My Dog Has Osteosarcoma: Should I Allow Amputation?
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: May 15th, 2024
Summary
Is amputation a good idea for dogs with osteosarcoma? Dr. Dressler looks at this decision from two perspectives. In this article: life expectancy.
Osteosarcoma is a common dog cancer in large breeds, and it most often affects the long bones of the legs. It’s very aggressive. That’s why most of the time, as soon as a veterinarian sees the lesions on an X-ray she will recommend amputation.
(Most dogs with this kind of cancer do not survive beyond a year with amputation alone. Editor’s note: To read more about canine osteosarcoma including the numbers and stats, see this article by Dr. Susan Ettinger, DVM, Dip. ACVIM (Oncology).)
The idea of removing your dog’s leg probably kicks up strong feelings. This is a hard choice.
So, should you allow an amputation? Or should you let your dog keep their leg and try to cope?
This is a heavy duty question. You probably want to prevent pain and suffering in your dog, so it’s a good idea to carefully contemplate this so you can cope.
I recommend considering at least two factors: Life Expectancy (how long life is), and Life Quality (how good life is).
In this article, we’ll look at life expectancy, and in the next, we’ll look at life quality.
What’s the Average Life Expectancy for Your Dog?
I know it sounds harsh, but realistically, dogs live much shorter lives than we do. I know that your ten-year-old dog might not seem old to you, but for some breeds, that’s a really advanced age. Particularly for large breeds, who tend to have shorter lives in general.
So, as you contemplate amputation, it’s nice to get an idea of the average life expectancy of your dog. There is an excellent review of dog life expectancy here.
Now, be careful with these numbers. These numbers are just averages, just like they are for people. The average man might live to 72, but that doesn’t mean any one individual man will die on his 72nd birthday. The same is true for dogs.
Now, What’s YOUR DOG’s Life Expectancy?
Once you have ascertained what your dog’s potential life expectancy is, you need to weigh what that really means for your dog. Your vet can help with this by discussing the impact of your pet’s individual health problems.
For example, if your dog is otherwise healthy, your dog’s life expectancy might be a little longer than if she were diabetic, or had heart disease. Just like a human, right?
So, basically, you need to talk to your vet to see if your dog is near to or past the expected length of life given everything else going on.
For example, if your dog is already close to what we would expect for his breed and health condition, amputation might not be what you want. You will have to carefully consider whether the payoff will be what you expect.
On the other hand, if your dog is not close to her life expectancy, you might want to go ahead.
Get a copy of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide for more helpful tools and information, including an entire chapter on osteosarcoma.
What’s Your Dog’s Personality?
So far we’ve focused on numbers to determine life expectancy. But an intangible factor that you must consider is your particular dog’s personality.
Some dogs just have this will to live. I’ve seen very senior dogs fight and spit and claw for life. I’ve seen young ones so passive that they don’t seem to much care one way or another whether you poke or prod.
If you have a dog that just wants to keep going, that’s a really good sign. These dogs are driven.
This will to live, this tenacity, boosts lifespans. That’s for sure! So, remember to consider this factor too.
If your dog is a fighter, they may be a good candidate for amputation, maybe even if they are at the end of their “expected lifespan.”
Remember There are Other Things That Can Be Done, Too
In addition to amputation, there are chemo protocols, covered in the osteosarcoma chapter in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. But beyond the conventional tools, many osteosarcoma clients have seen benefits with modification of diet, lifestyle, life quality boosting and addition of nutraceuticals like Apocaps (I’m biased since I formulated it), plus other supplements or comfort care medications.
In addition, I highly recommend joining the TriPawds community for more information on amputation.
Don’t Forget to Consider Life Quality
Looking at life expectancy is the first step in determining whether to amputate your dog’s leg or not. Next, we look at life quality on three legs, plus a little about the surgery itself.
Regards,
Dr Dressler
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
My 8-9 year old rescued Redbone Coon Hound was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma Oct. 27 and had amputation of her scapula and leg Nov. 1. She had no signs of tumors in her lungs and when I took her to a Veternary College Nov. 10 to begin chemotherapy, she had no indicators in her blood, x-rays and MRIs came back good. She had four treatments, tolerated them well, but when we went yesterday, I told the fourth-year student that Clarabell had not been feeling well the past couple of days. They did a chest x-ray and she has severe metatasis. They sent us home with pain medicine and estimated that she has two-four weeks. I don’t understand how the cancer spread so rapidly while she was on chemotherapy. I am not dealing very well well with the news.
Kelly, that made me cry… please let me know how Bailey is doing… I care.
