Bone Cancer In Dogs

I have a 9 year old beagle who has had numerous physical problems over the last few years. The most serious has occured over the last couple weeks. Fluid began building up in he stomach for some unknown reason and her belly “ballooned-up” to the point where she looked pregnant and on the verge of exploding. At he same time she was very lethargic and didn’t ea much. So this weekend she wen to the Vet and they had to drain her belly of all this “fluid”. The Vet did a lab test and an X-ray and said the results were inconclusive. This was another large financial expenditure at the Vet—which there been many. The Vet believes she has some form of cancer, but can’t say for certain without more pricey lab tests. She continues to be lethargic, eats little and since the fluid was drained she is now real skinny–her spine and bones are more evident when petting her then usual.

If she does ave some form of cancer, I’ve already made the decision that I cannot pay for surgery or chemo if it is cancer but the Vet says more tests cold still be inconclusive. Plus, there is the possibility that more tests may show a less serious condition that is curable, but still gristly and if that is the case I’ll really be in tough bind. Also, since the last visit to the Vet, where he drained her tummy, she has been even more lethargic and ate less than prior to the draining.

Any suggestions about what to do or similar experiences???

My 11 year old labrador was diagnosed as diabetic two years ago. She has now hit 11 years old, which is pretty old for a labrador.

But over the past couple of months she has simply not wanted to eat what we put down for her, which is really dangerous for her as she has to have a controlled diet alongside her injections of insulin. We have taken her to the vets a couple of times and he has put her on several different diets, none of which she takes to very long. Yet all of the specialists have advised us not to change it too much too often, as it can mess up the diabetes further. But in the last couple of weeks she has really seriously lost weight to the point where we can see and feel every single bone in her body.

There is no underlying illness, no possibly cancers, digestion problems, nothing as she has had every test under the sun. She is really perky in herself most of the time, quite happy to go for a walk and play in the garden with us. But when it comes to food she just doesn’t want to know. She has always been a picky eater, but in her condition it is becoming more and more dangerous.

I have heard before that putting something smelly onto their dinner works well, I believe it was pepper in that instance, which I have tried but she doesn’t really want to know. We have mixed in: chicken, salmon, toast, rice, pasta, gravy, all sorts of things.

Has anybody ever been in a similar situation? Or does anybody know of a way to encourage their dog to eat? She needs to eat twice a day, 8 in the morning and 8 in the evening, at the same time as her insulin injections.
Edit: We have put her on the special prescription diets. When that failed the vet advised us to mix in some of the wet dog food with the dry biscuit. Which worked for quite a few months until she decided that she didn’t want to know with that either.

As for being on her way out, it has crossed our minds several times. We actually came to that conclusion a couple of weeks back, but the vet disagreed. But as mentioned she is perky in herself in all other aspects and the vet believes that she will have a new lease of life if we can feed her up over the next few months. The only hurdle we have is convincing her to eat.

She doesn’t respond to hand feeding either, and she really doesn’t care when we pretend to eat her food (that is supposed to work quite well, it’s a posession sort of thing.)

he’s about 8 years old now.

hes half German Shepard half siberian husky.

He has hyperactive thyroid, and thyroid cancer.

And lately hes been getting really skinny. He used to by really fat, seriously even the doctors said hes overweight (like a year ago)

And then all of a sudden he got really skinny, and you can see his ribs, and fel his hip bones when you pet him.

Hes starting not to look like the same dog anymore…..and im worried for him

I just have it in my mind that hes dying…..but what do you think?

I would like to thank everyone who replied to my last post about Darcy the Very Skinny Dobie Girl. I took Darcy back to the vets today she had some more blood taken as the last one was no good. The vet has told me it is one of 2 things Cancer, or IBD, i took a stool sample in as well get the results in seven days. The vet spoke about having to put Darcy on a very high dose of Steriods. I am so distrought, he did say steriods can cause faliure of the main organs and hair loss. I am so scared that i am going to lose her my companion and best friend. Can anyone give me any advice if your dog has this condition. I feed Darcy Wet Nature Diet, is this ok for her ? Will Darcy die from IBD, her poor body can,t lose anymore weight she only weighs 21 kg, poor baby is skin and bone. Please if anyone can give me some advice, i would be so grateful. Thank you.

I’m very nervous. so much so that my stomach is in knots!

my 8 yr old Catahoula, Patch has lost a lot of weight over the last month. he usually floats between 65-75lbs, being heavier in the winter than summer. he eats 2 times a day, i feed Solid Gold hund-n-flockin all stages, and he is walked every evening.

