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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.

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What's next?? Newly diagnosed with OSA
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Member Since:
13 April 2015
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13 April 2015 - 2:03 pm
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Hi everyone my name is Shantel and I'm the lucky Mama to Panther and Lambeau.   Lambeau will shortly have his left front leg amputated due to break/ bone cancer.   He is currently at the hospital where we are awaiting surgery. I have no idea what to expect once he comes home so any advice, tips, and winewinker would be much appreciated.     

Livermore, CA




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13 April 2015 - 6:04 pm
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Welcome to Tripawds, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.

I added a little to your topic title to give other members more information.

I'm sorry bone cancer has brought you here- but here is the best place to be for information and support as you and Lambeau start this Tripawd Cancer Journey.

A good place to start here is to read through Jerry's Required Reading List, and many members have found one or more of the eBooks in the Library, that you can download, very helpful.

The first couple of weeks after surgery can be bumpy- some lucky pups sail right through but most of us doubted our decision at some time during recovery... so don't get discouraged!

 

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

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

Norene, TN
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14 April 2015 - 1:59 pm
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Any updates??

Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.

"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."

- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey

Member Since:
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14 April 2015 - 4:43 pm
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He was finished with surgery around 5 last night and was kept in ICU overnight.   The vet said this morning he walked in and Lambeau was standing up waiting to be fed.   He then walked a little bit out of the kennel already so I get to bring him home tomorrow!!   What should I expect the first night home?   Also we have another fur baby Panther should we keep them separated or can they be together as long as they don't play?   Thanks so much

Norene, TN
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15 April 2015 - 7:47 am
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Yay!!! I'm so glad to hear he's doing well, but I have to also tell you that there going to be ups-and-downs. Typically when they first leave the vet's, they're very happy to see you and ready to go home. Once they get home some of the meds start to wear off and the soreness starts to set in. Then there's the learning how to do things.

The vet will give you post-op/rehab instructions along with a medicine schedule. Sometimes it has to be tweaked as every dog is different and handles things according to their own makeup.

If you have time, go look in the gallery here at post-op pictures so that you're not shocked when you first see him. I promise it will help keep your emotions in check. Also, take a t-shirt with you to put on him to keep his stiches dry and clean. It will also help with visually seeing him as your baby instead of an animal that just had surgery. Hope I'm making sense.

As far as your other fur-baby, when we first brought our Harmony home, we had to keep Melody away from her because Harmony wasn't sure-footed and Mel likes to bounce off the walls and play. We were afraid she would knock her down. Eventually, Mel got the message and was able to be gentle with her. 

Lastly, do what the vet tells you not what Lambeau wants to do. You are the mommy and you know what's best for him. And above all, love the heck out of him. Love him so much that he looks at you and thinks, "You again?"

Keep us updated!!

pam

Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.

"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."

- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey

On The Road


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15 April 2015 - 9:59 am
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lambeausmama said
What should I expect the first night home?   Also we have another fur baby Panther should we keep them separated or can they be together as long as they don't play?   Thanks so much

Yay he made it through surgery! Glad to hear things are going well.

The first night home can be sleepless for you both. Not always but it happens often. Make sure he comes home with adequate pain medication. Do you know what he's getting yet? Pain meds that will usually help him rest are a Fentanyl patch, Gabapentin and Tramadol and an NSAID like Metacam. Here's an article about post op pain relief.

Not all dogs react well to pain meds but most do. It's like people, drugs don't always work the same on everyone but in general these things will help.

If Panther is a chill dog, chances are that he's going to give Lambeau lots of space. But if they're usually rowdy together it's a good idea to keep them separated if possible. Play it by ear and have a recovery room ready for Lambeau if the pups get too wild.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
13 April 2015
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15 April 2015 - 7:52 pm
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Lambeau is home a doing well I got home from work and my husband had made a ramp for him and he has used it like a champ!  We got his pain meds schedule down 

Member Since:
27 March 2015
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15 April 2015 - 11:38 pm
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Hi Lambeausmama,

Welcome to the club! I wish I had been around my computer the last 2 days, as I have some good tips for pre-homecoming, but nonetheless, here they are.

My pup Iris came home on April fools day, and I got a fool home.

It worked out well that I partitioned off the living room, and was lucky enough to have a few cases of carpet samples to lay out on my hardwood floor to make it slip proof. The living room worked out well as if she really whined and needed attention I had a tv, but while the family conducted business it was still fairly quiet for her. Don't let your pup fool you, he is not ready for free reign of the house.

You can buy elevated feeding stations, but for my pup, two separate stacks of books worked just fine, make sure his cone doesn't interfere with getting to the bowl.

I mixed the meds with a spoonful of wet food just to make sure she got em down, before she got her meal.

