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Chocolate - Bone Cancer - Orphan Feeding

Chocolate, not good for every 'body'

We've all heard it, "Don't give your dog chocolate it will kill him". We'll how true is it you're probably wondering. Do I have to rush him to an emergency vet if he ate one of my M&M's?

The truth is chocolate contains theobromine that is toxic to dogs in sufficient quantities. This is a xanthine compound in the same family of caffeine, and theophylline.

Toxic Levels

The good news is that it takes, on average, a fairly large amount of theobromine 100-150 mg/kg to cause a toxic reaction. Although there are variables to consider like the individual sensitivity, animal size and chocolate concentration.

On average,
Milk chocolate contains 44 mg of theobromine per oz.
Semisweet chocolate contains 150mg/oz.
Baker's chocolate 390mg/oz.

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:
1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate
1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate
1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.

So, for example, 2 oz. of Baker's chocolate can cause great risk to an 15 lb. dog. Yet, 2 oz. of Milk chocolate usually will only cause digestive problems.

Clinical Signs

Xanthines affect the nervous system, cardiovascular system and peripheral nerves. It has a diuretic effect as well. Clinical signs:

Hyper excitability
Hyper irritability
Increased heart rate
Restlessness
Increased urination
Muscle tremors
Vomiting
Diarrhea

Treatment

There is no specific antidote for this poisoning. And the half life of the toxin is 17.5 hours in dogs. Induce vomiting in the first 1-2 hours if the quantity is unknown. Administering activated charcoal may inhibit absorption of the toxin. An anticonvulsant might be indicated if neurological signs are present and needs to be controlled. Oxygen therapy, intravenous medications, and fluids might be needed to protect the heart.

Milk chocolate will often cause diarrhea 12-24 hours after ingestion. This should be treated symptomatically (fluids, etc..) to prevent dehydration.

If you suspect your pet has ingested chocolate contact your Vet immediately! They can help you determine the the proper treatment for your pet.

Bone Cancer                                                            Return to the top

Cats and Dogs differ in the way bone cancer matures and how treatment should be administered. Because of the rapid nature of osteosarcoma, treatment should be sought as soon as possible. The only trouble is that the most common sign, lameness and pain usually happens when it is already taken firm hold. It is also mistaken by owners at first as arthritis, stiffness or pulled muscle in which veterinarian care is usually not immediately sought.

Osteosarcoma is the most common long bone tumor in dogs and cats. This is a very aggressive tumor causing lysis (disintegration of bone) or bone production or both. There is some degree of soft tissue involvement and metastasis (transfer of the disease to another part of the body) is common in the early part of the disease.

Canine Osteosarcoma Treatment

There are several available options for the treatment of osteosarcoma. Chemotherapy in combination with surgery are considered to be the primary therapy in dogs without any detectable metastasis. Amputation or limb sparing will resolve the primary tumor and resolve the pain and lameness associated with osteosarcoma. However, on cases where surgery alone is performed, 90% of affected dogs will die of metastasis within one year.

The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor along with a clean healthy cell margin. This is usually accomplished by amputation. Limb sparing could also be done with insertion of an allograft after removal of the affected segment of bone. An allograft is a graft of tissue taken from a donor of the same species sufficiently unlike genetically to interact antigenically.

Also, chemotherapy significantly prolongs the survival of dogs with osteosarcoma when used in conjunction with surgery. Medicinally, Cisplatin alone or in combination with doxorubicin markedly improves survival time to a median of 8-10 months with the percentage of dogs alive after 11 months at 50%. Carboplatin another drug with less renal toxicity has the same survival time as Cisplatin.

Furthermore, radiation therapy is also used in the treatment of osteosarcoma. This is very important for limb saving procedures, since it aids in local control after marginal resection (removal). It usually provides pain relief after the 3rd or 4th session. This option is attractive for those who do not want to pursue amputation procedures.

Most animals adapt mentally well to amputation. Probably because survival is a basic instinct and they do not have any social pressures associated with it. Physically, animals that are young and not overweight adjust the best. As a veterinarian, I find that the immediate key to a successful amputation is the aftercare and the ability to keep the pet from licking or biting at the wound. Animals that are not compulsive in this manner require less care and heal more quickly with less chance of additional infection.

Feline Osteosarcoma

Unlike its canine counterpart it has a much lower rate of metastasis and longer term survival can be expected with complete excision. Median survival for cats with osteosarcoma is approximately 2 years with many cats outreaching that. Due to the slow metastatic rate, radiation therapy can play an important role in osteosarcoma that cannot be totally excised. Though, chemotherapy is not routinely warranted due to the slow metastatic nature of feline osteosarcoma, it should be considered in a case to case basis.

Conclusion

There is no other way at this time but to say that the prognosis is poor in pets for long term expectancy although cats fair much better. However, it is important to note that if a majority of the pain is relieved a pet can enjoy a fairly content life until other organs become involved. Therefore, routine examinations should be maintain to monitor how the body is coping and the speed of metastasis.

Orphan Feeding                                                              Return to the Top

Environment

Puppies need a clean, warm, draft-free nesting area. The air
temperature in their immediate vicinity should be 85-90 F for the first week and about 80 F during the next 3-4 weeks. By the time thepups are 6 weeks of age, temperatures can be reduced to 70 F.

Temperatures can be maintained with heat lamps, light bulbs or heating pads covered with 3-4 layers of towels. Great care must be taken that the pups are not overheated during the first few days of life, when they are unable to move away from the heat source.

Clean newspaper is good bedding because it is easily disposed of. As the pups begin to move around, newspaper should be replaced because it is slippery. Cloth bedding offers good footing and is washable.

Feeding

Puppies may be fed by bottle or by stomach tube. Stomach tube feeding is much faster and especially handy with large litters. Many people, however, prefer to bottle-feed because of prolonged puppy contact. Your veterinarian or clinic staff can instruct you in either method of feeding.

Newborn puppies should be fed 3-4 times daily by tube feeding or 5-6 times daily by bottle feeding. At 2 weeks of age, 3 tube feedings or four bottle feedings are usually sufficient.

Puppies must be helped to urinate and defecate by gently stroking the genital area with a tissue or cottonball moistened with warm water after each feeding. Be persistent until they urinate or defecate.

Frequent crying or failure to gain weight indicates a problem.
Call the doctor. In general, a pup should double its weight in 8-10 days. Overfeeding can be worse than slight underfeeding.

How Much Should You Feed?

You can determine how much to feed an orphan pup by considering its daily caloric requirements. The total daily caloric requirements for pups under 4 weeks of age are:

1st week 3.75 calories/ounce of body weight daily
2nd week 4.50 calories/ounce of body weight daily
3rd week 5.00 calories/ounce of body weight daily
4th week 5.50 calories/ounce of body weight daily

In general, milk substitutes contain around 1 calorie per ml.

Example: You plan to feed a 5-ounce puppy less than 1 week of age 4 times daily. The puppy requires 3.75 calories/ounce body weight x 5-ounce pup = 18.75 calories needed for one day. You are feeding 4 times a day. Therefore, 18.75/4 = 4.68 calories given at each feeding. Your milk substitute contains 1 calorie/ml. Therefore, you should feed 4.68 ml (about 5 ml) each feeding.

Solid foods should be introduced at 3 weeks of age. Pan-feed a thin gruel made by blending good-quality puppy food with puppy's milk formula. Gradually thicken the gruel until no milk substitute is used at about 6 weeks of age. At this time, the pups should be offered good-quality puppy food 3 times daily.

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