Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all
We had a small worry with Samdog yesterday. He was outside swimming. We live in AZ and the air temp was plenty warm. The water was pretty darn cold. I didn't check the temp, but maybe I should have before posting this question.
He was in and out of the pool for about an hour. When he was done he was so cold his teeth were chattering and we really had to work hard to warm him up. Like 6 layers of towels and blankets for over an hour with snuggling and he was still shivering. He has swam, swum, swimmed.... gone swimming in much colder water for longer with much colder air temps than yesterday, but has never had symptoms of hypothermia like yesterday.
It made me wonder if carboplatin (sp?) chemo could alter thermoregulation. Is there something else going on that makes it harder for him to warm up once he is a chilidog?
I'd appreciate any insights y'all might have.
Thanks,
Samdog's mom
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
I think you read my comment in Sam's blog, I'm glad you posted here so you can hear other perspectives.
Really I'm thinking that this was just a case of hypothermia related to too-cold water. What I'm reading in various places is that if the water is too cold for humans, it's too cold for dogs. Seems a little contrary considering how so many dogs aren't afraid to jump into ice-cold water, but I'm thinking that maybe his resiliency is just low because of what's he's been through with chemo, surgery, etc.
Here are some articles about dogs and hypothermia that I found:
DoctorDog.com: Dog Hypothermia
PetEducation.com: Hypothermia in Dogs
I'm so glad he's OK. You did good work by gradually warming him up the way you did (this is recommended for cases of mild hypothermia). Thanks for sharing this experience with us, it's definitely something to keep in mind now that the weather is getting colder.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Trouble had a couple of episodes of the teeth chattering and shivering during her Carboplatin. The response you saw may have been unrelated to the swimming.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Thanks guys.
Jerry, I did see your response and thought the same thing. We don't worry much about hypothermia down here, but for other folks, if the carbon is having an effect, a response here could be helpful to more peeps.
Hugapitbull, if not cold from water, what was the trigger for trouble's shivering? Did you ever figure out?
As always, you are all terrific! In case anyone finds this later and cant seem to get their dog warm, I finally threw some towels in the dryer, cranked it up to high heat for a couple of minutes and put the hot dry towels against him and layered other blankets and dry towels over that. The hot towels really helped.
Thanks!
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
Trouble's only occurred within 5 - 10 hours of her chemo treatment. So we attributed hers to a reaction to the chemo. Did like you, got a blanket and laid beside her to share body heat. It never lasted more than a few minutes.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
I think that the chemo can alter the immune system enough that routine things can tire them out. The body just doesn't have the reserves necessary to deal with a lot of stress. Are you giving him some sort of immune booster such as a mushroom supplement or fish oil?
With Tazzie the chemo made her tired for a few days so for the first week we took it easy then she had more energy to do normal things weeks 2 and 3 before her next injection was due.
Pam
Thanks Pam.
He does get fish oil and is on good fishy kibble (along with any good lean meat or eggs we are eating). Hes on carbo scheduled every three weeks and we are getting #5 next week. Usually, he feels a little low the week of a dose but bounces back for weeks two and three, like Tazzie. This should be a good week. It has been a great week maybe too much of a good thing and he is worn down which is why he got too cold. Today is a good day of napping on the couch, in the sun and watching football. Gotta build back some of those reserves for his next chemo round on Tuesday.
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
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