I’m nervous because he lost 10lbs in one month. and is now around 60lbs. which isn’t skin and bones, but he’s looking ill. he’s lost muscle tone too.

Went to the vet today and my regular vet wasn’t there but his office partner was (i don’t much care for her) and she recommended putting him on Solid Gold’s puppy food for extra calories (which would be Wolf Cub food, i think) and then waiting a month to see if he gains. if not, then she will do blood work.

i know that’s a smart plan, but I’m SO scared for him. he’s like one of my children, and speaking of my kids..they’d devastatedted if anything happened to him. i know i’ve done everything i can, bI’m im just so at a loss as to what to think or feel! and the “waiting” is gonna kill me! Catahoula’s are prone to cancer. Is there anything else i could have or should be doing at this point? he’s not acting ill, just loosing weight. but i know something is going oI’m.im very close to my dogs…in know when they are “off”.
Sorry this is so long…im just upset.
sorry for the typos. that is totally Y!A spell checker’s fault. it wants to turn any im combo in ANY word into I’m (such as time, changes it to tI’me) grr!
aussie mom- this dog came from the SPCA 6 1/2 yrs ago in Oklahoma when my husband and i were stationed there.
he was a yr and a half old when we adopted him.

he’s a shelter dog, there are no “breeders” to contact.
My vet works in the same office as this other vet. he was going for regular vaccs when we brought up our concerns. she was the vet on duty.

i fully plan to call and speak w/my regular vet at this clinic (which has 2 vets in house) as soon as he is back from vacation next monday. i just worry because i can tell there is something wrong w/him…i just can see it in his eyes.
I truly think this is medical.

we moved last november, but they settled fine, my baby is 11 months old this weigh loss is a new thing, we have 4 dogs in the house and there haven’t been any recent changes.

i talked w/my husband about it when he came home today, and we are calling tomorrow and setting up an apt. next week w/our regular vet.
i sure hope this is fixable.
i doubt it’s worms, but you never know. i hope it’s something that simple.
just thought i’d add- he’s getting extra food due to weight loss, but he’s always had the same amount 3-3 1/2 cups a day divided in half into two feedings.

he eats everything at every sitting, and has never had a problem w/eating.

his teeth are in great shape for his age, my vet always compliments me on the fact that they look good.

I think ill repost after we get the blood work to let some of you know what is going on.
i know some are contacts, and others…i see frequently on here.

thanks everyone! im definately getting an apt w/my reg vet, if he doesn’t suggest doing up blood work (i highly doubt he wouldn’t he’s a very progressive vet) i will demand bloodwork!

My ASD, Honey, is nine years old. She was recently diagnosed with a bone tumor in her front left leg. My vet believes, after looking at xrays, that it’s already spread cancer to her lungs. He has her on arthritis meds for pain, but doesn’t want to do anything until the tumor breaks through the skin. Well, her leg is now huge, three times the size of her other front leg. I want it amputated, but I can’t afford it. I need advice on where to go, what to do. Should I see if they’ll do the surgery and let me pay it out? Should I just put her to sleep? This is terrible to have to decide and I really need some advice. My vet worries that a dog of her size couldn’t function with three legs, but she’s already hopping around that way – she can’t put any weight on the bad leg. It is very painful – you can see it in her eyes. Help me figure this out, please!

Last February my dog, Brodie, who lived at my parents house since I was a teenager when we first got him, had cancer and broke his leg to the point it couldn’t be fixed (the bone split right down the middle). He was 10 years old and we had no choice but to put him down or make him spend the rest of his life suffering. That day was one of the most gut wrenching experiences of my life and it broke my heart in so many ways. My parents, my sister, and I all laid there with him as he passed. And I know he went peacefully surrounded by his loved ones.

When it came time for me to explain it to my oldest boys, who are 5 year old twins, I didn’t really know what to say in terms that they would understand since my husband and I are pretty much atheist and do not teach religion to our children. I told them that Brodie was very sick and he wasn’t going to get better so left Earth and wasn’t coming back. (Now, just because I don’t believe in god, doesn’t mean I don’t believe that the soul – aka Life Force Energy – lives on after the body dies. I believe it does. And I do believe that animals have souls.) They were sad that they wouldn’t see Brodie again, and cried a little, but they took it rather well, considering. Although there are times when they randomly come to me and tell me that they miss him and wish he could come back home. I’m not sure if they have a real grasp on what death is.

With all of that said, how do you go about explaining death to young children in a way that they understand? I prefer answers that don’t pertain to “heaven and hell” nonsense because that won’t help me any due to the fact that we don’t subscribe to that line of thinking.

