Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I know I don't want Gracie to gain weight - she's always been at a healthy weight so I don't want add'l weight to cause typical problems of too much weight along w/ the issue of carrying around more weight now on 3 legs vs 4. She's about 13 lbs
since she had her amputation due to mast cell tumor, she's on prednisone, 1 1/2 5 mg tabs per day. I know increased appetite can be a side affect, altho our vet indicates her dosage is low. She's now not as active as she was before the amputation. Once or twice a day now she seems to be ravenous. Are there suggestions for treats &/or types of food that can help her increased appetite w/out weight gain? Or feed her what she's use to eating but divide it into more frequent servings?
thanks for any info/help/advice
Why is Gracie still on Prednisone? How long will her prescription last? We're not vets, but it's our understanding that steroids really shouldn't be given for the long term.
Consider Trouble's canine reducing diet if Gracie continues to eat more than usual. Jerry was on prednisone for only a short while as he neared his final days, but it was the only thing that got him eating, and boy did it do a good job at that!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Long term prednisone therapy is the classic and most common medical treatment for high grade MCT. Most data suggests it induces remission in about 20% of patients
I believe the standard treatment as palliative chemotherapy, typically prednisone plus pepcid & benadryl to counteract side affects, is the choice following diagnosis of mast cell tumors, grade 1 & 2 (grade 3 would most likely not be affected w/ such). Gracie was diagnosed Grade 2. I don't have as clear of an understanding of all of this as I want so will continue to read/talk to many sources. In the meantime, I'm going w/ our vet's recommendation. At this point I have no idea how long she'll continue w/ the prednisone. I know benadryl & pepcid will be forever.
thanks for the suggestion about the food/reducing diet choice. That's definitely helpful.
Prednisone sure enough makes you more hungry (that's why I am an oinker now: H-e-l-l-o Flamin' Hot w/Limon Cheetos!)!
Isabelle's mom (above) suggested to me to mix water with a small portion of can dog and freeze it in small containers or a kong toy. It's a good snack and takes a while to eat. I would suggest cutting back a tad on her regular food and giving her freezer snacks in the evening.
Have you tried carrots or celery as a snack? Celery has barely any calories and it is fun to crunch (if she'll eat it).
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Isabelle's amputation was due to OSA, but she had a Gr2 MCT resected in her remaining back leg in January.
cometdog, funny you should mention carrots. Gracie has totally ignored all such foods for years but a couple of days ago during one of her ravenous acting times I was fixing dinner salads & tossed her a carrot. SHE ATE IT! So, yep, she'll be getting more carrots as treats. I'll try celery too. WILL BE AMAZED if she goes for that!! LOL!
And thank you & Isabelle's mom for the idea of freezing kongs!
Is Isabelle on prednisone? Other treatment?
Isabelle is not on prednisone. She has not had chemo for either of her cancers. She is on a holistic regimen. She did get benadryl and H2 blockers pre and post op for her MCT. She gets both anytime she has any manipulation or aspirations of any growths. Her MCT was a GR2, but with a low mitotic index (0 per 10hpf), with clean margins. She takes a homeopathic with antihistamine properties, Apis Mel, daily because I did not want to keep her on benadryl (it makes her restless) and a NSAID as well as other supplements.
Isabelle is over 13 years old, with severe spinal arthritis. Her mobility is dependent on her excellent peripheral muscle mass (which is also the reason she was able to have a successful resection). The benefits of long term prednisone in consideration of her tumor grade, age, arthritis and OSA did not outweigh it's risks. It is the higher grade MCT's (2 & 3) that prednisone is now more routinely used for, most commonly for six months. While some vets do prescribe it for Gr 1 and lower risk Gr 2 tumors, if margins with these tumors are clean and mitotic index low, surgery is considered curative. When Isabelle's MCT was diagnosed, she was five months post amputation for OSA…there was quite a dilemma as to whether surgery was even warranted. None of us could predict she would be doing so well at 11 months.
