DEAR DR. FOX: Years ago, you responded to a reader who asked for help with her 12-year-old dysplastic German shepherd. You recommended adding 1 teaspoon of turmeric to the dog's food. That was back in 2005, and I have been a strong supporter of turmeric since then.

A few years after we started our dogs on the turmeric regimen, not only did it work well on our bouvier des Flandres with hip dysplasia, it also shrunk a large grade-A tumor on our pug. He was about 12 1/2 at the time, and the tumor shrunk to the size of a small grape!

I am the Florida regional coordinator for the American Bouvier Rescue League, and I posted your reply to several bouvier lists; from there, the use took off in the bouvier community. There are a lot of people who are using it as a tumor inhibitor, and it seems to be helping a lot of dogs.

One of my friends -- a reputable bouvier breeder -- asked me a question the other day, and I thought I better ask for your assistance. The organic turmeric she purchased says on the label not to take if you are pregnant. Since she was planning on giving it to both male and female dogs, will this cause a problem with breeding females?

We have been using your homemade dog food recipe for years; we had lost several bouviers over the years to cancer, but since cooking for our dogs, we have had good longevity -- our bouviers live between 12 1/2 to about 14 1/2 years. The other supplements I have added to their food are oil of oregano, coconut oil and freshly ground black pepper. My seven dogs are all lean and healthy! -- T.M., Loxahatchee, Florida

DEAR T.M.: According to Internet sources, taking turmeric as a supplement is not advisable for women who are or who intend to become pregnant because of fears of miscarriage and birth defects. I would advise similar caution with breeding dogs: Take them off such supplements until it is time to nurse. Some advocates of turmeric point to countries like India -- where this spice is regularly consumed -- to prove that there is no association with infertility, miscarriages or birth defects. But that could be an epigenetic effect of adaptation over generations.

As you will see on my website, DrFoxVet.net, I have made some changes to my basic dog food recipe, including adding ginger as well as turmeric to help digestion and joints. These basic herbs, long used by people as condiments, digestive aids and food flavorings, have some remarkable medical properties. A little cayenne pepper may help lower blood pressure; cinnamon may help reduce insulin need in diabetic dogs, as it has been shown to help humans; and oregano may help promote a healthy population of gut bacteria.

BACTERIA IN PET FOODS: ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONCERNS OF ENDOTOXINS

Bacteria are everywhere, including pet foods. Most bacteria are harmless, and many are essential for our health and other animals' health, but some cause acute food poisoning and other serious health problems. High-temperature cooking or processing kills most bacteria, but in the process, it releases endotoxins from them. High levels of endotoxins are associated with high levels of bacteria in the animal parts -- many condemned for human consumption -- billions of pounds of which is processed into pet foods, livestock feed and fertilizer every year. This includes the remains of so-called 4-D animals -- those who are dead, dying, debilitated or diseased upon inspection at the slaughterhouse.

Endotoxins can cause shock, organ failure, trigger the release of histamine and inflammatory cytokines, cause changes in white blood cell numbers, affect blood coagulation and lead to hypertension, arthritis and asthma. They probably damage cell DNA with carcinogenic consequences.

The recycling of this vast tonnage of slaughterhouse and fish industry waste into pet food and animal feed (causing mad cow disease in the U.K.), albeit highly profitable, it is part of an unsustainable, climate-changing and costly public and environmental health problem that calls for systemic change, at the core of which must be a reduction in production and consumption of high-carbon-hoofprint beef, pork and other animal produce. This should begin with the government establishing better ways to dispose of this animal waste where polluters pay and only human-grade foods and their immediate by-products are permitted in pet foods, fish foods and livestock, horse and poultry feeds.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have always loved animals, and for a while I did cat rescue. I am 70 years old, and my husband and I have a 16-year-old cat. We have not been replacing pets as they die because of concerns about them ending up in a facility, or burdening our daughter with a house full of animals that she would need to assimilate into her own household.

I was raised on a small dairy farm in rural Virginia, and when I retired two years ago, I enrolled in master naturalist training. I understand the need to connect to nature and our animals. You recommended adopting from a shelter, and I am in total agreement. It would be nice if you would have an article about how to be a pet owner for those of us who are not sure if we will outlive our pets -- our last dog was 15 when she died, and we have had cats who lived 18 and 20 years.

In December 2015, I started volunteering with the Humane Society of Fairfax County. I have found it immensely rewarding, and I get my dog fix. The Humane Society has staff to do the cleaning. What they desperately need are people to spend time with the cats and dogs, socializing them. If you want to bring a book and hold the book with one hand and pet a cat or dog with the other, the staff is quite happy.

I thought it might be difficult for me to see these abandoned animals, but I focus not on what I am seeing as the worst traits of our species, but on the everyday staff and people adopting these pets -- which is what is best about our species. I think of my work with the animals as a comfort station at a particular juncture in their lives. 

