Family trying to decide whether to continue chemo
Dear Dr. Forsythe: We are struggling with the decision about whether to continue with chemotherapy for our dog. He is suffering from lymphoma and has started chemotherapy, but he is struggling and we cannot decide if it was a good decision to give him chemotherapy. Should we let our son, who is 12, help make the decision about whether to continue? After all, the pet is his best friend. Thanks for your input.
Concerned parents
Dear Concerned: Thanks for a really good question. The decision about treatment with chemotherapy is complex because it depends on many factors. This includes your pet’s type of cancer, the stage, your veterinarian’s recommendations, your personal feelings, and budget. Most of all, it is your pet’s well being that matters, in terms of how he feels and responds to his treatments and medical surroundings. Some pets are just better candidates for chemotherapy than others are. One thing I feel certain of, though, is that while being honest with kids is very important, it would be an unfair burden on your son to place the decision in his hands. Although chemotherapy protocols for lymphoma often go very well, not every pet does as well as the next, so if your family does not feel like it was a good decision, then it would be wise to consult with your veterinarian about stopping or changing the therapy. Involving your son in the process sounds healthy and inclusive, but placing the decision squarely on him could be too much for a young person to cope with, in my opinion. I send my best wishes and prayers to your pet and your family.
Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe:I am the proud owner of a Maltese who has had runny eyes for the past two years. I’ve had them checked and been told the tear ducts might be blocked. How complicated is this procedure to have this weepy condition repaired?
Maltese Mom
Dear Mom: This is a condition that is often fairly easy to treat. Blocked tear ducts is a common problem in many dogs and cats. The condition is often treated by first numbing the tear duct with a topical anesthetic and then flushing it with a small tool called a “cannula,” which looks like a little needle that is blunt or rounded on the end. The veterinarian first confirms the diagnosis of a blocked duct by placing some bright yellow stain into the eyes and then checking to see if the stain travels down through the naso-lacrimal duct and out into the pet’s nostrils. If the stain makes its way from the surface of the eye down to exit of the nostril, this confirms that the tear duct is patent. But if the duct is blocked, the stain won’t be visualized inside the nostril – and ducts will need to be flushed. A small amount of saline is flushed into the tiny tear duct (located at the inside corner of the eye fold) and forced through so that it exits down and out through the nasal punctum (the tiny opening just inside the pet’s nostril). This verifies that the lacrimal-nasal duct is now patent. The patient is sent home with some ophthalmic drops for a few days and this generally keeps the tears flowing properly and clears the eyes up nicely.
Please give some thought to this procedure for your little white beast. You may just find that it may just make those little eyes a bit brighter and less weepy!!
Thanks for a great question.
Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: Why is it important to express my dog’s anal glands? What exactly are the glands for and what will happen if they don’t get emptied? Will they explode all over the place? Also, this may be a silly question, but do people have them?
Wondering, and not liking the smell
Dear Wondering: No, thank the dear Lord, people do NOT have them, because we would look ridiculous scooting along the sidewalk or on the carpet if they were itchy and bothering us. (Although this is an amusing thought, is it not?)
Visualize the face of a clock. The glands in question are located at 4 and 8 o’clock with respect to the rectal opening in the dog and the cat, and they normally omit an oily liquid when the pet defecates. It is thought that in the “olden days” (yes prior even to MY childhood), ancestral wild dogs and cats benefited from this “lubricant” when they passed “carrion” bones in their stools. In modern times, with our pampered pets, many of whom eat better than we humans do, the glands serve no purpose but to get clogged up and infected. This is why they need to be drained by your veterinarian routinely when the pet is experiencing that “not so fresh feeling”. While they are being squeezed, the smell can be horrific – owners describe the odor as varying from a fish fertilizer scent to a garbage smell to the stench of rotten sewage. And the veterinarian doesn’t always have the honor: at times, when a dog becomes startled or scared, he may contract his rectal muscles and express his glands accidentally – much to the chagrin and misery of those nearby. Glands that are full and itchy and not emptying by natural means can sometimes become abscessed and rupture, causing great pain and severe infection to the pet.
Certain breeds of dogs, especially high oil-coat producing types such as Cocker spaniels and Westies often need to have their anal glands expressed monthly to prevent a painful buildup. Occasionally veterinarians recommend increasing the fiber in your pet’s diet to improve the fecal bulk to help encourage the draining of the glands as the pet passes stool. Foods such as Purina’s OM or Hill’s WD provide and increase in insoluble fiber to the diet, and this, in theory, can result in firmer stools that may encourage the glands to drain more readily.
Oh, and one more tasty tidbit about these nasty little glands: if they have become abscessed more than twice in the dog or cat, and if the owner is just sick and tired of having to get them emptied month after month, year after year, there IS a surgical procedure that can be done to remove the glands permanently. It is a little “nip and tuck” to remove the glands forever. You could ask your veterinarian about “anal sacculectomy” if your pet has been suffering for a long time.
Thanks,
Dr. F
