Cancer is a leading cause of death in companion dogs and causes significant welfare suffering through disease progression and treatment effects. Understanding how to manage cancer welfare — from diagnosis through palliative care — improves outcomes for affected dogs.
Canine cancer welfare requires honest assessment of quality of life across the entire course of disease and treatment. The goal of cancer management — whether curative treatment, palliative care, or hospice — should always be to maximise the time the dog spends with acceptable quality of life, not to prolong life at any welfare cost. Chemotherapy in dogs, when appropriately selected and dosed, allows most patients to maintain good quality of life during treatment with manageable side effects. The welfare of dogs with osteosarcoma is particularly important: bone cancer pain is severe and poorly responsive to standard analgesics; amputation, despite appearing drastic, provides immediate dramatic pain relief and most dogs adapt remarkably well. Owners are often more distressed by amputation than the dogs themselves. Quality-of-life assessment tools including the HHHHHMM Scale help owners make objective decisions about when to continue treatment and when to pursue humane euthanasia.