My Cavalier has a tumour and a heart murmur

[Mrs L]

hi

we are just back from the vets with my 5 year old Cav … he’s got a growth on his back which is a tumour which they want to remove, and whilst she was examining him she has  found a “noticeable” heart murmur. They want to go ahead with the op (she said only 25% are cancerous but she said this does look nasty). I know the op itself is a risk, but looking beyond Thursday I need to know what to do to give him the best chances. Unfortunately, he is my little stressy  >:D dog and suffers terribly from “puppy paddies” (despite being 5!) and my fear is his little heart runs at 19 to the dozen when he’s in a strop. The strops are around separation, but it’s not typical anxiety, it’s a tantrum if he gets left out of anything!

The vet has said that he can’t have drugs ’til he’s in failure, and there is no way of saying when that may happen. If and when it happens, drugs can keep them going for many more years, so I know at the moment I’m looking on the worse side, but I can’t deal with waiting for something so sad to happen.

please can anyone help?

A

[Val]

Hi Mrs L
Sorry about your cav I can’t understand what your vet is saying about the heart is it a murmer or is it valves and why would they be waiting until he is in heart failure to treat?
Five is when Cav’s get heart problems if they are bred from none clear stock even then there is a risk, I hope you have told the breeder as it’s most important as hearts are a major problem within the breed.
As for the operation the vet will take care he will be tubed so the risk is less for him.
He sounds to me as though you are giving in to him a bit much I have never owned a dog that throws tantrums but if I did I would ignore it.
If a good vet feels a lump they can be pretty sure if it’s cancer or not and if it is a lump that has to go or one that the dog can live with
Val

[Mudgie]

okay your doggie has a lump which needs to be removed – once it is removed you can then deal with whatever it is if there are any after affects.

Vet will be well used to dealing with pooches with separation anxiety – or spoilt dog syndrome as I call it.  I know I have one who excels in it.  I ignore it now and he is much better about the whole world in general.

I have yet to hear of a dog dying from a strop so you would be best letting your vet do his job and I would ask for a bit more details on the heart stuff – you will probably have been in shock about some of the stuff said so maybe you need a bit more clarity around what is going on to put your mind at rest a bit. 

Dog will pick up on your stress so you need to be as calm as you can and not over indulge him either. 

Having said all that with my level head on, I truly understand how upsetting this is for you but you have to be strong and get through the next few days as calmly as possible.  Big hugs  :-*

[Author]

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