Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
These last few days I've been plagued with guilt. Is it wrong of me not wanting to put bao bao down even though his consistent "stuffy nose" makes it difficult for him to breathe. There are times when I don't even notice his gurgling breathes cause its so minimal that I have to listen closely to even notice it. Than there are times he is pantng.
I also notice his bumps on his nose getting bigger and now there's a new one right above his eye. I just don't know what to do. He's still energetic, lose to eat his food, seeking attention, and wanting ti play even if its for a little bit. I understand his quality of life is still pretty damn good.
Than he looks at me ....and I just don't know. Even though he's still active he seems a little off?
I don't know if I should let him go now or just wait. I wonder if he even knows he's sick
Sigh. Sorry for rambling. I am just so devestated, overwhelmed, and lost
It breaks my heart when I come here and read about the dogs at the tail end of this disease. No one can tell you when the correct time to put an animal down is as that is your call. But as my vet told me many years ago with my elderly dog that had heart disease and lymphoma that while he himself did not feel that the day we saw him was the right day he wanted me to know that from that day forward there was no wrong time to do it.
I have been lucky as with most of my dogs they seemed to tell me it was time. With Jazz that did not happen as she had spent the morning at the vets and I made the decision after he called and told me my options.I did come to take her on one last walk, they had her on pain meds and she was the usual Jazz we got back to the vets and she headed to my car then argued in full Jazz fashion about going back inside the vets but I knew that to get in the car and keep her alive would subject her to too much pain and at 14.5 yrs she deserved better so I had to take her inside and let her go..She had a tumor in her zygomatic salivary gland that had pushed on her eye and the eye had ruptured but self sealed that morning my options were a surgery that I felt was asking too much of her or letting her go . It hurt like you know what to let her go but I knew in my heart it was the right thing it was that one last act of love I could give her.
I think we tend to think a dog will hate us because we put it down... that is crazy. But oh it does fill us with guilt so when you do make a decision try not to let yourself second guess it and look at it instead as one last act of love. While you will hurt for sometime your dog will be pain free and who does not want to die with some diginity left?
I have had to say good bye to Dash, Jazz and Phoenix one each year for the past 3 years so kn ow how hard this is but I really know I did the best I could for all of them and they lived good happy long lives what more could a dog want?
I think we tend to think a dog will hate us because we put it down... that is crazy. But oh it does fill us with guilt so when you do make a decision try not to let yourself second guess it and look at it instead as one last act of love. While you will hurt for sometime your dog will be pain free and who does not want to die with some diginity left?
I think we do, but I'm also thinking is he hating me for not putting him down so he doesn't have to breathe so uncomfortably? It's a back and forth argument. Regardless of the choice I finally make in the end I will still feel guilty one way or another. I do agree it's one last act of love, but it's still sooooooo hard.
Everyday I look at him he's happy but than his eyes seem to be telling me. If you're ready I'm ready, but if you're not that's ok too. He's so spunky and full of life it's making the decision so hard.
I'm taking him to the vet on wednesday to pick up a refil on his med and a consult with his doctor. I think at time I may be able to make a decision.
Lastly, thank you everyone on this thread for sharing their stories. It's made it a little more bearable and educating. I laugh and cry when I read the posts. and my heart goes out to all of you.
I have been away for awhile, and am sad to read about everyone's new dogs with cancer. We have been out having fun with Hardee, and I do have some horrible news, but I'll give the good first. My husband, Jim, and Hardee completed their MACH2 this past weekend. A MACH 2 is a Master Agility Champion twice over. Hardee has done both of his MACH while having nasal cancer and undergoing radiation and chemo. Hardee completed his 2nd MACH under advanced cancer conditions which I'll explain now.
A couple weeks ago, I smelled a bad smell coming from Hardee. I tried different antibiotics to see if I could maybe clear up any infections and get him to smell better. I thought the smell was coming from his mouth though, instead of his nose. Last week I finally got a look in his mouth, and it was what I feared. The tumor has broken through a huge area in the roof of Hardee's mouth (hard palate), and there is a fistula (hole) through the hard palate into his nasal cavity. I keep him on Tramadol for possible pain continuously and have increased the doseage and lessened the time between doses.
We are taking it day by day, or hour by hour. He still eats and drinks, and runs agility with joy. It is what he loves. We will release him from all this horribleness when his quality of life fades.
Here is a pic that I took of Handsome Hardee 2 weekeneds ago in Arizona at an agility trial. He was sitting in his chair waiting for his next run.
