Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Sorry if this is posted in the wrong area. It’s my first time!!
I’m in England and have a rescue dog from Romania - a former street dog.
Harry developed a lump in January of this year and was diagnosed with cancer and had bad colitis after anaesthetic for a punch biopsy. We were reluctant to give him anaesthetic again as we didn’t think he’d get through it. He had his back leg amputated three weeks ago when the cancer became worse.
He has had some big ups and downs in the last three weeks - vomiting, dehydration, phantom limb pain and struggling with the pressure on only one back leg.
He is currently taking pardale, amantadine and gabapentin and still seems to have pain here and there. He has days where he can walk quite far and others where his remaining back leg just can’t hold him up for long.
He’s a brave fighter!
sammo71 said
Sorry if this is posted in the wrong area....
No worries! We've moved your post to its own topic here where it will get the attention is deserves rather than being buried in an old topic about movies.
He has days where he can walk quite far...
That may be the problem right there. Three weeks is a bit to be going "quite far" at all, and Harry is likely over doing it. Please keep in mind that walks do not build strength, only stamina. There are many starter exercises you can to to focus on rebuilding strength and balance. Then, start with more frequent very short walks. Find much more helpful information about rehab and conditioning in the Tripawds e-books and Featured Blogs.
While you wait for comments from others, use the Advanced Search above to refine your forum search results with specific phrases, and you're sure to find lots of helpful feedback. You can also search all blogs here .
Please keep us posted. Your future forum posts will not require moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Hi and welcome.
I agree with Admin guy- 3 weeks out from surgery is really early. And it sounds like Harry had a few extra challenges during recovery so he is a little behind. While at 3 weeks the surgery site is healed it takes a long, slow build of activity to get a Tripawd strong and stable.
My little Pug Maggie lost a rear leg to mast cell cancer. It took her about 6 months to work up to walking half the distance she could before her amputation. Back then I didn't know about exercises or rehab- I just let Maggie to what she wanted. She was a 7.5 year old Pug at the time of surgery and she had always been stubborn and a bit on the lazy side so as it turned out I was never in danger of letting her over due things.
Fast forward several years and I adopt a 10 month old Pug mix who lost her rear leg after being hit by a car at 7 months old. Elly was full of energy and wanted to go go go. Since I've learned about how to build strength and endurance I slowed her down and started working with exercises and lots and lots of games. Food games and puzzles are great for building strength, working on balance and they tire her out! We do walk most days, but they are not long.
I don't update Elly's blog too often but if you want to look through you can see some of our activities.
How big is Harry? How old?
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thanks for the warm welcome 🤗
Harry is 25kg and we think he has some German Shephard and Collie in him. Being a rescue we estimate he is around 10 years old.
I read a lot of posts last night and am wondering if he is struggling a bit since he’s been off Metacam. This was suggested by the vet when he started vomiting 10 days ago. He hasn’t vomited for a week now.
They do want to cut down on amantadine and gabapentin and re-introduce metacam within the next few weeks so that may help. I’ll chat with the vet tomorrow and see what they think.
Thanks so much for your helpful words.
Does he have arthritis? Since he is around 10 and a former street dog I wouldn't be surprised. Most pups here are off pain meds 2 to 3 weeks post op. If Harry does have other joint issues then a long term anti inflammatory like metacam might be needed. I've not used metacam but based on what I've read here it can cause some stomach issues. There are other options like rimadyl and galiprant- you might discuss with your vet.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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