Spreedog - my Dalmatian age 13 - is wasting away with what appears to be a widespread lymphoma. She has 8 hen egg sized lymph node masses in the cervical and supraclavicular areas plus axillary and inguinal lymphadenopathy along with two pelvic masses. She is down to skin and bones but not in pain. She can still walk - but barely. She will not eat. Trying to figure out the humane way to end this. Don't want to play God and put her down for my convenience. Never had these options with human cancer patients. Inclination is to let nature run its course and keep her as comfortable as possible as we do with people who have end stage malignancies.
2009-08-09T11:06:34Z
Spree has been to the vet. He made the diagnosis of malignancy. I made the call not to try chemotherapy for my dog. I've been with this dog every day for 13 years. I know when she is in pain. She tells me when she is unhappy. Anyone who has a hound or a Dalmatian knows how they cry when they want something.
2009-08-09T11:18:23Z
I should add that I am a human cancer specialist doctor (medical oncologist) with 20 years experience, so I know something about malignancies - but not in dogs. I just wanted to hear how you people have decided these things. I appreciate the answers so far.
Anonymous2009-08-09T10:40:05Z
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It must be extremely hard for you to have to make such a difficult decision. You may not think she is in pain, but think of this, she is 91 in human years, with cancer, which is very painful in the later stages. Being as old as she is all other parts of her aging body are starting to fail too. You need to stay with her till the end, keep supporting her, love her, and stay by her side as she did with you for all these years. Do what you think is right; let your heart guide you...
Don't make the dog wait two bloody days for relief. Get some pain relief for him from the vet and ask advice about feeding, or have the dog euthanised humanely. ETA - There are any number of pain meds that do not have to be given with food. If the animal is in serious discomfort, the vet may even give pain relief intravenously. Emergency vets are available 24/7; the claim "It's late at night" is a poor excuse. The dog has been left in your care; it is for you to give that dog the care he needs. You don't need to be the owner of a dog to take it for vet care, though the vet will likely want to contact the owners regarding its treatment. You cannot force feed the dog. If it won't take soft, easily managed food (cottage cheese, boiled chicken and rice mixed together is usually okay) or even a food-replacement drink because of pain, then you need to get the pain under control before you can expect it to eat.
She's a dog, not a person, stop comparing her to a person with cancer. Here's the HUGE difference: The human with cancer can say "enough is enough, let me go", the dog can't. You have no idea how much pain she could really be in. At this point, since she can barely walk and isn't eating, the best thing to do is to put her to sleep before she starves to death which I'm pretty sure isn't a very comfortable way to pass. It's not for your convenience, it's what's best for her.
Also, when you say "appears to have"... Do you mean you haven't actually had her to a vet or anything along those lines to confirm this diagnosis?? If not, you really need to get her into a vet to see how far this has spread, etc... She may have other underlying issues that you CAN'T see that a vet would have to diagnose that could be causing her far more pain then you realize. At this point though, I'd say the best way to handle this is to have her euthanized. Keeping her comfortable only goes so far since she can't tell you when she's no longer comfortable, and, at the rate she's going, she's going to end up starving herself to death by the sounds of it. Put yourself in her position, would you want to starve to death, along with the pain I'm sure she's feeling from the cancer?
EDIT: My apologies if my post came off rude, etc... That was, by far, not my intent. The way you said "appears to be" threw me off, and, in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of "what do I do now" posts on here lately of people that haven't been to a vet yet. It's good to hear that you've taken her in and have a proper diagnosis, etc... And I completley understand having been with your dog long enough to read their body language, etc... but she still can't tell you everything, no matter how well you know her, know what I mean? To be honest, if she's not eating, the best thing you can do, for her sake and yours, is to let her go peacefully. Again, my apologies if my original answer came off as rude, etc...
Every dog needs some type of training. The first class I ever took a dog to was https://tr.im/uPp6S
It's a very basic kind of class. They will help you with your dog, and show you how to work with your dog at home.
They'll also answer any questions you have about your dog's particular problems and how to handle them. The most important thing in dog training is to be consistent and work with your dog at home on the lessons. The PetSmart class teaches sit, down, come, and the very basics every dog needs to know. They will also help socialize your dog. You are unhappy with an untrained dog, and believe it or not, the dog is actually unhappy to. You need to take your dog now, as the older he gets, the harder it will be to correct your dog's bad habits. Plus the classes are fun for you and your dog. My dog went from that first PetSmart class on to advanced obedience classes. You might also contact your local humane society. The one in my area offers obedience classes with a very good trainer at a reduced price.
My Dobermann Boris was four years when he was diagnosed with aggressive skin cancer. The proposed treatment was major surgery & four sessions of carboplatin {chemotherapy} which wouldn't be grueling for him, so I opted for treatment.
At what point did I make the decision to have him put to sleep? When he developed multiple new tumors {not related to the original cancer} near many of his major organs, was rapidly losing weight & had been diagnosed with DCM, I knew that there was no quality time left for him. At that point he was put to sleep.
With treatment he lived an additional 3.5 years & he lived life to the full. I appreciated every extra day that the treatment afforded & would not hesitate to opt for treatment again, *if* it was in my dog's best interest.
Whatever decision you make, I'm sure you are guided by what is in your dog's best interest. Treatment isn't always the best option for a dog diagnosed with cancer, but if you can prolong life in a way that's in the dog's best interest, as was the case with Boris, it can be very rewarding.