My partner in crime for the past 16 years just passed away from liver cancer. I write this post to share my experience caring for a dog with liver cancer in the hope that others can do a better job than I did. Dog cancer care, what I wish I’d done better.

Disclaimer – These are my thoughts and opinions given my situation. You have to make the call you think is right for you and your dog.

Dog Cancer Care – The Situation, Some Background

Cobra was 16 years old when he was diagnosed with a two large tumours on his liver which had also spread to his spleen.

We found out how bad it was when he was having trouble breathing. We took him to the vet for exams and they called and told us one of the tumours on his liver had ruptured. There was nothing they could do because they’d have to remove the entire liver, it was too far gone.

They told us to come and pick him up because he may only have a couple of hours to live. A tough phone call where I struggled to get my words out.

Anyway, I went to the clinic to pick him up and I was surprised to see he could walk to the car.

First Days After Diagnosis

My first stop was to pick up some CBG oil as I’d seen a study where CBG could attack cancer cells.

I gave him well over the recommended dose for a few days and he improved. He was mobile but only able to drink water with a syringe although he could eat from the bowl.

Over the next 6 weeks he had massive ups and downs. From going on our normal walks to being on the edge of death, struggling to breathe with his gums being pale. He would bleed internally occasionally. When the bleeding stopped he would get better.

Internal Bleeding

So my first bit of advice is Transamin, Tranexamic Acid which helps stop internal bleeding.

Its not without it’s side effects, nausea being the top of the list, and there isn’t a ton of data out there on it’s use in dogs. When I gave him the acid I would split a 250mg capsule in half and give him the 125mg mixed with water (he was 30kg).

At the start I would do this on random days because he did seem to get nauseous when he had it.

Towards the end I would give it to him as soon as I saw his gums start to go pale. It seemed to help. The pale gums and the breathing problems didn’t seem to get too bad.

If I was doing it again, I would give him half a pill everyday, regardless, and if he started bleeding during the day I would give him another half pill.

That’s what I would do differently for the internal bleeding. Those episodes of bleeding put massive strain on his body and I’m sure took a year off his life on their own.

Water

As I said above, for some reason it was difficult for him to drink. So we’d give him water with a syringe (60ml, big syringe). Recommended water intake for a dog is around a litre. Given that half the syringe would spill, I aimed for 30 syringes a days. I was flexible on this. If I was doing it again I’d make more of an effort to get him thirty a day. Some days I’d give him as little as 15, which was not good enough.

Energy

Because he wouldn’t eat some days, I’d mix the water with a tablespoon of honey. This is I think was a good move. He seemed to feel better after the honey.

Food

I really let him down on the food front. If he didn’t want to eat I didn’t feed him. This was a huge mistake on my part. I was going to the butchers regularly getting steaks, liver, chicken, pork anything I thought he would like. If he didn’t eat them I would leave them on the plate. Looking back I think this was a huge mistake.

I should have blended up the meat and mixed it in with the water. He lost a lot of weight, I can’t believe I didn’t think of blending the food.

CBG Oil

I gave him the big doses at the start and then occasionally I’d give him a big dose every day or two. Again, another mistake. Instead of giving him the big doses occasionally I should have given him a few drops, say six, every day. He seemed more comfortable an hour or so after the CBG. We’d aim to give it to him before we went to bed.

Apricot Seed (“Vitamin B17”)

I only stumbled on this in the last week or so. If I knew about it earlier I would have given it from the start. I started off by crushing a seed and giving him a quarter, then half, then a full seed a day. Then a couple of seeds a day. I’d mix the crushed seed in water but it made the water very bitter which put him off drinking which was a huge problem. Mixing the seeds in with honey water made it easier to take.

I can’t say I noticed any difference with the B17 but by the time I’d started to give it to him he was pretty bad. I didn’t notice any downsides with the seed so I’d do it again from the start. Slowly build up to say 5 seeds a day. Take some yourself so you understand what they feel like.

Number Twos

He would go three, four days between numbers two. Normal given the lack of food but nevertheless less than ideal. I would give him milk, 180ml, to help and I think it did help him pass easier. Plus it gave filled him some gaps on the nutrient front.

Dog Cancer Care – Main Points

To condense my thoughts.

-I should have been more regimented with the water intake, 30 syringes/at least a litre a day.
-Honey water was good/essential.

-Milk was good.

-I should have given him less CBG but more often. 6 drops a day before bed.

–The big one food. If he wasn’t eating I should have started blending food I knew he liked into water, preferably very slightly warm water. Again, I can’t believe I let him get so skinny

-Apricot seeds/B17. I would have given to him from the start, maybe with time I could of got him up to 5 seeds a day.

-And the last one Transamin. In the days after the initial problem the bleeding was a huge problem. I think Transamin would have helped here, I think I should have been more regimented with it, bleeding or not.

Final Thoughts

Cobra astounded everybody by living so long after the initial problem (and that he’d made it to 16 in the first place as a 35-40kg dog!). He was given hours to live and managed another 6 weeks.

When I say, what I should have done differently, I mean things that would have given him a better chance of fighting the cancer & keeping his strength up.

Like I said he got skinny, I think I could have lessened that if I wasn’t so stupid. And I think the bleeding problem could have been reduced with regular Transamin. The food and the Transamin I think would have made a big difference. Keep the food going in whichever way you can and try to get the bleeding under control

The bleeding problem gradually got less bad as time went on but on his last day it came back with vengeance and ultimately, the bleeding is what killed him. If he’d have been taking Transamin regularly this might not have happened and if he wasn’t so weak from not eating, perhaps he could have fought longer and perhaps even recover.

I’m not sure if B17 did anything so I can comment on that. The CBG didn’t seem to make things worse so I’d recommend that.

Hopefully, if you are in a similar position to what I was, my mistakes will help you look after your dog better than I did mine. I loved that dog…

Dog cancer care isn’t easy, takes a lot time and sometimes I wondered if I was doing the right thing. If you want to ask me any questions leave a comment below or contact me on Twitter “StrikeEngine.com”. I can’t promise I’ll give you a good answer but I’ll give you an honest one.

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