lean weight. Right now I have a 12 1/2 pound Scottie which is an ideal weight for her frame. In the past I had a huge, huge Scottie that was at an ideal weight at almost 35 pounds”.

Piper developed a bit of a taste for ice cream, and got it from us--even when we were totally silent taking it from the refrigerator and he was in another room he would appear as soon as the lid silently came off of a cardboard ice cream box-- maybe once a month.

Protection Step # 3

Prevent Exposure to Cigarette Smoke.
Never allow your animal to breathe cigarette smoke or any other kind of smoke. If dogs regularly have to breathe smoke, they are at a higher risk of cancer.



Protection Step # 4

Give Your Dog a Minimum of One Good Walk Per Day
Dogs who do not get a minimum of one good walk per day are at a higher risk of cancer. Walks are needed to clean wastes out the system.

Protection Step # 5

Prevent Exposure to Solvents, like Oil Based Paint, Dry Cleaning Solution, Varsol.



Protection Step # 6

Use Caution in Treating with Medication to Prevent Fleas.
Many Scotties absolutely need flea control because they are hyperallergenic to fleas. Regular garlic in the dog’s food is an effective way to prevent fleas, and has other health benefits.

Purdue University’s epidemiology study reported in 2003, that older topical flea and/or tick products, specifically dips, powders, and collars, are associated with an increased risk of TCC. Among the newer products, only spot-ons containing fipronil significantly decreased the risk of TCC, while other spot-ons were unassociated with TCC risk.

The study concludes that “Owners of Scottish Terriers are advised to reduce their use of older insecticides and switch to spot-ons, particularly those containing fipronil, until additional risk studies are done”.

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/canblad.htm

Protection Step # 7

Use a Minimum of Vaccinations.

Protection Step # 8

Do Not Use the Microwave to Heat Food.
Even more important, never microwave a pet’s food in a plastic dish or plastic-like wrap of any kind, even a microwavable dish. This is important for both dogs and humans.

If you have to use a microwave occasionally, use a crockery dish and cover it with paper.

Reference: John Hopkins Hospital University Research
http://www.optimumhealthreport.com/articles/

Protection Step # 9

Add Vitamin Supplements to Food.
Many experts say that the food grown and produced today is not as nutritious as it was in the past. Thus dogs need a multivitamin.

Protection Step # 10

Feed Your Pet Organic Food as Much as Possible.
Grind up lots of dark green vegetables, cranberries and blueberries in the dog’s food. Broccoli has been found to be correlated with a reduced rate of bladder cancer. Within the constraints of carbohydrate control, if you use mainly DRY organic food, you will have a dog whose teeth rarely need cleaning.

A lot of canned dog food is made from animal byproducts and even animals which have died of disease. Many canned and dry dog foods have harmful preservatives and are made from animal byproducts. To be safe, feed Scottish Terriers only organic food.

The 10 Steps and Piper

When cancer hit Piper, we could not believe our misfortune in having it happen a second time, as we had known about pesticides and cigarette smoke and vitamins and exercise. We more were rigorous about avoiding the known hazards than the average Scottie owner, because we were informed.

We made the microwave mistake above about four times in his lifetime, not knowing about the risks to both animals and humans. We no longer even have a microwave in our house, and if I have to use the microwave at work I only use crockery containers. We did treat Piper with Advantage for fleas, and we were renovating, so he might have had one or two exposures to breathing varsol from a distance.

There is a widespread belief that dogs that have not been spayed are at a higher risk of cancer. Veterinarians specializing in cancer state that there is no connection whatever between cancer and neutering.

Piper was a different kind of Scottie in that he got four walks per day, including one longer walk; he was not at all sedentary. Piper got no canned food other than very premium canned food very occasionally (once or twice a year). He ate only the food we ate (scary thought), although we never fed him from the table as he had gone through obedience training. He got lots of good vitamins and greens. He never breathed smoke in his life. We would in future give a Scottie nothing but organic food.

Click here for the 10 Tips as a .pdf

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