gemstone

I have a problem dog, now 9 yrs who I have had some very serious issues with over the last 3-4 years, itchy, hair loss, upset tummy, foul stools, huge sores, the list goes on. At times he has been a very sick dog. I have tried everything, visited specialists and got a dodgy diagnoses of IBS which to my mind is a total cop out. Tried the diet thing right down to a vegetarian diet and nothing worked so I decided to manage his condition with antibiotics and pred. Not ideal but I felt I had no real choice.

Then about 8mths ago I changed the dogs diet to Nutro which contains only lamb and rice and slowly Mac improved. He grew a coat and people kept asking what I had done. I figured he was just having a good spell until I changed the diet again and all of a sudden he is a mess again. As far as I can tell the only thing I haven’t tried is gluten free and apparently Nutro is gluten free. I strongly suspect Mac is a celiac but my vet tells me there is no test to prove it. Googling tells me there is a blood test so I was really wanting more information to go back to my vet with. He isn't a great fan of google

When you fed him gluten free he did well and when you fed him gluten he got bad again?

That alone should be enough info for your vet to listen to you.

Can you print out the info you found on the test and show him..

Maybe its not common in dogs but he could still have some sort of canine equivilent??

I'd research gluten free and feed him accordingly and see how he goes

good luck - hope he feels better soon

Hope Sophie is having a good day - is she ok?

I think of her a lot and always check in for your updates

take care

Just catching up on all our special dogs..

Has Ollie had some nice sunny days to laze around in?

Hope he's doing good today - pottering around enjoying himself...

has his new lump been diagnosed as lipoma - hope it doesnt cause him too much discomfort

My OH and his mother both have it. Gluten intolorance. I have switched most wheat base things in the house to rice based and this seems to help with the stomach cramping and the reflux. He is lactose int as well which doesn't help as he loves icecream. I would try him on a rice based rather than wheat based kibble maybe. We use Coprice and give cooked veggies as well (mainly because they like them)

Know how you feel my husband is gluten and lactose intolerant - makes eating out a nightmare!!

Cowanbree - dont have dog knowledge of it but you would definitely have to cut out anything with wheat.

Wheat seems to be in everything - even foods you wouldnt think would contain it so you'll have to

read labels carefully.

There is a human celiac website which has lots of info on what to look for in labels

(wheat products can be called a lot of different names)

Has your dog been diagnosed with it?

YAY!!! :rolleyes:

Was thinking about you and hoped it was all ok

Great news - bet you're over the moon

Hope Sophie gets good results tomorrow, thinking of you both

I hate lumps too!!

good luck for tomorrow fingers crossed its nothing to worry about

thanks rmc

when i say tight i mean tight, i live on 250 a week. this will change in a mounth or two as i have seasional problems and i prity much stop working as i'm going through it but once almost out i'm able to do things normaly.... it is just bad timing that i found it now.

I will be sending it of for tests upon remoovel especialy that i think i have found 2 more small lumps :cool:

oh no!! more lumps? not good sorry to hear that.

You are doing the right thing getting it tested at least then you will know what you're up against.

Here's hoping for some good news for you.

Let me know know how it goes

I think Meg sounds as good as she can be... and hopefully it will get even better for her.

Have you read the other threads here - especially Sophie and Ollies? there is info about natural therapies that

might be able to help Meg during and after her chemo.

Maybe someone with more experience can give you some ideas on what to try...

sorry to hear about your boy.

I agree with cavNrott - if you dont get it tested you wont know what it is or what to do.

It is very important to know what it is.

It must be hard if you are on a tight budget, is there any way you can go without something that isnt essential to help pay for it? Would be worth it in the long run.

good luck

How's Megs chemo going? is she ok?

Dont have any experience but just wanted to say sorry, hope your mum and dad are doing ok, its a horrible shock.

When is Meg having chemo?

cNr

how is Sophie going... I think of her often and you, take care

wondering how Ollie was doing... hope you both had a good day :D

HI cavNrott

hope you and Sophie are doing ok, thinking of you both

I had an aged bitch with a tumour kind of the size of a golf ball but slightly elongated. We sent off a sample to the lab and it was diagnosed as an haemangiosarcoma, but could not get a malignancy on it. As she was quite aged and had other problems as well as the fact that in her life she had had 8 abdominal surgeries including 3 for GDV I decided not to do surgery. She died nearly 2 years later with tumour still intact from dilated cardiomyopathy at the age of almost 12 years. I understand that this is very unusual and I was very lucky, big hugs to all that have lost dogs to this awful disease, I have been in tears reading your experiences and realise just how lucky I was. Goodluck

Hi Rommi

this is good - all the different experiences - it helps anyone reading this

honestly??? if i got one year ... I would be over the moon.. I'd take 6 months and walk over hot coals... gladly...

3 months and I got the chance to say goodbye - more than some have had.

I love my little girl

I feel for you rmc...

I lost my dear Shadow from this insideous disease a few years ago. Hers was in her mouth and it was only 2 weeks from first discovery of a small growth to having to pts.

Good vibes being sent your way hoping that your baby's lump was found so early that she makes a full recovery...

T.

sorry to hear about Shadow - 2 weeks is not long enough to say goodbye

I did a bit of research on my own.

From what I understood, this type of cancer is comparable to say a jellyfish.

