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QuoteHi All,
My Siberian Husky, Gizz had his front leg amputated last Friday (soft tissue sarcoma). Recovery has been slow so far with some bleeding and swelling around the wound and he is defiant in getting up and showing interest in anything. He is currently on Metacam as well as a strong dose of antibiotics.This evening a very scary fight broke out between him and our other dog – we are unsure how it started but I was so scared that Gizz was going to be really badly injured seeing as he is in the very early stages of operation recovery. These two dogs have lived together for nine years, and are usually the best of friends. This behaviour is completely out of the ordinary, and I am wondering whether perhaps the Metacam is making him aggressive. I will talk with my vet, but just wanted to know whether anyone else has experienced similar.
I must also add – he does not seem himself at all. I am currently struggling to find any of the personality that he once had. He is very lethargic, uninterested (no tail wags etc.) Is this common behaviour 1-2 weeks post op?
Vikki
5:01 am
25 August 2010
OfflineHi Vikki,
Well I am sure you are going to get some great responses. I will just cover a couple of things here. My newfoundland mix Sammy was very insecure after his operation and we had to keep him separated from our other two big dogs while he was going through the first couple of weeks of healing. It was fine if we were there to supervise, but even if we left the room for a moment Sammy would start growling low. I believe he was very afraid he couldn't defend himself and was compensating by growling and trying to scare away his pack mates.
I forgot which pills Sammy took, I would have to go back through my notes to find out for sure, but Sammy was completely lethargic on them and just laid there. Of course if I just had my arm cut off I might want to just lay there also, so I don't blame him. It took about a week for him being free of the pain meds for me to start seeing his personality coming back.
They are great together again and just about trustworthy alone.
Elizabeth and Sammy
These first 2 weeks aren't the best you will ever have, thats for sure. Gus was on tramadol after surgery and he didn't get along with it at all. we didn't have any other dogs, so I can't suggest about the aggressive behavior, my thoughts might be does he feel threatened, but I would consider the fact he had just had major surgery, and the meds could be a contributing factor. As much of a hassle it might be, can you keep the 2 seperated for awhile, until Gizz feels more secure and heals, Is Gizz the older of the 2, we had a similar situation a few years ago with the younger dog attacking the older one all of a sudden. One theory was the younger one decided she wanted to be the alpha, or dominant, and it wasn't a one time occurence,we ended up having to have the younger one put down because of her increased aggressiveness. If this is your case, maybe the younger one senses Gizz might be weaker at this time and is trying to take over as the dominate dog, just a thought. Paws up, Spirit Gus and Dan
7:49 am
Moderator
28 November 2008
Offline
We didn't have Duke when Trouble had her surgery, so I can't speak from experience about other dogs. I would keep them separated until Grizz comes off all meds. The meds do make some of their personalities not so good. Give Grizz some space until he is healed and then slowly reintroduce them and see what happens. From most of the stories I read here, the other dog becomes pretty passive in dealing with the amputation dog.
Duke knows Trouble has limitations and for the most part he is very careful around her. He does get the zoomies sometimes and forgets he can't sail past her close enough to brush her, lest she get off balance and goes sprawling in slow motion. It gets his butt in trouble every time. She also has some pretty good avoidance techniques when he's moving too quickly around her.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.We honor our fellow November Five members who will always remain forever in my heart: Nova – the lone survivor, live proud and long; Spirits Max, Cherry, & Tika – who made half the journey with us and greeted Trouble at the Bridge
http://k9cancer.org – a canine cancer support community
8:08 am
Moderator
13 July 2009
Offline
Hi Vikki
Sorry you have to go through this. It sounds like a few things might be going on, as the others said. First, the first two or few weeks (in some of our cases) move slowly for many of us. Some dogs don't want to do anything, while others leap off the operating table and keep going. If Gizz wants to impersonate a block of cement, join our club. That did get much better, and I worked to find things that made him brighten up (certain people visiting, car rides, or whatever your dog might like).
Finding the right balance with drugs is hard. I weaned Tazzie a bit early because I did not like apparent side effects, but then he did get irritable, presumably because he was in more pain. So I put him back on the tramadol and he was in less pain (less irritable). Is Gizz only on metacam for pain? I have never heard of metacam resulting in personality changes (tramadol yes). If he is only on metacam, it may not be enough for the pain, and that can definitely make him grumpy. (Was this Friday a few days ago, or Friday 10 days ago?) Most dogs use tramadol for 1-2 weeks, and sometimes additional drugs for pain (on top of metacam).
Then there is the alpha dog issue. Is Gizz the elder or the dominant dog? This physical impairment (from the dog's perspective – we know he is perfect), can easily upset the happy balance that you had. That is true for any dog and huskies are known to be competitive, even though they also respect the hierarchy once it is established. People say to let dogs work it out on their own, for the aggression will keep happening until they do settle it. However, I don't think that holds for a dog that is recovering from major surgery and on drugs! Like the others, I'd vote for finding a way to avoid the potential of aggression until Gizz feels better.
Duke is going through the same thing. Though he has always had alittle bit of food aggression it has gotten alot worse. Also just being super possesive and protective of everything against are other dog. The only thing we have found that works is eliminating any triggers that usually excalate the fighting and bickering, helps alittle. Hopefully things get better for you as time goes by. He did this also with his first surgery and was out of it within 2 to 3 weeks then, now just started again.
11:32 am
Team Tripawds
25 April 2007
Offline
It is perfectly common for pain medications to cause adverse "personality" disorders. This will clear up once off the meds. Confinement and separation from other dogs is recommended for safe recovery. Consider this: dogs in the wild will usually leave the pack to heal on their own.
Is Gizz on ay other medications? Usually Tramadol or another narcotic is prescribed in addition to the NSAID (Metacam). Both excessive pain and side effects from medication can cause dogs to appear distant, or even act agressive to others (dogs and people) so don't take it personally. Once off the meds you should notice Gizz returning to his usual self again. Please keep us posted.
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12:50 pm
7 March 2010
Offline
Although Skyler was never aggressive, we did keep her & Chloe apart the first 2 weeks after her surgery – basically so that Skyler wouldn't get hurt by Chloe or self inflicted from rough housing it together. Sending you pawsitive thoughts and golden hugs!
Chuy had the same type of reaction to Rory (a ger. shep. we were fostering) when he had his FHO surgery. Chuy actually drew blood on Rory's face once when they got too close together. All Rory wanted to do was play. I believe it was a combination of the medications (he was on Tramadol and Metacam) and that he was feeling insecure. Already being a Tripawd, Chuy only had 2 good legs at the time and they were his right legs!
Separation for a couple of weeks, until Gizz is feeling more secure about moving around and maybe waiting until he is weaned off some of those meds may help.
Sorry you're going thru this, he'll pull through, just give him time and don't let him know you're worrying about it. He'll milk you for all he can get!
Chuy and mom Eleanor
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