My pet is acting strange

westiemom

I'm so sorry if this is the wrong place to post but I'm worried about my dog. She is a sweet, super sensitive girl. I started chemo Friday, May 7. I was sick Sat thru Mon and she saw and heard me getting sick too. She is acting very strange now, her ears hang low when she sees me, she trembles when she is sitting next to me and wont leave my side sometimes (even to go potty). I'm wondering if my scent has changed with the chemo, and if she senses something is going on. I feel so bad for her, this all started when I got home from my first chemo treatment. Anyone else have this experience?  Now the cat, he doesn't much care about anything just so long as his food bowl and litter box are in perfect order, so he is just fine and dandy.

Susie123

I think they sense something is wrong. I didn't have chemo, but after my BMX, my little dog acted the same way. She looked so sad and stayed by my side 24/7.

celia088

They use some Cairn terriers (which are very closely related to Westies) in the Navy as bomb-sniffing dogs.  Westies have an incredibly strong sense of smell, and i do think that your dog smells the chemical scent of chemo from you.  I have read that garlic and curry can be detected in our scent after consuming them also. 

PauldingMom

Yep, my dog too. Sniffed me like crazy. Now that I'm done with chemo. she still follows me like crazy around the house. If I go outside she whines and cries. She never acted like this before. It's like she's found her voice. 

Give that puppy a hug and know that you have a close friend who worries and cares for you. 

mbtlcsw01

Westiemom, I have a female black labrador retriever.  She was about 2 years old when I went thru chemo.  She was and still is so much of a puppy,  but when I went thru that horrible treatment, she was calm, gentle and would not leave my side.  I stayed home by myself from work and she absolutely knew something was wrong with me.  She provided me so much comfort.  Once it was all over, she's back to her old self--puppyish and exciteable.  She got me thru all this.  They are better than some people.  They don't ask stupid questions and they are so loyal.  I'm glad you have her as a comfort.

Jennypoo

I havent done Chemo yet, but since I noticed my lump back in feb, she has been glued to my side. She has become super protective of me. She has gone as far  a sleeping in between me and my husband, we have to chase her to the foot of the bed, where she demands to sleep on my feet. My dog Sadie id a bullmastiff/lab. So she is very big. I love her dearly, but what is she going to do, once my treatments start. I have heard cats are super intuned to their owners too.

coonie

My two dachshunds did the same thing. They can tell if someone's not feeling well. During treatment, they stayed extra close to me the whole time. Once, I even woke up with my youngest licking my bald head I couldn't have made it without them.......still can't

Let her snuggle whenever she wants........it makes her feel better and will probably give you some comfort too:)

westiemom

Thank you all - I feel so much better reading your responses. I'm certain she senses I'm not feeling well, she gets between my husband and I at night and we spoon the night away. She is a great comfort and I thank god I have her in my life.

suzwes

I'll add to everyone else's experience.  After my mx. and during my chemo my dog and cat were by my side.  My dog (8 years old) looked sad and trembled and stayed by me.  My cat (12 years) started sleeping on me and licking my face and bald head also.  It is very comforting and I had been warned that they may not want to be by me the first couple of days after chemo but that was not the case for me.

Scooter-12

Once I started chemo our Max must have detected some odor...if I went into a room it wasn't long before he'd leave with his head hanging.  When chemo was finished he returned to his normal self.  Hurt my feelings.

Stanzie

I didn't have chemo but my 14 year old dachsund was right by my side as soon as I got home from the hospital. She is so important to me and I don't know what I'd do without her having gone through so much together, the death of both my parents, my step mother in-law's death and Mother-in -law 's death, having a difficult pregnancy and having a special needs child to diagnosis of M.S. to my divorce and now B.C. She has always known when things are rough and I need extra company and she is always there for me. I hate that she is 14 but I keep telling her 22 is a good age to go for.... Yes I totally belived our furry children can sense any and all changes.

