Staffyluv

Did it look like coffee grounds (from a coffee maker)? If so this could be internal bleeding and needs to be checked as soon as poosible. From experience it can be a lot of things - ours was a bleeding stomach ulcer...

Off to the vet at 11am to get the crazy dogs bandage changed again. He is starting to go crazy being stuck at home. He can go out he back but there is not much yard but he normally goes to the park every day and has not been for a week tomorrow... I wake up every morning to a staffy with a squeaky toy - this morning was 6am...

Thanks so much for the ongoing support...

A quick update on this amazing Stafford... Well his spark is well and truely back... He has had the youngest son and a few of his mates rough housing with him this afternoon and he had me on my toes trying to get my tea towel back off him this morning... I think he is very bored being locked up inside and not being able to go to the park yet (I dare say it will be a couple more weeks before that is allowed though. My boy is the most amazing dog - with everything that he has been through, he can still play like a puppy.

So sorry to hear of your loss. Rest in peace Ralphy

Yay, he has been up since 6.30 and walked to his bowl with very little limping. He wanted breakfast and was very vocal about it all... I am thinking he is on the mend and that the pain is easily dealt with now.

Thanks Anne but I think the bleeding has stopped again now. The vet just called to see how he was going and he goes in tomorrow for a bandage change.

I know teebs - he has bad much bigger tumour removals than this but they did take the toe (I can't imagine what that feels like). He is not doing very well with it - he does seem to be in a bit of pain. I hate seeing him in pain. Ollie will be 12 on June 12th this year. They are not touching him again after this one - I think we will all just have to come to terms with the fact that he is terminal and we can't just keep patching him up. Thanks all and he is getting plenty of hugs and a few too many biscuits at the moment. I just found number 2 son and him sitting on the lounge, the kid is dunking biscuits in milk and the dog is eating them - well half for the kid and half for the dog...

Hi Anne He was still really sooky when he woke up this morning but after breaky I gave him some more derramax and he has slept most of the day so far. He just came out to the office and he is walking on his foot now, so that has to be a good thing. Poor little old man, he looks so frail sometimes. He goes back to the vet tomorrow for a bandage change and on the Thursday before Easter to get his stitiches out. The vet was confident he got the whole tumour with the toe. I chose not to send it to pathology this time around. I just don't think I could take it if they said they did not get it all and he had to lose his leg - at this stage ignorance is bliss. Both the vet and the oncologist agree - we should just concentrate on him having a good time from now on and not put him through anything more than his vaccinations every second year and a blood test to keep an eye on him every 3 months. While he was out the vet had a look down into his tummy to see if he could see any ulcers and he said there is only one tiny wee little one and it is nothing to worry about. He said he does have some oesophagitis (spelling??) and that the meds he is on should be enough to assist with that. He take omprezole for it. Will keep his thread updated

Hi all, He has been crying a bit this afternoon as the pain meds have worn off but he can only have one a day (derramax) so I am going to see if he can hold out for another hour - that way he might be able to get a whole night of sleep in. He is having a pretty hard time because he can't put his foot on the ground and he has cruciate problems in both back legs - so he is limping quite bad today. He is settled at the moment though and resting on the lounge after some steak and kidney (one of his faves) with a little bit of mashed pumpkin. I have set aside a scotch finger biscuit for him to have after his last tablets in an hour and his pain meds. That should brighten him up - he usually only gets milk arrowroot biscuits. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts

What a crap night. Ollie spent most of the night crying - poor boy, I really don't think his pain meds were enough and I can't give him anymore until today. He was so bad there around 2am that I picked him up off his bed and put him in with me (OH left earlier cause the boy was crying and he had to get up early). He is such a bed hog and all he seemed to want was to lay with his head on my shoulder, then he finally fell asleep around 3.45am. He woke up early, so has had his antibiotics and I took him out to the loo. He just had breaky and a big drink. I will wait for an hour or so before I go giving him pain meds (if he needs it). Will update later on

Anything is worth a try Helen, thanks - will give them a call tomorrow. You don't remember what it was by any chance?