In November my 2yr old lab mix Lucy slid into my back door, she limped on her back left leg for about then minutes then was back running around playing with my other two dogs. On Christmas Eve morning she was limping with no improvement for a week so I took her to the first vet I could find that was open. He looked at her leg and said he though it was a slight tear to her ACL and gave me anti inflamatory and pain meds. They worked wonders, two days later she was putting her leg down and back to her self again. One week later she lost her footing and slid into our marble coffee table. Her leg was back up with swelling right above her ankle. Finally we took her back to our normal vet. He did an X-ray and blood tests which turned out to show that it was bone cancer. He believed in homeopathic remidies so we began with that and heavy pain meds, he said that shes young and very healthy that she will have a good recovery. We continued to do as the vet said and the little lump she had got bigger. It has been two months since she began her therapy and the leg is so swollen that her toes no longer touch each other, her paw is bigger than my 100 lb golden retrievers (Lucy is only 40lbs). I took her to the vet two days ago and he told me to put her down or amputation, but amputation only gives her 4-6 months. Well i decided that 4-6 months with my crazy, life loving dog is better than a few days. She still meets me at the door when I come home, she still puts toys in her mouth and talks to me, still eats every meal and still chews on her favorite bones. If my best friend showed none of these signs still and just pain I would let her go right now. I have faith in my dog, shes strong, healthy and seems very determined to live. She has functioned on 3 legs for 3 months now and has no problem with stairs, beds, or floors. This web site http://www.bonecancerdogs.org/ is what gave me hope to not give up. I feel for all of you who have gone through what I am starting and those who are just like me in the beginning stages. I cried alot when I found out and I continue to cry, especially when I read every ones stories. I have faith in this and I am determined to see my dog live to her third birthday. Hopefully we can get her surgery done very soon so we can begin her new recovery to a better pain free life.
My two year old champion standard poodle started limping in November 2011. My holistic vet thought it was osteosarcoma and sent me to my regular vet for x-rays. My regular vet and a radiologist confirmed osteosarcoma in his stifle. Amputation was recommended, but I elected to keep him comfortable on Tramadol and an anti-inflamatory until it was time to euthanize him. He was given one month to live. I researched both the disease and how dog foods are manufacturered in the US. I developed a basic understanding about the significance of “bone meal” and “fish meal” in dog food and swore I would never again feed my dogs anything with those ingredients unless the manufactuer guaranteed that those ingredients were free from carcinogins. I also started him on a raw diet, as he had lost a lot of weight and was rather debilitated, and a raw diet is all that he would eat. He started putting on weight and was feeling good. I told my vet about his improvement, and he insisted that it was the Tramadol. However, I noticed that the tumor, which was the size of an apple was not getting larger, in fact, over a three month period, I thought it seemed smaller. Last week I could not detect the tumor at all. I called my vet, who I am sure thought I was flakey, and advised him that I could no longer feel the tumor. He suggested we re-x-ray. The x-rays revealed that “There is an improved appearance to the proximal tibia – a small area of mixed lucency and sclerosis (with sclerosis predominating) remains in the metaphysis. The proliferative response on the caudal margin of the tibia has resolved. Joint effusion and thickening of the soft tissues along the cranial surface of the joint has resolved. Conclusions: Resolving osseous lesion of the right proximal tibia. Resolution of regional soft tissue inflammation.” That is a far cry from the original radiology report that stated, “There is aggressive bone disease within the right proximal tibial epiphysis and metaphysis. Unfortunately, an osteosarcoma is suspect. Differentials include other primary bone tumors (chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcome, hemangiosarcoma, etc.) Osteomyelitis is unlikely.”
The vets are scratching their heads. My vet said he has never seen anything like this in 25 years that he has been practicing veterinary medicine. Aside from the anti-inflamatory and the Tramadol, the only thing that changed was his diet.
I am not suggesting that every dog can be cured with a raw diet. But osteosarcoma is a death sentence for most dogs, even when amputation and chemotherapy is the course of treatment.
We are going to continue to monitor his leg and will x-ray again in three months. I really hope that this helps someone. I know how devestated I was when I got that diagnosis and I certainly don’t want to give anyone a false sense of hope, but what is the harm in trying a raw diet. The raw diet that I feed contained just meat, either lamb, bison, or chicken with vegetables and fruit. No grains, no added fish meal, and no added bone meal. Good luck.