If Gracie is eating a low carb diet for her cancer, you might want to be careful with vegetables like carrots and green beans, Both are high in carbs. Peanut butter also is widely thought to ilicit inflammatory responses in animals and people….something important to avoid particularly with a MCT. Generally protein snacks…lamb lung is nice, you can break it into small pieces….will not pack on the pounds.
again, thanks for your helpful information. I thought I had heard/read somewhere about being careful w/ carrots, but couldn't remember. I read about it some time ago because one of my son's dog loves carrots so when I saw her eating so many I read up on it a bit, but at the time didn't retain the info 'cause it didn't apply to Gracie - she wouldn't touch a carrot at the time. His dog also loves bananas... I haven't studied up on the low/no carb suggestion. I'll learn more.
your mention of peanut butter makes sense too. I hadn't thought of that. Gracie has had allergy type of problems her whole life, so that precaution is most likely warranted.
ok, I'm off to hunt down lamb lung. Have never heard of it as a dog treat. Thanks for identifying it as good for weight issues too.
Isabelle is an amazing dog, huh! Glad to hear she's doing so well.
mom2gracie said:
I'm off to hunt down lamb lung...
Mmmmmmm.... Jerry Loved Lamb Lung! 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
thanks for the links - the first & last no longer are available. I ordered the texas hold'ems - I'm sure Gracie will enjoy them; Gracie likes lots of things! I'll have to see how long they last & think in terms of costs. Of course if anyone has add'l ideas, I welcome them!
The Merrick lamb lung is the easiest to use for small dogs. It's thin & easy to break. Avoid the small Merrick Training Treats. The are hard, chunky and difficult to break. The Merrick beef fillets are also hard.
The puffy lamb lung tends to expand in their stomachs, especially if they are big water drinkers. Probably not such a good idea for a small dog.
Broccoli is another dog favorite vegetable to be careful with, not because of carbs, but due to it's high iodine content.
A pound of lamb lung is alot and should last a small dog like Gracie quite a while. Introduce it slowly, lamb is rich! I hope she likes them!
Fortis was on preds for the last 5 months of his life. He too acted ravenous from the time he started the steroid. He also would pant heavily each night lasting for about an hour. Over time and under the supervision of our vet we reduced the dosage amount to the lowest dose possible which would still give the positive effects we were looking for. Although it didn't completely get rid of the unwanted side effects, it did help. We also divided his feedings into more frequent servings as you have mentioned. This seemed to help as well. Fortis didn't have any appreciable weight gain during this period.
Wishing you and Gracie all the best.
Rio was on prednisone as part of her chemotherapy two years ago following her MCT diagnoses, and again this spring after her amputation. She has also been on pred in the past for skin infections without any noticeable side effects. The most recent course of pred ended immediately this spring when Rio developed a nasty case of calcinosis cutis as a side effect to having Cushing's disease -- basically her body was secreting too much cortisol (of which Prednisone is a synthetic derivative), and the additional pred pushed her body "over the line."
We suspected she might have Cushings at the time when she started chemo, although it hadn't been definitively diagnosed (it's a tough one to pinpoint), and at the time we were more concerned with battling the recurring cancer. Hindsight being what it is, I would have met in person with the Internist way sooner than we ended up doing. As it was, by administering the Prednisone with the chemo, Rio developed a full retinue of secondary problems that we could have probably avoided: urinary tract infections, calcinosis, muscle atrophy, loss of energy and mobility, not to mention the cosmetic: hair loss, crunchy, flaky skin. Her skin was flaking so bad, it looked like she'd gotten a super-bad sunburn.
Prior to administering the pred, I questioned the doctor thoroughly about her suspect condition, but in the end, trusted that the information she gave me was correct. In her defense, in 98% of her cases or more, it was probably the best direction. It just happened not to be in Rio's. (Apparently calcinosis cutis is so rare that our internal medicine specialist has only seen a couple of cases, although she's treated tons of Cushing's dogs.)
My point in this little rant -- be ready to bombard your vet with questions if you notice ANYTHING out of the ordinary. Read the list of potential side effects, and be watchful. Especially if you have an older dog.
As to your question of low-cal treats, my pups love ICE-CUBES. Talk about low-cal! Just about any vegetables added to their food will help bulk it up without adding too many calories: canned green beans, pumpkin and sweet potatoes are a huge favorite of my girls (just make sure you buy the plain pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie mix). We buy an organic, no sugar/salt added brand. Tosca also loves berries -- blueberries, blackberries, strawberries -- she actually picks the blackberries right off the vines in our yard.
Good luck with Miss Gracie,
Rio's mom, Micki
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~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
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