Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey all--
Just got Sasha home from the hospital tonight. She is on an anti-biotic and also some pain meds. I just ordered in some chicken meatballs to give her pills in, and she is refusing to eat them. Even when I hold her mouth closed she waits until I let go and spits them out. Any advice on getting her to take her pills?
WELCOME HOME SASHA!!!
Guessing one of Sasha's pills is Tramadol. It's a very, very bitter tasting pill and apparently has a smell.dogs dont like. If a dog smells it in yiur hands, ir un the food, they will do everything possible to avoid it!
I literally never touched the pill. I would pick it up with tweezers and "bury" it in a stinky liverwurst ball. I used my thumb to make a crater in the kiverwurst and then rolled it up into a ball. Again, never touching it with my hands. Toss a couple of balls without the pills first...And then toss her the ine with it.
Do you have any cream cheese? Even making a ball out of butter may work.
I know it's frustrating trying to get the pills down. Try searching on here about how ro give dogs pills. I know there a couple of helpful tips.
Hang in there! ,If all else fails, do the "shove down the throat" method....but google how exactly to do that. TRY and cover it in butter or something like that ro help hide the taste.
How is she doing itherwise? You may hzve a few sleepless nights. Recovery is nomoicnic at first, butnit DOES get better!
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!
Hi Tom and Sasha!
My dog, to this day, gets his meds spoon-fed with cottage cheese. It's just the method that has worked best for us (well, basically the only method that ever worked). He, too, would refuse to take anything or would just spit all pills out. Warmed up, canned dog food also works sometimes. But really, anything you can think of. Nothing is off limits at this point really.
How is she otherwise? Is she on Tramadol and Gabapentin for pain?
All the best
tina & Manni
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
I'm glad Sasha is home!
At this point in the recovery process she won't have much of an appetite because pain medication totally dulls appetite. If you are able to pill her quickly and efficiently by popping them in her mouth with your hands, that would be easiest on all of you. Here's a post about how to do that:
How to Pill a Dog or Cat (includes pill gun info)
Otherwise if you think she'll rip your hand off if you try that technique, these tips could help:
How to Hide Pet Medication (and Get Your Tripawd Eating)
Let us know what works!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I would suggest cheese, liver pate or peanut butter, and with all three, the smellier the better. Otis took his pills with Biljac liver small dog training treats - the smell of these things is just vile, but I think it masked the medicine smell.
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 everyone. I just want to say again I'm so grateful that this site exists!!
Well surgery was Wednesday and I brought Sasha home Thursday night... as of now, Sunday afternoon, there has been amazing progress!! I'm starting to tear up writing this... I'm just so proud of her. I didn't think I could love her more but here we are. : )
So today is Day 4--- Sasha pooped for the first time yesterday and again today. Hurray! She has also started eating... last night a full dinner and this morning almost a full bowl for breakfast! She is getting around on her own and able to walk further and further. (I have my own small backyard in Brooklyn and her ability to get around it has grown steadily each day. We've also come to some kind of understanding about the pills. : )
Here is my new question/concern::: She has been crying a lot today and I'm not sure why. She is on the same amount of pain medication (tramadol and gabapentin with one deramaxx each AM)... if anything last night and today because of the crying I have slightly increased it. She also still has her Fenatol patch on her leg. I notice that there is some blood pooling internally where her front right leg used to be. This was happening when I picked her up from the hospital and they obviously were not concerned... how long will that last for? Any ideas about what could be more painful for her today than it was yesterday? She also has tried to poop at least once now with nothing coming out... is it possible she is constipated??
(Difficult because if the crying is from her stomach hurting then me giving pills with more regularity is only making things worse. I just don't want her to be in pain.)
Thank you everyone as always!
xoxox Tom and Sasha
Hi Tom,
A couple things come to mind. Many pups have a bit of a 'crash' between day 3 and 5- the hospital meds are all flushed out and they get tired from their new gait. It could be a slight adjustment of the pain meds is needed to keep her comfortable. Make sure she isn't doing too much- our surgeon said only short, leashed potty breaks for the first two weeks.
And just because recovery isn't challenging enough- it could be she is reacting to the pain meds. Is she crying from pain or do you think she is just being vocal? I know, hard to tell. Many pups have reactions to fentanyl and tramadol. My pug Maggie got very agitated on tramadol, once she didn't sleep for 12 hours after a dose.
Pain meds can be constipating- it's great that she has pooped already! If she doesn't for another day or two then maybe add a little plain pumpkin or olive oil to her food. Maggie didn't poop for 6 or 7 days after surgery!
It's good that the pills seem to be going down easier- I wanted to add a couple things that work for me. One is never touch the tramadol with you fingers when hiding the pill in food. Tram is really nasty and a little transfer from you fingers to the food may put her off. I have always had good luck with melted cheese- just enough to cover the pill. I use cheddar, put the piece of cheese in the microwave for just a few seconds. Wrap the pill while the cheese is soft- it makes a ball with sort of an oily coating that helps it slide down. Also make several 'blank' pill balls. I find if I give a 'blank' or two first then the dogs start swallowing without checking.
Overall it sounds like she is doing well!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
AND WE HAVE POOP
🙂 🙂
AND WE HAVE EATING!! 🙂 :-)*
AND WE HAVE MOBILITY!!! 🙂
YAAAAAAAAAY FOR SASHA!!! 🙂 🙂
Yeah, ditto everything Karen said! As well as the hospital meds wearing off, the patch is probably diluted too. You can fiddle with the meds a bit. Does the wining start before the next dose is due? Or is the whining more steady than that'Maybe not give the Tram and Gaba at the same time, but an hour or so apart. Maybe if youre doing two doeses a day, you can lessen the amount and do three doses a day. Just check with your Vet and see if they recommend restructuring the doseage and the amounts.
Sou ds like the fluid pocket is a seroma . That's merely when the fluid needs to be reabsorbed by the body until the body figured out the limb os no longer there. If that's what it is, that's normal. Of course, check with your Vet if you have any concerns. You can email him a pic.
And yes, just potty breaks and back in the house to rest. Or rest outside, but no real walking around yet.
A lot of good thinbs are going on with Miss Sasha!!! CELEBRATE with ice cream...for BOTH of you!! 🙂
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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