DaisyDoodle

Wow. I can't believe it's been a year. In a sad, sweet coincidence, Sage's baby, Agnes, went to the Bridge this morning to join Sage. I hope Jilly was there to greet her.

I actually had a vet tech talk me out of this surgery as I was dropping Daisy off. He told me his own dog ended up with fecal incontinence as a result of this procedure. Another GH mom told me to try extended use of the AB--It was over a month, IIRC. It ended up working and we avoided the surgery. Hoping all goes well for your pup.

Where are you located? Perhaps someone could recommend a bigger vet practice with specialists.

The other thing to ask about is the type of lymphoma. IIRC, there are B cell and T cell lymphomas. One has a better prognosis than the other--but I don't recall which is which. Either one is more aggressive, or one is more likely to respond to chemo, something like that. I didn't note this in my earlier post, but my CoCo lived for 28 months from my initially finding her nodes enlarged. She had her bad post-chemo days, and toward the end, the daily use of the pred made her weak, but overall, I think she had many good days during those 28 months. She died at 14 years 4 months of age.

So sorry this is happening. Hugs to you and your pup. Some of the chemo agents in the Wisconsin Protocol are IV, others are oral. IIRC (from 2003-2004 timeframe), our CoCo had to be sedated for the IV sessions, but this may have been because it was being done by our GP vet rather than by an oncology team. CoCo received a Modified Wisconsin Protocol for a year (it was either 4 or 5 courses) until she maxed out on the one chemo agent that is cardiotoxic; then she received a "salvage" protocol (what is used after the first-line treatment can't be used any more) of CCNU (aka Loumoustime). CCNU is an oral medication and she did well on it. There used to be a belief that chemo had to be started prior to prednisone for the chemo to be effective, but Dr. Couto found no difference. The one thing I will make a point to tell you, is that long-term use of prednisone has to be on an every-other-day schedule; otherwise, a dog will end up with iatrogenic Cushings (an adrenal-gland disorder). Good luck.

Judy, I'm so sorry. Bebe had the opportunity to blossom with you and your pack. While she's met Trish at the Bridge, I know that she'll be waiting for you, too, one day. Hugs to you and your family.

Good news. That first pic is greyt. She looks bright and alert and curious. Not how I'd expect a sick dog or one on potent pain meds to look. I have learned a lot from this thread. So sorry your dog has had to go through this, but I've absorbed a bunch of stuff I never knew before. I have to remember to look up CK. Greyt work--you made the difference.

I'm so very sorry. You gave her a wonderful last few weeks of her life.

Donna, I'm so very sorry.

If your vet is happy with your dogs weight, I don't think you should drop the food. I think you should drop visits to the group.

One thing to add. You are going to get stares and questions if you walk her wearing a muzzle. Have an answer prepared--she is wearing a muzzle because she eats things she shouldn't. End of story. Never publicly portray your dog as dangerous (which she isn't, BTW). Pardon the pun, but it could come back to bite you later if you do.

Hi Nan, sorry you and your baby are going through this. A couple of things occur to me. I'd start with a simple x-ray. If the spine problem is sufficiently pronounced, it will likely show up on a plain film. Maybe not, but it's an inexpensive way to start. I'd consider chiropractic after the spine imaging is done. Or, how about talking to Suzanne Stack about LS? Is there a medication that can help the incontinence? Can male dogs be given something like Proin to control the issue? I'm sure you know this, but for my own peace of mind, I want to say out loud: please don't mix NSAIDs and steroids. There needs to be a wash-out period between them, but I don't know how long it is. It's ok to vent. It's really hard to deal with cleaning up after a dog all the time. Donna PS When I used to work for a university, folks on nine and ten-month appointments could get their salaries pro-rated, so that they'd get paid all Summer. Will your employer do that?

The pred can cause the panting. The wandering off--I'm not sure about. CCNU (Lumoustine sp?) was the salvage chemo agent we used for Cosmo after her first year. It's simple to administer because it's a pill. Don't know how much it costs.

I'm so sorry Jordan.

I'm so sorry. What a sweet, beautiful, fun-loving girl she was.

DITTO. Do this ASAP, especially if you live in a state that has a euthanize-after-one-bite regulation.

This is just heartbreaking. I remember her struggle to move forward with her life. It seems like her life was really coming together for her. I looked at her FB page and saw the post from her boyfriend. He bought her a ring and proposed at her grave. It is one of the saddest things I've ever seen. I hope her children are safe and with their grandparents or other relatives.

I am so very, very sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so very sorry.

I'm so very, very sorry.

We use Royal Canin PV--potato and venison, since Daisy has food allergies. Both of mine eat it since I had too much grazing in each others' bowls when there were two foods involved. It is very expensive, $87/25 lbs bag on Chewy, but both dogs really seem to like it. Since the one we use is a prescription diet, the vet needs to be contacted, but Chewy will do that for you. They also give a discount ($15, IIRC) if you set up automatic shipment. I love auto ship, it cuts out one errand, keeps me from running out of food, and Chewy is $13 a bag cheaper than the one vet who carries it. There is also no shipping charge.

If it's ACE, I wouldn't even pay for the RX. Just pass on it. It's not good for greyhounds.

I would consider a food allergy/sensitivity as the culprit. You can test this by switching to a new food, but slowly and stick with the new food unless it is causing worsened problems. (Switching foods every couple of weeks doesn't work, it makes matters worse.) You can also have allergy testing done if you want to spend the money to do so.

Can some dog/human behaviorist jump in here please? I have a question about continuous versus intermittent reinforcement. When I taught Intro to Psychology when I was in grad school, the research indicated that continuous reinforcement (giving a treat, reinforcer, EVERY time) was not as effective at long term maintenance of a behavior as intermittent reinforcement (giving the treat/reinforcement some of the time but NOT every time). Why would continuous reinforcement be used when training recall in an emergency situation? As soon as a person really needs to use it in the field, he/she probably won't have the high-value treat on them, and the reinforcer won't be presented. That first occurrence of the behavior that is NOT reinforced begins the "extinction" phase of the behavior training--i.e., the phase where the behavior begins to go away. (Whereas, in intermittent reinforcement, a dog knows it may have to present a behavior several times before getting a "reward".) What if the dog isn't caught on the first trial of the emergency recall word? The dog will begin to doubt that it is doing to get a treat. I am not a behaviorist, and I have not seen the research for many years (as I have worked in data management rather than psychology), but the suggestion in an earlier post above goes counter to what I understand about operant conditioning.