Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Theresa and Max
I know it is very hard to see our babies not being themselves but you've got to remember it is still early days with your fluffy.
The initial recovery period can be quite stressful and difficult, I had to hand feed my girl and give her water with a syringe as she stopped eating and drinking for one month after surgery.
All dogs are different, some recover quicker than others so you have to arm yourself with a lot of patience and celebrate every little victory.
Eurydice's first weeks were really difficult as mobility was extremely hard for her, being over 150 pounds at the time.
But I let her adapt as slowly as she needed and everything got better and better and now she is back to being her old happy self, hoping with gusto and enjoying life to the full.
Max will be the same, you just have to give him time.
Oh, another thing.
During the first weeks, Eurydice would just stand up and stay still for longish periods of time, I think she was just "testing" and getting used to the new balance.
You can do this, things will get better, you'll see.
Sending you lots of hugs and cuddles to Max
Teresa and Eurydice
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Hello All,
Sorry its been incredibly busy since Max came home! I think I've turned into a helicopter mommy for Max. I've been following him around He has his spirited moments of wanting to run around , but otherwise he sleeps a lot!
When he gets those spurts of energy I get concerned that he is going to hurt himself because he wants to fly down the stairs without us, or run around the yard very fast! He also has started ducking away when we try to put the harness on him! He wants to do it without us holding the harness. Should we let him?
He had his recheck visit with the surgeon yesterday and she said his incision is healing well, and that he can resume all normal three legged dog activity. (Not exactly sure what that means) She told me to let him be a dog! We still have the gates up so he can't jump up on the furniture and by all the staircases so he can't go down without us. Am I over reacting? I hate to say it but I do miss him sleeping on our bed with us. My husband doesn't think its a good idea to let him do that yet.
I do need to get a few books from the Tripawd library, so I can stop asking so many questions of all of you!!
Teresa thanks for telling me about Eurydice, the past few days Max seems to be laying around a lot more during the day. I am a little concerned about how will he get any stronger if he is doing so much sleeping. He is exactly one month out from surgery. I am trying to be patient but I want to be sure we are doing the right things for him. The physical therapy he had did so much for him I don't want him to go backwards!
I hope you and your puppies are all well!
Love & Hugs,
Theresa & Max
PS I still haven't figured out how to post my pictures and some video! I have to pin one of my kids dwon and see if they can do it for me!
My 17 year old manages my blog, so you are not alone. Took her two seconds to post photos.
After the staples came out, I removed the barriers to the sofa - Otis was up on it in week three. We never had to use the harness indoors of for backyard potty breaks, so if Max doesn't want to wear it all the time, you probably have room for flexibility. We still use if for walks, vet visits, etc.
By 1 month, I was still sleeping on the first floor, but I had moved my box spring down too. Once Otis started doing stairs (he just looked at them for a day or two after I opened them up), it only took him a few days to perfect a rabbit hop type move to go down (he is a front leg amp.). I still don't use the bed frame, but my mattress, box springs and dogs are all back upstairs in the bedroom now. I do keep the stairs gated during the day to limit his going up and down.
And sleeping is fine. One minute out is not that long, and getting around on three is hard work. I wouldn't stress on that unless he appears ill.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I hate auto correct! One month out, not one minute. Indoors or for potty breaks. I sound like I am illiterate!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
tell78 said
He has his spirited moments of wanting to run around , but otherwise he sleeps a lot!
When he gets those spurts of energy I get concerned that he is going to hurt himself...
The lethargy may indeed be a result of all that running around. Be sure to work in lots of core conditioning, balance work, strengthening exercises, massage and stretches before allowing too much explosive activity. You can search all blogs here for lots of helpful rehab info or download Loving Life On Three Legs for lots of professional tips.
PS I still haven't figured out how to post my pictures and some video!
Adding videos to forum posts is simple if you upload them to Youtube (or Vimeo, etc.) first – then you just paste the video URL and it will auto-embed.
