End of Life Care in Dog Cancer
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: December 7th, 2018
The end of life stage can be very hard on everyone. It often is gut-wrenching to see your dear companion start to say goodbye.
Like any weighty decision, sometimes the emotions involved can paralyze our ability to choose.
During these times it is so important to gain some clarity by seeking support in counselors, support groups, spiritual leaders, old friends and the like.
For more on gaining some clarity during these difficult times, see The Dog Cancer Coping Guide.
If a decision is made to try to make your dear friend comfortable during the departure stage (as opposed to letting him or her go), I would like to go over a few items.
a. Diet: at this point we forget about the standard dog cancer diets. Most dogs in this state don’t want to eat much and appetite stimulants (B complex, prednisolone, anabolic steroids, cyproheptadine) don’t do much to help. Go ahead and tempt your dog with the good (tasty) stuff.
b. Pain control: essential. Try Tramadol, amantadine, NSAIDs like Metacam or Deramaxx, gabapentin, fentanyl patch, and long-acting morphine. Combinations must be used, and these drugs require veterinary supervision.
c. Hydration: you want to give your dog about 1 ounce per pound in a 24 hour period. So a 12 lb dog gets 12 oz over 24 hours. Try flavoring with a little low sodium broth or bullion. Have your vet teach you how to give subcutaneous fluids if you can’t hand-hydrate.
d. Prevent bed-sores: decubital ulcers (bed sores) happen in large dogs who don’t move much laying on hard surfaces. Roll your dog over, by rotating the legs under the belly/chest to flip, at least every 8-12 hours. Pad the surface well.
e. Prevent urine scald and fecal soiling: sponge bath at least two times daily if your dog cannot make it outside.
f. Improve life quality: bring your dog outside, go for a drive, massage, brush, stroke, talk to, sing to, tell your dog his or her life story from start to finish, and play with toys if possible. Apologize for anything and everything you could have done better. Touch therapies and acupuncture are options too.
This is a very tough time. However, if you are able to take the time to do things the right way, your dog’s goodbye can seem more like a farewell for now, my friend.
All my best,
Dr. D
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 7 yr old dog rottweiler Lucy was diagnosed with osteosarcoma last month from a limp and the vet has said she only has 2-3 months to live. Her weight and health had Dramatically decreased, she takes tremadol 3 times a day.It’s been so hard, at first I was crying every night to sleep and it’s now hit me again that she is going to pass away soon and I have to go back to college this weekend. I love her so much, too many people judge Rottweilers instantly which is such a shame because Lucy wins over every person she meets. She’s everything a dog owner could ever want And we have grown up together and it kills me to think what my daily life at home would be like without her their to keep me company. It’s incredible how pets can touch people’s hearts sometimes more than people and the pain owners will have to endure when they pass away. I don’t know how I will cope, this is so sudden and she is still so young.
I have a 9 year old Golden who was just diagnosed with a very bad mast cell tumor on his right hind foot. It has spread to his lymph nodes and there are other tumors on his body. He isn’t showing any illness at this time. I have started him on prednisone and herbal remedies to keep him as symptom free as I can for whatever time we have left. We just went to our lake yesterday ( his favourite place in the whole world). I cried the whole way home though knowing that he will never see the lake again. I have read all the stores above and know how you feel (this isn’t the first time for me). We have all been very blessed to have these friends of ours to be in our homes and give us such great love and support. Now it is our time to do whatever we can to make this last journey of theirs as comfortable and happy as we can. My heart goes out to you all….
My beautiful white German Sheppard Blossom, has been recently diagnosed with cancer. She had a large lump on her side about a couple of years ago we noticed, and the vet said it was probably in her muscle area and much to much to operate on this tumor. Then only about 3 weeks ago we noticed she wasn’t using the bathroom, walking around straining, constipated. We took her to the vet and they gave her some stool softeners. A week later, she still had a very hard time, so they told us to give her enemas at home. After 3 or 4 tries at that(and what came out was noxious), she would not let us touch her, crying in pain. Took her back to the vet and this time they thought it was her anal gland, impacted and probably a tumor inside. So they scheduled a surgery for the next day, put her under, and when I called on my lunch break, the vet said they couldn’t do anything, she had cancer and give her 6 months to live. Since then, she still can’t poo and now she is peeing all over the house. She also threw up a few times. The vet said make her as comfortable as possible, put her on pain meds and anti-biotics also gave her a steroid shot. She pants and drools excessively. She is 10 yrs old. When she looks at me with those big amber eyes, I just want to cry. She backs off when I try to pet her now, like it hurts her. It’s very sad, she is such a good dog, and I love her so much. She goes back to the vet this Wednesday for a recheck, on what I don’t know. It just seems she really went down hill since they put her under the anesthesia. Wonder if this is normal. I don’t know what to do. I feel for every dog owner who goes through this horrible cancer thing. I have another dog, Jack Russell Winston, he is 15yrs. and has really slowed down also. I just hope and pray I don’t get a double whammy. I really don’t want another pet again. Like children, my time is over, too heartbreaking. Thanks for listening.
