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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Drainage: how much, and how long will it last?
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Colorado
Member Since:
29 April 2018
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3 May 2018 - 2:09 pm
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Hi everyone, 

Our 4 yo rescue dog Odin got his left front leg amputated on Tuesday. Overall he's doing well, but I just wanted to make sure that all the fluid he's draining is normal. (He has a drain at the bottom of the incision.) This is his second full day of recovery. At the end of the first day, I thought that the fluid/blood draining had lessened. But today, he's draining fluid/blood from a couple sutures. How long did your pets drain fluid? To give you an idea of how much today, it's pretty well soaked the area by his incision twice (he's wearing shirts to soak up everything). 

I already talked to his vet about this and showed her the incision and she said this is normal, but I wanted to get some experiences from pet owners. 

Odin's had a long road to this point. He's a GSD/pit/shar pei mix and the sweetest dog on the planet. But he was horribly abused in a previous life. Long story short, they think he was a bait dog, and his left front leg was just destroyed by another dog. The bites went to the bone, which caused "peri-osteal growth," which harbored bacteria and pushed through his muscles ... We've tried so hard for the past three months to get him better, but we knew this might be the best solution. And so far he seems to be recovering well, thank God. 

On The Road


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3 May 2018 - 2:56 pm
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Welcome and best wishes for Odin! Your future forum posts will not require moderation.

Every dog is different. Excessive activity can also increase the amount of drainage (and exhaustion) so confinement and close supervision will help, especially during these first few days.

While you wait for comments from others, use the Advanced Search above to refine your forum search results with specific phrases, and you're sure to find lots of helpful feedback. You can also search all blogs here . Or, consider downloading the Tripawds e-books for fast answers to common concerns and feel free to call the toll-free Tripawds Helpline anytime!

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

Colorado
Member Since:
29 April 2018
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5 May 2018 - 8:06 pm
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Thank you!

Can anyone share their experiences? Yesterday Odin seemed to be draining less fluid, but today he's definitely draining *more*--though it's less red and more pink (which the vet said to expect). 

Also, he seems a little more withdrawn tonight. 

(It's the fourth full day after surgery.)

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5 May 2018 - 8:31 pm
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Hi there,

Poor baby, I'm so glad you rescued him ❤️ 

Days 4, 5 ish are usually right about when all the wonderful hospital medications have worn off. What medications are he on right now? How often are they being given? It's not unusual for them to have a dip at this stage and this is about the time you may need to speak with your doctor about adjusting medications, dosages, or time intervals. 

Really important right now to make sure he is resting. Eat, sleep, potty, medicine. If he's doing too much it can increase the drainage. If the color is getting lighter that's a good thing. Make sure there's no foul odor, fever etc. If anything doesn't look right please call your vet to report.

His appetite might plunge right now also and if it does just do whatever you need to get him to eat. Even if it's chicken, hamburger, sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs. Make sure he's getting his meds regularly too and plenty of fresh water to keep him hydrated.

I hope some of this helps. Stay connected! This can be a bit of a rocky road but it does get better! We have all been on this journey so if you have specific questions please ask and we will try to help you. Good luck on your journey, rescues are just the best!!😎

Jackie and Huckleberry ❤️

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Colorado
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29 April 2018
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5 May 2018 - 9:25 pm
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Thank you so much!! That makes me feel better to hear.

Right now he's on 100mg of Caproxen every 24 hours and 100mg of Tramadol every 12 hours. He also has a fentanyl patch on his foot. Maybe we've been overdoing it--he's been wanting to go on a walk basically every day, and yesterday we walked to the end of the block and back. Also, he's been going up and down the stairs a lot (to the bedrooms on the second story). He just wants to be with us wherever we are 🙂

But today he seems more lethargic than the previous three days, and a *ton* of fluid is draining out. He's soaking through his shirts pretty quickly. But he's eating and drinking well and peeing. And the swelling is really going down. I wonder if he hurt one of his other legs. He's moving slower today ("hopping" slower 🙂 

Thank you! I know I'm a worrier. 

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2 May 2018
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5 May 2018 - 9:35 pm
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Hi odin!! 