Hi my lovely 11 year old baby girl rottweiler Chelsea has just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma and im so gutted, she had a fall I thought it was sprained slept downstairs with her that night but still no better next day so took her to vets for x ray and was diagnosed with it, now she on tramadol and cant walk she looks sad, I am just spoling her with chicken and will put her to sleep on Tues and will be there to hold het when we say goodbye, she was a loyal friend tome and I will be a loyal friend to her but will miss her always xx goodnight Chelsea xx love you with all my heart xxx
Hi, our rescue Rottie, Bruno, has been diagnosed with cancer in his front left leg. He is only 18 months old, and such a handsome, fit, and gorgeous fellow. We are devastated, having lost our 12 year old Rottie, Nicco, to the same condition in December 2011. Is there anything we cando other than make him as comfortable as possible? He is still very active and shows no signs of limping or being in any pain. We do not want to consider amputation. Thanks. Tony and Bruno
It’s always devastating news – osteo sarcoma. About 8 months ago we got the news that our greyhound Peaches had osteo sarcoma, front right leg. We had only adopted her 7 months before (with her litter mate, Gracie) and she was not quite 3 years old. Because of her age it was an easy decision to proceed with amputation and chemo. We have never regretted this decision. She finished her chemo in December (7 treatments). Her recovery from the surgery is nothing short of remarkable and she tolerated the chemo very well. To say that her quality of life is excellent is an understatement. I do have to say that her age was a major consideration in determining treatment and I am hopeful but grateful every day for the joy she brings us but more importantly the happy life she is living.
Just found out today that my seven year old, 115lb dobbie ( ajax) has Osterosarcoma. Needless to say his condition is very dire. Our vet is a honest man and gave it to us straight. Having his leg removed is an option but the cancer more than likely has already spread. He is having trouble getting up and he hurts when he does. The doc said about two months for him to live. We don’t plan to drug him up or make him any worse. He has already had an operation and that alone was enough. He has changed my family and shown us what love can do to a heart:) We are going to make sure his last months with us are the most comfortable and pleasurable. We will all be there when we put him down( as we do with all our pups). He is lovable, never ever been aggressive or mean. Always loyal and protective of everyone in the family, even our other two dobbies. I think we will donate his body for research. In doing that we hope that someday our Ajax will help save another dogs life. He is still happy and active. I don’t believe cancer dampens the spirit of dogs. I know he will live happy and ever so loving until the final day comes. I send my best wishes to all of you out there dealing with the same issue. Love your babies and treat them with honor:)
My greyhound was 6 when he was diagnosed
With osteosarcoma. Options were amputation with 3 month prognosis, amputation
With chemotherapy for 6-12 month prognosis or euthanasia. He had amputation and 2 out of the 5 rounds if chemotherapy. (we couldn’t afford more) and he’s still here 5 yrs later. We took him off kibble for a while, cooked for him, we have him a few bottles worth of artimism. Then we basically forgot about him ever being sick and let him live his life. He still ran and gets around ok on 3 legs.
🙂 That is the best outcome possible, Netti!
Dr D
I just want to strongly emphasize that life expectancy is not the same thing as the expected life of your dog given the dogs age. Look at actuarial life tables and you can see what I mean. If the life expectancy for a dog is 11 years old and the dog is 11 years old, then the life expectancy for this dog given its age will be > than 11 years old.
To all those considering amputation: i only wish we would have done it sooner. It bought us 1.5 yrs before nasal sarcoma. I can’t imagine why anyone would hesitate?
My Golden Retriever Bailey was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in late May 2011, at nearly 10 years old. The vet had suspected an ACL injury, and I was about to start him on laser therapy treatment for that, and an x-ray was taken of his right hind leg first, and to my surprise the vet called me in to look at the x-ray and tell me her suspicion of osteosarcoma. The shock of the diagnosis, the aggressiveness of this cancer, and choosing the best of a bunch of terrible options had me reeling. I quickly started to research information, and luckily, I found Dr. Demian’s books and information fairly early on after not finding quite what I sought in the way of alternative medicine options. I shared Dr. Dressler’s info. with my vet, and she found value and credibility in his information. I chose to get amputation, done on June 15, 2011, but not chemo. To me, it made more sense to build up my dog’s immune system with a home-cooked anti-cancer diet and a regimen of immune and nutritional supplements than to do chemo. I pored through information to design a diet and nutritional plan that my vet worked on with me. I used a lot of Dr. Demian’s information and some other sources. It was not easy right after the surgery. I live up a flight of stairs and bought a harness from RuffWear so that I could carry most of his weight. This was a great and indispensible tool. After surgery, he was confused and drugged up, and it took a few days and a good bit of encouragement to really eat and drink much and have a first bowel movement. He wasn’t sure how to get around into his favorite corners or places, and I wasn’t sure how to help him. He has a raised feeder, but I think for a good couple months he couldn’t stand that long and so he ate laying down. But he healed well in about two weeks, and over a bit of time built up enough strength in his front legs that I don’t need to use a harness to go up stairs anymore (unless they are on the steep and dangerous side). This all happened during one of the hottest summers on record, which made it even tougher on Bailey. I still use his harness to get him in the car or for walks on slippery surfaces (ice outside), but he gets around amazingly well, and people we meet on the street usually don’t realize he’s down a leg. He learned how to adapt so well that he is an inspiration to me. He is not in pain like he was when he had a painful bad leg and seemed so down. His personality came back after the surgery. I was given a life expectancy of 4-6 months with just surgery, and maybe a year with chemo. But when someone gives out a number, it’s an average, and no one really knows. My objective was to give my dog the best quality of life for the amount of time he has left. I hope it might encourage others to know that Bailey continues to thrive to this day 14 1/2 months since his surgery and is now 11 years old. I have to believe that the diet and supplements are making a difference. I am so grateful for every day I have with my buddy, and I hope this curve-breaker continues to break all the expectations for a long time to come. I wish the best to all who have to live through the experience of an osteosarcoma diagnosis.
