cavNrott

She has only one chemo drug amongst the many drugs she takes and it will be stopped. Then the cancer will aggress. The onco said it's probably the drug causing the liver problem. I'm giving her milk thistle and CoQ10 to try to repair her liver. I hope they're working for her. I doubt the chemo drug is working anyway at the rate Sophie's mouth tumour is growing. It worked well for 3 weeks with no tumour growth at all. I thought we had remission but it wasn't to be. I'm hoping for something positive too Oonga but I don't think there's anything left we can do. I've got the pain meds right at the higher dose. She's pain free and it's my job to keep her that way. If she's a bit sleepy then she's not suffering and she's relaxed and comfortable. That's what I want for her. She's still up for a game of fetch though, only 2 or 3 chases of the ball but she wants to play. I just read this. "Shared pain is lessened - shared joy is increased". That is so true. The caring people in this thread who are sharing my pain and giving me support helps more than I can say. I feel at a loss, down in the dumps...and then read your posts and I feel better and stronger. Thank you sincerely from Sophie and from me. edited for silly apostrophe

R.I.P. Beautiful Tonka.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for caring about Sophie. I appreciate your support. She does seem a little better than she was yesterday. I'm keeping up with the increased pain meds. She needs them now. She's such a stoic girl and I need to keep a keen eye on her and be very aware of an increase in her pain level. Her mouth tumour doesn't look good. We'll see what the oncologist says on Thursday. I'm not hopeful of a good report. Please keep sending your healing thoughts to her, she's such a sweet dog and needs all the help she can get. Thanks again.

Great news to hear he's improving Jodie. He sure is a little fighter. I guess you didn't have the xrays done due to his improved condition. Always thinking of you and Ollie and sending healing thoughts.

The important issue is to see a vet to discover why this bitch is going lame. Has she taken the dog to a vet to find out the reason? The metacam is a side issue until she finds out why the dog is lame. The reproduction issue is at the bottom of the pile as you wouldn't want to be breeding dog with unidentified lameness.

She is much better tonight, running around with the others. I think the extra meds kicked in to mask her pain. She's always been very keen on food. She hasn't been interested in food at all today and I had to follow her around with the spoon to get her to eat her dinner tonight. Some of the meds must be given on a full stomach. Without food I can't medicate her and without medication she'll be in serious pain. I missed out on two tablets this morning. She's supposed to have them twice a day, she had two with dinner and I'll try and get the other two into her when she has her yoghurt and goats milk later on tonight. I fed her finely chopped bbq chicken in home made chicken broth. She loves it but not tonight. I got her to eat enough to be able to give her the meds though. The tumour is large, blue and angry looking. It looks very painful. This is the first time in her life she hasn't been keen to eat. Even after major surgeries she's had it never put her off her tucker. All in all it hasn't been the best of days around here. I'll see what she's like tomorrow. I won't let her suffer.

Sophie is not well today. This is the first bad day she's had. She didn't want her breakfast. I gave her Tramadol as well as piroxicam and spoon fed her about 1/2 an hour later. I think she ate it just to please me. She's in an airconditioned room with me and she's and not moving at all. This is so unlike her. She lifts her head when I speak to her but apart from that she lies perfectly still. It's not a good sign for my poor girl. I'm hoping she'll improve as the day goes on.

Thanks for being so thoughful and caring oonga. Your posts lift my morale when I'm wallowing in sadness about Sophie's condition. She is such a special girl who copes with anything life throws at her. She's in good spirits and being her normal silly self. She takes all her medications without fuss and makes it easy for me to treat her. She's lying around in airconditioned comfort today.

I wouldn't feed it to the dogs. The salt content is too high.

Thanks for the well wishes for Sophie. She's much the same the tumour is still growing and I've found a smal lump on her side. She is still happy and pain free but the cancer is progressing. Oonga, she sees the oncolgist on Thursday. Good news about Jaida responding well to the herbal mixes.

I agree ligaments don't fix themselves in bigger dogs. Scar tissue builds but won't hold in a big dog wherease it can sometimes hold in a small dog. Arthritis is a problem though. My Rottweiler now 7yo had TWLO on both knees. The first at 18 months and the second one 12 months later. She has titanium plates in both knees. I wish the TTA option was around in those days because its seems to be a much better option than TWLO. Hope all goes well for you Anna.

Shek it's encouraging to hear Jaida is doing so well on the herbal mixes. It's great that she's able to cope without the Tramal. The herbal stuff must be good. I couldn't use it with Sophie's drug regime so I'm so pleased it's helping Jaida. Jodie. Thinking of you and Ollie and hoping he rallies the way he always does. Please keep us posted. Ollie's courage and determination gives me hope that Sophie will follow his path and fight this disease. You and Ollie are an inspiration. IHF, Allerzeit and Ci. Your thoughts are always appeciated. I tell Sophie you are thinking of her and wishing her the best. Sophie's ok. The tumour changes every day. It doesn't look as angry and it's growing more slowly. It was chemo drug day today so I try to keep her quiet on those days. "No quiet night tonight", she said. "It's either a game of fetch or I'll pester you all night". We played fetch for 1/2 an hour and I was the one who was tired and ended the game.