Like myaelf, I am so grateful you found this site. Rewind the clock to 5 days ago, I knew none of this world existed. 

Sadie (our beautiful lab who is know a tripawd) and us have been so grateful to this tripawd community. 

We are 3 days post amputation & today we had the most  fluid (normal watery bloody liquid) drain. Today was also the day we had the most activity - we walked all the way to the next door neighbors house! She is getting the drain out tomorrow afternoon. 

How is your pup doing walking wise? Sadie is still adjusting to her new hoppy life, but everyday is such an improvement so far. 

Again, so glad to chat and be able to go through this with you! 

Much love, 

sadie & her momma lauren 

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5 May 2018 - 9:43 pm
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You will notice the"hop" more when they are walking slower. If you don't mind me suggesting to slow the activity down for now, I think maybe he might be going too much? When they come home with all those hospital meds they think they're kind of the mountain. Honestly he probably shouldn't be doing stairs if at all possible and the only walking really should be to potty and then back to rest.  Some have stairs that cannot be avoided like going outside but I would be very careful even with those. Please don't take offense, and no I am not a doctor. This is a major surgery though and he truly needs to rest. To much activity can increase drainage and the risk of a seroma . He just needs to heal now and recover. Some people have just couched it if the bedrooms are upstairs so that they don't have to climb unnecessarily. 

You may want to ask your doc about gabapentin. It is an excellent drug to help ward off phantom limb pain. Huck was on it for about 2 1/2 weeks and it made a big difference. 

I'm glad he's eating, drinking, and eliminating for you. Maybe slowing him down will help the drainage and keep him more comfortable. If you see him favoring one of his good legs please call your doctor. It's going to take some time for him to learn his new balance. He really needs to do this slowly and build up strength after he's done some healing and sutures/staples,/drain are out and his incision is healed. 

It sounds like he's headed in the right direction, just gotta slow him down a few notches so he can heal properlywinker

Jackie and Huckleberry ❤️

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Colorado
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29 April 2018
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5 May 2018 - 9:57 pm
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laurenfabiero said
Hi odin!! 

Like myaelf, I am so grateful you found this site. Rewind the clock to 5 days ago, I knew none of this world existed. 

Sadie (our beautiful lab who is know a tripawd) and us have been so grateful to this tripawd community. 

We are 3 days post amputation & today we had the most  fluid (normal watery bloody liquid) drain. Today was also the day we had the most activity - we walked all the way to the next door neighbors house! She is getting the drain out tomorrow afternoon. 

How is your pup doing walking wise? Sadie is still adjusting to her new hoppy life, but everyday is such an improvement so far. 

Again, so glad to chat and be able to go through this with you! 

Much love, 

sadie & her momma lauren   

Thank you, Sadie and Lauren! Glad you could make it next door today 🙂 Odin is doing really well walking (well, before today). But it sounds like we may be letting him be too active. I guess we just want our boy back! 

Colorado
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29 April 2018
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5 May 2018 - 10:00 pm
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paws120 said
You will notice the"hop" more when they are walking slower. If you don't mind me suggesting to slow the activity down for now, I think maybe he might be going too much? When they come home with all those hospital meds they think they're kind of the mountain. Honestly he probably shouldn't be doing stairs if at all possible and the only walking really should be to potty and then back to rest.  Some have stairs that cannot be avoided like going outside but I would be very careful even with those. Please don't take offense, and no I am not a doctor. This is a major surgery though and he truly needs to rest. To much activity can increase drainage and the risk of a seroma . He just needs to heal now and recover. Some people have just couched it if the bedrooms are upstairs so that they don't have to climb unnecessarily. 

You may want to ask your doc about gabapentin. It is an excellent drug to help ward off phantom limb pain. Huck was on it for about 2 1/2 weeks and it made a big difference. 

I'm glad he's eating, drinking, and eliminating for you. Maybe slowing him down will help the drainage and keep him more comfortable. If you see him favoring one of his good legs please call your doctor. It's going to take some time for him to learn his new balance. He really needs to do this slowly and build up strength after he's done some healing and sutures/staples,/drain are out and his incision is healed. 

