Aa
Help me understand this
my dog's body started to swell, and he was unable sleep fearing that the fluids in his body (lungs and heart) would drown him....is there anything that could have been done to save him?
You are not a vet and all of us are ignorant about some illnesses and problems our dogs might suffer from. None of us can know everything, so we just do our best under the circumstances. Don't beat yourself up about it. You did all you could. Tony
However I think that if I had known earlier my dog wouldn't be dead. I killed him with my ignorance. I killed him.
Hi! How's his ALT & other values? Is ALT & ALP way too high? Is his BUN & creatinine values high too?
Or is it heart problem? My senior dog also has some fluid retention & she's on lasix besides her usual fortekor now which help to drain fluid out from her lungs. But is there any coughing in your dogs?
Or is it heart problem? My senior dog also has some fluid retention & she's on lasix besides her usual fortekor now which help to drain fluid out from her lungs. But is there any coughing in your dogs?
COMMUNITY LEADER
This fluid build-up he had in his belly and which affected his breathing is called "Ascites". It is not always caused by cancer, but in many cases of metastasized (spread) cancer, Ascites is a late symptom.
An organ that is nearly always affected by cancer metastasis is the liver.
I honestly think there is little you could have done. Many dogs with cancer are symptom-free untl it is too late, usually by that time the cancer has already spread, and that is what causes their symptoms.
I am so sorry about the loss of your dog. Remember it is totally natural to feel deeply sad, to grieve, and even to be depressed. But if it all gets too much for you and you get scared for yourself, then please do speak to a doctor or counselor.
An organ that is nearly always affected by cancer metastasis is the liver.
I honestly think there is little you could have done. Many dogs with cancer are symptom-free untl it is too late, usually by that time the cancer has already spread, and that is what causes their symptoms.
I am so sorry about the loss of your dog. Remember it is totally natural to feel deeply sad, to grieve, and even to be depressed. But if it all gets too much for you and you get scared for yourself, then please do speak to a doctor or counselor.
To answer your question of whether or not this could have been prevented if you had known earlier, in all likelihood, no, there was nothing you could do.
If there was a sac of cancerous cells around the heart, then nothing that you did was going to prevent that from happening or keep it from killing your dog.
What breed was your dog? Some breeds, because of the way they have been bred down the line, have a much higher incidence of cancer than other breeds. Your dog might have been one of these breeds.
Ghilly
If there was a sac of cancerous cells around the heart, then nothing that you did was going to prevent that from happening or keep it from killing your dog.
What breed was your dog? Some breeds, because of the way they have been bred down the line, have a much higher incidence of cancer than other breeds. Your dog might have been one of these breeds.
Ghilly
While 10 years might not seem like a long time to us, 10 years is about the average that dogs live. Little tiny dogs can sometimes live as long as 18 years or even 20, but those instances are quite rare compared to the number of dogs there are in the world. Giant breeds like Great Danes or St. Bernards or Irish Wolfhounds often live only about 7 or 8 years.
If your dog lived to be 10 years old and was relatively healthy until the end, then you did a wonderful job of being a dog parent to him. Once a dog's heart begins to fail and fluids begin to build up in his body, there's not a whole lot you can do for him. It is a scary feeling to not be able to breathe, and while there are drugs that you can give them to help the body cope with the fluids, they don't always work and, depending upon the reason for the fluid buildup in the first place, sometimes the animal is worse off than before. In those cases, the kindest thing to do is to help them from this world so that they no longer feel pain or fear.
You need to remember, when you agree to give a home to a dog, you make an unwritten deal with him or her to always be there for them and to protect them from sickness and pain to the best of your abilities. Protecting an animal from sickness and pain doesn't mean that you will make sure they never get sick in the first place, it means that in the event they DO get sick or get into a situation from which there is no way out, you will do the right thing and help them from this world so that they don't suffer. You did that. You lived up to your end of the deal. And your dog knows that. Unfortunately for us, living up to our end of the deal isn't always the easy part, and for every one of us, the last act of kindness we do for our pets is the most heartbreaking one. You should never second guess yourself. A vet will not put a dog to sleep if there is something that can be done for him. You cannot walk into a vet's office with a healthy dog or cat and just demand that they be put to sleep without getting a heck of an argument from the vet. Please don't keep rethinking what you did. At 10 years of age, your dog lived a normal lifespan and you did your part to keep him from suffering at the end.