People of a certain age do not have to "own" a pet; nor do people who know they will be going overseas and unable to take a pet, or people whose lives are in transition. Please share the benefits of NOT owing a pet -- especially if a person is not settled enough to go the full 10 to 20 years of commitment. Another interesting benefit for me was that I had always had herding breeds or shepherds, and I didn't think I could consider anything else. A month of working at the kennels has shown me that what I got from my shepherds, I also get from a variety of other breeds and mixed breeds. I was able to hone in on why I love dogs -- they are companions, and they make me smile, even laugh. -- D.M., Vienna, Virginia

DEAR D.M.: Your beautiful letter will suffice to encourage older people to find satisfying alternatives to adopting a companion animal who may well outlive them. I appreciate the fact that you found the truth that all dogs are great and not just the particular breed with which you were familiar.

CANNED DOG FOOD RECALL

Fromm Pet Foods announced a canned dog food recall of all lots of the following three canned products: 12-ounce Gold Chicken Pate Dog can, 12-ounce Gold Chicken and Duck and 12-ounce Gold Salmon and Chicken Pate can.

Fromm has discovered through its own analysis that the dog foods do not contain recommended levels of vitamins and minerals. These products may contain elevated levels of vitamin D.

This recall is being implemented in an "abundance of caution," as symptoms would be noted in situations where dogs have eaten the affected products as their only meal for an extended period of time, which could lead to depression of appetite. While there have been no reports of any health problems, Fromm is recommending the affected products not be fed.

For more information, visit frommfamily.com/connect/annoucements.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I just lost my dear cat to cancer that started at the site of his last rabies injection.

I have had several friends who also have had cats who developed that kind of cancer, I believe called fibrosarcoma, at the rabies injection site. Veterinarians have always told me that the risks from the injection are very low, but now I don't believe them. I am incensed that an indoor cat is, by law I am told, expected to have an injection for a disease that he would have no way of catching.

What is your take on this? -- M.H., Bethesda, Maryland

DEAR M.H.: I am sorry to hear about the death of your cat due to fibrosarcoma at the injection site. I have discussed this and other adverse vaccination reactions, so called vaccinoses, in an article on my website, DrFoxVet.net.

I think the protocol of annual rabies and other vaccination to indoor cats needs revision; it is questionable to vaccinate against rabies in cats who never go outdoors and have no possibility of exposure to a rabid animal unless one gets into the house. But if you need to board your cat, all such vaccinations should be up to date and you should get blood tests confirming that the cat does not have feline leukemia or immunodeficiency virus infections.

Regrettably, we have uninformed and uncaring members of the cat-owning community who let their unvaccinated cats go outdoors whenever they like. There are not enough communities with statutes and ordinances prohibiting cats from being allowed to roam off their property, and the enforcement is a joke. All cats who are outdoors in an enclosed yard and who do not wander off their owner's property but could be exposed to rabid animals and to diseased cats do, of course, need to be vaccinated.

In my opinion, judging by the number of letters I receive concerning cats developing injection-site cancer, the incidence is higher than the estimates reported in the literature, and not all veterinarians are following the new protocol of no longer injecting the rabies vaccine in the neck or shoulder area but down one limb or tail. When the anti-rabies vaccine is injected at these sites, it makes surgery to remove any tumor -- usually total amputation -- more effective in preventing its spread.

DEAR DR. FOX: One of our standard poodles often throws up a small amount of yellow substance when it is close to mealtime. We are very punctual about meals and try to compensate, but it doesn't work. Can you help? -- M.F., Springfield, Missouri

DEAR M.F.: This is probably bile and gastric juices triggered by the anticipation of food and aggravated by acid reflux, so try giving your dog a human Tums (or similar antacid) 20 minutes before mealtime.

A surprising number of dogs have this problem, but I do not advise people making their own diagnosis since such vomiting before and after meals can mean other serious health issues. So if the antacid does not prove effective, a full veterinary checkup is called for.

DEAR DR. FOX: Do you have any suggested changes in your home-prepared dog food recipe for geriatric arthritic dogs? -- S.M., Washington, D.C.

DEAR S.M.: I have recently made a few general changes to my home-prepared dog food recipe, posted on my website.

I have included natural herbal supplements that help dogs in general and older dogs in particular. Ginger and turmeric are two examples of such herbs that have a diversity of beneficial pharmaceutical and therapeutic properties.

I would add a little cinnamon for dogs with diabetes and high blood pressure (often associated with kidney disease). Try oregano, thyme, sage, cumin or fenugreek for those with digestive issues. I would give a pinch in the food for habituation and acceptance, then increase to about 1/2 teaspoon daily of each for a 50-pound dog. Many people are surprised how many good medicines they have in their own kitchens; traditional wisdom -- like Hippocrates urging, "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" -- is anathema and taboo to the pharmaceutical industry.

In addition to such supplements to help old dogs, I would add massage therapy that you can give yourself. Learn more in my book "The Healing Touch for Dogs."

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.net.)