bommy

Make the most of the memories, they are what makes us strong in the good times & the bad. Jacqui

Well, it has been a while since I have had to post in here about our beloved Molly, she has been doing so well & handled the move from Mackay to Wagga Wagga perfectly & had been meintaining her weight around the 24-25kg mark... Sadly though over the last 3 days (1 week after her last chemo treatment) her appetite has dropped off & she has lost a massive 3kgs... We went & saw a new vet this morning & she is very concerned about the loack of appetite & weight loss. We have agreed to stop the chemo (lomustine treatments) and have given ourselves 3 days to reassess. We have looked at increasing her macrolon dosage to see if that will pick up her appetite & her weight, however if by thursday she has not improved it will be time for us to say goodbye to our beautiful girl & let her run free at the bridge with Chief. Sadly it is not something I want to even think about but OH & I both agreed before starting the chemo that we would not let her suffer for our own selfish reasons... fingers crossed that the macrolon works, she still likes to seek us out & plays with the kids so we feel there may still be some hope but if not then we know we to be strong & let her pass with dignity & love & be pain free. Jacqui

hi guys being a cynic here but I would hold back all well meant advice refer to this thread: http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?showtopic=26922 Jacqui

We have a dental kong... unfortunately it was the biggest waste of money ever... its just a toy for the dogs to carry around! My dogs have always had raw bones (marrow cut in 1/2) or raw chicken frames/necks/wings... Our old vet always said Molly had the best teeth he had ever seen in a dog her age... so good old fashioned raw bones get our vote here. Jacqui

I cant go past MUSCOBAN, it is dogsafe & works wonderfully. Smells alright too Jacqui

well we have had a few days of ups & downs this week with mainly ups! Molly has weighed in at 25kgs & seems happy enough so the chemo seems yo be working! We go for more cbc testing on 16 03 05 Jacqui

Hi Birni I agree it definitely depends on what sort of cancer it is. We at the moment are going through this with our 7yrold boxer molly. Are they cutting out the lump totest it? If they are it is also very worthwhile to pay the extra to find out if it is hystacidic or lymphatic cancer that you are dealing with and to get that tested for at the start. I have a link running called neospora & molly, she started out with the neospora & then when testing for that we found that she also had the lymphatic camcer. In that thread i hve been given alot of really good advice re diet & that has helped us immensley we were given 3mths in January & Molly, bless her soul is running around & looking better now than she did in December. We have this week started chemo using Lomustine (80mg) every 3 weeks for 3 treatments & then 6 weekly as well as pred daily. The first prescription was $260.00 for the lumostine but then subsequent treatments will be $130.00 as they are repeats. I know how you feel we lost our first big boy in June last year to an internal lymphosarcoma that burst & then Molly got sick & I felt that my life was a total mess, after all what did I do to deserve to lose 2 dogs in 6ths to cancer... well we know that the cancer isnt going to be completely beaten, but the chemo (which is having a really good effect on Molly & isnt making her sick like it does humans) is giving her back the quality of life she needs & letting us enjoy her & love her for a bit longer. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DECISIONS Jacqui

Hi Dan I dont know if contact could make other dogs sterile, I hadnt thought of that ... Major is due to be desexed soon so I guess it doesnt really matter to much with him, but I dont give him a chance to get near it any ways, as soon as she goes I am out there with bleach & hose in hand. The vet said about 48 hrs & she should start topick up & this morning she is doing laps of the backyard so I hope that is a good indication it is working! Jacqui

Dan, It is actually more for our protection, its to help neutralise the chemicals in the chemo, everytime she goes to the toilet I have to glove up collect up & bag the poop & then bleach & hose the area to stop the chances of anyone coming incontact with the drugs & chancing sterility.... Jacqui

Thanks guys! Started the Chemo today..... so madly bleaching areas & hosing off outside! She seems fine so it doesnt seem to be knocking her about yet, hopefully it will stay this way! Jacqui

Okay so back again since Monday we have had another vets visit & the specialist really feels that the Lumostine is the way to go as it with pred should stop any more lesions, so we have decided to give that a try. They also feel that I should keep up the shark cartilege (thanks Aatanic for putting me onto it!) as they feel it is improving her cell count. We had CBC done Monday & the count was excellent. Her heart & lungs are health & her liver is clear, its just the cancer living in her skin! At this stage it hasnot spread anywhere else! Her weight is back at 23.6kgs so we are to feed her whatever she wants (even Icecream in small amts lol) & then we will reassess again next week via phone conference..... So we are going with the chemo (so much for me saying no I didnt want to!) but the specialist is positive we will have success. It will be 80mg of lomustine every 3 weeks for 3 treatments then the same every six weeks & 1 pred tablet daily. Jacqui