It sounds like he's headed in the right direction, just gotta slow him down a few notches so he can heal properlywinker

Jackie and Huckleberry ❤️  

I think you're right. I appreciate your advice. I think that if I'd had an arm or leg amputated, no way would I be feeling like myself after just a few days! 

It's kinda funny--I had hernia surgery last summer, and I ended up getting a big seroma that had to be drained two or three times. It was a huge pain and made me look four months pregnant, haha. It finally went away with antibiotics. I probably overdid it--I have a 2 yo and we were selling our house and buying a new one. A bit of a hectic time. 

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2 May 2018
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6 May 2018 - 12:25 am
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odingoodboy said

Thank you, Sadie and Lauren! Glad you could make it next door today 🙂 Odin is doing really well walking (well, before today). But it sounds like we may be letting him be too active. I guess we just want our boy back!   

Oh I totally know the feeling. What I'd give for her to be able to jump up on the bed with us like 5 days ago. Slow and steady is what I keep telling myself. 

Sending the biggest hug to your whole fam 💕

Virginia







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22 February 2013
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6 May 2018 - 6:19 pm
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ODIN!   Y9U ARE A SILLY  WILD BOY!   You  HAVE to slow down Mister!!

You've  gotten great spot on feedback from everybody.  Usually  dogs don't  feel quite so "perky"  as you did those first several  days...even with all the hospital  meds.

So back to SHORT  leashed potty breaks and rest for a bit longer.  Muscle strain and soreness is cery common the first several weeks.  Muscles  are adjusting  to anew gait and it's  really easy to tweak neck, shoulder, back, etc.

As suggested, maybe add Gabapentin, or do Tramadol maybe every eight hours...AFTER discussing  with your Vet!  His meds sound like they are on the "light" side for this early after MAJOR surgery.  The patch usually only lasts three, maybe four days  (could be wrong)

Odin will get his sparkle back, promise!!  

Stay connected and update when you can.   And if  you have concerns about the seepage, keep communicating  with your Vet....send  pictures....note the amount of time in between "soaking".

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!

Colorado
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29 April 2018
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6 May 2018 - 8:12 pm
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Thank you! We've had a very lazy day today. Only to the backyard to potty and back to lying down. 

He is draining a TON! It's changing from bloody to clear, so that's good, but just so much fluid. And of course he wants to lie right on the carpet, not on his bed or even the sheets we put on the floor. Good thing we have a carpet cleaner. 

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6 May 2018 - 8:56 pm
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Awww.. Can you get some puppy pads and put them under a towel maybe? That would catch the fluid and help save your rugs. Of course if he won't lay it on a sheet he might not a towel either. Sorry it's so messy. You have a great attitude though, and a carpet cleaner is a beautiful thing 😎 thank goodness it is temporary! 

I'm glad he's had a better day. Even better that he is resting. Does he seem any more comfortable?  

Good job Odin, your furmily needs a break  and you need the rest buddy!😘

I'm glad the drainage is turning clear. Be sure to keep his doctor up to date with the drainage amount and color. Clear fluid with no pus or odor sound very promising . Keep up the good work!!      🐾🌺🐾

Sending big hugs,

Jackie and Huck ❤️

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Colorado
Member Since:
29 April 2018
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6 May 2018 - 9:12 pm
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We're trying something new--we took one of our son's diapers and pinned it inside the shirt. They are SO absorbent! So we'll see how this experiment goes. The fluid definitely doesn't smell at all. And his incision looks really good. Kinda bruised/purple around the lower end but the vet said to expect that. 

He seems comfortable, just lethargic. And obsessed with licking his shirt and then the carpet, haha. He really is the best boy. 

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6 May 2018 - 9:25 pm
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Aww.. What a sweetie 💖 as long as it doesn't stop the incision from breathing, draining, and isn't getting any lint or debris it might work. You might want to double check with your vet in the morning just to make sure. I hope it works for you!!

He sounds like a sweet pup, would love to see pictures of him if you ever get some free time.

❤️❤️

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

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