coonie

Awwhhh Stanzie!!! So sorry for everything you've been through. I know what you mean about our furbabies getting old. My two dachshunds are 14 and 15. I just HATE when they have a birthday 'cause it makes them another year older. They were black and tan, but now they're black and gray  ((((((hugs to you)))))

MicheleS

During chemo, one of my dogs did the same thing.  She seemed worried and stuck to me like glue.  She's back to her normal self.  My other dog and various cats didn't seem to notice I was sick! LOL!

dutchgirl6

Just to add to the thread, when I was recovering from both my surgeries, my dog (7 yrs old, also a Sadie) stayed by my side, whether I was in bed, on the couch or at the computer.  When I came home from my first chemo, she sniffed the arm that had the IV and slinked away.  After that day, she again stuck close to me when I couldn't get out of bed because of my fatigue.  Now that I am feeling better she is less of a shadow.  She has always been something of a velcro dog, but she was really in tune with how I was feeling.  I am scheduled for my next chemo on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see how she reacts.

elimar86861

Those caring pets are sweet!.  My dog acted oblivious during my surgery and rads.  Now if I had athletes foot, she'd get on duty pretty quick.  I guess my dog is a foot "specialist."

celia088

hahahahhahhahaahahaha

jancie

Westiemom - I own a westie and a border terrier.  They stayed glued to my side during the 8 months of treatment.  They can actually smell the chemo drug because you do excrete the smell through the pores of your skin.  My hubby has a highly sensitive nose and he said that I had a strange odor while undergoing chemo.

My horse started acting strange before I was even diagnosed.  She constantly would bump me with her head in my left boob.  Never on my right side - she always aimed for my left side and she did this every single time she saw me for months.  I know a stallion can smell a mare in heat 2 miles away so their noses are even more sensitive than dogs.  Makes me wonder if my horse didn't actually smell the cancer so to speak.

What is your westie girl's name?  I have had westies every since I was a teenager, starting off with Carina, Winston, Duncan, Duffie, Dexter, and now Candi.  I never thought I would ever get another breed of dog other than a Westie until I started doing research on the border terriers.  My border terrier is so obedient - almost to a fault.  As you know Westies are intelligent but far from obedient as you can get.  Candi was sniffing out a mouse yesterday and that had her occupied for over 2 hours to where she was breathing so hard I was worried about her having a heart attack.  She had a one track mind and that was on the mouse, until she resolved that issue she wasn't even going to listen to me.  Not that she listens to me much anyways.  She failed puppy school twice, not because she wasn't smart - she knew exactly what she was supposed to do but she had a mind of her own and nobody was going to force her into anything she didn't want to do at the time. 

kittycat

I have a very emotional Border Collie.  He senses all emotions (we nicknamed him EMO) -  LOL!  When I had my bmx, he laid by my side.  My other dog and cats sensed the need to hang out with me.  My little black cat loved it because she slept in my lap all the time (since I had to sleep propped up on my back).  Animals know a lot more than we realize!!! 

westiemom

jancie..I luv it! My girl is named Nikki, my husband and I are privileged to be allowed to live with her. She is a bed hog, so we wake up with major soreness as to not interrupt the princess sleep. We luv her, she is the first dog I have ever owned. I've always been a cat person, still luv my cat but my westie is so delicious, she stays by my side at all times and knows when I need a smooch. Nikki has those heavy breathing spells when she spots a squirrel, she goes nuts and it takes her a little bit of time to calm down. Westies have a mind of their own, she has us well trained.

dutchgirl6

Jancie, you're lucky it was just a mouse.  My neighbour's westie once cornered a skunk for two hours, and eventually ended up on the wrong side of the spray.  They had to shave him till he was completely bald!  Why it took the skunk two hours to defend himself is beyond me.

anniebford

I got my westie almost a year and a half ago. He is such a pill sometimes but we love him. I have a bamboo looking cat house that's an enclosed 'cave' on the bottom and an open top terrace for a roof. I put a cushion on the roof and it's his favorite spot to be. He lays up there in front of the slider watching what's going on outside. When he's outside he has a tall flower pot full of dirt that he hops up on to survey his kingdom and sleep. Westies are so full of personality and spunk along with a healthy dose of stubborn and trouble. When I was waiting for my test results from the biopsy last month, he was so distraut and depressed looking we thought he ate something that poisoned him. He would lay on his cushion and stare sadly at me. This went on a week until I got my bad news. He came to my side and sat there and then perked up over the day and has been acting normal since. He did not show any distress during my most recent waiting for results time.

