Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Hi AJ,

I really have no insight on the choices between the different front leg amp procedures as my Leland was a hind leg amp. 

My question is regarding the neutering...was it being looked at 16 weeks or 16 mos as indicated in Jerry's response?  I just brought home a 10 week Dobie puppy on Saturday and the breeder is adamant that the dog isn't neutered till at 2 1/2 years old if at all.  As Jerry mentioned there are studies out that are finding neutering young puppies/dogs (primarily larger breeds I think) is causing other health issues down the road.  The Dobie breeder mentioned issues with cranial cruciate ligament tears in the knees (which Leland had both go out at 4 1/2 years old and he was neutered at 6 months).  It has to do with the hormones being removed through neutering that's effecting growth plates closing in the bones of the limbs.  I think there was also mention in studies that it's being linked to different types of cancers showing up.

If I'm not mistaken I think I had seen a link to an article regarding this on one of the forum discussion here.  Jerry may be able to point out what topic is was under.

I know for myself I won't be neutering this puppy at the vet recommended 6 months.  When you consider that a dog's life is equivalent to 7 years to 1 year for a human then if we wait till 2 1/2 yrs old that would put them into adolescence so hopefully most of the bone growth is done by then.

Good luck with Jaime and keep us posted on how the surgery goes!

Sahana and her Angel Leland

Hey AJ! How cute is Jaime!! I also don't have much input on scapula vs no scapula. My boy Domino is also a front leg amp due to a car accidents before I adopted him. His surgeon agreed with everyone here and to prevent future problems took everything, so he has no scapula. Then when I went to a rehab therapist she said he should have left the scapula lol. So I'm not one way or the other. Her only argument was with Domino being so young at his amp (1yr) that he was an amazing candidate for a prosthetic and wouldn't haven't as many future problems. 

As far as spaying/neutering I do have to throw in my 2 cents, and everyone here will disagree with me! lol. I've been a vet tech for about 5-6 years now. And I actually recently asked Domino's vet about this same question a few weeks ago. Where I work, we see way more health problems with unaltered pets. Our general recommendation age wise is between 4-6 months of age. In females the cancer statistics are crazy! In females spayed before their first heat cycle they are almost 100% less likely to develop mammary cancer/uterine cancer/ovary cancer than an unspayed female. And each heat cycle you wait just adds more of a risk. After one heat its decrease to about 50%, two heats 25% and after three there is basically no difference. In males it's fairly similar, testicular cancer and prostate cancer are a much bigger risk to a male neutered later than 1-2 years old. The biggest thing we see in males is behavior changes and marking. We have several clients that like to neuter at a later age, which is perfectly fine. But around 80% of males that we neuter after about 9 months old have some type of behavior issue, whether its aggression, humping, marking, dominance. So, when I posed this question to my vet, I even asked about hysterectomy vs spay, and vasectomy vs neuter. He said there is still a great risk in both surgeries, hysterectomy is just as invasive and can have just has many complications, and same with a vasectomy. But all of the hormones are still present, which some may see as a good thing. This are still the hormones that are going to cause the behavior problems, and with males, it does nothing to decrease the chances of prostate or testicular cancer. I'm just going by what I see on a daily bases. I hate hate hate hate having 9 month-2yr old males coming in for castrations. The surgery is riskier, the blood vessels are much bigger and at much more risk of bleeding/swelling and complication, and their attitudes are insane. Just last week we castrated a 2yr old black and tan coonhound, who was huge as were his blood vessels. He now has a gigantic hematoma that is having to be drained daily and have daily laser therapy treatments. He's on 2 more medications than he would have been if he was a puppy, he's stressed, his owners are stressed lol. Obviously this doesn't go for every dog out there, but if you can prevent a problem by having it done when their young and healthy then why not? End rant lol

Again, just my 2 cents, I personally have a 5yr old unaltered male, but if I could go back I would have neutered him at 4-5 months old. He now has an enlarged prostate and is going to have to be neutered to prevent problems, and now that he's bigger, the surgery is risky :/

Hope at least some of this helps. In the end, do what you feel is right. If you'd rather wait and think it's best for him, go with your gut and wait. No one can make that decision but you. 

Jaime is absolutely adorable and I'm sure will adjust to being a Tripawd just fine! Make sure to post lots of pics of his homecoming!! 

Cassie and Domino

I have no info to add on the amputation question.  As far as the neutering goes though, I wanted to throw this out there since no one has mentioned it yet.  I see the positive side to doing both surgeries at once...only has to go under anesthesia once, only has one recovery period, cost savings, etc.  But also consider how difficult recovering from an amputation of the leg and having the testes removed will be, compared to only recovering from one at a time.  Neutering is such a common procedure that I think we sometimes forget that it is still pretty painful.  

I agree! Anesthesia is rough on and dog at any age, going through it twice kinda sucks. Domino had his amputation, then got neutered two weeks later because the doctor didn't want him to be under anesthesia longer than he had to be (his amp surgery was a little over 2 1/2 hours). Looking back on it, I'd almost rather have them done at the same time lol. He was on so many good drugs after his amp, and was pretty quiet for about 2 weeks.... then I had to have him neutered and keep him quiet for another 2 weeks! Now granted, it may have helped him  heal better from his amp to have the additional two weeks of rest, and we didn't have any problems from either surgery. It's just something else I would discuss with your vet. The risks of going under twice are most likely far less than staying under anesthesia for a longer period of time. So separate surgeries may be the way to go if your vet feels the same way. 

Can't wait to see home Jaime does after coming home today! 

Cassie and Domino