Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello,
Our 11 year old rotty/lab mix, Samantha recently had her front right leg amputated about 4 weeks ago at WSU (Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital). We are scheduled to start a Carboplatin regimen next week, and have some questions.
Samantha is doing very well now and actually jumps with all three legs off the ground in the morning when it is time for her to go "potty outside" as we call it. She always went outside by herself before the amputation and she is doing that now again. She wanders around, sniffs about for other neighbor dogs, does her business and then comes back in to eat her breakfast, just like she always did.
We live in a remote area, and our vet has never administered Carboplatin before, but WSU talked with him and decided that was ok so we didn't have to drive 180 miles for each treatment.
Her first dose is going to be 30ml on Tuesday and obviously we are worried about the side-effects.
We have taken her off all drugs, (tramadol and rimadyl) so she is just on love and attention right now.
I have searched the site about these treatments, however any advice on how we should handle Samantha after the treatment would be greatly appreciated if somebody has been through this.
All we have to go by is what we have read on the internet and what WSU gave us for the post-op treatment, which isn't much.
Thanks for any ideas and sharing your experience!
Bryan
So glad to hear Samantha is doing so well! She clearly is enjoying being "on"'love and attention!
I know sometimes "regular" vets do administer the chemo when it's nit feasible to have an Onco do it. If yiur vet feels comfortable doing it and is following the guidelines offered by WSU. I guess their Onco has determined the proper dose, rate, etc.
Generally, most dogs have no side effects or very few. Some dogs experience some lethargy, maybe some nausea and maybe a loss of appetite. This generally lasts for just a day or two. Some dogs, like my Happy Hannah, don't experience any side effects at all.
Talk to your vet about giving you some Cerenia to curb any potential nausea issues.
In rare cases dogs just aren't able to handle the chemo because side effects are more severe. In that case, you can stop chemo and the dogs can usually bounce back with no issues.
Your vet will check Samantha's blood at the two week mark, specifically her white blood count. If that's too low, the next treatment is delayed until it comes back to normal.
As I'm sure your vet is aware, Samantha MUST have a vet tech by her side the whole time the chemo is administered so the IV does not slip out.
Just throwing out a few things you probably already know.
So glad Samantha is enjoying her normal routines. Keep in keepin' on Samantha!!! We're cheering for you!
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. HAPPY ONE MONTH AMPUVERSARY SAMANTHA!!
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!
What we saw -->
Otis would sleep most of the day after a chemo treatment and sometimes into the next. He got diarrhea after a couple of treatments, and nausea (evidenced by drooling and excessive lip licking) after numbers 2 - 4. Your vet can give your Cerenia (nausea) and another med (metro something) (for diarrhea). After chemo 2, I gave the metro at the first squishy poop. We were given them up front, with instructions on how to use them. After the first chemo - explosive diarrhea, but not in the house - we switched to boiled chicken breast and white rice for meals for a couple of days after each chemo. After chemo 2, the onco also started him on Pepcid AC for indigestion. We were warned to watch him especially days 7 - 10. If he was clearly not feeling well, we were to bring him in for blood tests, since that is when the blood count is lowest. We never had to do so, but some vets will have you bring them in then for blood tests routinely. They will also do a blood test before the next chemo, and sometimes may wait a week if the blood counts are too low.
We were also told to avoid dog parks and non-family dogs, since his immunity would be low. I did note that his tastes changed during chemo. For example, he used to refuse kibble without a canned topper. Now, he loves plain kibble and dislikes the canned. He was pretty much normal throughout, but would perk up a bit the weekend before his next chemo. For us, nothing so severe that I thought about stopping the chemo, and no physical symptoms that required more than the meds we were given. But, it is also nice to be done and allow him just to be a dog again!
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.
Hi Bryan and Samantha
My girl Eurydice is on session 4 of carboplatin and she has had zero side effects so far.
She takes 1 pill of Cerenia (for nausea) the morning she has her chemo and 1 pill per day, for 3 days after.
The oncologist told us most dogs don't experience any side effects so chances are Samantha will be as good as gold, like my girl.
And remember you can always stop if you wish to!
Sending you a big hug and cuddles to your girl
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Don't miss this oncologist video interview in the Tripawds NEws blog discussing in detail the effects of carboplatin trearments...
/2010/04/01/chemotherapy-session-for-daisee-dog/
Use the Advanced Search above to refine your search of the forums with specific phrases, and you're sure to find lots of helpful feedback. You can also search all blogs here .
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you all for the replies.
After 3 weeks after her first treatment, Samantha showed absolutely no negative effects. Regular hopping around, eating, drinking and bowl movements.
We just got her back from her second treatment now and are a bit worried. The doctor had to administer in her jugular vein, and she seems much more lethargic and drained than her last treatment. The only difference was the administration in the jugular instead of her leg. (They couldn't find the vein in her front leg.)
I made a new post about this too, so maybe somebody could find the specific question.
http://tripawds.....n/#p169940
Should we be worried about the Carboplatin being administered in the Jugular? (30ml)
This drug is not very irritating (like doxorubricin) if given out of the vein so it should be okay. Most likely she is just lethargic because it is the second dose. Watch her close for fever and consider having your vet do a CBC in 7 days if she is still under the weather.
PAM
Watch her close for fever and consider having your vet do a CBC in 7 days if she is still under the weather.
That is exactly what we were thinking. She isn't scheduled for one (a CBC) until the two week point, but if she isn't perking up, we will take her in. The only thing we notice is that her eyes are a bit watery. She has been running (hopping) around pretty well, but it is obvious that this second treatment had an effect on her, where we saw nothing with the first.
Is this consistent with a second treatment having a more adverse effect than the first?
Thank you all for your advice and support!
For Otis, each treatment was a little worse, but not hugely so and not so that I considered stopping treatment. And nothing that we had to go in for a CBC for - we were told to go if we noticed extreme lethargy or other symptoms not treatable by the meds between days 7 and 14. You also might see her perk up a bit a few days before her next treatment. Otis did that for the last two.
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.
Yeah, if she doesn't perk up definitely take her in for bloodwork.
Did I see on your other post that the vet giving her the chemo is "new" at this? If so, is the vet doing this under the guidance, or a consult from an Onco?
How's she this morning?
Hugs
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!
One thing you may want to gently suggest to your vet is if there are any questions at all, Colorado State's Argus Institute as well as the Veterinary Oncology Consulting group in Australia are there for consults. CSU's consulting is free, I'm sure VOC service isn't, but they're two awesome resources.
See these links for info:
http://tripawds.....eosarcoma/
http://tripawds.....ado-state/
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi,
Sorry for not posting back for a week.
Samantha is doing alright, but like some have mentioned, she seems a bit down from before the treatment. She still hops around and follows her momma into the kitchen, greets us at the door, etc.
She is going in for a CBC on Tuesday, so we will see how that goes. Her eyes a are a bit watery and she doesn't seem to have as much energy, but she still seems happy, eating, drinking and being her awesome silly self.
Jerry & Virginia - Thanks for the info - Our vet has done this before, but I think it was a different type of treatment. The people at WSU (Washington State University) where she had her amputation told us they had worked with him in the past, but he is not fully setup and this is the first time he has done these 15mg doses of Carboplatin.
I'll update as soon as we get the CBC count next week.
Thanks as always for all the support and advice!
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