Do you have advice for Snevinters diet (after spleen removed)?

[Snevinter]

Dear all,

I hope you are enjoying your weekend I am new here, but have looked in from time to time over some years. I hope you can give me some guidance.

Twelve days ago, my wolf pack buddy, Snevinter, was operated on. It turned out:

* she had internal bleeding of 1 1/2 liter
* her blod percentage (anemia?) was down to 2,5 percent
* she had a single large cyste/tumor in the spleen.

The spleen with tumor inside was removed, and the bleeding was handled.

The vet feels there are few chances that it has to do with hemangiosarcoma. That she should be able to regain her own being after recuperating, although he, of course, can guarantee nothing.

My questions is how best to help Snevinter regarding food? Perhaps you have some advice?

* Snevinter is 11 years old.
* With few exceptions, she is and always has been, at dog with lots of good energy and has led a healthy life. With this I mean she is used to long walks, stimulation with other dogs, owners who have flexible jobs and are with her a lot, brain and nose work, etc.
* She has rarely been feed unhealthy things (dog snacks and such), and has for a short time been on a raw diet and has otherwise lived on high quality kibble. Right now she is on Lupo kibble. She devouvers anything and everything.

We would like to feed her in small portions, perhaps four or five times a day from now on in her life. But I am not sure which type of food would be best for her (regarding her age, missing spleen, activation level, etc..).

Kibble, Homemade, Raw food - we are open to all, but we just do not know the best direction to go

I hope you have some good advice for us. Thank you

[LisaT_II]

Off the top of my head, I don't remember particular recommendations for spleen removal diet, but I might not have been paying attention. I personally am a fan of a home-prepared diet. Without a spleen though, I think they are more susceptible to infection? If this is the case, I might be more hesitant in feeding a raw diet where they are more exposed to pathogens.

Things that do pop into mind is whether your dog has been fully tested for tick disease, since tick disease can often lead to spleen enlargement. Tick diseases can cause "reactive spleens" which inflame and get congested - I don't know if that can then cause a cyst. I also don't know if there is regular monitoring of blood counts for awhile after the spleen is removed.

My inclination is to support the blood one thing that comes to mind would be a good vitamin B complex that uses a methylfolate instead of folic acid. Jarrow's B-Right is what I use here, it also contains a good form of B-12.
http://www.jarrow.com/product/57/B-Right

There is supposed to be a mushroom product out there that is promising for hemangiosarcoma. I don't know how well it actually works, but if there is a chance that this is what the tumor was, it might be the right time to try it for a bit with the tumor just removed.

[SherriA]

Welcome!

Home made is always best You control the ingredients and the quality! Of course, it has to be appropriately balanced, but you know that.

If home made isn't an option, then a premade raw is a good choice, though as Lisa said, if infection is an issue then raw may not be ideal. My previou beagle couldn't haldne a raw diet as he got older, and we switched to cooked pretty seamlessly. Canned or dehydrated are alternatives as well. Kibble, being highly processed, is generally the least optimal choice.

[Snevinter]

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate you taking the time. I will look into your answers some more and may have some more questions.

Snevinter is having a rough day today.

We have been told by the vet, that because of the low blood procentage, she is only allowed to take small trips to the yard to pee. A few days ago it was measured to be 3,5 (it was 2,5 two weeks ago, but it turns out we excersized her a bit too much the first week) percent.

Today she loses balance when she greets someone at the door (we did not manage to stop her in time). She rests a lot. She lies down after taking 20 steps out into the yard.

We think she is tired because my brother visited with his children yesterday, and even though they left her alone, she did not rest as much and sleep as much.

It is difficult to see her like this. We feed her kibble in small portions five times a day with water. We add a spoonful of broth and a spoonful or two of deer meet in small pieces.
(We cooked some deer meet and bones the other day and skimmed the fat).
We also try to encourage her to drink water more than usual (by adding it to kibble and by adding a bit of broth). I am not sure how much we should do this.

Thank you again. We are a bit worried today, but it has happened a couple of times that she looses energy like this (or worse). It is just such a long time (sometimes 24 hours) that she is "down".

[LisaT_II]

I would call this lab and explain what your dog is going through and ask if they recommend if he should be tested for any tick disease: http://www.protatek.com/reflab.html

[BarksaLot]

Sorry to read about all your going through. I don't know at this point if I could call myself much of an expert to offer advice. This time it's me with the cancer. I was diagnosed with a neuroendrocine tumor about the first of the year. I was supposed to have had my spleen and possibly part of my pancreas out last week. Had numerous Ct scans and a octetide scan that was supposed to tell if it had spread. They Didn't think so, but woke up a couple hours later to no surgery preformed, 4 biopsies taken of the liver area with chemo in my future. Since we'd anticipated the spleen removal I got injections presurgery for infections I'd likely encounter and told I'd need all the yearly injections. I was also told my cancer is rare but I'm guessing that's saying your a little pregnant.