Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I found out my dog Zeus who is a Pitbull/Neapolitan Mastiff mix had cancer on May 7th. I went to the University of Georgia to weigh my options. On May 24th I had his front left leg amputated to prevent pain from which we discovered was osteosarcoma. On the day his staples were removed we decided to give him Chemo therapy using carboplatin. My questions are are the other dogs safe using the same water bowl ? They all have seperate food dishes and areas. Are humans safe around his saliva ? Being a larger dog he does have a lot of it!!!
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Welcome, I'm so sorry you find yourself here with us. Zeus is a beautiful dog!
I don't have any answers on your chemo question but maybe someone will chime in soon that knows.
I hope he continues to do well!
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.
Your dog is a beauty! Sorry you had to find us here.
When we had carbo, they gave us a flyer about being careful about the dog's waste - but that was it. They didn't say anything about the water bowl/saliva, so i'm assuming that's not a problem... but then again, I didn't really ask because (a) we didn't have another dog in the home and (b) Abby wasn't a drooler. 🙂
A quick call to the vet would probably give you the best answer.
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Beautiful dog, and welcome. When Cadence had Carboplatin, the vet gave us a pamphlet and it mentioned avoiding touching the waste directly and letting other pets get near the waste. So what we did was that we took her out to the front of our yard on leash to pee in different spots. Then we would hose it down to dilute it. Since Cadence and Newton the cat aren't allowed alone in the front yard or free to roam in the front yard, there were no issues. For the poo, the same thing...in the front yard, on leash and then I would put gloves on and pick up the poo, double bagging it. Poo was stored outside in a bucket separate from other trash. I would not want another dog coming into our front yard that liked to eat poo and then end up eating Carboplatin. I am totally type A and anal about that stuff so I probably took super duper extra precaution but for the safety of Newton the cat and other neighborhood dogs, i did it. Also, as far as the saliva, the paper said not to let the dog lick you or other pets, so we did not let her lick us or kiss us or anything like that. In fact, after one of her treatments, as we were leaving, a little boy wanted to hug her and I said well, just in case she might lick, it's probably not a good idea. I felt bad but the father agreed and told his son he could not. In your case, I would just do the water separately. Give them each their own bowl, let them drink and pick up the water when they are done, and wash the bowl for Zeus right away. Probably overly cautious but better to be safe than sorry, plus it's only for a little while anyways.
Cadence's Mom
Cadence Faye: Born 10/30/04, stepped into our hearts 12/23/2004. Rear leg tumor found 7/24/11 by mom and dad, Xray on 7/25/11, Osteosarcoma suspected 7/26/11, amputation 7/29/11, Carboplatin started 8/23. Met free so far!
They did share a water bowl after the session but he didnt eat or drool much at all. He actually barely drank the first 48 hours. He is totally back now and playing with toys even chasing our cat! Hopefully it wasnt enough to effect the other dogs. The vet thinks Im being overly nervous about it. I guess it needs to be exposed for long periods of time to really alter the DNA of another animal... But nonetheless it has me on my toes now as I would hate for one of the other dogs to get sick in the mean time. I appreciate the info on this website and the harness! I feel very fortunate to have found this site. You feel very alone going through this process.
Well, Chemo is serious business. There is a blog post on here (I can't seem to find it right now) that shows how they prepare a dog and prepare and administer the chemotherapy. The people preparing it use a lot of precautions. So, I think you are doing the right thing by being on your toes about it. 
Cadence's Mom
Cadence Faye: Born 10/30/04, stepped into our hearts 12/23/2004. Rear leg tumor found 7/24/11 by mom and dad, Xray on 7/25/11, Osteosarcoma suspected 7/26/11, amputation 7/29/11, Carboplatin started 8/23. Met free so far!
Wow, he is just a GORGEOUS pup! Love those eyes.
The blog post about carboplatin administration that Trifod was referring to is this:
Chemotherapy Session for Daisee Dog
It's OK to be paranoid when it comes to chemotherapy drugs and dogs, and it's great you're vigillant. This PDF from Small Animal Oncology.com says:
"Because of the potential for absorption of the drug or its hazardous metabolites through the skin via contact with urine, feces, saliva, vomit, etc., you should wear gloves to clean these up....use these precautions for a minimum of 48 hours after the last dose is administered."
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hunter had his 1st chemo treatment this past Wednesday (Carboplatin) and we immediately called the vet hospital when we got home and thought about him sharing the water dish with our other dog and our cat. We were told that was fine. Now, I hope they were right!
They had told us to be super careful when picking up any pee/poo/vomit and that any imuno-surpressed people should not be licked by our dog. The duration of toxicity was 72 hours. He could be around our other pets though.
So far we're having Hunter pee in an outdoor kennel and keeping our other dog out of there. We can hose it down. But he prefers to poo on grass so I pick that up right away, and it's always in our back yard away from any other dogs who may walk by our house.
Read about our Hunter at http://superdog.....pawds.com/
7/27/2003 ~ 7/24/2013
Our Super Dog Hunter crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on a beautiful summer day in July, just 3 days shy of his 10th Birthday. He gave us everything since he was 8 weeks old. Hunter was a 14 month warrior of OS. We LOVE and MISS him every day.
Labsrus thats exactly what I was told!!!! THey all use the same toys as well.
Did your vets mention making sure you give water in a non-metallic bowl? Ours didn't, but I heard that from other places, that chemo gives a metallic taste in the mouth, so it's best to not use a stainless steel drinking bowl during it.
We did change Abby's main drinking bowl while she was on chemo, but left out her other 'back up' bowls that were stainless steel. I didn't really notice if she avoided them though... (mainly cuz keeping the water bowls topped up is hubby's job!). 🙂
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Carboplatin is pretty benign and is excreted fairly quickly by the kidneys so sharing a water bowl would be okay. I usually recommend to hose down the urine area for a day but that is about it. Other drugs like Adriamycin have more side effects so your oncologist may give different advice.
Pam
Thanks for the reply Pam. That makes me more at ease regarding my other two babies!
How long after the chemo was over do you get your dog back? Is it common to receive them right after the treatment? He could barely walk but made it to the car. I thought it was just unusual. I really wish I waited on the chemo but they were very anxious and telling me to doit the day he got his staples out. I have more information now than when they talked to me!!! Thanks again everyone !
If I am using carboplatin I usually give the injection in 10-15 minutes and the dog walks out the door with the owner. Did your dog need sedation? I only keep them for a few hours if I use a stronger drug like Adriamycin.
Pam
Today I noticed Zeus' nail was bleeding after lunch. It stopped then started again after he came inside. Should this be anything to worry about? He has been doing great. His last chemo treatment was the 6th. Would his blood be dangerous? I cleaned it up and used dawn on the spots he left it in the kitchen.
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