Managing Pain
Pain Management Update PLUS: Natural Pain Relief for Dogs
Pain management for dogs should change based on what we know now. Dr. Dressler goes over his current pain control cocktails and natural pain relief for dogs.
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Dog Cancer Surgery: What I’ve Learned So You Don’t Have To
Dog cancer surgery is really scary, and there’s a lot to think about. The editor of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide just went through it.
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Dog Cancer Pain: Acupuncture?
Dog cancer pain: acupuncture? Even if your vet dismisses it, it is more than just a placebo!
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Is My Dog Dying? Here Are Some Warning Signs and Symptoms
How do you know if your dog is dying? Learn what signs to look for, and how to handle them.
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Improving Life Quality with Hospice for Dogs
Hospice for dogs is not about giving up: it’s about focusing on comfort and closeness.
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Is My Dog Still Happy?
So, is your dog happy? It’s not always easy to tell. But there are certain tell-tale signs that will help you know one way or the other.
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Checking Your Dog’s Legs for Signs of Osteosarcoma
Taking it in Stride: Those Amazing Legs Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) is a common cancer in our dogs, and it usually develops in the long bones of the legs and the ankle or hock joint. It is more common in some breeds than others, and although there are certain reasons a dog is predisposed to bone…
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Better Life Quality: Play with Your Dog with Cancer
How important is it to play with your dog with cancer? Very!
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How to Know If Your Dog Is In Pain
How to know if dog is in pain? There are dozens of signs of pain in dogs, and MOST of them are unrecognizable. Learn how to know if your dog is hurting. 🙁
Read ArticleHow Long to “Watch and Wait”
Last week I told you about two recent cases in which the tumors were too big for surgery by the time they came to me. I also promised to give you some guidelines about how long to wait when your vet says “let’s just monitor this.” Too many lumps and bumps are being monitored for…
Read ArticleSome Science Behind Acupuncture for Cancer Pain
Cancer is very tough. And because we do not have a reliable cure for cancer, we must use every tool that helps to deal with cancer in a loved dog. One of these tools is acupuncture for cancer pain. Acupuncture in cancer has in the past been debated, and the use of acupuncture for pain…
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Pain Meds for Dogs: How to Manage Pain for a Dog With Cancer
Dog cancer pain control is really important, especially because dogs hide their pain symptoms so well. Learn how to treat your dog’s pain.
Read ArticleWhen Infection Looks Like Cancer
Many times cancer can be misdiagnosed as infection in dogs. How does this happen? Cancer diagnosis is not as strait forward as it may seem. The reason for this is that we do not always have a simple test for internal cancers. The standard of care in testing for cancer is a biopsy. To get…
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“My Dog Is Limping, But No Pain” – What You Should Know
If you find yourself thinking “my dog is limping but no pain is there,” think again. Limping is a sign you should take seriously.
Read ArticleBetter and Longer: End of Life Care
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine was just published that showed that human cancer patients lived both longer and better with hospice care. Patients with a type of lung cancer lived almost 2 months longer with hospice care than those who did not. Similar trends have been seen with other terminal diseases…
Read ArticleDifferent Pain, Different Drugs
In some ways physicians have it easy. An MD can ask a human patient, “Are you in pain?” It’s a bit tougher for us animal lovers. Interestingly, we are in the same boat as pediatricians in this way. We have to go by signs, feelings, intuition in some cases. And sometimes the truth is that…
Read ArticleLife Quality: Is My Dog In Pain?
Physical comfort is very important for a dog’s life quality. When it comes to canine cancer, life quality is a central topic that deserves much attention. Since the systemic cancers are so formidable and resist successful treatment, often increasing life span and maintaining a normal life quality are main goals. Life quality can be evaluated…
Read ArticleBone Cancer Pain: New Ideas
Many who love a dog with bone cancer need information to make sure pain is managed. Bone cancers are often very painful. Since life quality is so essential for us when making medical choices, we need to always control pain. Bone cancer is often first noticed as a limp. Many times I have had a…
Read ArticleHow Do We Tell If A Loved Dog Is In Pain?
Pain. The very word makes us wince. Same with the word cancer. A friend recently brought up the fact that some of us refer to cancer as “The C-word.” So when we put these together and talk about cancer pain, we have quite a loaded topic on our hands. Before I get into how to…
Read ArticleChronic Morphine May Worsen Dog Cancer
Well, in this post I want to give the readers some cutting edge new developments in dog cancer pain control. For decades, morphine has been a good old standard in pain control, both in dog and human medicine. Many oncologists and veterinarians involved in treating dogs afflicted with cancer use morphine to help these patients.…
Read ArticleCanine Cancer Surgery: Dog Owners…Check on the pain control!
I have been focusing a bit on osteosarcoma, since this is a common cancer. This info applies to any big surgery involving cancer in dogs though. I thought that a few bits of vet-only knowledge would be nice for dog owners. That way you can discuss the important topic of pain control at the time…
Read ArticlePain in Dog Cancer and Life Quality, Part 2
Many times people talk about life quality in pets and pain. “Is my dog in any pain?” is a common question I get at my hospital. To be sure, pain is an important consideration in life quality. Of all the factors that contribute to a bad life, pain may be the most potent. BUT…it is…
Read ArticlePain in Dog Cancer and Life Quality
Many have concerns their dog may be in pain. And rightfully so, since pain is a definite negative. Pain control is a massive topic all by itself, and it is by no means strait forward. There are different kinds of pain. Sometimes dull, throbbing pain happens in cancers like osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Severe pain in…
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