Staffyluv

I am so sorry for your loss baifra, I only just noticed this. RIP Sammy

I hope that the incredible Miss Sophie and her owner are keeping well. The fat black stafford who needs an attitude alignment is doing remarkably well again - even with his limpy old leg that the vet thinks we might wait to operate now because it has impoved heaps.

So sorry for your loss Pandii. RIP Keeto.

Vit C was the first thing that was recommended to us when Ollie was first diagnosed with cancer. He has been on 1000 to 1500mg a day since he was diagnosed. There were a couple of times during chemo that he was so ill (not the chemo, he had caught a bug because of a compromised immune system) and the vet put him on a drip with Vit C - he came out of it like he had never been sick at all.. Vit C is am amazing tonic for dogs.

I am so sorry... I hope you find her but I am sure she is watching over you and her stock.

There are a lot of DOLers that don't like HSD - personally, when my boy needed the UD HSD it was the best thing that he could have been on. We feed real food, human grade meats and vegetables. Raw bones are also very good for dogs. You can get chicken frames, necks, wings from the deli of most supermarkets and these are a great source of protein and calcium (fed raw only, never cook anything with bones in it). Supplement with fish (or fish oil tablets) yoghurt, eggs and you have a pretty good diet that costs a lot less than buying kibble. do a search for Barf - there are heaps of ideas for raw feeding and most dogs do really well on it. I still maintain that the best food for your dog, is what they do best on.

Wow there is some really interesting reading on that site, thanks for that. I am going to start him on the flaxseed oil and cottage cheese as soon as I get some from the markets. I think he will love it. Ollie takes the fish oil/glucosamine, vitamin C and E and he also takes thyroxine (not a vitamin but a required supplement) because the chemo damaged his thyroid gland and it no longer functions. He also takes Omprezole and carafate due to stomach issues (once again caused by the chemo, but it is still debated if it was chemo or it is the cancer). He takes maxalon twice a day and he takes polarmine every night because his type of cancer releases histamine into the system and gives the symptoms of an allergic reaction. His diet consists of human grade meats & fish (always cooked), yoghurt, eggs, he has manuka honey when his stomach is really playing up. He does get mashed sweet potato and zucchini with dinner most nights. He won't chew raw bones anymore so he does get those pedigree dentasticks to keep his teeth nice (they actually work). Treat wise, he gets dog carob treats for taking his tablets - it is the one thing we have found that he looks forward too and I just can't bring myself to take them off him. He also has a milk arrowroot biscuit when I have a cup of tea of a night. When he was really sick, these were the only things we could get him to eat, soaked in a little warm water with his mauka honey. I guess we must be doing something right because he is still here and as the vet says, 'disgustingly healthy for a dog with cancer'. He was only supposed to be here around 18 months dxd and it is now around 30 months. He has his problems but we just deal with it and keep going. Thanks again for the information. Wishing you and Sophie many more good days.

Thanks for that CnR. I think we pretty well use the same sort of diet. But I don't use the cottage cheese and flaxseed oil - we tend to use some organic yoghurt a few times a week and he takes a fish oil supplement that has omega 3 & 6 as well as glucosamine (it is an all in one, makes life easier with all the other stuff he takes). I will check out the deli at the markets tomorrow and see how he goes on it. Cheers Jodie

Our boy had allergies as a young dog but we were still told to vaccinate every year and we did. Now he has a cancer called Mast Cell Cancer. It develops in the very lowest layers of the skin (but once systemic, can invade the liver, kidneys etc). Lots of research points to this cancer turning up in dogs that tend to have skin allergies as young dogs. It releases histamine into the system that mimics an allergy reaction. We did not vaccinate for two years and we have just started again but he will be tested in two years to see if he needs another vaccination - it won't be automatically given (he is never kennelled so it does not matter).

Thanks CnR. We think of you guys all the time too (and dogsbesotted Lucinda, bless her, she is about 6 years post dxd now)... I think I might offer the spoilt lad some of that cottage cheese with flaxseed oil that you are using. Can you tell me how much of it you give to Sophie, please? Cheers J

So sorry for your loss of Bronwyn. RIP girl

Good news, that she is still enjoying everything, it makes it easier on you when all is going well. I know what you mean about Sophie calling the shots (Ollie has discovered selective hearing)... Give her a big hug from us

So sorry Paula. RIP Harvey

Besides the fact that the fat boy does not like raw food anymore - it is more to make sure that any bacteria in the meat is killed off. If he gets sick, he gets really sick. A small bug that most dogs can fight off relatively easy, can see him on antibiotics for weeks.

Judging by how much the surgery cost, I hope they used the more expensive one She seems much better this morning, even ate a decent amount of food. They are getting back to their old selves, the sicker one a bit more slowly, now I just need to keep two Staffy's quiete for 10 days.They hate the collars they have to wear, it can be aquite amusing at times though. Yeah, good luck with that one. They are hard to keep still. Crate them if you have to or get a kids play pen to limit their movement. We crated our old bloke once - just once. It lasted about an hour and he was so vocal about the fact that he was imprisoned that we had to let him out - even the neighbour thought we were killing him. He is a lazy old bugger though and once he was lifted onto the lounge and waited on hand and foot by all the humans he was happy as larry. (Yep, we are well trained people). Hope the girls are feeling better today.