Most of all, PUT ON THE CONE! I found it was more stressful on me than on my pup. After about 5 minutes it just became another part of her life. We have come too far and spent too much to let our pooch lick/chew the wound right? Just put it on and forget about it. Iris had her staples pulled on Sunday, and she isn't even touching the wound. 10days of cone vs $1000 right?

Plenty of resources on here, but my last piece of advice is take care of yourself as well. See if you can get someone to watch him for a few hours while you go out to a movie or a dinner. I can't tell you how good it felt when my sister came over and gave us a break. Then when we got home, we realized we were hovering too much and stressing ourselves out.

Good luck with recovery, we will be here for any questions you have, but if anything seems out of order, and you don't get a quick reply on here, don't hesitate to call your vet. That $50 "exam" fee pays for those techs at the phone too!

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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16 April 2015 - 9:44 am
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Yay! Wow that's great he used the ramp, lots of dogs won't. Pawesome! How's he doing today?

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
13 April 2015
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16 April 2015 - 4:37 pm
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Thanks everyone so much for the support and advice it has come in handy already.   He is doing great the hard part is getting him just to be lazy he wants to run and jump and we are still working on walking without falling bit.  A little back story on my boy is that we rescued him from the humane society where we learned that he was previously abused and locked in a kennel for days at a time.   So keeping him in a kennel is hard on him brings back old memories I think.   So my question is does anybody have advice to help with his anxiety?   We had never really needed to kennel him before if we were gone we always put him on the enclosed porch but that has too many things to jump on.     

Member Since:
27 March 2015
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16 April 2015 - 11:48 pm
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I'm sorry I wasn't on earlier as you are probably and hopefully asleep by now.

I can really see how the kennel is just out of the question right now.

Are you able to partition off a room for him? It worked out well for me, as it gave my pup room to breath, but not let her have free reign of the house.

As I just posted in another thread about anxiety, make sure it isn't your energy feeding the anxiety. My pup was so stressed about going back to the vet and then on the way home was just relaxed and I realized I WAS STRESSED about going to the vet and my pup read that energy. When I got relaxed that we were going home she became relaxed.

I ended up sleeping on a hardwood floor with her the first night which actually helped my back. She just wanted to be next to me. Maybe if you are as lucky as I was, you have a quite room away from the family hustle that has a t.v. in it, so when you do have to go and lay down with him you have some entertainment as well?

I found that if I just left her alone, she would whimper for a few minutes and then give up and go to sleep, but there were times she just wanted to know she wasn't alone. Simply seeing me in the kitchen was enough comfort for her.

Give this stuff a try and let us know if it works. PLENTY of great folks on here with great advice!

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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18 April 2015 - 11:19 am
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Geez! Just catchingnup!

Great advice from Mike and everyone! Good stuff!

Really don't have much to add other than MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT!!! Stay in the present with Lambeau a d let NOTHING rob you of your time together!

Lambeau doesn't give a rip about anynole' stupid diagnosis! He is his own dog! All he cares about is getting on with living life to the fullest and enjoying all that great loving and spoiling you are giving him!

Take lots of pictures! We love pictures around here!

Now go give him a big smooch for us and watch his tail wag! That dog feels great! And it only gets better and bedtter!

Hugs and love!!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!

Livermore, CA




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18 April 2015 - 1:24 pm
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Sounds like he is doing well!  And already using a ramp!  I think I made 3 different ramps for Maggie during her tripawd years and she would NEVER put one of her stubborn little paws on one of them.

Hopefully you have figured out how to block off a space for Lambeau.  I completely understand the crating issue.  My rescue quad pug Obie dealt this some of the same issues Lambeau did and I can not close him in a small space (oddly, he will sit in one sometimes, but he gets very, very agitated if I close the door).  He has gone through two knee surgeries now and I use x-pens to keep him contained.  We are now 10 weeks from his knee surgery and he is out of the pen but not allowed to jump.  So, the x-pens are around the furniture!

In my bedroom my bed is on the floor since he sleeps with me, its great for him, but not so good for my knees sad.

 

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

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

Member Since:
13 April 2015
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19 April 2015 - 7:00 am
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I hope everyone has had a great weekend!  Ours was rainy so perfect for being lazy, but hard to get our walks in he's never liked wet paws.   He seems to be eating less and actually leaves food in his dish, is it normal?   Enjoy your lazy Sunday!!  

Hugs from Shantel & Lambeau

On The Road


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19 April 2015 - 9:17 am
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Lack of appetite is pretty normal the first couple of weeks of recovery, usually related to the pain medications. As long as he's eating something, drinking water and eliminating it sounds like a normal recovery. Just watch for more decreased appetite then you might want to call your vet. We hope your lazy fun weekend continues!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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