Here are detailed instructions for adding photos to forum posts
. If you don't already share photos online somewhere, you can start a free Tripawds blog
any time and upload them there.
Need further help? Post in the Tech Support forum
!
Hope this helps!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Theresa
Lovely to hear from you and Max, great progress!
If he is sleeping a lot and provided when he is awake he looks energetic and happy and wants to do things enthusiastically, I would let him be!
They know better than we can judge when they need a rest.
As for going down stairs I would keep supervising and not letting him come down on his own.
Eurydice still doesn't do stairs and, like Happy Hannah, I doubt she ever will.
But as Max can do it, I would help him and block access so he is not tempted to do it on his own at will and definitely would get him back into bed with you and hubby!!!
As for running around in the garden (with the harness on) I would let him, provided he is not overdoing it.
I let my girl do mad spins in the carpet (just like before) because I know that is a sign that she is deliriously happy, but I allow her because she is fit enough now and it doesn't last long.
You know Max inside out so I think at this point and 1 month after surgery, you can allow him to be a little "crazier" but monitor closely.
I honestly think your heart will tell you how much is too much for Max.
As for jumping on the couch, my girl did it tentatively at month 1 and now masters it.
If Max is not completely comfortable, stand by and help if needed.
You will see he will grow more confident as time goes by.
Theresa, don't ever have a second though about asking us any questions, we are all here for you and we are true companions on this crazy journey.
You are doing a great job
Sending you a big hug and cuddles to Max
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
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Hi Jerry,
I'm trying to embed the URL from Snapfish, but I don't seem to be having much luck...any suggestions?
Max is doing ok, he has a few spills here and there. I am a little concerned about the way he walks/hops. It sometimes seems his is limping a little with one of his back legs. I'm trying to get some video to show the vet. I have to look at some posts of other people's dogs running from behind and see if they do the same thing.
Any help you could give with the uploading of photos will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Theresa
THERESA!!! Soooo good to hear from you AND to hear Max is doing well!!
I'm zero help with adding the photos. I can do it from Photobucket. Someone will come a@ong in a bit and show you how.
What's Max's activity level like? Does he show any tenderness or tension as you massage up and down his spine..his neck..his hips, etc? Gentle, very gentle stretching of his rear leg cause any discomfort? Any swelling aroung knee joint?
Not much help...just a ot of questions! Sorry!!
Can't wait to see some pics and videos! And, again, soooo glad to hear Max is doing so well!
Lots and lots of hugs and love!!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
tell78 said
I'm trying to embed the URL from Snapfish, but I don't seem to be having much luck...any suggestions?
The URL you pasted above takes the user to a Snapfish log-in page.
Photos must be publicly viewable and image URLs must end in a valid image file format (.jp, .png, etc.). The photo cannot be in a private album or library that only you can see in your account.
View any photo online in your browser. Look at the URL in your browser bar at top. Check that it is a valid image file. Copy the image URL or right (or CTRL) click on the image to copy the file locate. Paste that into the Image URL field.
Or, start a free Tripawds Blog and upload the photos there.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Theresa and Max
Here's some videos of my girl hopping, I hope this helps
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Sorry it is a little far away ...
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
My girl's right back leg was a little stiff, Eurydice was sort of dragging it like a wooden leg since surgery.
As there are no hills where we live, we opted for hydropterapy and she had 4 sessions which were really good for her.
Now and as we are traveling, she gets to exercise on a daily basis going up and down hills and sand dunes so her muscles became pristine and she now uses her former stiff back left in a completely normal way with full range of movement.
I increased the difficulty level hill wise as she was getting more and more fit and I am overjoyed to see the result.
Do you have any hilly terrain where you live?
Sending you and Max an avalanche of kisses and cuddles
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
The second video was before hydrotherapy and hill exercise, the first was shortly after we arrived to Portugal so she wasn't still as good as she is now.
I forgot to mention I agree with Sally, make sure his muscles are ok and that being the case hit the hills !!!
Lots of love and cuddles
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
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