There is nothing wrong with the food if your dog is healthy and doing well on it - what is good for some, is not good for others. If your dog does well on HSD (or Pal for that matter) then that is what you should stick too. There is also the fact that some people simply cannot afford to purchase some of these high end foods. Personally, we feed Ollie a diet that is high in protein and fats and low in carbs (a cancer starving diet) and he is thriving on it and all meat is cooked, not fed raw. We try to use as much organic food as possible but some weeks the budget does not stretch that far and he has to have supermarket meat (like us - what is wrong with that picture )...

I'm so sorry, Carlibud. RIP Carli.

I have a stafford here with the same injury. We are doing the wait and see at the moment but I think that surgery is inevitable. As for the cost - it depends where you are. We have been quoted $1000 for his surgery. I would not hunt around based on price, I would be after the best surgeon (and we have him down here :D )... Good luck with your little one and the surgery.

Hope everything has settled down now. Just a note, if they should need surgery again, there are two types of anaesthetic: I don't know the name of each but one is a little (just a little) more expensive than the other. I was told this by another DOLer and when I asked the vet about it, he said I could have it but it was dearer - I could not believe the difference when Ollie woke up from surgery the last time. I only use the one that is a bit more expensive on my guy because he does not do well when waking up from it. Now when he has to go under, he wakes up really well with no adverse reactions. (Ollie has been under a few times because he is sick)

Do you have a heat pad or something you can put under her bedding? (electric blanket/ hot water bottle). Maybe a kiddy t shirt to keep her warm (put it on her, if it is not too painful). Did the vet give pain relief before you bought them home? If she is still shivering in the morning, I would be going back to the vets. For now, just keep them as still and warm as you possibly can (no moving around)

I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved Daisy. Rest in peace Daisy.

I agree with EIA. Ollie has had the cartrophan injections for the last two years and they work fine for him (he only needs them annually at the moment) and they have worked fine for us so far. However I have read many good things about sylvet capsules and have decided to give them a go if we need to have the injections more often. Best of luck with your little one.

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post was that chemo does not make dogs ill like it does humans. Vets do not give animals the same dose that that doctors give humans. Chemo attacks cells that divide quickly and this includes bone marrow (among cancer and other good cells), and vets do not have the luxury of being able to give animals a bone marrow transplant which is why it is not given in the doses that it is given to humans. I know of quite a few dogs now that have had chemo and not one has been made ill by it or has it stopped them from living life. The only thing that you have to be careful of is that being immune compromised they can catch bugs that they would otherwise not. This did not stop us from going to the park or having fun, as my vet said - it is all about quality of life. What is the point of going through it all to prolong his life, only to keep him cooped up because he 'might' catch something. Vitamins C via canula can be a great tonic when they are feeling very low - Ollie has had this a couple of times now and always comes back acting like a pup again. dogsbesotted has a lovely maremma (Lucinda) who was dxd mast cell grade 3 and she was told to take her home and make the most of the next month or so - Lucinda was only ever treated holistically and she is still here more than six years later. I did not check your profile, so I am not sure where you are but there is a great holistic vet in Sydney who have heaps of experience with cancer patients (All Natural Vet Care). These wonderful vets were the ones we dealt with (we are in Canberra) when Ollie was ill. Accupunture is another treatment that has been used widely for all sorts of treatments in dogs - even cancer, it can be used to help stimulate the immune system. All the best

RIP Pru. Sorry for your loss.

Ollie was diagnosed with grade two mast cell cancer in November 2005 (he was 8). His tumours (the ones that could be felt) were excised with no clear margins. Lymph nodes were biopsied and the cancer was found to be systemic. We had a canine oncologist who liaised with our vet, us and our natural therapist. He had chemo (vinblastin and another one that escapes me at the moment) - one week tablets, the next was by drip and then a week off. Blood tests every week to see if he could take the next round or have to wait. It is a very long and expensive road. We also used chinese herbs, vitamin C, fish oil and other natural therapies. He had five mushroom drops, liver tonics arsenica as well. He only eats human grade foods (preferably organic), it is all cooked for him. He has a similar diet to CnR's Sophie. Even with the treatments, they told us that he would be with us for up to eighteen months. Well he will be celebrating his 11th birthday on June 12 this year. The chemo has ruined his thyroid gland and he now needs meds for that for the rest of his life and it also gave him stomach ulcers (but it is still debated if that is the cancer or the chemo???) Most people that see Ollie cannot believe that he has cancer (he has been in remission for over a year now). He still has a couple of tumours but all in all, he is an amazing lad (just like all the other terminal furry angels we have here)... I won't say it has been easy, but I have learned so much from this journey and had the pleasure of chatting and getting to know so many wonderful people in the same boat as us. We all help each other and have so much to offer for others that are just starting out on their journeys with their beloved pooch's. Ollie has a thread, here in the palliative care section - it is long but if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Start a thread for Mish, that way you can update us and we can offer suggestions for you and your vet - so many vets treat differently and some think of things that others don't consider at the time - many minds make this easier on everyone. Best of luck Jodie