Current statistics show that one out of every three dogs will get cancer. If you have a sick pet, one of the most difficult decisions is when to put down a dog with cancer.
Many dog cancers are treatable, but how do you know when to say goodbye to your dog? This is a complicated decision, and it should be discussed with your veterinarian. Your choice should be based on the type of cancer and the dog’s overall health and condition before and during treatment.
Understand Your Dog’s Treatment Options
Cancer can manifest in many different ways. Watch for the ten early warning signs of cancer in dogs. If your dog is exhibiting symptoms of cancer, your vet will run tests to determine a diagnosis.
Once the type of cancer is determined, the probability of successful treatment and your dog’s quality of life during and after the treatment will be determined.
Some cancers are easier to treat than others. Some common dog cancers include:
- Osteosarcoma (bone cancer)
- Lymphoma
- Brain tumor
- Bladder cancer
Visit our canine cancer library to learn more about your dog’s specific type of cancer.
Treatment options will impact your dog’s quality of life in different ways. Dogs can undergo surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, just like humans. Treatments can include pills or injections. Alternative cancer treatments that may improve your dog’s quality of life include things like:
- Special diets
- Nutritional supplements
- Pain management methods such as acupuncture and massage
You can often use a combination of traditional and alternative treatments, but always discuss this with your veterinarian.
Gauge Your Dog’s Pain Levels
Some people think, my dog has cancer but seems fine. Dogs can’t tell you how much pain they are in with words, but there are a few behaviors you can look for as indicators.
Watch for symptoms such as:
- Persistent limping
- Heavy panting or whining
- Extreme lethargy
- Difficulty going to the bathroom
- Loss of appetite
Keep in mind, some cancers are more painful than others. Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) is considered to be among the more painful forms of cancers. Your veterinarian should be able to help you determine the pain factor for your dog.
Will a dog with cancer die naturally? Yes, but remember that although they are not always showing pain, they are likely experiencing it. Terminal cancer in dogs with persistent pain is a likely situation for euthanasia.
Consider Your Dog’s Quality Of Life and Overall Health
Once your dog has been diagnosed with cancer, consider their quality of life. We all want to hold on to our beloved family friends for as long as possible, but it may not always be in their best interest to do so.
Have an honest conversation with your veterinarian and take into account:
- Your dog’s type of cancer and likelihood of survival
- How difficult the cancer treatment will be for your dog
- Your dog’s estimated pain levels
Before and during treatment, look for these signs:
- Loss or severely reduced appetite
- Extreme or rapid weight loss
- Inability to keep food down
- Persistent diarrhea
- Difficulty moving (limping or lameness)
- Lack of energy
- Lack of interest in things they love
- Dramatic shifts in habitual behavior
When to euthanize a dog is not a conversation anyone wants to have. But if your dog’s quality of life is suffering from treatment or from the cancer itself, you may need to discuss euthanasia with your vet.
Making the Hardest Choice – Putting Down a Dog
If your vet advises that it’s in your dog’s best interest to put them down, remember that although your dog would eventually die naturally, you’ll be giving them a more peaceful passing. It’s natural to feel a wide range of emotions when your dog is dying of cancer. Having to make the difficult decision to put your pet to sleep doesn’t diminish the life you’ve given them. If your pet has felt loved and cared for their whole life, one moment in time can’t erase that.
Remember that the process is reported to be completely painless. A vet will give your pet an IV with a sedative, then they will apply the drugs that will allow your dog to drift off into a final, peaceful rest. Services are available for at-home euthanasia for the most compassionate and stress-free experience for your pet, and also for you.
All pets eventually pass away. Allowing our pets to do so on terms that are positive and loving is one of the clearest ways we can show them we love them as much as they loved us.
Help Our Mission – Spread Awareness
The National Canine Cancer Foundation – We Are the Cure is a registered nonprofit foundation, focusing on dog cancer. We help fund universities that are performing cutting-edge research with the goal of dog cancer prevention, finding cures, better treatments, and more accurate cost-effective diagnostic methods.
We want to diminish the number of dogs who are suffering from cancer. We’re not there yet, but anything helps. Help spread the word by visiting our website, sharing our resources, and getting involved today.
Our beautiful 8 year old German Shepherd, Cooper , lived a little over 3 weeks after diagnosis of cancer of the spleen. Since the cancer was widespread he was not a candidate for surgery or chemo. Our
wonderful vet and staff did weekly blood tests and ultra sounds. He was on herbal supplements, steroids, and special dog food. With some limitations, he continued to live his life as normally as he could. One evening he laid down on his bed and never got up again. We arranged with our vet to come to our home. It became clear he was dying. He passed from what was certainly a ruptured spleen. We were with him thru it all. He was the most brave, courageous, and loving boy. We will miss him forever.
