My dog was diagnosed with bone cancer and the vet says maybe she has six months. She is on pain meds (Tramadol) and seems to be comfortable for the time being. Some days she is listless and her eyes look like she might be in pain . She has a little trouble getting up from arthritis, but she does not have a limp.I want to know if anyone can tell me what signs i will see when she is starting to experience pain or when it is getting near the time to put her down. We will not let her suffer but we want to keep her as long as she can be with us. Thank you in advance for your help.
Mac
You will know when it's time. I can't tell you how you'll know but you will. Your dog will let you know when she's had enough .. Please watch her very carefully, bone cancer is excruciatingly painful.
I lost my heart dog to bone cancer. She lived far beyond her prognosis and I had her under the care of a canine oncologist. I had my dog on Tramadol together with another pain relief medication. I refused amputatation and chemo as my research showed no evidence that either of this procedures extend life. My friend had a dog, same breed as mine who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the same week as mine. She elected amputation and chemo. Her dog lost it's life after 3 months.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I had my dog on a number of supplements and she lived happily for 9 months beyond her expected prognosis. Take a look at a supplement called Avemar. There is an Avemar yahoo group you might like to join. I credit Avemar for keeping my dog feeling well and energetic and extending her life way beyond the vets and the specialists prognosis.
She still had a good appetite and was playful when I had her put to sleep. The reason I made the painful decision to gently put her to sleep when I did was to spare her suffering. One of her lymph glands blew up overnight to a huge size. I knew then that the cancer had spread and she would go downhill rapidly. I couldn't put her through that. She was such a happy, playful dog that to watch her decline and get sick and suffer horrendous pain would have been too cruel. I miss her every day but I love her as much as I did when she was with me. Nothing, not even her death, can take the love I have for her away from me.
I'm so sorry you're going through this heartache with your dog. It's a very dark road to travel.
Try this:
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com http://www.bonecancerdogs.org/main/maind ... Hope it helps ya.
If you want more information:
1) talk to your vet some more. Your vet knows more than the masses at YA who have not studied the subject.
2) google search for canine bone cancer and read multiple websites.
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You can improve her quality of life by giving Rimadyl which is an anti-inflammatory, for the arthritis. A glucosamine product, such as Glyco-Flex III, may help rebuild some of the lost lubrication/cushioning around the joints.Tramadol should be helping overall with the pain. As time goes on you will need to increase the amount of Tramadol to keep her comfortable. Dogs will shake, whine, wring their tail, or refuse to eat or move when in pain. The final signs I have seen are the pain meds no longer work and the dog refuses to eat several meals in a row.
Cancer feeds on carbohydrates such a grain found in kibble. Grain also aggravates arthritis. Feed a high protein, high fat diet. Baked turkey works very well and the dogs usually love it.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Treasure every moment you have together.
