Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I know - I know, I'm on 2 ends of the spectrum with this!!
For Acupuncture - how long did it take before you noticed any kind of result from it? For Denali I'm looking at it for both cancer and arthritis (they think the arthritis is why she doesn't hop right). I just was curious if I do acupuncture, how long before I notice if it's helping or not?
The other question is with Metronomic Protocol. I know with traditional chemo they don't want dogs sharing the same water bowl and want you to pick up the pooh right away. Are these the same precautions with Metronomic? It just would be difficult keeping the 2 dogs from drinking out of the same water bowl.
~~~~ Denali ~~~~
June 9, 2010 OSA suspected
June 17, 2010, July 14, 2010 Clear X-rays – no mets
July 1, 2010 Amputation
July 9, 2010 OSA Confirmed
November 23, 2010 Cancer took you from me - Never forgotten, Always Loved - Forever
Supporting the Fighters, Admiring the Survivors, Honoring the Taken, And never, ever giving up Hope
The vet I've been seeing really likes acupuncture. He says he's not holistic at all and poo-poo's holistic but there have been studies that show it improves pain. I'd like to hear more too from those that tried it. I know Gayle and Jane did it so maybe Charon will chime in.
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.
the girls really like it. when we started, jane was having some issues with her back and spine..couldn't lay down easily, and was restless at that. during the first treatment, she just 'conked out', and slept like a rock for the next hour. gayle really enjoys the treatments too, in fact at this point, she is more excited to get needled i think. the relaxation is pretty immediate, and we go every other week, so the treatments seem to carry us through that time. dr. bass has started putting a slight electrical current through the needles down their spines - she says this helps stimulate the nerves and muscles along there.
i do believe without the acupuncture, we may have lost jane by now, as her problems were not being fixed by drugs. she's doing pretty well for an older gal at this point. i think for gayle, being a tripawd, and having had chemo and such, it seems to really keep her energy level steady. she's also on k-9 advantage, fish oil and the factor.
when we started it, dr. bass had us commit to doing the treatment weekly, for a month, to see if it would help - if not, she said don't worry, we'd stop. we saw results immediately, and went to a two week schedule after the first month. at some point, i think we might try going three weeks, if it seems that works just as well.
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
I can only speak for the metronomic. I have 2 goldens that do everything together. I asked this question to my vet and they said no problem sharing water bowls (even with regular chemo it isn't a problem either) and peeing and pooping outdoors shouldn't be a problem unless the 2nd dog injests the pee or poop. They also said that if dogs go pee and poop indoors to be careful as it could cause some exposure but outdoors should not be a problem at all. So no worries about this - unless you have a dog that likes to eat poop 
.
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
Hi,
I have no experience with acupuncture but I have had Tai on a metronomic protocol since she finished IV chemo several months ago. I dont know if there are different protocols but she is on Cytoxan (Cyclo something??) and Metacam (Meloxicam in the US). I also have her on Cimetidine and a bunch of other supplements but they were not considered part of the "protocol". Some Vets add a diuretic but Calgary is such a dry area that we didn't want to risk dehydrating her any further. The only precautions I was given were 1) to watch her urine output and do periodic urinalysis tests to check for haemoraghic cystitis and 2) take caution in letting another dog come into contact with her urine. Cytoxan, the low dose chemo drug, is excreted through the urinary tract and sits in an active form in the kidneys (leading to the cystitis in some dogs). It is rendered neutral by UV light so generally the sunlight inactivates it fairly quickly after she pees. There was no problem in letting other dogs, of which I have 2, drink from the same water source or lick each other etc.
Hope that helps. I intend to keep Tai on the Cytoxan as long as possible or until it stops working and she develops lung mets. It is quite an inexpensive drug, about $100 a month.
Laura
Tai – 9 yr old lab. Diagnosed Osteosarcoma Dec 18/09. Front right leg amputated Dec 21/09. Started chemo Jan 7/10. Lung mets discovered Sept 16/10. Valiant to the end on Oct 26/10 when cancer reappeared in a leg and we made the decision to set her free. Forever in my heart where not even cancer can take her from me.
Sorry that was supposed to read that it sits active in the bladder not the kidneys.
Laura
Tai – 9 yr old lab. Diagnosed Osteosarcoma Dec 18/09. Front right leg amputated Dec 21/09. Started chemo Jan 7/10. Lung mets discovered Sept 16/10. Valiant to the end on Oct 26/10 when cancer reappeared in a leg and we made the decision to set her free. Forever in my heart where not even cancer can take her from me.
Like Jane and Gayle, Fortis just bonks out afterwards. Fortis is receiving both chiropractic and acupuncture treatments. He also receives the electrical current emitted through the needles as Charon has mentioned. I feel we started noticing a difference after the 2nd treatment. I think the chiropractic aspect of the treatment made a big difference. Fortis' spine was all jacked up from trying to adapt to life on three legs. You could visibly see this. I felt there was an almost immediate response to this part of the treatment and he loved it. When we enter the vets office Fortis is beside himself with excitement. But once we put him on the bench which elevates the pelvic area and the vet goes to cracking he is out like a light! Fortis goes every three to four weeks. We have an appointment for this coming tuesday. I'm going to try and take some video as well as photos. I have no experience with metronomic.
tai09 said:
she is on Cytoxan (Cyclo something??)
It is rendered neutral by UV light so generally the sunlight inactivates it fairly quickly after she pees. There was no problem in letting other dogs, of which I have 2, drink from the same water source or lick each other etc.
Laura thank you, this is so helpful!
BTW, Cytoxan and Cyclophosphamide are the same thing, Cytoxan is the generic name for it.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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