The body (visible lump on dog) and the tentacles (inside the dog)

Hence, when a lump is removed, the path results will tell if enough surrounding tissue has been removed with the lump because those "tentacles" just continue to spread and grow below the surface.

Does this make sense.

Like a maze of cobwebs if you like.

Women with endometeosis would understand the concept.

They thought that they had removed it all in my boy but obviously not. Less than 6 months after removal of lump, another lump surfaced and he was beyond help.

But every case is different. Some are lucky.

Hope this helps a little. Probably, in your heart, not at all. I'm really sorry for your doggie. All the very best. :D

HI

do you mean that after your boys surgery they told you they got clear margins and everything looked ok?

I have a feeling that is what will happen in my case. So I am preparing myself for only a few months - anything more will be a bonus

My boy Jeep was diagnosed with this a few months ago. The lump was on his sheath and I had it removed, but I wanted to make sure that this lump was a primary and not a secondary, so I had his chest x-rayd to see if there was anything on his heart and also had an ultrasound done to check his spleen area. These came back clear and it looks as though I had caught it early.

They can metastisize (reoccur) so I do have to keep an eye on him.

What Luciens Mum posted pretty much sums it up.

Dont panic too much yet (I know its hard), but get in and get the x-rays and ultrasounds done and go from there. Once you know either way you can work out what you want to do.

Good luck and hopefully they caught it early.

Mel

Hi

this is a good story... Jeep is still with you :D

Is he is usual self now, does he seem healthy and happy?

This is what I want for my girl, I want quality.

I have had xrays done - nothing showing up

good luck with Jeep hope he continues to do well

Could this be a different type of hemangio to the really bad one that kills so quickly?

Oh RMC I am so very, very sorry. Hemangiosarcoma is a horrible, quick and brutal cancer, I lost my beautiful girl Kia to it last year.

What you are describing does not sound like hemangiosarcoma but obviously I'm not a canine oncologist, perhaps get a second opinion?

The prognosis of hemangiosarcoma meaning only a few weeks before being fatal is in reference to when the cancer has mestasised to major organs, particularly the lungs.

If your dog's lungs are clear and in particular if the tumours are not on organs at all you have more options to fight this horrible disease and plenty of reason to hope.

Stay strong and don't give up hope, good luck to you and your dog *hugs*

oh no - so sorry to hear about Kia - its such a shock isnt it?

There is a senior vet at the practice I go to who has been on annual leave. She is due back next week and I will book a consult with her. Dont want to sound ageist but some of the vets look like teenagers - I want a vet with wrinkles!!!

I am googling hemangiosarcoma and there does seem to be 2 types. One is very aggressive (Kia's??) and the skin type is less aggressive. Callies xrays did not show anything in her internal organs so that has got to be good...

Its information overload on the net though...

thanks for your message

an update...

I am totally confused now.

I went to the vets last night and the vet I had the appointment with was not in.

There was only 1 vet on duty and I asked to speak to him anyway.

I wasnt happy with what happened. He spoke to me in the waiting room in front of several other people (and pets)

When I tried to ask questions he seemed agitated and hurried.

He ended up saying look this is not my case all I can do it tell you what the report says, the results are good we got clear margins, if you are not happy with the phone call you got yesterday can you speak to your usual vet!

Thing is I didnt get the phone call my husband did and he seems to have a mental block

I do remember the word cutaneous. I googled that and it almost feels like there is some hope.

stormie - you asked where the lump was - it was on the inside of her back leg. There were 2 other 'spots' that got removed on her tummy and abdomen (they only looked like pimples and not anything to worry about)

Her xrays did not show any cancer in her internal organs

Could this be a different type of hemangio to the really bad one that kills so quickly?

I am scared to even hope right now

CavNrott

I have looked at the palliative care forum and I cant put into words how much I feel for you guys.

I dont know how you can deal with the stress you have my utmost respect and admiration. Hope you and Sophie had a good day

Tangerinedream

I have tried to pm you and keep getting an error message (bummer because the message took ages to type and I lost it )

thanks to everyone who has replied

I am going to get a copy of the results tomorrow - this lack of sleep is draining me

sorry. posted the info I had but wrote no comment.

My GSD was diagnosed with it last year. He had 2 surgeries. 1 to remove the lump and then 1 again because not enough surrounding tissue had been removed.

Last my poor old boy this year in February.

Sorry to hear about your boy. Could you tell me how long it was between diagnosis and when you lost him?

Did he manage to have much quality after diagnosis. Totally understand if its too hard to talk about.

I have just found out my news so I suppose I am looking for a time frame - looking for any info really

At first I was told it was spindle cell carcinoma.

Got the lump removed and the vet says its hemangiosarcoma.

This was over the phone and I am going in tomorrow with my girl but just wondered if anyone knows of this type?

I've googled it but there's so much conflicting info....

........well eventually she managed it I gave her a few prunes but no idea if they helped or not

The problem now is she wont chill and the wound on her leg is not healing well but thats another story..

Can you get some Manuka Honey?

Put some on the wound and an Elizabethan collar to stop any licking - it truly will make a difference!

Also give a teaspoon of Manuka Honey two or three times a day - best natural antibiotic ever

I will definitely try this, thanks for the tip - the vet put some honey on her last night but didnt tell me to keep doing it... I have to take her to the vet daily so I will discuss this at tonights visit