Jump to content

DonnaBehr

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    539

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by DonnaBehr

    Ls: How To Know When You Can Do No More...

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Buddy developed fecal incontinence toward the end and he was mortified. He NEVER made anything in the house from the day we adopted him but because of the severe LS, he couldn't feel that he had to go. The day came that he could NOT lay down. He would go into a regular dog sit and not be able to move. He was soooo unhappy and uncomfortable at that point and we knew it was time.

    Osteosarcoma Vaccine

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Saw this on the Greyt Expectations Forum this morning. Very interesting.

     

    Dr. Nicola Mason Bone Cancer Vaccine update It is now over 16 months since the first dog diagnosed with spontaneous osteosarcoma received an experimental bone cancer vaccine at the University of Pennsylvanias School of Veterinary Medicine. The vaccine is being administered to pet dogs that have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive tumor that affects the long bones of large and giant breed dogs. With current standard of care, that consists of amputation and follow up chemotherapy, median survival times are between 200 and 300 days. The aim of the vaccine, given to dogs after amputation and chemotherapy, is to prevent metastatic disease and prolong overall survival. Of the first 5 dogs vaccinated in this clinical trial, 4 of the dogs are still alive and have survived between 500 and 590 days; three of these dogs are tumor free. Other dogs have been vaccinated more recently so long term survival data for these dogs is not yet available. These results are really very exciting Dr. Nicola Mason, the lead investigator on the trial explains. They suggest that the vaccine is able to stimulate an effective anti-tumor immune response that is able to kill microscopic metastatic cells and prevent tumor recurrence in these dogs. Importantly, the vaccine appears to be safe. Only low-grade toxicities consisting of a mild fever and occasionally one episode of vomiting the same day as vaccination have been reported. There have been no long or short-term complications observed with the vaccine. The results are highly promising and a larger phase II clinical trial is now being planned at Penn and at collaborating sites including Colorado State University and the University of Florida. If you would like to learn more about the clinical trial and are interested in enrolling your patient or your own dog, please contact Dr. Nicola Mason, BVetMed, PhD, DACVIM at 215 898 3996 or by e-mail at nmason@vet.upenn.edu.

    Unsafe Pet Treats

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    One of the people in our rescue group said she got chicken jerky for her greyhound from Trader Joe's and it made the dog horribly sick. She posted the following:

     

    "I gave Beau Chicken Jerky treats made in the U.S. that I bought at Trader Joe's so I thought they'd be okay. He ended up getting sick and needing fluids from the vet. Lost about 5 pounds. My vet recommended staying away from any jerky treats made in or outside of the U.S. She said they're just too hard to monitor."

    Fresh Factor?

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    I've been using Fresh Factors and Joint Health for ALL of my guys for years. I throw one of each in their food AM and PM and I find the results are really good. Ford's legs actually creaked when he got up from the day we got him at age 2. After a week on the supplements, he no longer had and still has no arthritic problems at age 8.

     

    Agree with Irene. Dogs can't experience a placebo effect. :-)

×
×
  • Create New...