Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Thank you for the feedback. I am trying to not be paranoid. 🙂 I had read somewhere along the way about some types of cancers - or maybe it is location of the cancer - that can rob the dog of nutrients therefore making it crave more food. I don't think that is it but keeping it in the back of my mind. She has been this way for about three weeks or so.
    The DES is used to control bladder leaks - mainly while she is sleeping. She started having leaks in her sleep about 4 years ago. She was spayed during the time when the school of thought was to do it before they went into their first heat. She was about 9 months old. Now they have learned it is not good for dogs to do that and one of the side effects in females can be the bladder leaks. She has zero leaks if on the medicine. If she is off, it starts again within 2 weeks. I never even knew it was used on people. I will definitely look into side effects in dogs and look for an alternative if appropriate.
   We do have plenty of green beans in the house and I have started adding that about a week ago to try to help the issue. I buy in large quantities or I would have a HUGE golden retriever. 🙂
    I am leaning toward this being some type of worm but want to see what the pro's think and get feedback from others that have been through similar circumstances with the cancer/chemo.
    Her leg issues did get better. She repeatedly re-injured the remaining back leg by slipping/falling. I kept her confined to carpet or grass while she healed her sprains/strains. The key was then putting on the Dr Buzby's toe grips. Now the only time she falls is when she gets knocked down by my hyper dog and we are currently working on her. We do have runners every where in the house that doesn't have carpet but she is a Velcro dog and would not stay on them.
     Bella is doing great otherwise. We are currently looking into seeing if she can be a therapy dog at St Jude's Children's Hospital which is where we live. I can't imagine a more perfect fit. I am waiting to hear back about their dog therapy group to make sue they will take her since she cannot get her vaccines for three years.

🙂 That is definitely a possibility. She did feel bad during chemo, we were just able to keep her eating normally. That was the hardest part of chemo....she would go through the bad and start to feel better and get that twinkle in her eye and it would be time for her next round.

We thought the eating thing would pass but she only seems to be getting more intense with it. Her personality has always been very prim and proper with all things. She is like that with other things again but just eats like a line backer after practice. When I give her a treat, she is literally slobbering on everything around her while pushing the other dogs out of the way.

I think I am just erring to the side of caution. I am praying it is just a side effect of feeling better or some personality change/issue.  I just don't want something going on and not catch it but really trying not to be too paranoid. Luckily my vet gets it and won't think I am a hypochondriac. With my Golden's annual visit this year, there was a question I had about something. I asked what the chances of this being a problem were. My wonderful, sweet vet looked at me sadly and said, "Diane, I feel awful but if this were any other patient, I would say there is little to no chance. But you are like the lady that keeps getting struck by lightning over and over again. I am scared to tell you it will be okay with your dogs because it seems like you keep making up that small bad percentage of what can go wrong."

I had two dr's at her primary vet AND her oncologist who had no idea and had never heard about the permanent darkening of the skin/tummy area after amputation. It wasn't until I talked to other collie-Tripawd moms that I found out this was a normal occurrence. One had pictures where all the skin on the back 1/2 of the dog turned dark. I eventually showed the dr's the pics of the other collie bellies and they thought it was fascinating. I still don't understand why that happens but it is good to know that it is normal after they lose a leg. It is weird stuff like that that has me asking the question like that here. The combined knowledge of this group is amazing.

Quick update about talking to primary vet:
-He actually called me and left message to check on her and get the info for the toe grips. I stopped by to drop off info and we talked. He was initially very concerned. It seems it isn't too unusual for a dog with cancer to have a ravenous appetite as some cancers will steal the nutrients from the dogs and they are trying to replace them. However, he said if she wasn't showing a noticeable drop in weight with the increased appetite, he isn't nearly as concerned. He pulled the bloodwork recently sent from oncologist and says without any weight loss, he is much more inclined to believe it is psychological and even saw it in one of his own dogs. Since Bella was already the by-far, most submissive of my 3 dogs, she may be feeling as if she needs to secure her pack position. He said from an evolution stand point, an animal that cannot "keep up with the pack" may feel they are going to get booted, especially when she was already at the bottom in her mind. And while I have tried not to, I may have been sending signals that I felt sorry for her. So.......for now, we are just going to watch her closely to make sure there are no physical changes and do some work on her self-esteem. 🙂

I have read and greatly appreciate all of the posts/comments/suggestions. It is so nice to know there are others I can run to that "get it".