Beyond the Veterinary Clinic: Caring for a Dog with Cancer

Our veterinary clinic will be your closest ally in the battle against cancer if your dog has been diagnosed. But you are still your dog’s primary caregiver, so you need to be armed with the knowledge on how you can help with managing and treating their condition.

Here are some essential and practical tips that can help give you a clear picture of what it takes to care for a dog diagnosed with, undergoing treatment for, and recovering from cancer.

Administering Medication

Although the majority of your dog’s medication will be administered at the veterinary clinic, it will also have to be given at home. To ensure you get it right, do the following:

• Come up with a medication schedule in coordination with your veterinarian, and make room for this in your daily routine.
• Consider ways to stay on track with your new schedule. You can download mobile apps designed to help manage your dog’s medication, maintain a weekly log, or write down the schedule on a piece of paper and display it on a visible surface, like on the fridge or the front of a cupboard. Another option is to note medicines taken on the bottle itself by writing directly on the bottle, on paper taped to the bottle, or on white masking or duct tape affixed on the bottle.
• Prepare a medicine kit. A small, portable basket will do, but it would be great if you can find an organizer caddy with plenty of pockets. Besides medicines, you can use this to hold supplies that you might need for administering the medication.
• Monitor your dog’s response to the medication. If you notice anything unexpected or unusual in their behavior, notify your vet right away so adjustments can be made.

Recognizing Pain

Your dog will experience cancer-related pain more often that you might expect, and he or she’ll be relying on you to help relieve the pain each time. You need to watch your dog closely for any signs of pain and then administer pain medication as necessary.

Keep an eye out specifically for behavioral changes that indicate distress or discomfort. Since you know your dog’s normal movements and reactions, you can more easily notice than your vet the small or subtle variations in their behavior.

Recognizing pain accurately, however, can be difficult. Your dog may try to hide the pain, they could be experiencing psychological and emotional pain in addition to the physical sort, or the pain might make them nervous or upset. In such cases, you may want to consider providing pain-relieving medication based on a preset schedule rather than on an “as-needed” basis.

Providing Nutritional Support

Dogs with cancer require extra nutritional support, as their metabolism changes, their appetite drops, and they might not drink enough water.

With advice and guidance from your vet, do:

• Switch to a low-carb, moderate-protein diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids to help your dog cope with metabolic changes. But do this gradually so she can adjust to the diet with little to no stress.
• Provide appetite stimulants or special nutritional supplements to avoid malnutrition, which dogs undergoing long-term treatment are especially prone to.
• Adopt the necessary feeding method that will make it easier for your dog to recover and adapt. Say your dog has mouth cancer and surgery was performed on the jaw. In that case, you will probably need to feed them using a tube that runs through the nasal passages or neck, or directly into their stomach, until he or she’s well enough to eat on their own.
• Keep tabs on the amount of water they drink to reduce the risk of dehydration.

Also, continue paying close and careful attention to your dog’s diet even after the treatment is completed or the tumor is removed. Post-cancer nutrition is just as important.

Making Everyday Life Comfortable

Providing comfort along with nurturing care is key to improving the quality of life for a dog with cancer, so you need to create a safe, soothing, and stress-free environment for your dearest pooch.

• Move your dog’s bed to a more accessible location. You might also want to get them an ultra-comfy orthopedic bed.
• Use food and water containers that will make it as easy as possible for him or her to eat and drink.
• Use products that will allow your dog to move around or go to the bathroom without trouble, such as mobility aids and an indoor dog potty.
• Take turns in looking after your dog so each family member can shower him or her with lots of attention and TLC.
• Come up with solutions to ease the anxiety that your dog associates with anything cancer-related, such as visits to the vet and treatment sessions. It may be a ritual or habit that he or she finds soothing or products like calming sprays and stress-reducing pressure vests.

Our veterinary clinic staff knows what it takes to beat cancer. But it is the owner who knows their dog the best and can thus provide the best possible care day in and day out. Help us and yourself to show your beloved pooch just how much he or she means to you.

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Sykesville Veterinary Clinic and a clickable link back to this page.