For some reason Ollie has chosen to stay inside on this perfect late spring day. Mine is not to question. He had a good night and slept through. Yes, I am still sleeping with him and will most likely continue to until he is feeling better. I can’t believe how our slobby Otis is coping with all this. He is being the perfect gentlemen. Otis is our 95 lb. black lab and usually likes to use his brawn when dealing with Ollie. I wish I knew how he feels about all this. I know he is aware that Ollie has changed, although I doubt he notices his leg is missing. I think he just knows Ollie is going through something really difficult. They are like the “Odd Couple” – Ollie being Felix and Otis being Oscar. But I’m glad Otis is doing ok. I haven’t been able to take him on walks like normal and I know he is missing that.
I still haven’t heard from the vet regarding his bone biopsy. The lymph node was clear. They were pretty confident that the break was caused by cancer, so we are prepared for whatever road that takes us down. From reading others blogs, I seems it can go many different ways. I only hope it is easy on Ollie.
As I said he is progressing, but when getting up from laying down will start crying in a way we know is causing him a great deal of pain. We are able to console him and it subsides after a few seconds. I’m not sure if this is from laying on one side and having the circulation slow down or just the motion of getting up. I’ve tried massaging the side he was laying on and that seems to offer some relief. That seems to be the only obvious pain we notice. Has anyone experienced this? He is still on Tramadol – 100 mg every 6 hours. The vet suggested we start weaning him – going to every 8 hours in a day or two and see how he does.
Just got a call from the vet – the bone biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma. We were told initially that they were 90% sure that is what caused the bone to break, but you still hold out hope that there was something not so devastating. So, it looks like chemo for Ollie. I can only hope he tolerates it well. I just can’t put him through anymore pain.
I’ve started to research the best diet to be feeding while fighting cancer. Will have to get going on that. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d really appreciate it.
Sorry about the confirmation of the OSA, but so glad Ollie is recovering. I’m sure as the days go by his pain will lessen. At first I had to give Shooter massages about twice a day, but 4 months later he is rarely sore. He still enjoys them though.
I know some here do all home cooked food and that is the best if you can do it. I have a fulltime job plus multi horses to ride after so that wasn’t an option. I feed Orijen Grain Free dry mixed with Canidae Grain Free canned.He does get some not so good 4u treats, but were his favorites so didn’t give them up.He also gets Immunity Plus treats.
Hang in there and sending healing thoughts Olli’s way. Also – good boy Otis!
Ohhhhh, we can all relate. This first week or two…or even more…can be tough to watch and tough to balance the pain meds. He will and is feeling pain for awhile with movement and changing positions. It will probably be awhile before he actually will lah o. the surgery site.
It’s wonderful that Otis is being so patient…..what a sweetheart he is too!
just keep chunking it down…..focus on recovery. You do ‘t have to think about chemo for another two weeks or so. You can start changing his food bit by bit……othng has to be do e today other than loving, spoil I g and living g in the. o went!!
YOU have to judge what works best for you friend. Use other stories as guidelines…. increase or decrease paid. meds and .e gth of time o. them based on his needs. I tapered Hannah’s down too quickly and once I reintroduced them she was better,.
Really look forward to updates. You are doing g a great job and It will get better! Promise!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Thanks for the update! Be sure to check out Dr. Dressler’s free cancer diet e-book, and consider downloading his Dog Cancer Kit for a comprehensive approach to canine cancer care including his Dog Cancer Survival Guide, webinars, an Apocaps coupon and more.
Hey Martha, I”m sorry to hear about the diagnosis. Osteo is a heartbreaker but as you can see, Ollie doesn’t care, he just wants to feel better. I think his recovery sounds pretty darn normal but he’s maybe just a wee bit more sensitive than other dogs when it comes to pain. Be strong, act normal and pretty soon he’ll be moving around as usual with his buddy.
I was going to suggest Dr. Dressler’s book too, Admin beat me to it. It’s indispensable for fighting cancer, I know you’ll find it helpful.
Hi Martha, Sorry about the diagnosis.
I recommend reading Dr. Dressler’s book too.. but if you’re only looking on diet information, he has his chapter on a dog cancer diet for free here: http://www.dogcancerblog.com/dog-cancer-diet/
As far as not having time to prepare home cooked food, I have a solution for that! I just started to use my crockpot to prepare my dog’s food. I put everything in, set a time for 8 hours on low and stir a few times during cooking 🙂