I would change the Purina to a better quality kibble. We use Advance & it is pricey but good & is a better quality but there are heaps of others out there that have a better quality as well. I would put some sardines in their diets as well, maybe some foods high in Omega oils & some flaxseed oil as well. This all helps their skin, spinach as well will help. Unless you are cooking the mince I would drop that & replace it with something else. Raw mince can hold a lot of bacteria & also have a lot of preservatives in it unless you are mincing it yourself. Raw chicken, chicken carcass, turkey, emu, kangaroo & vegemite would all help in the diet as well. Jacqui

Our first experience with Demodex Mange was last year in July which we treated with Ivomectin, it seemed to work but after a stressful rushed interstate trip Major got it back again. STRESS does affect the resurgence of the mange mites, Treatment does kill the mites but you have to be very careful. ESPECIALLY WITH TREATMENTS THAT ARE USED OFF LABEL SUCH AS IVOMECTIN - it can lead to more serious health issues later. IE Liver disease kidney failure etc. A dog that has a low immunity will have reoccurring cases of demodex right up until it passes to the bridge UNLESS you address the immunity issues first. This is done by assisting the dogs body with its Thymus & T cells, there are a lot of great holistic products out there that will assist you. Once immunity is addressed a successful treatment should then basically resolve any issues however if the dog is put in any stressful situations it may appear again & need retreating, the thing is as soon as it gets that moth eaten look you have to hit it straight away. We used the ivomecting first up & it did work but then when Major's demodex reoccurred we had staph infections as well & so the ivomectin got thrown in the bin. PFIZER have a great product called dectomax injections, which is relatively new, which consisted of weekly injections for 6 - 8 weeks then fortnightly for a mth & then mthly until we had clear scrapings for 2mths. Demodex is passed from Bitch to puppy at birth & research is now showing that the immune system as well is also passed on genetically so if the bitch has a poor immunity then you could;d risk it being passed on. BTW the state CC's actually consider it unethical & action can be taken against breeders that breed with bitches that have had Mange, we took action against Majors breeders. Demodex CAN NOT be caught from an environment, all dogs have demodex mites in their skin, it is their immune system that fights off the effect that the mange has. Are your dogs desexed? This is something you should look at after you treat this case successfully, as it is believed that desexing the dogs after a successful mange treatment will assist in boosting a poor immune system. YOU ARE NOT ALONE THERE ARE A FEW OF US WHO HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH IT & IT IS FRUSTRATING, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Jacqui

We did more aspirations on the lump & airfreighted them down to Brissy so they can test them first thing monday & are seeing the vet & speaking to the cancer guy via phone conference first thing after lunch monday.... its not looking to positive we have now got 10 lesions & one lump, when on Wednesday there was none! The cancer guy is getting the results faxed straight to him from Idexx (he kindly offered to ring & tell them to pull their fingers out on this testing as they have been so hopeless in the past with getting results back fast) as well as to our vet. So fingrs crossed everyone Jacqui

hi guys, well Molly kept her weigght this week, but no gains , sadly though the lesions are coming back big time she has gotten 4 in the last week & tonight when I got home from work I noticed that she has a lump the size of an egg under her chest area... so its off to the vets tomorrow to get it checked out. She has been really bouncy & boxerly this past week, but the lump & lesions are not a good sign... DH said he feels maybe she is trying to give it one more go but her body doesnt have the immunity to keep it at bay..... Will post again tomorrow if all goes well Jacqui

Pene, Hi, if you pm me your email addy I will send you all info I sent larns , We used a specific pfizer injection called Dectomax Injections which was for 6-8 weeks injected weekly to attack the mites & then graduated to fortnightly & then mthly. I would speak to your vet about seeing if there is someone who can administer an injection for you on the weeks he isnt there. I found better results with the dectomax, but it worked magnificently when administered weekly.We now control any possible relapses with Bayer Advocate. Jacqui