Kelly, thanks for sharing your story. I always tell my clients that I am overjoyed when I am wrong and the dog is livng longer than the published statistics. Break that curve!
All my best, Dr Sue
Dear Dr. Dressler,
I found out today that my dear, sweet Maddie (a 12-year-old Border Collie) has osteosarcoma. Tomorrow, she will undergo additional x-rays to see if the cancer has spread to her lungs. At this point, our vet has said that there is really not much we can do for her. Although he feels that Maddie would successfully come through amputation surgery, he doubts that she would be able to adapt to life without her front leg. I feel that she has lived a good life and would hate to see her suffer and from what I have read, this is an aggressive cancer. I am in no way considering euthanasia, but I’m wondering what I can do to make her last days with us more comfortable given the situation. Any suggestions would be help.
Thanks,
Shelley
Dear Shelly,
Sorry to hear about your Maddie. just a little question as to why she could not walk on three legs?
At any rate, palliative care to consider would be:
palliative radiation
pain control meds
apocaps
pamidronate
diet
antimetastics
Acupuncture
(all in the Guide)
Matrix 3 cisplatin beads
Please discuss these with your vet and I hope this helps
Dr D
Dr. Demian Dressler
My 8yr old Presa Canario ‘Bella’ has recently had a mammary mass removed, over this period of rest she developed a limp and was obviously having pain on her front right forelimb at the lower joint. A X-ray has indicated she has bone cancer. I’m truly confused on what to do, she is such a brilliant family dog and takes pride in guarding the family and is happy is sit looking out across the garden from dawn til dusk until I call her in. I really don’t know how she will cope, the breed has a huge head and long feline body. If I were to put her through amputation, would she live to her expected age and could a presa’s body shape be a problem for 3 limbs (1 front)? Please help me make the best decision.
Regards, Nick
Dr D – The most amazing Westie the world has ever seen, my Westie Barney had a diagnosis of Osteosarcoma last month. Based on the way we are both acting it appears I am the sick one.
A tumor was removed from his jaw, this tumor shook loose three of his teeth and removed as well. I’ve made the very difficult choice to not put him through chemo or radiation. For this reason I did not get his x-rays for his lungs. His treatment is K9 Immunity, ApoCaps, Fish oil, transfer factor and a high protein diet. Because of this diet I sense he loves me a lot more now.
Barney is ten and a half and still acts like a puppy but listens well. He plays constantly and when I try to stop playing he makes me keep playing. The next time he hears a squeaky ball he will act as though it is the first time he has heard it. His quality of life is extremely high and has made my quality higher simply by being Barney.
His tumor has grown back already and obviously surgery every month is not an option for many reasons. One of my fears is that this tumor keeps getting larger and larger and larger. The thought of having to euthanize Barney under any condition gets me sick be even more so knowing his will of life and zest of it. Can you imagine this happening to a pup that would if given the chance that pup would jump to the floor wagging the tail and ready to play a game of fetch with a squeaky ball for the next hour? I say this because sadly a Sheltie named Lady from many years ago was euthanize, while it sucked big time it was easier to accept because her quality of life was not existent.
Since traditional chemo and radiation is not an option for me or Barney and the thought of ending a life of such a happy pup simply can’t happen I seek options. One such option I’ve found is called Matrix III Cisplatin Beads, reading about his has given me hope Barney can stick around for a few (dozen) years. At this point I still don’t want the x-rays and simply deal what I know is there. I’ve felt every part of his body I can reach and luckily I’ve not found any other problem areas.
I’ve not found any recent information on how this procedure is done and I don’t have any clue as to what the expected cost should be. Can you in providing some expectations? I’ve read some good things about this procedure as far as dealing with a single tumor and wonder if you have seen first hand the same experiences.
Thank you very much!