This is my first visit here and I am very thankful for this forum. My 12 year old golden Frank was diagnosed early December with nasal osteosarcoma. His CT scan showed the tumor originated in his left nasal cavity and had broken through to his right. Had it not been for the nosebleed, Frank looked and acted like his normal self. After consulting with his oncologist, my husband and I decided to go with drug therapy. I know Frank has a limited amount of time left here on earth and I want to give him the best of days. As of about two weeks ago, Frank has stopped eating. I know he is uncomfortable but I don't believe he is in pain yet and neither does his doctor. I need him to start eating because he is getting weaker by the day. He loves his daily walks and loves to snuggle and watch TV with me especially the animal planet channel (yes Frank really does watch TV). While most of america was watching the Super Bowl the other night, Frank and I were watching the puppy bowl. My fear is that because Frank won't, his life will be cut short even further. I can't seem to find much information on how nasal cancer affects the appetite. I would sure appreciate any comments from others who have experienced this and have any suggestions. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you and your babies. It is touching to see how many people love their animals and how they truly are part of the family. Thank you.
Hi Janet. I'm so sorry to hear about Frank. My dog Logan is 13 and the vet (s) believe he has nasal cancer although we have not done the CT scan. After Logan's first nosebleed (January last year), we had a big problem getting Logan to eat anything. Now he eats like a champ. Maybe what we went through can help you and Frank.
First of all- Logan was on antibiotics for the cancer and I learned that the antibiotics can cause them to lose their appetite (just like with people). We kept Logan on antibiotics but our vet suggested wetting his food and trying a new brand or flavor of kibble. The purpose of wetting the food is to entice appetite. Add warm water to the dry kibble and mix. The smell is stronger. We switched dog food flavors but not brands and we also added half a can of canned food on top of his kibble (after trying dried raw food that had to be reconstituted- wasn't great for us). We also feed and water him on raised feeders- my husband cut a little bit off the top of home depot buckets so we have the perfect height (Logan is a lab/ great dane mix). Recently Logan seems like he is in a lot of pain and total blockage of left nostril along with weird choking/ gagging/ seizing thing - of course eating less. The vet started him on Tramadol for pain but didn't help the other problems so vet just started him on Prednisone and Logan is like a new dog. He is much more comfortable and I can see him enjoying himself and even is playful with our 1 year old lab. I know there are horrible side effects to Prednisone but it was that or put him down and I really believe that he still has a lot of life left in him.
Hope this helps you! Kisses to Frank.
Thank you for your kind words. And I pray Logan has many many more wonderful days. I have tried all the ways you mentioned and still Frank refuses to eat. I have an appointment with his oncologist this Tuesday so hopefully he will tell me Frank's tumor has not grown and he still has some quality of life left. I will also call him today to see about an appetite stimulant. My thought why Frank won't eat is because he is having a hard time smelling because so much of the tumor has blocked his passage ways. This is such a nasty cancer to have. How horrible it is not to be able to breath. I will keep you updated on how Frank is doing. And if I have important information about this disease, I will share it with everyone. Thank you again and I am wishing Logan many great days.
Janet I think smell is part of the issue but it is also hard to eat when you can't breath. If you can't breath through your nose then you must do it through your mouth which is difficult when it is full of food. The cancer coud also be erroding the jaw bone or roof of the mouth and that would be painful enough to cause him to stop eating. OR it could just be one of the Chemo drugs or other drugs he is taking as many people on Chemo do not feel like eating. Dash would stop eating usually due to antibiotocs and when that happened I gave him him baby food from a spoon I used chicken and some of the veggies ones too. He loved them and Jazz would have a fit that she was not getting that baby food too.But even then you reach a point that you have to ask yourself if not eating is the dogs way of saying " OK I have had enough and my body is starting to shut down" It is tough to accept that but it does happen. My first dog quit eating and I knew it was time to just let her go and end of last year Phoenix pretty much stopped eating and went from 45 lbs to 27 lbs ( kidney disease) so I had to make the decision to let her go as we were getting no where and she was getting weaker and weaker.
I am sorry you and Frank have to go through this. What does the vet say about his not eating? Is he drinking and getting enough fluids?
We put Frank to sleep this morning. Today he could not use his back legs and was shaking tremendously. What made us decide today was the look on his face. A look of fright mixed with sadness. Both my husband and myself were with Frank through the end. It was peaceful and I felt God was with us letting us know the time was right. Thank you everyone for your concern. My 3 other goldens are out of sorts and will probably be that way for a while. I hope I can ease the pain for others going through this. Please let me know if I can help in some small way.
on top of the nasal cancer she has oral cancer too
i am sure that infection is all part of this bc of the cancers location
antibiotics are often prescribed for treatment of these cancers along w other treatments
it has eaten thru the upper palate of her mouth
there are blackspots all over
they could cut away a portion of her upper jaw bone but the cancer will still recur and it is terminal but what quality of life is that
she is doing well despite all her problems
i have put her on another course of doxy as well as the pred
she eats good her energy level is good she is responsive and seems happy
when the time comes she will let me know and i will put her down
i dont even have a vet to do that
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Bao Bao's Mommy