Ann and Jack, I am so sorry for your loss. I am so happy for you though that you were able to have 3 weeks of bonus time that was well-lived and that you were able to be there with him at the end. Please know that you are not alone and that sweet Cooper felt your love through his life.
My 8 year old Golden Retriever Sophie was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the jaw and euthanized at home four weeks later. One day she couldn’t pick up her beloved tennis ball and the next morning she woke up with a huge mass coming from her jaw/cheek area. My intuition told me to take her to Emergency in which they thought could be a tooth abscess. Unfortunately later that evening I got a call from the vet that the CT Scan revealed cancer and it had eaten away most of the jaw bone up to her joint and the most that could be done was radiation for pain management. I elected not do to that and chose steroids and other drugs but it was obvious to me in the 4th week, it was time to say goodbye. It was the most painful experience of my life. When the vet arrived at my house for the euthanasia, Sophie was playful and pushing her ball around with her nose. I almost cancelled but the vet assured me that day by day, her situation would become painfully unbearable and I couldn’t put my best golden girl through that. I have had 4 Golden’s, all of them lived to 12-13 so I was completely caught off guard. I even had blood tests done that show markers for cancer and hers came out “zero chance of cancer in the next 12 months” and that was done two months prior to her diagnosis.
WOW – I hate it that the blood test said that and it turned out not to be true. But I hate it even more that you lost your Sophie. Thank you for sharing this story with us.
Oh your story just broke my heart. I’ve been there with a 7 year old Golden Doodle about 10 years ago. I’m here again now…and it’s just too soon. Our almost-9 year old Golden Retriever girl was just diagnosed with cutaneous lymphoma. She has large sores all over that we are controlling with steroids. I’m here reading this article as we are considering the unthinkable. Thank you for your story.
Oh! I am so sorry to hear about your Golden girl, that is heartbreaking Angela. Please reach out to us if you need someone to chat with.
I came up to try to figure out when we need to let our beloved 16 year old sable Shetland Sheepdog, Isis, go. She has a huge tumor on her left back end, pushing on the anus. The thing’s about the size of my clenched hand. Our vet shaved it down so we can keep an eye on it. She’s beginning to limp a lot more and I caught her licking it last night. I previously had an old cat that licked her tumors until they broke open and we had to take her to let her go. Isis is, I’m afraid, going down that same track.
As I said, she’s 16. She’s limping a lot, sleeping a lot more. She’s not wanting to cuddle. She used to never want to leave if we were loving on her, now she comes up and gets a bit, then goes and lays down. She eats a bit, but not as much and she is losing weight. She still gets excited for Peanut Butter Puppy Time, and will snap and even fight a bit with her brother (our 3 year old bi-black Sheltie, Sully) over the snacks, but not as excitedly. My husband takes them on walks three times a week, but she’s not able to do the entire circuit that she was able to do last month. We have a big back yard with a dog door that they go into when they want. She used to run the fence when neighbors were mowing, barking like she was telling them how to do it. She doesn’t run anymore, but she will lay in the sunshine some. She is almost deaf and has cataracts that are making seeing harder. We’re not sure if the quality is there for her any longer. We lost her tri-color sister, RhiRhi to cancer three years ago, she was let go on September 22 2020 and we found a pup from a great breeder that had Sully, who was born on the day we let Rhi go. Isis needed a companion and we wanted another Sheltie. We also plan to get another in a few months so Sully has someone to play with.
To complicate matters, we have a cruise scheduled for 7 days starting April 30. We have a fantastic groomer/kennel that has taken our dogs for over 20 years (with our old Border Collie, Angus). They love the shelties and give them lots of love and attention, and they do the grooming. Last year, when we left on a 4-day cruise, we left instructions for her care if she got sick while we were gone. We don’t want to put her through that week-long absence, and I know the kennel folks would feel bad if she passed away, or got very much worse while we were gone and out of contact.
So, we’ve got a deadline of around April 15 (which, damn it, is our 30th meeting anniversary), a few days either way depending on her happiness and health.
When do we do it? We’re both crying daily, watching her go downhill. It’s getting faster and faster that things are slowing for her, hurting her. . She’s our big love and my assistance dog, she barks when I try to get up, telling my husband I’m trying to move, I’m a fall risk with MS and Fibromyalgia. She also has gone out and showed EMS to the door and into the room I was in when I fell and needed them. Rhi was my emotional/pain dog, helping me when I hurt so bad. Sully’s figuring it out. Both our girls taught themselves by watching me.
We love our baby girl so much and we want her as much as we can. But we don’t want her to suffer.
I’m at a loss.
Oh I am so sorry to read all of this. I know it was all very hard. Watching our fur friends decline both as they age and a disease is so hard. The best thing I remember when I am faced with this question is that our dogs don’t live by a calendar. They don’t mark time, only great life experiences. I am sure in that 16 years Isis had an awesome life with both of you. Many hugs to you both as you go through a hard time without her.