Losing weight and lymphoma

[fbkeays]

My Misty is losing weight. She has lymphoma for the past year. She did chemo for 6 months and prednisone for 7. Her normal weight is 83-85 pounds. Before the pred kicked in last year she went down to 72 pounds. With the pred she was at 94 pounds. After weaning off the pred, she went back to her normal weight. She went out of remission in Feb and started chemo again, but without the pred. She has been at 83 pounds for several months and at her last chemo appointment (two weeks ago) she went down to 79 pounds.
Because of the lymphoma, I am hyper sensitive to any changes to her health. She still likes to eat. She is eating slower (takes more time). I have increased her food about 25%. Even with that increase, she doesn't look like she is gaining any weight. From a "working" perspective, she looks fine. But she isn't being "worked" enough to cause the lose of weight. At the last appointment, I mentioned my concern over the weight loss. The vet didn't seem concerned, but the vet doesn't ever seem concerned over anything. I never know if what is "bad" and what is "normal side effects, don't worry".
So, those with dogs with lymphoma, after weight has stabilized, losing 4 pounds in 3 weeks, is this "normal"? Or should I worry that this is a pre-sign of coming out of remission?

[chivas]

I dont know much about lymphoma but I do think that dogs battling cancer should be a bit bigger then at any other times in their life.
Chivas had osteosarcoma and I was able to keep her weight up which is pretty unusual in that type of cancer. She was actually about 16lbs overweight which MY vet said was wonderful.
I dont know what you feed your dog, I can tell you what I feed Chivas that kept her weight up.

This is what she ate daily in 2 feedings. (Plus she got liver treats, hamburger balls for snacks)

1 lb buffalo
2 tbls Chopped low carb veggies (squash, collards, kale, etc) OR 1 jar organic baby food
1/2 Can N/D prescription diet


every 3 days - i added one hard boiled chopped organic egg

plus she got a whole host of vitamins/herbs etc.

Dont know if this can help you but it worked wonders for my Chivas.

[fbkeays]

I alternate every few days between ground beef (with bone) and ground chicken (with bone). She was getting about a pound a day, but now that has been bumped up to 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 pounds a day. She also gets a handful of veggies- usually a mix of okra, green beans, brussel sprouts and or broccoli. I put in any leftover veggies we have too like asprigus ends, cabbage or coliflower greens. A mix of probiotics and powdered seaweeds. Whole milk yogurt too.
Her snacks are frozen carrots (try to limit to one carrot a day, but with her begging for them and more then one softie in the house...), cheese and lunch meats for training treats.
I think her diet is good, and enough food. I don't want her to be too over weight because she does have grade two elbows. We are doing some herding and utility obedience work. Her normal weight was not fat and not skinny- just right. She now looks very lean with an "hourglass figure" from all angles. If she loses much more, she will look starved.

[mmgy]

I'm like chivas, I'd prefer to see an extra pound or two, just in case. I know there's a bias here against Hill's prescription diets, as I'm quite against them myself. But that n/d is proven to help cancer patients maintain weight. I'd try adding a bit of it.

We used it with my Rocky (can a day) a few years ago, and felt our program was quite successful.