Rickiesmom

Just saw your other thread. I am so sorry. Run free Smokey.

Hope everything goes smoothly today. Stitches out will make him feel better. Please keep us posted, including what they decide to do with the open area. Big hugs to both of you!

Robin just seeing this thread now - so glad the handsome Beau is on the mend!

Good boy Monty!!

Hoping the side effects are short lived and Monty goes back to eating with gusto. There are lots of suggestions in other threads, including the ones that followed RobinMs Polli's osteosarcoma amputation and chemo, for unconventional temptations.

FWIW I was told by my vet that dogs can have a harder time with the pill form because it sits longer in the stomach. I always give the liquid form, mixed in a bit of vanilla ensure, after a meal so there is maximum buffering effect.

We definitely want only one kind of cell, and in alphabetical order!! This sounds very promising - big hug for the pumpkin lover in your family.

Thinking of you and Monty.

You will be in my thoughts tomorrow for the oncology consult. Sending gentle hugs to Monty.

I hope your vet will work with OSU and get Monty on chemo asap. Sending more prayers and hugs.

Is your local vet on-board with the OSU plan? Sending many prayers for you and Monty.

I am so sorry. I hope the oncologist has workable suggestions for treatment. Please consider joining Circle of Grey - there is so much support and experience there: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CircleofGrey

Robin, I hope things go well tomorrow - that there is a good and simple explanation for the mobility issues you are seeing, and I hope she can have her chemo - another treatment down. We will be holding your girl in our thoughts and prayers, and watching for an update.

Cris_M has had experience with this - maybe PM her. Hope whatever ails Bug is something much simpler.

I am out of town but will check Rickie's tramadol dose when I get home. Offhand Monty's sounds low to me but I may be mis-remembering. Hugs to both of you. The first few days are the hardest.

Jake, you just have to cut this stuff out. Hope it's nothing Janet - please keep us posted.

Getting through the first night is a milestone. Hugs to you all.

Poor Monty and poor you. As you may know if you have been through a big surgery with another dog, the first days are the hardest - the surgery site is so new, and you and he need to get into a routine and smooth ways of doing and handling. If you live alone, see if someone can come and stay with you for at least the first day or two, if only to keep an eye on Monty while you have a break or run an errand. Here are some other things that helped us when Rickie had his surgery for hemangiopericytoma - he must have had a 100 staples - they had to create a skin flap because of the amount if tissue removed. - you can get people incontinence pads at the drugstore that are plastic on one side and absorbent on the other, if that helps with the bedding instead of / in addition to the plastic underlayer on the bedding - we confined him to one room (the kitchen) where there was no furniture to climb on, and where he could be in a safe corner but still where the action is - my husband or I was with him continuously for the first 2 weeks - we are fortunate in having jobs that allow us to work at home when we need to - we were religious about putting a cone on him except when we took him out to potty (like you, leash only in the backyard for the first while); tried the bite not and the soft cone but found the rigid one worked best - YMMV - he had no spare tissue so it was crucial that he not tear open the incision - we got one of those soft compresses from the drugstore that you can heat or chill and we used it, wrapped in a dish towel, alternating warm and cold, several times per day - the cold for swelling, the warm to encourage circulation (may not be an issue for you - it was for us because of the flap needing to maintain blood supply - we didn't want to lose any skin). Check with your vet if you like this idea, because with the drains etc., it may be contraindicated in Monty's case. - we turned the dining room into a bedroom - pushed the table and chairs into the living room and closed it off, then moved a mattress to the dining room, along with multiple dog beds (again, nothing to climb on) It does help in the early days that the pups are on so much pain medicine that they don't want to do too much anyway. I hope things go smoothly. You and Monty will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Devon, you love Bug and you are doing everything you can to take care of her. Trust your love. Prayers for little Miss B tomorrow.

Robin I am just seeing this and happy to see milkbone-crunching, bullystick-bullying updates. Give Polli a big ol' kiss from me.

Feel better soon Alan!

Sending prayers for your precious Alan.

Potato pirogies - maybe with cheese or bacon if that's allowed? You can ignore the directions and just bake them for 20 minutes from frozen - they get toasted on the outside, soft inside. Cooled down, my pups love them. Even Picky Rickie. We are also having reasonable success right now with dehydrated sweet potatoes as treats.

Feel better soon Miss Bug! Will be watching for updates. Hugs to you Devon, and Amber.