Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Doing well after his first round of chemo, granted it has only been a few hours. He had so much energy this morning, running (yes running!) and pulling me all around the vet's parking lot before going in.
I figured when I picked him up he'd be pretty sedate from the shot of Benadryl they gave him before chemo, and the amount of energy expelled prior to it. Nope! Crazy, barking at a puppy there for an appointment, and when Charlie barks (very rare), it can be heard for miles!
I decided to take my list of 5 star dog food (retrieved from a site recommended by you fine folks) and go and buy some good dog food for him. Brought Charlie with due to all his energy. He was, um how do I say this, like a freakin' ADHD puppy in there. Sniffing everything, wanting to go down all the isles, kept trying to say 'hello' to a German Shepherd who was not pleased by this, etc.
Anyway, we are now at home 'crashed'. I have the anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea medication ready, just in case.
Thanks for all the support!
VQ & Charlie
"I don't know where I am."
great to hear charlie took the chemo so well. we say - watch out for days 5 - 8...by then the doxorubicin gayle took had hit her GI track hard, and she had her worst days then. good you have the preparatory meds, and hopefully, all of this will go smoothly for you guys. thanks for the update!!
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Charlie is taking Carboplatin, which I understand has fewer side effects, but I will definitely be looking for side effects until the next tx. I'm a worry wart, so that's just the way it goes...
"I don't know where I am."
Whoohoo Charlie. Glad you're doing well and hope you have NO side effects as time goes on.
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.
Alright Charlie!!! Hope you do well after your first chemo!! Now remember, when you start on the new diet... do it slowly... over a week, or else you're gonna get a whole lot of nasty diarrhea!!! BTW, shat is the new food? Keeping my fingers crossed that you do well with your chemo!
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Barking at the Moon by Solid Gold (sounds like I just named our song, but really it is dog food). On the list of 5 star foods, I found I was limited by what Petco had on hand. Wet food was even harder to find so I split it between a couple 'natural' brands that they had there.
Regarding the switching diets, we have been all over the map. He has had everything from clinical food (we tried the food allergy diet thing for 8 weeks, years ago, which I felt worse about ((no treats!!!)) than I did about amputating the leg) to what I lovingly call "crack" food such as Beneful (or however it is spelled).
This is the same dog that you could leave your pizza on the floor and he wouldn't touch it (out of respect) yet about 5 years ago decided the German chocolate that my daughter was selling for German class would be a nice midnight snack. Ate the whole freakin' bag and besides 'depositing' it all of the house, I had to pay $75 for chocolate I didn't even get to eat.
Anyway, I will watch the diarrhea, especially due to the chemo, but I find switching from straight dry to wet food messes with his poop more than switching brands. And he ate the new food like a champ tonight! (Unlike that awful clinical allergy food. Blah!)
"I don't know where I am."
Viking Queen said:
Wet food was even harder to find so I split it between a couple 'natural'
There is a wet food made to help dogs undergoing chemo ... Hills Prescription Diet n/d. It was given 4stars by Dog Food Advisor, due to the fact it has icky meat by-products in it (and the evil people at Hill's would not say what exactly they were putting in there when asked).
We did choose to use this food while Harley was undergoing chemo. We mixed it with 5star kibble, as the n/d is super high in fat and Harley could only handle so much of it before his poo became soft.
Just thought I would throw this out there to you. As far as I know, you need to get it through a Vet.
Amputation on 11/10/09, due to Histiocytic Sarcoma in left elbow. Angel Harley earned his wings on 06/24/10.
I will call them tomorrow and see if they carry it. Thanks for the advice. The only reason we use wet food is for medication or when camping (all of a sudden straight dry kibble isn't good enough when camping!).
"I don't know where I am."
You might ask how your vet when you spek to him/her if they are ok changing diets especially if you are going to do any type of chemo. Our vet didn't want me to make any diet changes until after the chemo so there would not be an added factor if there were complications or symptoms to deal with. He didn't want to guess whether it was being caused by the chemo or the diet change.
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.
Great to hear that Charlie is doing so well after the first chemotherapy. Each responds differently and we definately do not want to look for problems that do not exist. For Miss Cherry, (who started her chemotherapy just hours after amputation) her only problem was a loss of appetite starting on day two and progressing. So, we will be keeping our paws crossed that Charlie will sail through with flying colors.
Sending Pawsitive Thoughts
Spirit Cherry's Dad
Yay, Charlie! We're hoping for smooth sailing through chemo for you! Holly was similar to Gayle - her nausea was about days 5-10. I'm glad you got the anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea meds just in case.
Best wishes, and lots of hugs,
Holly, Zuzu and Susan
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
Way to go, Charlie! So excited to have gotten your first chemo - congrats!!! Remember, side effects aren't all bad. For one thing they encourage everyone to fawn all over you and make it up to you big time when you're feeling better. Plus there are usually medicines that will make you feel better real fast, if you need them - and if you get them in pills it means more tasty wet food or treats that they'll be hidden them in. Whoohoo!
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
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