Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

A little uncertainty and a little defensiveness are to be expected. My boy Rowdy, a German shepherd dog who lost his left front leg to osteosarcoma, is an alpha dog if there ever was one. Bold and self-confident. He is adapting to the new normal, where he can't do some of the things he used to do.

He's the only dog in the household now -- we lost our other GSD about five years ago -- but we have two cats whom Rowdy helped to raise. They love him, and worry about him since his surgery, and he feels responsible for them. I have noticed that he is more inclined to try to control them by barking now, whereas previously he would hop up and run over to them to head off a cat fight, or whatever. Cat gets on my guitar case, which Rowdy knows is not allowed? Rowdy barks, shows his teeth, makes a motion toward chasing the cat, but hopes the "remote control" method works. He knows what he is doing.

Our animal friends are amazing, and much smarter than most people want to get them credit for. The main lesson I learned in training my shepherds for search-and-rescue work is "trust your dog." They won't let you down.

Here's hoping things have already sorted out well at your house!

Rowdy's Dad

Welcome, Maureen.  Your future posts won't require approval.

What you are describing is completely normal.  Many dogs have an apparent setback a few days after amputation.  This is often because the strong hospital meds have left their system and their body is starting to feel sore from their new gait.  Amputation is MAJOR surgery and it really takes a few weeks to really recover.  Buddy needs some rest and it's possible his medication schedule may need to be tweaked.  

It would be great if you started your own thread so we can follow Buddy's journey and help you in a dedicated spot.

Ok, here's a quick primer on message boards/forums.  This definitely isn't the most user friendly message board I've used.

This is the main page, which contains a list of "boards".  At the bottom of the main page there is a list of recent posts, which is an easy way to keep up with the community.

Each "board" has a list of "threads", which you can think of like individual topics of conversation.  We are in a thread right now.  Near the top of each "board" there is a button that says "Add Topic".  Here's a link to create a new thread on the Treatment and Recovery board.  IMO the "Add Topic" button is a little hard to see because it isn't a different color from the background it's on.  Each board covers a broad topic to make it easier to find information that may be helpful/relevant when someone has a specific question.

If you read some other recent questions, you'll see what you described with Buddy is very common.  It's a frequent question here.