Hi everyone, thanks for the good thoughts today. Well he is home and according to the vet everything went well and it looks like the tumour was just on the toe, no further than the nail bed. Ollie is less than impressed with me - he is laying in the lounge with Dan and is only just starting to wag his tail for me. We have minor complication that we have to keep an eye on, he is bleeding from the rear end again. Vet seems to think it is related to the anaesthetic and stress as he was fine this morning. The same thing happened last time he went in for surgery. While he was out, the vet checked his stomach for ulcers and only found one teeny, tiny one that he could only just see - so that is really good news. He has to have his bandages changed on Friday and his stitches out the following Thursday (day before good friday)... So far so good Thank you all so very much for the support

I saw a show once that said dogs don't need to be typed for their first transfusion but do for subsquent ones - so any blood will do the first time around. I also think there is a minimum weight for the donor dog to be - 25kg+ (I think).

It is horrible. I just dropped him off and he walked away from me and I feel terrible. I wish, hope and pray that this is the last surgery that he ever has to have. I just feel sick about it now.

Poor baby, I hope she feels better soon LM...

I just thought I would let everyone know that the little lad goes in to get his toe with the tumour removed tomorrow. God I hate myself for doing this but once again the vet points out how well he is otherwise and if we don't then it could spread and it would be more aggressive than the MCT. Please God, no more for my little guy after this one. Fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome

Oh Silverblue, I am so sorry. It is emotionally draining living with ill dogs. I know I have days when I wonder if it is all worth it and then he snores loudly on the couch next to me and I see that it is... Hang in there. Hopefully when her meds kick in and she is more comfortable it will be easier for you and her.

Everything here crossed for a good outcome. Bloat sounds bloody terrifying

Maybe talk to your vet and ask if it is OK to just pop in for a visit from time to time - take along some of her fave treats and just sit in the waiting room and offer her a treat now and then (just 5 minutes at a time and build up to 10-15 minutes). Will get her used to it and having treats she will associate it with a good experience. You might also want to let the staff feed her treats too - so she looks at them like friends instead of being afraid of them... Poor darling, it is so sad when you see them afraid like that

I know that here in Canberra there was a bit of gastro going around for the pooch's - hopefully that is all it is. Ollie spent 2 days in hospital with it last week. Runny poo for a day and then vomiting and not eating (be he is older than Sash and he has cancer)... Good luck with her

Just because it is safe to feed, does not mean your dog will be OK with it either... I know that some veg react really badly with Ollie's stomach and he gets the worst gas - clear a room in under 5 seconds!.. Some also give him the runs but seem to be OK for other dogs. Of the safe foods, it is still a bit of trial and error.

Thanks guys... I am not happy about this toe removal - not sure why, just a gut instinct that all is not what it should be. I can't really explain it but the vet has not steered us wrong yet and he seems to think the sooner the better as tumours on toes can turn nasty (must say, I have not even bothered to research this one - round cell tumour)... The lad is sleeping inside on the lounge this morning. He went for a walk early, came home and had some turkey, cottage cheese and pumpkin and is snoring his head off. I just came back through the front door and he never even stirred - what a guard dog??? He seems to be well at the moment but I am trying to get a couple of kg's off him before he goes in to have his toe removed - he will be walking on 3 legs and and he already has issues with his cruciate's... So the leaner he is the better... Will keep everyone posted on when and how he is doing when it is done.

How is the pooch this morning?

I have to agree with CnR here. I know our journey has been a long one (over 3 years now), much longer than originally thought - time given was 12-18 months for us... Holistic therapy is a wonderful supplement and can keep our dogs otherwise healthy, if not for the cancer. Our vet and canine oncologist did not know much about the holistic therapy. I started by getting the vet to send all results to the holistic therapist so she could see what was going on medically and then she supplemented Ollie's care. I know that I personally would not use a home service like you suggest (I dare say the costs would be prohibitive and we already spend so much with his ongoing care) because once I found out that Ollie had MCT, I did everything I could to find out about the disease and how to treat it. I spoke with other owners of MCT dogs who have already been through what we are going through. We tend to research, research, research these things when we have to deal with them. Good luck with what you are trying to do, I don't think it is a bad idea at all - I just would not use it personally. I dare say though that there might be those out there that could use this type of service (people that don't frequent dog forums to find all the good info)...