Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Teresa is right - this will not last forever! I was nearly out of my mind while Izzy was recovering from knee surgery ... it was much tougher on her (and me!) than her amputation. She was in a lot of pain and was restless, which I get. I tried to increase her pain meds and swear to God, I think I almost lost her ... thank goodness she loved food more than anything in this world! I was able to get her to perk up and eat, otherwise, I think she might have left us that night. 

It's really hard to find the balance when you're not getting enough sleep. Is there anyone who could help out by supervising for a bit so you can catch a nap? Izzy was restless at night toward the end of her life ... I should have guessed that it meant she was having some pain (well, I did guess, and I did tweak her meds but she was still restless) ... and it's really hard to be patient when you're overtired.

But to circle back ... recovery isn't forever!! (Just the area rugs are!) Try to find a sitter so you can get a little peace. Also, you might try taking Onyx outside to pee on a "schedule" and give him a limited time to get his business done. He will sort out that he's got to make hay while the sun shines, so to speak, but again, soon enough he'll be going out on his own once more.

Hang in there!!!

Amy & the cutest angel pup ever, Izzy 

Hi Patrick & Onyx

I am a (recent) tripawds Mum. Our boy Stewie is a 7yr old, 110lb Bernese/Rotty/Retriever. Stewie lost his left front leg to Osteosarcoma, 5 weeks ago today. 

We ALL feel or have felt your frustration and completely understand! I have a few blog posts for our boy, (Super Stu! Or Stewie2017) I wrote in some depth (much to the readers chagrin!😉) about Stewie's 4 week recovery. I realize that Onyx is a rear Tripawd and his mobility issues would be slightly different, but I hope that by reading Stewie's blogs, it will help you realize that the surgery seemed like the easiest part of the whole process!

Like Onyx, Stewie is a very independent soul. Prior to his amputation, he could go all night without going pee, he also used to walk and poo. Now he has to remember to pee like a girl and do a new little hop & poo. It wasn't easy getting him to this stage though...Right from day one, Stewie has been able to get up on his own, but even now, it is only for very short stints. Stewie didn't poo for quite a few days and the poor buggar had to have an enema! (& even that didn't help a great deal!) He wouldn't accept the fact that I needed to be close to him to assist him in his business and had a super hard time getting into a 'new routine with me at his side, using his harness and a shopping bag sling. (as was previously suggested.) I also spent many a predawn hour pacing with my boy, or just hanging out while he figured out what he wanted to do. 

My vet suggested that I put a normal collar on him and give him his space to figure things out, but be ready to hold up on the leash if needed. It worked! Maybe finding an inventive way to hook a long leash onto his hind area, using the shopping bag sling, will help him with his 'space' while doing his business. Stewie just needed time & space to figure things out...

Stewie's body clock was messed up for sure! The only reason that he would crash during the day, was because he was so exhausted from being so restless the night before. As a few members have mentioned in this forum and many others, medications and the right timing of dosage is critical! Stewie was on T3's (which backed him up for days and made him super dopey & unstable), Meloxicam (that totally curbed his appetite), and Gabapentin. (That stuff just makes you googly eyed!) In hindsight, I saw most people use Tramadol (sorry spell check needed!) and I should have asked my vet about replacing the aT3's with the Tramadol.  My boy was panting a lot, glassy eyed and super restless for at least 2 weeks. I was also out of my mind, tired, frustrated and wondering if we had done the right thing! My doubts and fears were huge! We even went so far as to totally stop all of his meds, to figure out why he wasn't progressing as he "should" have.

As you will be able to tell, once you have read a few posts, EVERY DOG IS DIFFERENT on their road to recovery. I know it's hard, what with the lack of sleep, the anxiety, the stress... plus the fact that we humans, as the 'rational thinkers' that we are, I believe, need to go through a form of grief, for the loss of the dog that we had 'before'. Our fur babies that were so independent before, now need us in a way that none of us are used to! I now keep Stewie on an extendable leash, when out in new places. I nearly had heart failure last week when Stewie went to pee on the edge a a very large embankment over the lake & he forgot he has to pee like a girl now and tried to lift his leg! I caught him just in time! The other heart stopping moments have been when Stewie decided that he wanted to go down to the basement on his own... again a very independent boy, figuring "he can do it!" We now have a gate at the top of the stairs and we used to have to assist him going down, but now he does a great job by himself!

