My dear Kuvasz Kodi has been diagnosed with osteocarcinoma.

Sounds like your Kodi must be doing a lot better if she could walk so far and keep the pup in line. Good luck for continued improvement.

Don't you love it when your dog shows joie de vivre as Kodi did rolling in the grass? My dog Poppy loves a certain soft sand and gets a wild look in her eye when she finds it. Then she'll do a funny, wide-legged zig-zagging set of scampering moves. It's hilarious and contagious fun.

saddly, the x-rays showed progressive growth of the cancer on kodi's foreleg. Kodi slipped getting into my van at the vet hospital and she looks like she is in pain from it. she did not howl or cry but did whine once and it looks like she might have strained herself somhow in her back legs. it was hard to get her back out of the truck at home. and i had to use a sling to get her back up. then she nearly fell walking down the ramp. she sat down in the yard and has not gotten back up. I have been sitting with her for a couple of hours now and she is just relaxing as the medicine i gave her kicks in. she has refused food which makes me worried. I don't know if the anesthetic they gave her is the cause of her drowiness or that what ever happened as she got in the van did her damage. she is simply sitting up and smiling, but the kuvasz is an extraordinarily reticent breed that does not show pain very much, so I am worried about her. if she does not move around by morning, i will lift her up with a sling and get her back to the hospital in the morning.

Kodi has always bounced back up whenever anything happens to her so I always expect her to recover, but I am worried this time that she might have strained her back legs and it will make it hard for her to walk around. if that is the case, my dear, dear kodi ..........

damn, she was doing so good today until this happened too, but i cannot second guess about taking her to the vet today. i did what i thought was best.

I just went out and groomed her and she is sitting up and smiling, and does not appear in any more pain, but she is still sitting on the same spot as she did before and the pieces of chicken i brought her is still uneaten, so that is not a good sign right now.

Oh, my, this is so very sad. Such beautiful eyes, they look just like my Samoyeds used to, with the sexy black eyeliner. I'm so sorry, may the rest of her life be pain free.

This is a terrible time for you and for your dog.

Thank you for lwtting us participate in sympathy as much as this may be poss9ble online!

It's impossible to ever provide enough moral support -- from people not known to you -- but I hope you can accept my humble good wishes...

I know you will do the right thing to spare pain and suffering to your faithful companion when the time comes. Your love of Kuvasz dogs will tell you when that time is there.

Any courage that can be conveyed electronically is yours from my family to yours

I'm so sorry

I forgot to say that for 12-to-24 hours after total anesthesia it is better to give no solid food, leave small chunks of chicken in broth by all means (NO SALT) and always WATER but it's better if no solid food is absorbed except in puree

Anesthesia (total) wearws off differentially in various muscles and is especially slow in the parasympathetic system (digestion etc) so better not to cause extra strain or stress

If your Kodi is hungry she will eat, nature has provided dogs with wisdom we lack

Once again if I may offer my very best wishes

3:30am spent the last two hours on a sleeping bag next to her, finally she climbed up the ramp to the porch. she is stiff and limping in her foreleg, but she got up and finally ate some soup and more medicine. she's sound asleep now. if she can get up the ramp onto the porch she must be okay......either that or she was just trying to get way from my snoring as I slept beside her.

Ah, poor kodi. I agree with Louise that anesthesia can often cause disinterest in eating. I hope a good night's sleep has done her good.

You might ask your vet if he or she thinks prednisone might help. Sadie was recovering nicely from surgery for about 3 and a half weeks then suddenly she lost her ability to stand on her legs or get up by herself. Her back paws would knuckle and I really thought it was all over, but the vet upped her prednisone and about 10 hours later she was wagging her tail and seemed to be feeling great. Kodi might have pulled a muscle or inflammed something that is causing her pain. Predinisone will decrease the inflammation and make her a lot more comfortable (AS LONG AS YOUR VET SAYS IT'S OK) The only downside to the meds is that Sadie drinks buckets of water and has to go outside every two hours. So, I'm sleeping in the family room with Sadie until her confinement is up. I hope Kodi starts feeling better soon. I know folks think it's nuts to worry so much about a pet, but I would rather be dealing with the pain myself than have her go thru it. I'm betting you feel the same way.

