Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I haven't posted much in the last little while, things seem to be going pretty smoothly for Bruce so far. After his first chemo treatment his day 10 CBC came back perfect, however on day 23 when he was scheduled for his second treatment his white cell count was down to 1.82, treatment was delayed until day 28 at which point his white cell count was still quite low (3) but high enough for treatment, his team decided to lower his dose of carboplatin by 10% and we will try on day 23 (Nov 9) for his third treatment. On Monday of the this week I noticed Bruce coughing a couple of times during the day, and on Tuesday morning I found that he had coughed up some phlegm a couple of times in the night, and the coughing was becoming more frequent, so we contacted the vet and they suggested we bring him in for x-rays on Thursday morning. We had excellent news in that his lungs are clear, there were no signs of pneumonia and even more importantly no signs of mets. However there doesn't seem to be any cause for his coughing which has become quite persistent (and quite dry - no more mucus being coughed up), he was prescribed an opioid cough suppressant (which makes him quite sleepy but does seem to minimize the coughing considerably), has anyone else experienced this type of thing, and were you ever able to figure out what caused it. The vet questioned whether is could be kennel cough, but all of our dogs have been vaccinated for kennel cough every year. and neither of the other two are coughing at all.
I know we all react to a cough, a sneeze, a furball upchuck. It's great news that the xrays are clear.
Kennel cough is just like a common cold and the vaccines are not always effective. Perhaps the once the cough suppressant is done then it will have cleared up.
Many times a cough can be seasonal allergies. I have one cat that gets watery eyes and dandruff in the early summer.
Have you changed anything in the house or the dogs bedding?
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
YAAAAAAAAAY FOR GOOD XRAYS!!!! Really good news!!!
Yeah, allergies come to mind, even if he's never had them before. The chemo can weaken his immune system and make him more susceptible to "stuff". Did the Vet prescribe an antibiotic?
Yeah, hopefully the cough suppressant will help. I'm sure his throat has become irritated as a result. Maybe you can reduce the amount in another day or two?
Guess they'll do another WBC before the next chemo. For whatever it's worth, there are some theories that if the WBC is low, it means it's working!!
Lots of love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Glad he's doing great but well that's interesting about the coughing. It sounds like it's non-cancer related though, which is awesome. I hope the cough suppressant helps heal and get rid of the cough. How long did the vet say s/he would give it until further investigation is needed?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We haven't made any changes really, other than turning on the furnace, which I suppose could be the culprit (I hadn't actually thought about that until this very moment), but whatever dust and dirt has built up in there over the summer would have been floating around and could have irritated his lungs.
I hope you are right Sally, about the low WBC being a positive sign, and they will be testing it again before administering his next treatment. As for the coughing the vet seemed to think that the initial coughing got rid of a bit of mucus (which could have possibly been from a mild cold), but possibly irritated his esophagus which is why he now has such a dry cough.
We will be checking in with the vet on Monday, right now the plan is to give the medication as needed, he had one dose yesterday and one this morning and has been doing well (he's been prescribed 2 tablets every 8-12 hours), he has had a couple of coughing episodes, but it seems to occur mainly when he is being active, I will give him some more after supper tonight and see how he's doing in the morning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is nothing to serious and clears up quickly.
Otis did have some allergy type problems when he was going through chemo. Nothing as severe as you describe, but enough that I noticed (although possible that he had these same issues in past years and I just wasn't so fixated on every cough, sneeze, breathe, etc.). Has he been around other dogs, other than your pack? Do you have the canine flu in your area?
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Ollie was also vaccinated for kennel cough, but he got it anyway. As Karen said, there are so many strains of it that vaccination is often not very effective. While I realize that we try to keep carbs and sugar at a minimum for our cancer patients, I will say that when Ollie had his coughing "fits", about a half teaspoon of honey quieted the cough almost immediately. We found that the whipped honey worked best.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Nope the only dogs he's around are ours, we live in the middle of nowhere, Bruce does come to work with me most days, but again no dogs.
I will definitely try the honey to see if it helps, he has been relatively quite today, only a couple of small coughs, so hopefully whatever the cause is, he's getting past it.
I really appreciate the input from this group, with everything being "new" to us, it helps to hear opinions and thoughts from people who have dealt with the same worries and fears.
Hugs
Tracy & Bruce
Any improvement is a HUGE VICTORY on this crazy journey! YAY FOR IMPROVEMENT! 🙂
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Just want to throw this out there ...
Izzy developed a really alarming cough. She was hacking a LOT, coughed up some phlegm that appeared almost tinged pink and it was scary. I had lung xrays done and no mets, no pneumonia and no clues as to WHY. At the time, she was babying one of her remaining legs due to a torn ligament, so was doing a lot of her eating and drinking while laying down. After the coughing started and the xrays were negative, I made her stand and within days, it cleared up.
Any chance your pup is drinking/eating is a different position than normal?
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
That certainly sounds like a possibility!! Good observation! How is Miss Izzy doing?
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
He isn't drinking or eating any differently, although I do find the coughing starts usually as he goes from lying down to getting up. I am fairly sure at this point that it is kennel cough, yesterday Butch my english bulldog started coughing and this morning the puppy (just over a year) started coughing as well. I have no idea where Bruce would have picked it up, other than possibly at the cancer clinic, I will talking to the oncologist again this morning and touching base with our regular vet as well, but from what I've read there is really much that can be done for kennel cough.
Hugs
Tracy & Bruce and the whole gang.
That was our experience with kennel cough...it just has to run its course. They sound so terrible while it's going on, though. Sort of like when a little kid gets a bad cold. Just about all you can do is make them comfortable. Hmmm... I wonder if chicken soup works for dogs???
Kathi
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
My beloved Billie had kennel cough a couple of times. The first time it was treated with antibiotics which worked but also killed any resistance and she got it again a few months later. I didn't want to use antibiotics again so I treated her homeopathically with a specific kennel cough remedy and also drosera. I don't even know if I believe in homeopathy but all I can say it that it did seem to be remarkably effective. She recovered quickly and completely and she never caught it again. As I said, I'm not sure I even believe in homeopathy and from what I've read the science doesn't seem to make sense but... if either of my girls ever caught kennel cough I'd have them straight on those remedies for sure. So make of that what you will.
Do hope your pack is feeling much better soon.
Sending hugs all round,
Meg, Clare, Elsie Pie and beloved Spirit Billie xxxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
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