And also, please no answers telling me how the death of an animal companion is insignificant because again, that isn’t helpful. And to anyone who is an animal lover, you know that the animal is much more then just a pet, it becomes a member of your family and dear friend.

I just want to know how other people explain death to young children when the subject comes up.

I’ve got a bone to pick with members of the fascist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, followed with some questions.

First of all the personal choice of not eating animals, or wearing animal skins is something I cannot argue with. If you feel this is the right thing to do, more power to you. You have my respect for sticking with your beliefs.

However, be a free thinking individual myself, I have the right to do as I please, and I choose to have a dog, eat meat, and wear leather shoes. What I want to know is, what gives you the right to personally attack (verbally) me on the streets for walking my dog with my family. Your using the same techniques many fascist special interest groups use to get your point across, and I don’t approve of you giving campy adds to my children to try to further your message. Is it really the pure and ethical treatment of animals you seek, or is it the 30 million dollars your thinking heads receive yearly from its members?

How can you support a hypocritical organization that does a worse job of saving animal lives than the state of Virgina? Thats right, you have failed to put 90% of your animals into loving homes and have been forced to execute them with the same methods your preach to be unethical. I think to date PETA has killed approximately 19000 animals by means of cardiac arrest inducing chemicals to date.

How can you support a group that fund 5 figure amounts to groups that knowingly commit felony’s such as arson and battery to get their point across?

How can you support a founder who claims she would rather see animals roam freely than use them to find a cure for AIDS and Cancer?

I understand you may think your doing something right…..but this group is not the answer. If your Nazi tactics continue, mainly using children to get your point in the spotlight, your going to upset the wrong person and this group is going to have a major lawsuit on their hands. Be a freethinker, you don’t need to be a member of a perverted organization to get your point across.

She is a fawn pug named Pumpkin i got her for halloween when i was little and she’ll be 12 next month but she hasnt been looking good for a while now she used to be really fat and now when she lays on her side u can see her bones, shes blind in her right eye and she doesnt act like herself anymore. sometimes she acts normal but other times she just stands in the middle of the room staring into space like shes lost or something. and she used to would just about burst before she would pee on the floor and now she does it several times a day like 3 feet in front of the doggie door. and now my other dogs who are well behaved and go outside are starting to follow her and go inside too. we took her to the vet and he said it was cancer but said theres no use in treating her cause of her old age cuz theres no cure and itd put her thru alot of stress and to just let her live until she passes or we think its time to put her down. we thought maybe shed just pass on her own but that was a while ago and were tired of watching her suffer. me and my mom have thought its time to take her for a long time but my pop wont let us. he wont listen to us even when we tell him that she doesnt know whats going on anymore. so we told him since he wants to keep her then he should fill up her water bowl and clean up when she goes on the floor but he wont do it. i dont really think he cares that shes suffering he just doesnt want to be sad. i understand him but at the same time its kinda selfish to let her suffer so he wont be sad… we just dont know what to do….

weve thought of just taking her anyway regardless of what he says.
and weve also thought of taking her and telling him she just passed naturally.

but both of those sound so terrible… does anyone have any other ideas of what we should do?

I have a male husky that is just shy of three years old. About two months ago I noticed he had localized swelling on his side. The next morning I took him to the vet to have it looked at. She inserted a needle and withdrew pus like fluid. He immediately was operated on.
I was told around here it is real common for a dog to get a sliver from cheat grass or off the tassel of wheat. Both will cause an infection. He had stints put in and was given cephelaxin. Everything was fine for a month, then it came back. He had his latest surgery Friday, I think it was number six. They can’t see anything inside there that is causing it. He’s had just about every test and scan known including MRIs and dye enhanced X-rays.
This last time they left the incision open with staples to let it heal from the inside out. He’s also on stronger antibiotics. Well that swelling is back again this morning. Does anyone have any advice to my next course of action?
So you know, the area of swelling is on his side. On a person it would be at naval height, straight above the hip bone. They have ruled out anything metal, no visual wound existing, not a hernia or perforated bowel, not a tumor, cyst or any kind off cancer and no fractured ribs. They’ve described it to me like an abscess. He’s never had any health problems before. But this thing keeps swelling up.
I’d really appreciate any pertinent information or advice you might have.
I basically live in the middle of no where. There is no animal hospitals or teaching colleges anywhere near hear. The vet I’ve been seeing is almost an hour away. There are others others about twice as far, but from what I can tell they are all just the average vet.