Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone! Arya started her chemo this past Tuesday (12/27) for osteosarcoma - she is about 2.5 weeks post-op rear leg amputation. The oncologist is 'cautiously optimistic' about her outcome due to her being on the younger side and her bloodwork did not have any of the indicators that would usually point to a poorer outcome *fingers crossed!* She is planned to have every 3 weeks for a total of 5 sessions.
Experiences so far with the first chemo treatment : The 1st day after chemo she was nauseous and vomited but by mid-day she was better after giving Cerenia, the anti-emetic medication the oncologist prescribed as needed. I already spoke to the oncologist about this and she wants me to give Arya the Cerenia the day before and the morning of her next chemo treatment. The 2nd day after chemo to today she has been having diarrhea whenever she goes out to potty. Despite this, I'd still say her GI upset has been mild because besides that first morning after, her activity level has been normal. She's perky, alert, and happy.
Since starting chemo though she has refused both her usual kibble and her fresh food (The Farmer's Dog). She honestly hasn't enjoyed her kibble anymore since her surgery but she was loving her Farmer's Dog food. I know it is typical for dogs to not want to eat their usual food when they aren't feeling well. She has always done that in the past; however, I am wondering with chemo, will she ever get back her appetite for her usual food? I read the tripawds resource about ways to get pets to eat (paper plates, warm food, stinky foods, etc) and she does happily eat for anything that is not her day to day food. SHe has been eating boiled chicken and plain hamburger meat that I mix with pureed pumpkin for some fiber but I am just concerned down the road about her not getting the proper nutrition that she needs?
I know it is still early with her treatment, we are only at day 4 after chemo, but I am the worrisome type lol! I will make sure to discuss this with the vet after the holidays but wanted to know if anyone had a similar experience and if so, did your pup eventually go back to eating their usual foods?
Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!
FWIW, and this is only my perspective, for now I would feed her anything she will eat. And try to keep the various foods isolated for now and in different plates. For example, keep the Farmers Dog separate from the kibble, in fact keep everything separate from the kibble for now and don't fret if she doesn't want it.
It's not unusual at all for dogs to be "picky" after amputation and certainly while in chemo, espec6 four days out after chemo. As long as she's eating the chicken, etc for now, don't worry about getting her to eat her normal kibble for now. She's eating, even if it's not her usual food. That can come later.
Oh, another food you might try for more "nutrition" is Fresh Pet refrigerator food. Aome dogs will eat that when nothing else will do.
Mention the diarrhea to the Vet if that continues. I've never u understood how pumpkin is good for diarrhea as well as constipation. Befuddles my simple mind! A yway, if chemo dose meeds to be adjusted , the Onco will coordinate that. Every sounds pretty normal though so far.
She's eating (although holding out for the good stuff, smart girl😉) drinking, feeling good so that's all good news!
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!
No suggestions, only solidarity over here <3
Boone's on day 4 post first chemo treatment (carboplatin), and he doesn't want *any* of the food he normally loves. Currently attempting to hand feed him rotisserie chicken. Not vomiting, and no diarrhea, just disinterested in the foods. He's gotten a dose of the anti-nausea meds prescribed today, so hoping he's better by tomorrow.
Poor doggos.
This is not unusual and my dog Tazzie often had a picky appetite and soft stool for a few days after carboplatin but then rebounded. Typically I would try probiotics/pumpkin/RxClay for diarrhea and offer a bland diet such as chicken or turkey and rice. Giving the Cerenia ahead of time is smart and ask your doctor about either Entyce or mirtazapine to stimulate appetite.
Pam
Una Gair said
No suggestions, only solidarity over here <3Boone's on day 4 post first chemo treatment (carboplatin), and he doesn't want *any* of the food he normally loves. Currently attempting to hand feed him rotisserie chicken. Not vomiting, and no diarrhea, just disinterested in the foods. He's gotten a dose of the anti-nausea meds prescribed today, so hoping he's better by tomorrow.
Poor doggos.
Aww I hope the anti-nausea meds help Boone - it really helped Arya out a lot so hoping same for you 🙂 We are day 5 post first chemo and she is starting to get more of an appetite (still not with kibble or her Farmer's Dog) but just giving her whatever she will take as suggested! Diarrhea is slowly clearing up - she had a solid piece mixed with pudding like consistency instead of just straight watery stool. Woohoo!
I had been mixing her kibble in with the other foods and I bet that was very off-putting for Arya, so I will be keeping everything separated from here on.
Appreciate all the support and advice! I love this community!
When my dog had his first chemo, he wouldn't eat either. Vet said he might have the chemical taste in his mouth. The only thing I could get in him was baby food. This went away about a week later. Maybe just give your dog a little time.
How's Arya doing now? back to normal?
