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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My 190 lb Newfoundland Rufus had suspected osteosarcoma in his front right leg and the vet is recommending amputation. Are there others out there with giant breeds who have had a front leg removed? We are worried about him getting around due to his size, our house having lots of stairs, and getting him in and out of a truck. He'll be 5 in a couple of weeks' time.
Hi Rufus and family, welcome. Your future posts won't require moderation so post away.
Are there others out there with giant breeds who have had a front leg removed?
Absolutely! From Saint Bernards to Mastiffs and many, many more. You posted in the correct Forum Discussion to see many of their stories, and the Tripawds member blogs also have lots. Here are just a few search results about Newfoundland Tripawds. There are many good examples of life on three legs. Most dogs did fine, a few had serious challenges with mobility. I'll be honest, Rufus is probably the largest dog we've had join us under these circumstances. But even so, if he's healthy otherwise and not overweight or arthritic, he could be as happy as any of the other giant breed Tripawds we've had here.
It's great that your vet thinks he's a candidate for surgery. Rufus has age on his side, he's still a youngster! For extra reassurance, get another opinion from a board-certified orthopedic surgeon if you haven't already.
When you say your house has lots of stairs, what exactly do you mean? Will he have to use them to get in and out of the house? To his favorite places? Are they carpeted? A harness like the Ruffwear Webmaster can help you help him with that part, as well as getting in and out of vehicles.
I hope this helps. Stay tuned for feedback from others.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My English Mastiff Tazzie was about that size and lost her RF leg at 6 yrs of age. She was able to get in and out of our minivan without help although we did have a Ruffwear harness on just in case. She did well with our 2 flights of stairs indoors but I did not let her do the deck stairs after amputation since they are steep and open and I was worried she would fall when going down.
Pam
Hi Rufus and family 🌹
My girl Eurydice is a huge Great Dane who weighed 170lb before surgery and lost her right front leg to osteosarcoma.
She has done remarkably well, the first couple of weeks after amputation were quite difficult due to her size but with the help of a soft harness (over a t-shirt to protect the incision) and, after stitch removal with the help of a ruffwear harness she managed to get back to being her lovely self again.
She does absolutely everything she did before (and is now 3 days short of 10 month after amp) runs, jumps, chews her bones, jumps in and out of the car ... the only think she cannot do is negotiate stairs but that is because her body is too long, I suppose.
If steps are wide enough she can easily go up and down but regular size steps are impossible for her.
You might want to take a look at her travel blogs which will definitely reassure you as to how they are totally able to enjoy their lives and be happy and independent.
Travel logs are on the Anything Goes Foruns, the latest under Eurydice's travels in Europe with further lung mets 9 months after amputation.
If you choose to have a look at her travels please do not get discouraged by the fact lung mets may appear at some time in the future, this may or may not happen to Rufus and the crucial point in this journey is to make our babies enjoy a deliriously happy pain free life for as long as we can.
I'm sure others will chime in with further advise and to share their experiences, we have Mastiffs, Great Danes, Saint Bernard's ... Rufus is not going to feel alone in our family ... and I'm sure we're going to fall in love with him too!
Sending you a big bear hug and XL cuddles to your cutie pie 😘💕🐶🐾
Oh, you must also pay special attention to traction , if you have slippery floors it is crucial to place down some carpet (I placed rubber underlay under it for extra traction ) So Rufus doesn't slide as that is a big confidence killer for a new tripawd...
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 :-)
Welcome so sorry your journey has brought you here. The big guys seem to take just a little longer figuring out the mobility but they do get there. Rufus is young and should do just fine mobility wise. The harness Jerry recommended was a lifesaver for us. Helps so much on stairs and in and out of cars. Our boy was only 110# so not as big as your Rufus but he did awesome with learning his new gait. Eurydice has to be as big as Rufus and she's traveling all over Europe! Remember you will be getting your beautiful boy out of the pain he's in from the osteo and Rufus will be back to his handsome self after surgery recovery! Hugs to you both!
You've gotten great advice. I just want to add my well wishes for a speedy recovery.
STAY CONNECTED!!! Recovery is no picnic for a couple of weeks. Let us know how we can help, okay?
Lots of hugs
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!
We are also big fans of the Ruffwear Webmaster Plus harness, although my Otis was a petite 106 pounds before surgery. He had mild arthritis in his hips, but did just great on 3. The only real change was much shorter walks (and more sitting and smelling the air than walking), but that was ok for us.
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.
Thanks everybody. We are taking him in for surgery in about an hour and are worried sick but we'll be in there with him while he recovers. The vet is keeping him in for 2 or 3 days and I have a Ruffwear harness on order. He'll have to use stairs to get into the house unfortunately but once he's in, there are less in the back to go out into the yard. We also have hardwood and tile floors so I'll be getting lots of large rubber-backed rugs.
Okay, this is an a xious time to say the least. We sure do understand!! We are all here for you and want to support you in anyway you need.
This awful piece of crap disease makes us decide on some horrible "forced choices". We make the decision to amputate out of love. We all feel we must TRY and give our dogs and cats a chance at a quality and pain free life!
Glad the Vet is keeping him a couple of days. They'll make sure he's monitored properly and able to move a bit before going home. Not sure thst you can use the harness while his incision is so fresh and the stithes are still in. Some Vets wrap the incision site (some don't), so maybe you could at least use a towel sling.
The steps will be hard to deal with at first. Front leggers (after recovery) have a harder time going DOWN and an easier time going UP.
Let us know when surgery is done, okay? Rufus will be high as a kite and seeing pink elephants for awhile. He won't be stressed at all...........unlike his humans!! 🙂
Hugs!
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!
Just wanted to send you a big hug and keeping fingers and paws crossed here!
Let us know when he is back !
Lots of pawsitive energy going your way !
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 :-)
Well he's out of surgery and we're going to see him in a little bit once he's more awake. The vet said all went well although the surgery took a little longer than usual due to it being "the biggest leg I've ever had to remove". More to come!
Great news! That feeling you get when the vet calls and gives you the all done and things went well is priceless. Let us know how and when we can help you with this journey. Sleep well tonight!
So glad he is out of surgery, lots of hugs to you as he recovers. Our St. Bernard Patchy is coming up on his one year ampuversary! Giant Breeds are just as resilient as the smaller breeds and though they move a bit slower they can still enjoy life! Wishing you the best in this journey! Summer, Patchy and Pack
YAAAAAAAAAY!!!! RUFUS IS OUT OF SURGERY!!!! And I'm sure it was a bit overwhelming for the surgeon but glad he got everything taken care of so ssmoothly!
The Bets shave a lot of fur, so don't let that shock you. And try not to focus on the incision when Rufus first gets to see yiu! He won't be looking at it, he'll just be looking at your face and wait for yiru to tell him what a good boy he is! 🙂 🙂
Try and get some rest yourselves. It's very stressfuk getting to this point and you have to be exhausted.
We'll be watching for more updates when you can!
Hugs!
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!
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