Hannah I'm so very sorry. What an awful thing to happen. Rest In Peace little one

Thinking of you and hoping for the best possible outcome for Ollie. Jodie you are amazing the lengths you go to for Ollie.

Thanks oonga :rolleyes: I will keep doing what I'm doing for the time being because I trust the oncologist completely. She knows this disease far better than I would ever want to know it. She's become very fond of Sophie because she's always so happy and easy to deal with. She lost her own Rottweiler (also called Sophie) to osteosarcoma. That's why she decided to specialise in oncology. Sophie is having do make do with car rides until we get these tests done. She loves car rides and we can go out on the hot days with the airconditioning on so she's not totally confined to barracks. Hugs shared all round from you

I would love to take Sophie out but there is a diagnosis to be made on the 20th of this month. It's important to find out the cause of her liver problem. I don't want to muddy the waters of the tests by taking a risk of her contracting a virus or bacterial infection and spiking a temperature, thus getting us way off track. There's a decision to be made about whether or not she stops the chemo drug. She'll also have an ultrasound. If it's the drug causing the liver problem then we stop it and the cancer will progress rapidly. If this is the case I'll walk her again but at this stage I won't risk messing with her tests. I want it all for Sophie. For me is isn't all about a good time but quantity as well as quality. She's a happy, vibrant dog who enjoys life whether or not she gets walked. The oncologist keeps me fully informed of all test results and on Sophie's progress and of any problems that crop up that I would otherwise be unaware of. I am also assured she will be kept pain free for the time she has left. I base my decisions on what I think Sophie would want. I think she would choose to stay home for a couple of weeks if it means she can hold onto life for longer. She's not ready to go yet and I'm not ready to give up on her yet. Thanks to all who are wishing Sophie well and posting their encouragement to me. It helps me so much.

Thanks for the good wishes for Sophie. Jodie, I mashed the sweet potato and fried slices of zuccini in grape seed oil and she had it with minced beef. She loved it. I made chicken stock from bbq chicken bones and put some in her meal. Soft food's easier for her. She was BARF fed so I see why she likes cooked food. Going to Macro tomorrow to get more organic food for her. I've been feeding her cottage cheese with Flaxseed oil and read on a USA cancer dog site about Quark being better than Cottage Cheese for cancer dogs. I'd never heard of it but they have it at Macro so I got some along with some organic yoghurt. She likes all the organic stuff, I wonder if she knows it's good for her. She had a quiet day, it was hot. Tonight when we were outside she was playbowing to entice Faith to chase her. Faith's a bit old for that but she was up for a game of fetch. I haven't seen Sophie play bow for ages. I discovered a lump on her side, just under her ribs. It doesn't feel like a lipoma. It's recent because I check her daily for anything new. Not a good sign. I hope Ollie is getting stuck into his food again. Would he eat if you fed him an hour or so before his walk? I'm learning that cancer tires them out quickly. Hope it's their system fighting the disease. Hugs to you and Ollie and to Wolfgirl and Pearl.

I'm sorry for your loss Get Whippet. Rest In Peace Emma.

Thanks Jodie. Sophie has had a great appetite all along. I tried the diet you recommended tonight, she loved it and ate it all without my assistance. I went to Macro and bought all her organic stuff. She really loves the mashed sweet potatoe. I hope Ollie picks up again quickly....He's amazing

sorry, gremlins. double post

I was told the same thing by our oncologist. However my dog is not on chemo...she does have one chemo drug amongst all the others in her regime. I administer her medication at home. I decided not to go with chemo because it's not very successful with the kind of cancer my dog has. Many natural therapies are not compatible with chemo but I'm using a couple with the oncologists approval.

Jodie you are so right. We nursed my MIL at home when she was dying of cancer. Though it was sad we did have verbal battles due to her flat refusal at times to take medication so some annoyance and frustration was involved. Nursing a loved dog is so emotionally draining because they can't tell us what they need and how they feel. Dogs are so innocent and trusting and never complain. Sophie calmly complies with whatever we need to give her or do to her without any fuss. Dogs put their complete trust in us. You're right about there being more questions than answers. I second guess myself all the time with Sophie's treatment. I just counted out her tablets she has with her dinner....there are 10 of them and that's not counting the ones she had this morning. My poor girl. She feels well today so we've had a few games of fetch and we're both feeling a bit brighter. I was walking her against advice until this liver problem was discovered. I'll wait until she has an ultrasound to find out whether it's caused by the meds or metastasis before I take her out again. I don't want to complicate any issues before we get past this hurdle, if we are to get past it. I just told her it's time for dinner and she's very enthusiatic about it so I'd best go and feed her.

How did the oncologist consult go today? Is there plan of action in place for this cute boy. Hoping all went well and please update when you can.

WTF Charming

It's fine for dogs but what size spoon do you give your dog every day? I put a flat desertspoon in a 1.5kg mix of BARF food. I wouldn't be feeding as much as teaspoon of it every day. Also it depends on the weight/size of your dog.