pets reactions to owners who have cancer

Hello. I'm new to the forum. My husband was recently diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer and is now taking chemo. About the same time he was diagnosed, our dog started snapping and growling at him when he pet her. This is bizarre. They were "buddies" before, and my husband has always lavished love and praise on her. So I'm wondering if she knows something is wrong with him. And I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Thanks!

Our dog is just the opposite - she lays on the bed with him and when he is exercising with his walker walks right behind him as he walks around the house.  She acts like his nurse and watches out for him. 

You say your husband was recently diagnosed.  If you're anything like us, then this is an incredibly stressful time for you.  When my husband was first diagnosed we went through a whole gamut of emotions each and every day...mostly just total shock and devastation.  Your dog could just be picking up on the tension and stress.  Animals do react differently. 

We had a miniature schnauzer, and the dog seemed more tense when my husband was first diagnosed.  We attributed this to Dave's illness but later found out that our dog was quite ill at that time.  Believe it or not, the dog had cancer, too.  I lost my little dog only a few months after finding out Dave had stage IV cancer, and that was a double whammy for me as this little dog was my best buddy!  You might want to have your dog checked to make sure nothing is physically wrong (it's a longshot but still might be worth checking into). 

 Our cat, however, who had never shown much interest in Dave, was suddenly his best friend.  All I know is that animals are incredibly sensitive.  My best guess is that the dog is picking up on all the stress and tension and just reacting negatively to it.  ?? 

Nancy

Hi

I have RCC and am currently taking Sutent with positive results. We have 8 dogs and there really hasn't been any change in their behavior. I am also a full time dog trainer and have never experienced a negative reaction from a dog even on my subpar days. Assuming nothing physically is wrong with the dog, my best educated guess is the dog is reacting to all the stress and emotions that you must be going through. Dogs will often misinterpret emotions and react negatively. She will probably come around as things calm down a little. The most important thing he can do is to try and be calm and not force himself on her but try to continue normal rituals such as his feding her, walking, letting out etc. Good luck with everything!

 

 

On 10/4/2009 Sanlin wrote:

Our dog is just the opposite - she lays on the bed with him and when he is exercising with his walker walks right behind him as he walks around the house.  She acts like his nurse and watches out for him. 

Oh, that's nice - I wish ours did the same! Thanks.

I'm glad you're getting positive results with the Sutent. And thanks for your advice. I think I will take her in for a check-up first. And my husband's rituals have changed - he's missed a lot of work so has been home more and spending more time in bed. We've noticed in the past that when we are doing things together here at home, she wants to butt her little nose in. It's almost as if she's jealous of him! Maybe she just doesn't like not having me to herself during the day. I really don't know. Good luck to you!

On 10/4/2009 Risktaker51 wrote:

Hi

I have RCC and am currently taking Sutent with positive results. We have 8 dogs and there really hasn't been any change in their behavior. I am also a full time dog trainer and have never experienced a negative reaction from a dog even on my subpar days. Assuming nothing physically is wrong with the dog, my best educated guess is the dog is reacting to all the stress and emotions that you must be going through. Dogs will often misinterpret emotions and react negatively. She will probably come around as things calm down a little. The most important thing he can do is to try and be calm and not force himself on her but try to continue normal rituals such as his feding her, walking, letting out etc. Good luck with everything!

 

 

Thanks for responding. I think you are right. Just this last day or so, she has returned to her usual affectionate self toward him. Maybe she had to adjust, just as we did? I may take her for a check-up anyway.

I'm so sorry that you lost your little dog at such a bad time. My mom died a few years ago from bladder cancer, and a short time later I lost two of my dogs and the cat that had belonged to her. It was awful.

I keep wanting to say that I HATE cancer. But who likes it?

My best wishes to you and your husband. I saw our primary care physician this evening, who was the first to diagnose my husband, and she said she had talked to the oncologist and learned that my husband's tumor is very aggressive. I am so scared!

 Karen

 

On 10/4/2009 Twiddles wrote:

You say your husband was recently diagnosed.  If you're anything like us, then this is an incredibly stressful time for you.  When my husband was first diagnosed we went through a whole gamut of emotions each and every day...mostly just total shock and devastation.  Your dog could just be picking up on the tension and stress.  Animals do react differently. 

We had a miniature schnauzer, and the dog seemed more tense when my husband was first diagnosed.  We attributed this to Dave's illness but later found out that our dog was quite ill at that time.  Believe it or not, the dog had cancer, too.  I lost my little dog only a few months after finding out Dave had stage IV cancer, and that was a double whammy for me as this little dog was my best buddy!  You might want to have your dog checked to make sure nothing is physically wrong (it's a longshot but still might be worth checking into). 

 Our cat, however, who had never shown much interest in Dave, was suddenly his best friend.  All I know is that animals are incredibly sensitive.  My best guess is that the dog is picking up on all the stress and tension and just reacting negatively to it.  ?? 

Nancy

 

It is known that dogs sometimes sense abnormalities in their owners, and specially trained dogs have been shown to be able to detect lung, breast and skin cancers by smell. 

My sister-in-law's dog began pawing her breast a couple of months before she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and stopped after she had a mastectomy.

Mine sniffed at my neck all of the time just before they found my tonsil cancer