Rottie...is there any likely diagnosis that isn’t bone cancer?

catembi

catembi

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Clutching at straws here... Milly is 8 1/2 and has been getting a bit arthritic so has been on Rimadryl for the past 6 months. It really has given her a new lease of life. Over the past few weeks she has developed a limp in front. I assumed it was arthritis based, but when we went for another Rimadryl prescription on Friday, the vet said it was probably bone cancer ?She is going for X-rays on Friday and if it is, we will probably PTS as I don’t fancy amputation/chemo/radiotherapy for her ?? But is there anything else it could be? The joint is warm and hard. The dog is normal, not subdued, normal appetite. I know I am clutching at straws, but she looks so well and it would be such a dreadful shame to lose her ?? The swelling came up quite quickly over a couple of days. She has been lame for about 3 weeks.
 

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I'm sorry, I don't know but Rotts are extremely prone to cancer. When I took my bitch to the vet and the scan showed probable splenetic cancer having spread to the bowel, (which was what it proved to be), I said she could have any operation feasible but no chemo, vet said she would never give one of her dogs chemo either.

Fingers crossed.


ETA, should have said my 6 yr old was pts because there was nothing that could be done and I certainly wouldn't amputate. I understand that a hind leg amputation is easier for a dog to deal with than a foreleg but I know how much pain my amputee aunt has even with strong medication.
 
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fingers crossed its not cancer, i wouldnt amputate either and def wouldnt do chemo. i have known a few dogs whose owners have gone down the chemo route and it involved lots of vet hospital visits and none of them lasted longer than 5 months, even though the vets said they could get another year or maybe longer.... ...better to have a shorter time without all the stress of the vet hospital IMO....
 
Yeah, I have done lots of reading & they *say* that treatment could get another year, but that's with the full 9 yards. Say that I went for amputation (I am NOT going to) etc... How long would it take to 'recover' from having a leg chopped off? 2 months? 3 months? And then what's her quality of life going to be like for the remaining 9 months, on chemo/radio? She loves walking & she would not be doing a lot of that on 3 legs...well, not how she can now. I am really, really, really hoping that it's arthritis, joint sprain etc etc. That's good to know re 5 months as it will make 'the decision' easier if/when it comes to that.
 
the dogs i have personally known are 2 flat coat retrievers, 2 labs, and a trailhound. the retrievers got less than 5 months, the trailhound got 4 months and spent quite a bit of that time in the vet hospital he was 10 (i used to look after him so know exactly how much he went to the hospital). one of the labs had a huge lump which was operated on and so far has had 6 months and seems quite well. the other lab lasted 7 months but the cancer has now spread and owners are keeping him comfortable and wont do any more chemo,...he is 7...
 
Fingers crossed its something less sinister but I agree with Lev, if it is cancer I think youre being very sensible. A rottie is a big active dog and I wouldnt think life on 3 legs would be easy, not would chemo be a very pleasant experience. Hubby and I share the same opinion, its definitely quality of life rather than quantity, just because we can treat some things, doesnt automatically make it right to do so. Also thinking of you
 
Good Luck x I really hope it isn’t osteosarc but if it is as much as I’m an advocate for dog chemo there’s no way I would consider anything beyond palliative care with very decent pain relief assuming the quality of life isn’t already compromised. Hopefully it is ‘just’ arthritic changes or a benign mass.
 
I hope it isn't bone cancer. Unfortunately the odds aren't in your favor. I have decided that if any of my dogs develops osteosarcoma or hemangiosarcoma that I won't do surgery or chemo. I've seen too many bad ends. When I did my technician externship one of our clients lost her Irish wolfhound to osteosarc. She had recently lost an uncle to it and said he was begging people to kill him and end the pain. I made my decision then and there to not do heroic measures.
 
Away from the elbow. Below the knee.
Unfortunately you are ready for the most likely situation here. It could be infection/ one of the rare less aggressive bone cancers etc but the main differential here is osteosarcoma.

I'd be giving her the best days you can at this stage....and like you personally I wouldn't amputate. To be honest I consider wether we wake up from anaesthetic post xrays in such a large breed dog if this is confirmed a bone tumour. It's very hard to provide good quality if life and a painfree life to these dogs for palliative care without amputation unfortunately.

Unless you had the most compliant lightframed easy going rotty in the world I don't tend to recommend the amputation route unless its with chemo and that's a lot to ask of a big dog to recover from in many cases....and it's just trying to buy good time.
The stats and cases, Fitzpatricks referrals in particular, are showing improvements in the time we get in some of these....But it is buying time and always involves at least one big surgery-either amp or a limb sparing surgery and an awful lot of follow up.
Its not for the majority of owners or tolerated by many dogs.

Amputation alone is recommended over standard pain relief as it takes away the pain in the short term...Those legs tend to be a lot more painful then normal fractures etc so theres no benefit to the dog in keeping them even if it is just for a few months left in life.....But I don't recommend it for most large framed dogs as they struggle in many cases with a front leg amputation :(

Without amputation they need a cocktail of drugs to manage the pain especially in a stoic dog who wont warn you how bad they are feeling. The bone pain involved with these is truely awful...humans desribe it as excruciating.
In many cases the tumour eaten bone is likely to fracture
Most dogs will already have Mets in the lungs by the time we see a tumour on xray...It's a truely horrible disease.

If she were mine I'd do the same as your already thinking and spare her the pain if it's a a tumour pattern on xray .

I hope we are all wrong and she's got something weird and wonderful wrong.
But at this age, breed and signalment I'd be expecting the worse.

I'm so sorry :(
Thinking of you and sorry I can't offer more positive hopes.
 
She is not comfortable despite a load of meds. The other dog barely brushed her this morning and she really screamed. We have abandoned the X-rays and PTS has been booked for 5 pm today. She is sad and in pain and there is simply nothing else to do.

Thank you everyone for your input. At least I can now be more confident that I am doing the right thing ?
 
So sorry to hear it :( Sometimes the hardest thing is making the call..but it's often the kindest thing for their sake.
 
I’m so sorry to hear this - thank you for making the right choice for your dog, even though I understand how incredibly difficult it must be for you
 
So sorry for you catembi, but absolutely the kindest decision. We lost our old greyhound to bone cancer a few years ago, pain meds kept him sound for a couple of weeks post diagnosis but as soon as they weren't working we had to make the call. It's so hard to see them go, sending a big hug your way.
 
So sorry Cat. You are right. My prev flatcoat went very suddenly lame and her knee swelled, she was in pain. I had no idea what it was. Went to vet, she had a temperature, was sedated and xrayed. Bone cancer and I asked for her not to be brought round. She was almost 11, there was no way I was putting her through treatment.
Its heartbreaking, thinking of you xx
 
Thank you everyone for your support.

We saw a different vet so effectively a 2nd opinion, & he didn't disagree. Discussed what we were doing and why, then I went. I have looked after her to the best of my ability for 8 1/2 years & I simply couldn't stay any longer. I did the same for my old Rottie Kane & for Catembi.

I am so, so sorry that it's happened; however when I got home my first emotion was relief that I haven't got to gauge how much she is hobbling & what I ought to do about it.

And we now have space to rescue another Rottie if there is one in need of some love.
 
I am so sorry but absolutely certain that you made the best decision for her. The very worst aspect of keeping Rotts is their short life-span and the fact that they seem so hale and hearty until suddenly they are not, which so often seems to be while they are still in their prime.
 
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