My ‘young’ lab (13) was dx on Thursday after a week of limping a bit (assumed arthritis). Previously no sign of age at all and acted like a 6yo. Vet has given him oxycodone and obv suggested due to his age that he wouldn’t recommend amputation/ chemo, so treat palliatively. He also suggested that it was likely it had already spread, as that what they tend to see, but didn’t recommend further investigation. Said statistically 6 weeks untreated, 6 months treated, but treatment not being pursued.
Any experience? His big sis (14) has bloody awful arthritis and we’ve long been expecting her to go first, so it’s a bit of a bugger. Might end up losing two in short order and the kids are in bits.
He’s ok right now - eating, hobbling a bit. Might be useful to know other people’s experiences with timelines. Dd has OCD and anxiety and it’s going to be pretty gruelling.
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Osteosarcoma in elderly lab
Blackdoggotmytonguestill · 30/05/2020 17:54
So sorry to hear that. I'm a vet. It's not good news at all for your dog.
Osteosarcomas are painful and dramatically weaken the bone so a pathological fracture is a very possible consequence (where the bone breaks with very little stress).
If my own dog had an osteosarc, I would put him to sleep very soon.
I'm always also wary with labradors because they are so stoic and goodhumoured that ime people tend to very much underestimate their discomfort. I would also be looking very hard at the quality of life of the 14 year old with "bloody awful arthritis" - it's not going to kill her in and of itself, so you are likely to have to step in and have her put to sleep sooner rather than later.
In short you are going to lose both of your dogs in the near future, which is so very sad for you and your children, but from the animals' point of view, it's likely that sooner is better. Heartbreaking. 
Thanks both. He is so good natured (has been an absolute pudding his entire life) and I don’t want him to suffer. He’s just very quiet right now but seems... okay. Am hoping I can tell when it’s time.
Point taken about the older one - that said, she’s bizarrely happy and appears not to care one jot that she walks as though she has wooden legs - she still spends most of the day scavenging in case we have dropped a crumb anywhere, wagging her tail. 
She had a vestibular disease episode about six months ago where I thought she was a goner for sure, but she follows us around with a wee head tilt, scavenges constantly and always appears totally amazed and ecstatic that we are here. A bit like a really good tempered and positive dementia patient (which sounds weird - she’s deaf as a post and I’m pretty sure she can’t see very well, so life is pretty much a series of amazing surprises - oh my god! You’re here! I love you! Can I have cheese?’
I don’t want either of them to suffer, but equally don’t want to make decisions too early because they are old/ sick. Dd has cerebral palsy and with all the mental health stuff I don’t want her to connect being old/ frail with being disposable or too much trouble. She’s uber sensitive and has already cried solidly for two days. The other two are fine - upset but will be ok.
She’s 16, not a tiny - and understands and overthinks everything, hence all the mental health stuff. She can’t remember not having him (well, either of them). We’ve been talking a lot about the girl dog as it’s pretty obvious she’s not going to last forever - and she was doing really well with processing that (had already had a little cry and said she thought last Christmas would be girl dog’s last one) but not making a meal about it. So boy dog has totally thrown us all for a loop as we were more worried how he would cope without her. You wouldn’t have known there was only a year between them - they are like chalk and cheese granny with a dodgy hip and a big grin and a sappy teenage boy, so we were lulled into a false sense of security.
We’d mused a bit about getting another dog once girl dog goes so that boy dog had a friend.
Dh is not a cat person lol. She’ll be ok. I’m just juggling the timing thing. The longer ddog is okay, the longer dd won’t be. FML. Parenting is the pits 
Losing a dog is always tough. And so is parenting DC at difficult times.
Our Lab was 11 and her stiffness was put down to arthritis as it was very mild and didn’t really trouble her. The end came very quickly (2 days from severe discomfort to not eating, not ‘with it’ diagnosis and pts). She was in excellent condition, optimum weight and full of life and energy until then.
It’s absolutely horrendous and all I can say is be guided by your vet
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