Ghilly
If your dog lived to be 10 years old and was relatively healthy until the end, then you did a wonderful job of being a dog parent to him. Once a dog's heart begins to fail and fluids begin to build up in his body, there's not a whole lot you can do for him. It is a scary feeling to not be able to breathe, and while there are drugs that you can give them to help the body cope with the fluids, they don't always work and, depending upon the reason for the fluid buildup in the first place, sometimes the animal is worse off than before. In those cases, the kindest thing to do is to help them from this world so that they no longer feel pain or fear.
You need to remember, when you agree to give a home to a dog, you make an unwritten deal with him or her to always be there for them and to protect them from sickness and pain to the best of your abilities. Protecting an animal from sickness and pain doesn't mean that you will make sure they never get sick in the first place, it means that in the event they DO get sick or get into a situation from which there is no way out, you will do the right thing and help them from this world so that they don't suffer. You did that. You lived up to your end of the deal. And your dog knows that. Unfortunately for us, living up to our end of the deal isn't always the easy part, and for every one of us, the last act of kindness we do for our pets is the most heartbreaking one. You should never second guess yourself. A vet will not put a dog to sleep if there is something that can be done for him. You cannot walk into a vet's office with a healthy dog or cat and just demand that they be put to sleep without getting a heck of an argument from the vet. Please don't keep rethinking what you did. At 10 years of age, your dog lived a normal lifespan and you did your part to keep him from suffering at the end.
Ghilly
Ghilly might be able to help you more with this, as she is far more knowledgable than me, so hang on here and wait for Ghilly to reply ... which she will, I don't doubt it. From my point of view, there are probably too many reasons why this may have happened to your dog. It does sound like a liver and possibly kidney problem, particularly given the fluid retention issues, but equally it could have been a circulation problem - or indeed it could have been both of these things.
It is very sad that our dogs do not live nearly as long as we do or as long as we would like them to live. That is just the way things are. It certainly doesn't stop us wanting them in our lives to share the good and bad times together. They become our best friends, our family, and we miss them more than words can describe when their time comes to leave us.
At 10 yrs old, your dog was indeed mature, and had clearly enjoyed being amongst a loving family. How lucky was he to have found you all - and how lucky were you all to have found him.
The dogs we have when we are young are always special. Although I am now in my 50s, I still fondly remember my first dog, Penny, a beagle with bags of character that was my best friend during my adolescence. I still miss her, despite that now being many decades ago.
You may never know why your dog died or whether there might have been things that would have delayed it or made things a little better ... but despite that, you should realise that your dog had a happy life with you, he was loved and cherrished and is now being missed like a family member. Try to think of the happy times you shared and how wonderful it was that he enjoyed a fortunate and love-filled life. Big hugs, Tony
It is very sad that our dogs do not live nearly as long as we do or as long as we would like them to live. That is just the way things are. It certainly doesn't stop us wanting them in our lives to share the good and bad times together. They become our best friends, our family, and we miss them more than words can describe when their time comes to leave us.
At 10 yrs old, your dog was indeed mature, and had clearly enjoyed being amongst a loving family. How lucky was he to have found you all - and how lucky were you all to have found him.
The dogs we have when we are young are always special. Although I am now in my 50s, I still fondly remember my first dog, Penny, a beagle with bags of character that was my best friend during my adolescence. I still miss her, despite that now being many decades ago.
You may never know why your dog died or whether there might have been things that would have delayed it or made things a little better ... but despite that, you should realise that your dog had a happy life with you, he was loved and cherrished and is now being missed like a family member. Try to think of the happy times you shared and how wonderful it was that he enjoyed a fortunate and love-filled life. Big hugs, Tony
My dog was 10 years old, no, this was the first time we knew about it. i think it started a few months before we went to the doctor but i noticed his stomach swelling but my mom said it was nothing. he got really tired, lost his appetite, and... he couldn't really sleep well. He would suddenly wake up as if he was drowning.
well the first doctor said he had liver cancer and that there were protein cells in the liquid that was flooding this body and that it was best to put him to sleep. the second doctor said that at first it was just excessive fluids(with protein) and it can be sucked out. But then his feet started to swell and he couldn't breathe nor could he sleep and the doctor concluded that around his heart was a sac of cancer cells. and thats all i know. my mother took care of the rest. iam 16 and those months really were a blur. im sorry if its really vague but i really need to know..
also could this have been possibly prevented if we had known earlier?
also could this have been possibly prevented if we had known earlier?
Can you let us know how old your dog was (I'm assuming your use of past tense means he passed away)? And had he been to see a vet with this condition beforehand - if so, what diagnosis was given and what treatment was prescribed? Alternatively, did this occur suddenly and before you could get him to a vet? If the latter, did you observe any symptoms before the swelling? Tony
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