We have carpet on half of our floors. On the other half we have purchased more rugs, plus I use my yoga mats for additional places. Another purchase will be stair runners, as our stairs are just wood. (Said yoga mats are now a new play toy for Stewie's feline sister. She likes to roll into it & I'm constantly straightening it out! One of my many 'new' routines...!) I also make sure I keep Stewie's nails trimmed, Onyx wouldn't have fur between his pads to worry about trimming, but I also do that for Stewie.

Yes, life is a real topsy, turvy right now, but please give yourself and Onyx time... you may see a few more ups and downs, but like the learning curve, there are more steps forward than backwards. Jerry's pack and this whole community have been there a few times for me & Stew, in our moments of madness. Don't feel bad about reaching out at anytime, to any one of us, in your hour (or moment) of need...

Even though I have my husband to assist me with the heavy lifting when Stewie has needed it. I have been the primary caretaker in Stewie's recovery, including the midnight outings & sleeping on the couch, with my boy close by, for the first two weeks after surgery. 

I know it's hard right now Patrick, we ALL understand and can empathize with you! But please know that it gets better...! Like you mentioned and another member has pointed out... Onyx was 'thrown' into becoming a Tripawd overnight! Most of our fur babies were limping on four legs, prior to their amputation and it is a super huge surgery, requiring super huge recovery time. Especially for a big boy like Onyx!

I'm sorry to have rambled on for so long, but I felt so deeply for you when you were crying out in the wee hours of this morning. I think we all felt the same way, especially when we heard you question your decisions for Onyx! We ALL go through this! It is natural to question the existing life we have given them, especially when we see them in such pain! But talk with your vet and question everything, if you're not sure. Reach out to the Tripawds community, these people are amazing and so very helpful! I would have been lost without their support, which is ongoing to this day! 

I started Stewies blog as way to get Stewies experience out there, for others to read and hopefully help. But is has become a very therapeutic and calming experience for me. I don't go into much detail with my friends. Not everyone can understand our decisions that we have made for our boy, it's been a very harrowing journey. EVERYONE in the tripawds community UNDERSTANDS what you are going through! We can let it all out on this site... we can scream, we can cry and there is always someone out there to listen and to help if need be. 

Take good care both of you. You will be in our thoughts...

all the very best from Stewie🐾 & his pack,

Petra, Paul, Spike🐈 Chester🐈 & Miss Lily🐈🐾❤️

So glad to hear you got some REST! It also sounds like the adjustments are helping Onyx get back into his routine.

I know how you feel - we all do - I was so damned nervous letting Izzy walk and take the three steps down in the back yard from the porch (to the point that i often had to let my then fiance take her out) but man, dogs are way ahead of us on that stuff!

Gabapentin can definitely space a dog out but Izzy took 300 mg 3x daily after knee surgery and she was just a 55 pound dog. You might ask the vet about tweaking meds - sounds like he's on Rimadyl as well - but Izzy came home from amputation on 200 mg 3x daily of Gaba, plus Rimadyl, plus tramadol. Losing a leg hurts! I tried to stagger meds so everything wasn't wearing off at once and it worked pretty well but as I've mentioned, Izzy stumbled and fell more than once during recovery and ALWAYS seemed to land on her stitches  (front amp) but was also always just fine.

Seems that things are on the upswing, so that is good. Keeping my fingers crossed for you both!

Amy & my chubby cherub, Izzy 

Glad you got a good nights sleep and are getting a handle on the "potty breaks" too.  Our Max too didn't want our "help" once he was mobile.  I too agree with the others that Onyx possibly needs a bit more in pain relief these early days.  Max was on gabapentin, Tylenol with codeine and rimadyl plus an antibiotic.  Hang in there it'll get better each day.