Cancer is a leading cause of death in dogs, particularly in older and certain breeds. Managing welfare through diagnosis, treatment, and end-of-life stages requires informed decision making and veterinary partnership.
Canine cancer welfare management begins with honest, informed decision making about treatment goals. When curative treatment is feasible and the dog can tolerate it, pursuing treatment is appropriate and often welfare-positive. When treatment would cause significant suffering for uncertain gain, palliative care that prioritises quality of life is the more welfare-consistent choice. Pain management in cancer patients requires multimodal approaches, regular quality of life assessment, and willingness to adjust the plan as the disease progresses. End-of-life timing decisions are among the most difficult welfare judgements owners face; validated quality of life tools help make these decisions more systematic and less driven by owner grief alone.