The anti-nausea meds made no discernible difference, unfortunately.. BUT, I accidentally dropped an ice cube on the floor from the fridge? He scooped it right up. Then - because I bulk prep his food/supplements and they're frozen - I gave him his dog food still frozen to try it out, and he went to town. Maybe try freezing Arya's food? Worked for Boone, for whatever reason 🙂
Una Gair said
How's Arya doing now? back to normal?The anti-nausea meds made no discernible difference, unfortunately.. BUT, I accidentally dropped an ice cube on the floor from the fridge? He scooped it right up. Then - because I bulk prep his food/supplements and they're frozen - I gave him his dog food still frozen to try it out, and he went to town. Maybe try freezing Arya's food? Worked for Boone, for whatever reason 🙂
Wow, we are on the same wavelength because this morning I had a thought - maybe Arya doesn’t like the mushy texture of her food. So Itried giving it frozen instead of thawing it out and she gobbled everything up!! Came on here to update and smiled when I read your comment. Yay Arya and Boone!!
Great minds think alike, clearly! <3 Glad for Arya - keep me posted!
Jenny D said
Una Gair said
How's Arya doing now? back to normal?
The anti-nausea meds made no discernible difference, unfortunately.. BUT, I accidentally dropped an ice cube on the floor from the fridge? He scooped it right up. Then - because I bulk prep his food/supplements and they're frozen - I gave him his dog food still frozen to try it out, and he went to town. Maybe try freezing Arya's food? Worked for Boone, for whatever reason 🙂
Wow, we are on the same wavelength because this morning I had a thought - maybe Arya doesn’t like the mushy texture of her food. So Itried giving it frozen instead of thawing it out and she gobbled everything up!! Came on here to update and smiled when I read your comment. Yay Arya and Boone!!
Good tip you two about the "ice cube food" approach! 😎
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!
I love this idea! Thanks for mentioning it. And even better that it's working for both dogs!
Ok, I may have jumped the gun on the food because she had a lot of urgent borderline diarrhea poo's yesterday evening and overnight waking me up to go.
I went from giving her bland chicken straight to her refrigerator food without transitioning...I guess in my mind I just didn't think to transition since her refrigerator dog food is essentially ground up chicken and veggies... ugh silly me...and i think that upset her tummy again. I spoke to the vet who is suspecting the same since Arya is otherwise acting completely normal; she is perky and interacting with us as normal. Vet told me to go back to bland chicken/rice (though she won't eat the rice). I will need to be careful next time, I feel so bad!! 
Sorry about the poo. Throw the "guilt" out the window though. We all would have done the same thing without a "transition", espec since there wasn't much differeice at all in the foods.
You. rmight try the RXclay and probiotics suggested by "Pam". BYW, she is out volunteer Vet who offer support.
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!
Awh, yeah, turf the guilt it doesn’t help.
so I’m a psycho and I cook Boone’s food (and have since diagnosis); just batch prep Arya’s chicken and rice and freeze it with a bit of broth to hold it together, boom, good to go.
best of luck, hope that chocolate shotgun resolves <3
UPDATE - wow, friends it has been ruff these past two weeks. Since my last reply in here - the diarrhea did not improve. It got to the point of going on so long that it became apparent the bland diet wasn't even helping so the oncologist had us get bloodwork done early as she no longer felt that the diet was causing GI issues and suspected a GI infection of some sort.
Last week, we got proviable-forte to give to her for 72hrs (the paste) alongside a capsule to sprinkle on food when we took her in for bloodwork. It seemed to help decrease her frequency - prior, we were waking up every 2-3hrs, sometimes every hr, throughout the night - but then come this past Monday, after finishing the paste on Sunday, it was getting worse again by turning watery and more frequent outings again! The most we ever got was a semi-solid poo but every time there was a thick mucus coating with occasional blood tinge. Something just didn't seem right.
THe oncologist reviewed her bloodwork and recommended stool sample and deworming her if the diarrhea didn't clear with the proviable. Of course her watery stool sample didnt show anything but despite eating her food with a healthy appetite, she lost almost 2lbs over a week.
Got the dewormer (Drontal Plus) Tues night and *FINGERS, TOES, PAWS CROSSED* I think this is going to be the solution. I've been checking her stools and am seeing little white specks which I am assuming are eggs? I think I even saw a translucent worm?! Never dealt with worms with her before as an adult pup but I hope this is what our problem is so we can get Arya back to pooping normally. I will seriously do a happy dance when I see a solid poop come out of her. SInce giving the dewormer, she's had semi-solid with intermittent mush.
On a positive note, Arya has been acting totally normal this entire time aside from the diarrhea and weight loss/hunger. I won't lie, in those many sleepless nights I had many thoughts of regret about the chemo but had to remind myself that this was not from the chemo and Arya was happily going about her days. Next round of chemo is on Jan 17th, hoping for a smoother ride. In the meantime, I will be paranoid about worms until I set my yard on fire lol!
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