I'm concerned that her leg has fractured. Cancer is painful enough by itself.

You may want to get an x-ray---but I guess by now, trips are hazardous to her.

I wonder if a vet would come by and could tell by some other means. I don't know about medical technologies... <lap top sized x-ray element...?>

<Hoping she can recieve care without having to make that trip.>

I am so very sorry to read this Kuvasz (and apologize for losing track of your thread). This was really devastating news... I hope she's doing better this week.

<fingers crossed>

God bless dogs and dog people. I find their company so much more enriching than the company of the others.

I met some high school pals for dinner last Sat. One of the old pals was just as enjoyable as she was many years ago, but the other one (who is also fun) asked me if I would ever get another dog, once my two were gone to dog heaven. I said "of course", I will always have dogs, don't want to be without them. She said they tied you down (while she and her husband downed their 5th rum and coke), I don't think they tie you down, my dogs and I am sure Kuvasz's dogs bring us a great deal of pleasure. So for the time being, I am devoted to being devoted to dogs. We are fortunate that dogs find us so interesting. If I want a rum and coke, I will make it at home. I like the bar atmosphere, but not enough to go without dogs or to give up time with my youngen's.

every day this week Kodi has looked and appears to feel better. the fall she took in the van on tuesday must have strained her hind leg and it took rest for her to recover. Today, Kodi underwent an IV treatment to deliver a localized treatment of Pamidronate that minimizes bone destruction and kills tumor cells in osteocarcinoma. apparently, the drug acts to stabilize the calcium in the bone and activate a process that calls upon the cancer cell to self destruct by signalling it to die. it probably switches on an enzyme that triggers the cell to think it is old and shut down metabolic processes. Kodi was at the vet hospital all day and is now a regular patient and is greeted like a celebrity when she walks down the halls. even the past vet students come into see her even though they have rotated out to different specialties. she was really trucking down the hallway when she saw me which surprised me and impressed the vet who is working with her.

she had such a great smile for everyone when she departed today and stood there as a number of folks who had their pets in for care petted and hugged her.

Kodi is walking as good as she was the day I brought her in to the local vet for her limping, and there has been no metasicization of the cancer into her chest/lungs.

she has stolen the heart of many of the vet students and is the first kuvasz many vet students have ever seen so she is a curiousity as well as a well loved guest there at UGA.

this turned out to be a good week for her and she is barking up a storm as I type

Luckie and Dr. J dug under the barbed wire and have been outside all day and are still roaming as I type. Abba did not get out, but has a cut on his nose so it is obvious at least the wire stopped him from digging out under the wire, Aja also was a participant in the jail break but as soon as I came home from taking Kodi to the vet at 10AM she came right in the fenced yard with me. Luckie and Dr. J are in the front yard somewhere, but refuse to come back inside the gate. the moon is nearly full so canine instinct is kicking in...so Little Bit will have the bed to herself tonight.


apparently it is now time to string up the electical wire around the bottom of the fence, ......all 1,250 feet of it.

Raja is fitting in just fine and even Kodi has allowed him to sniff her without having her snap at him. it looks like he has grown already in only two weeks.

Kodi just walked in to say hello and demand some petting (and a biscuit!)

Thank you all for the kindness and good advice you have provided. I appreciate it.

Phew!

I'm glad she's feeling good, what a roller coaster!

The rest of your pack is cracking me up!

..... love and moral support to the entire family..........

Glad to hear that it is going well, Kuvasz. Here's our favorite "cookies".... some virtual treats for my tribe to yours.

Pacco nods "of course", Kodi is a trooper.

Really good news. So much better.

the furry and less furry members of our pack here in East York are glad to hear that Kodi's feelin' better, that Raja's fitting in, and that the houdini-dogs are keeping up their standards.

Oh my, having been gone for a while and reading up on the pack has been a page turner.

I do feel for you and the ups and downs with Kodi. She is a fighter, obviously, just being able to keep up with Raja and let him know what for!

My thoughts are with you and your pups. Your family is a treasure. Dys and I and our dog Sally all wish you the best.

Ten days!!
No news!!!
Please post some .....