We have just had to say goodbye to my beloved Honey. Turns out that the specialist determined that Honey never had cancer, her vet misdiagnosed her twice, it was kidney failure in the end. i am not angry, just happy that for 15 years my baby shared our lives. Thank you Dr D for your online advice on Honey in the past. This blog does save and extend lives. thank u
Rhea,
So sorry for you loss. Your positive attitude is wonderful, keep the good memories in your heart.
With sympathy, Dr Sue
My boyfriend and his mom have had their 7 year old boxer since he was 2 months old. We took him to the vet a month ago because had wasn’t eating or moving around regularly as he usually does, his eyes and gums were yellow. They did blood work and found out his numbers were very high and others very low. He has liver cancer and has just recently pretty much stopped eating. The vet said he is in no pain, gave him a steroid shot and said he will tell us when he thinks it’s time to say goodbye. I am personally having a very hard time dealing with Thelma situation and ALSO trying my best to be there for him and his mom but she’s been crying by his side for weeks now and my boyfriend refuses to talk about it but I can tell he hurting, that dog is their most treasured friend and family member. I live with them and my question is how do I handle this situation I’m in right now and I really, really need to know what to do when the day comes that it’s time to say goodbye!
Hi Doc.
Firstly thank you, i followed all your advice regarding my (now) 14 year old Pom/fox terrier mix last year regarding her tumours.
She has now suddenly lost weight and save for water and tuna (and a bit of liver) she refuses to eat. she still runs around and barks etc. the vet has felt a cyst in her bowel area and has said that it may be cancerous.
We do not have access in South Africa to some of the technology you use, but what would you suggest we do to treat her?
She really really is a special child
Thank you for this post. We had to let our springer spaniel Molly go in January 2012. She had 2 surgeries to remove mast cell tumors on her leg and we were worried she’d have to have the cone around her head until the end; but finally she healed and she had a good 4 months until the very last day. I didn’t know what to expect; she lived her life in fast forward and it just seemed that all of a sudden, there wasn’t enough time. My heart still breaks but I am so thankful she was in our life for nearly 10 years; I’m thankful for the emergency vet that was able to help us let her go in the middle of night. Thank you again for your post.
My 10 year old boxer Remi has several tumors growing outside of her and two of them are quite large. The one that causes her the most aggravation is on her front paw. It looks like a huge pink toe growing out of her paw. She still runs and plays but I can tell now that she is slowing down. Her abdomin is getting harder and she is starting to lose continence. I know its just a matter of time now. she has been a great girl and she is still my right hand when it comes to keeping the rest of the pack in line. I will do my best to make her comfy and loved as she goes. Just wanted to put those thoughts out there and share.
Hello. My Weiner dog Oscar was diagnosed with cancer a week ago. They showed me pictures of the mass. Its the size of an avocado. They say its pushing on his lungs and heart. He has no idea anything is wrong but for the fact that he has trouble breathing. This past weekend I dubbed it weiner-a-pallooza! A good fun time. He had a blast. Ate anything he wanted played with a new toy and got lots and lots of pets. Watching him be so happy and playful its hard to believe that his fate is so grimm. Its hard to think about. I found this blog and feel like I am not the only one out there. So thank you for the kind words you posted.
Mandy
Hang in there Mandy. Might be worth your while to read the Guide which can help with this stuff, unless of course you have already.
All my best
Dr D
Bruno is ten years old and was diagonosed with hemangiosarcoma about 6 weeks ago. Me, my brother and my sister opted not to have a splenectomy and chemotherapy done because we felt it would have been more for us then for him. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my life. Bruno has slept next to me every day since he was six weeks old. He is my everything. My favourite thing in the world are afternoon naps on the couch with him. So far he has had two ruptures but he has recovered well from both. Today I came home from a night shift and he greeted me by grabbing one of my flip flops and goading me into chasing him around the house and i obliged happily, we have done this for the last ten years. I will make sure that the last few months (please god give him months) I have with him are filled with walks, top sirloin steak and naps with me. Bruno has taught me to cherish every moment with the ones you love and to never take them for granted. I feel like there is a hole in my heart…… Love you Bruno.