Annie

lvtwoqlt

I had a basset hound and before my dx she would follow me around, after my dx she didn't want to leave my side. When I was recovering after my surgery, she would lay by the couch when I was sleeping. I had to get her to move before I could get up or I would step on her. She had a tendancy to want to dash out the door as soon as we put her on the leash and opened the door, she stopped pulling on the leash and would wait for me to get off the step before she would come out the door and patiently waited for me to hook her on the overhead cable run we put up so I wouldn't have to walk her around the yard.

A friend said that her dog bumped her in the breast area and bruised her breast, that is where her breast cancer was found.

Sheila

coonie

Yeeeeppp this is my loyal one.......LOL. Never left my side when I was in treatment, so I guess now he thinks he deserves a good rest. That's life now......ain't it??  LOLOL

westiemom

Hi Coonie!! I luv the picture and what a handsone boy!!

coonie

Awwhhh thanks Westie....

here's both boys lying in the sun.....pure lazy:)

 

Isabella4

I read an article only this last month somewhere that dogs were being trained, with some success to 'sniff out' cancers in people. Seems that we 'cancer people' give off something that only dogs can sniff out !

I have just had a lovely peaceful hour laid on my bed this afternoon, it was just so darn hot outside, my bedroom faces North on one side so is cool when the sun is too hot and there's nowhere else to go. I had 2 of my little Daxies curled up with me. Apparently we were all 3 snoring when DH looked in on us. Much as I love cats, and would love one of mine to come curl up with us, there would be a war, my Daxies HATE cats !!

Isabella. 

coonie

LOL Isabella----as much as I love cats too, I didn't pass on the trait to my two boys. They would give a poor cat a heart attach

Isabella4

Coonie....such lovely pics of your Daxies....I just love my Daxies.

Reduced now to 2 black and tan girls, 1 black and tan boy, 2 red girls, well, shaded reds,( mini smooths), and 3 wire hairs, 2 girls 1 boy.

They really keep me busy, hard to housetrain, cat chasing and digging up my garden, but they are such loyal little things. Life would be miserable without them.

Isabella.

3jaysmom

glad i found this thread! my DH & i have 2 chiuahuas, boy 4 me, girl 4 him.  we're all quite a gang. i had my boy trained as a service dog for my ms. when he was 1-2, he herds me away from doors im walking into, etc...when i got dx w/cancer, he scratched my right side alot, that's where i found lump. don't know connection, or not. he's gotten so protective, that he snarls at my husband if he trys to kiss me i am while he's leaving 4 work. othwise, he loves his daddy..but don't get 2 close to his mommy! the girl is 4 my husband, who's going progressively more &more deaf..they have taught her to bark ONLY as an alert when someones around. SHES gone blind, but manages just fine, my guy herds her too. i couldn't be without them! oh, their names are chica(girl) and one more(we had 4 when we got him) my husband said "that's what we need one more &&in dog..so, that'ss his name now!    i really enjoyed this thread, ladies. thanks for the pix   3jaysmom

westiemom

3jaysmom, your chica and one more (ha!) are adorable. i feel the same way about my little girl nikki, she has been the perfect little caretaker and very protective.  

IsThisForReal

Neat thread!  I've been wondering about this exact topic actually. 

I have a siamese cat who is about 6 y/o.  While he's always been 'my shadow', since my Sx and chemo he just won't leave my side.  If I'm resting alot he's with me, if I'm on the couch he's with me, if I'm cooking he's sitting at my feet, if I"m showering he's waiting at the door. While I"m sleeping my lil furbaby barely leaves the bedroom, and if he does he isn't gone long.  Awww - love these lil creatures - they bring such comfort!