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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Max is an almost 12 year old golden and his front fight leg is awaiting pathology results. We went straight to amputation and skipped biopsy, but Osteosarcoma is suspected. Vet said that bone had thinned so much in week since initial xray that it would have broken soon. So happy we moved forward with amputation.
He stayed at vet on Thursday evening. Came home Friday mid-morning. Started being able to stand a little bit on Saturday afternoon (his traction booties help), but he has arthritis in all remaining legs and walking is proving difficult. He goes out in a wagon and then my husband lifts him out of the wagon and uses a towel as a harness.
He is having messes in his wagon on the way to go out and some in his bed as well. We are on top of pain management and I removed soaker catheter last night.
Did any of you have dogs who struggled to walk in the days after surgery due to arthritis? We hope that he will start regaining some mobility soon as he is completely bedbound right now at about 72 hours post surgery.
Welcome and best wishes for Max! Your future forum posts will not require moderation.
It is still very early in his recovery. You will find numerous forum topics with members discussing arthritis:
Search results for 'arthritis' (1219)
Use the Advanced Search above to refine results, or search all blogs here . You will find lots of helpfu links in Jerry's Required Reading List to. Or consider downloading the Tripawds e-books for fast answers to common concerns, including a section about senior dogs.
For no try to take things one day at a time and remember to Be More Dog .Please keep us posted!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hoping today is a bit better for Max and that every day shows some improvement in his mobility.
Lisa and Pofi
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Hi and welcome.
How is Max doing today?
I would guess that his inability to walk/weakness and the pooping in the wagon have to do with the pain meds and the surgery meds. The catheter probably delivered some pretty powerful stuff. What is he on now? Has there been any improvement?
We often see here that the more mature pups seem to take a bit longer to get their legs under them. You might also consider using a cloth shopping bag as a sling instead of a towel. You just slit it down the sides and the handles are built in. It is a little easier to hold onto and distributes the weight across his chest.
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
We know you jave your hands full right now. Recovery is no picnic and can be scary in the beginning.
Yes, it takes some dogs several days (and more) to get the hang of standing and/or walking, even without arthritis or being a senior! So add "maturity" and sore legs and muscles I to the mix, along with arthritis, and his mobility can dDEFINITELY be affected at first. As Karen said, the meds also can mess with their ability to walk or get up. Resting is what he needs now anyway.
Is Max eating and drinking? Obviously he's pooing and peeing and that's good...well...maybe not so good to use his wagon as his bathroom! Again, the pain meds are probably interfering with his ability to even rrecognize he needs to go potty.
Update when you can. You are not alone, okay? We all understand how challenging these first couple of weeks can be. You got rid of Max's awful leg bone and prevented the horror of it shattering. He'll start getting his sparkle back, slowly but surely!
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!
I Hope today is a better day for Max and for you. I cannot offer much help as I'm new also and my girl Ruby is 6 days post surgery so we are still in the difficult part. Ruby is 7 and doesn't have arthritis but after the third day it's been really hard to get her up. She doesn't want to move much and now she is refusing water. Her first two days were better I'm not sure why. I'm soaking her dry food in lots of water so she'll get it when she eats.
I only got her up once today to go potty and she didn't want to do that. I'm so thankful for all the help and support here at Tripaws. I'm pulling for Ruby and Max and everyone who needs a better day tomorrow!
Blessings,
Sabrina and Ruby 
Hi Max and mom
We all know how challenging and difficult the first days or even weeks can be after amputation but rest assure things will get better and better.
Baby steps ... lots of baby steps ... and lots of love and lots of patience and Max will be ok, hoping around and a happy dog again.
You wil have to give it time, once his medication is over you will see your Max again as he will have more energy and will be more interested in doing all he used to before amp.
Sending you lots of kisses and cuddles to your boy
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 :-)
1 Guest(s)