Bren It is hard, our family said goodbye to Chief 01 06 04 & I still cry when I think of him sometimes it is as if he is still here I can sense his presence but I know its only a presence & I know heis waiting for us to join him at the bridge. Following is a poem a friend of mine gave to me when I lost him I hope you can take comfort from it:\ Good Bye Poem I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep. I could see that you were crying, you found it hard to sleep. I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear. "Its me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here" I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea. You were thinking of the many times your hands reached down to me. I was with you at the shops today, your arms were getting sore. I want to take your parcels, I wished I could do more. I was with you at my grave today, you tend it with such care. I want to reassure you that I'm not lying there. I walked with you towards the house as you fumbled for the key, I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said "It's me". You looked so very tired and then you sank into a chair, I tried so hard to let you know that I was standing there. Its possible for me to be so near you everyday, to say to you with certainty "I never went away". You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew That in the stillness of that evening I was very close to you. The day is over.... I smile and watch you yawning and say, " Good Night, Sweet Dreams, God Bless, I'll see you in the morning". And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide I'll rush to greet you and well stand together side by side. I have so many things to show you, there's much for you to see. Be patient, live your journey out; then come home and be with me. Jacqui

Progress Report! Things are looking better, Molly has been eating like a horse! She just loves her spinach! But following the diet that I have gathered here (thank you aatanic! & others) we have manager to put on .5kgs this week & we ave enough energy to do a few boxer runds around the yard & she is keeping Major in his place! So things are looking a tad more positive (touch wood!) she is a different girl to what she was 2 weeks ago! Jacqui

hi starburstgal1120, That is very sad to hear. Has your vet suggested any painkillers at all? I'm sorry I'm not up to needing the pain killers stage for Molly yet so I am unsure. As with the hardwood floors, can you put down non slip matting in the areas he will walk? We have linoleum & it plays havoc with Molly so we have put down hallrunners everywhere so that she can get grip. Good luck Jacqui

here is a link to the forums ettiquette & rules : http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?showtopic=6530 It explains why you shouldnt double post or cross post under different topics regarding the same message, it also explains trolls etc. Jacqui

larns, Hi! Honey Demodex Mange can be beaten! I know we have done it! The mange comes generally from a poor immunity & stressful situations can cause a dog to relapse quite severly (even a long car trip can do this) we found that out with major who went from localised demodex that was getting better on Ivomectin to severe generalised demodex after a rushed interstate trip. (I wish I had taken photos at the start but I didnt) however he lost 80% of his fur, it had gotten to the stage that he had a staph infection as well due to the mange. I felt so sorry for him Now his last treatment was in December & he is beautiful again!. To improve his immunity we focused on T cell or Thymus boosting, and did this with vegies & foods that target these areas, as well as getting a supplement for this called Transfer Factor Plus ($103.00 for 90 tablets) which I bought thru a health food supplier. We also threw away the ivomectin as it wasnt working and did some research & our vets got onto a relatively new product from Pfizer called Dectomect Injections (I think thats what it was called, will check when at vets today & let you know). It was a once a week injection for 8 weeks then fortnightly then mthly it is charged by body weight so for us it was around $10/ needle. We also did the weekly rinses. To help keep it at bay we were going to keep the treatment up for 12 mths on mthly injections as it can reoccur at juvenille age... but Bayer Advocate's rep on their last visit guaranteed that Advocate will now help control Demodex Mange as well as Sarcoptic (the packaging hasnt been changed yet) once it has been treated. Every dog has the mite it just depends on their immunity as to how it breaks out if it ever does, also dogs that have demodex break out should never be bred from. So if you focus on boosting the immunity it will help, things like flax seed oil, sardine, Omega Oils etc will also help. If you want a copy of all the info I have on it then PM me your email addy & I will send it to you. It can be beaten! So keep positive. Jacqui

A handy tip is to just revise your old post & edit the sub title, I keep reviving Mollys thread "Neospora & Molly" to give every one updates about her weight & cancer.... it's easier for me & everyone who is familiar with it just hits read last post or last post by & those that are new can still read from the start. It also means I dont have to rehash if anyone has any questions that I have already answered Jacqui

I feed chicken wings, I just section them into 3 at the joints.... & supervise..... I would also stay away from mince, many mince products have preservatives in it. But that is just me Jacqui

Byott, HI! If you want to raise your puppy on BARF & you are not an experienced BARFER what you feed is very important. I would recommend buying the book Raising puppies on Bones. It is specifically for the puppy, most BARF diets on the net are for juvenilles & upwards. Or see if you can find a breeder of Goldens who feeds BARF & ask them for assistance. Good Luck Jacqui

She spent all day inside today as it was too hot & humid so she stayed in the AC, she was pretty lively Jacqui