Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our beloved 4 year old Newfie Barney has bone cancer in his front left leg and is due to undergo amputation on 31st August. We are worried sick about how he will cope but as the tumour has already fractured his leg we feel there is no option. He has been scanned and at the moment the cancer hasn't spread so we really want to give him the chance to enjoy life for a while longer. Any advice, success stories etc would be really welcome. Thanks Tracy
Welcome and best wishes for Barney's speedy recovery! The vast majority of dogs cope with recovery much better than we silly people do.
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Hi Tracy and Barney and welcome to the club no one ever thought they would need.
Although both my tripawds are/were small I have a soft spot for Newfies- I had a Newfie mix growing up, Bo was the smartest and most loyal dog I have ever met.
We can certainly relate to how you are feeling, the cancer diagnosis and the amputation decision are overwhelming to say the least.
Admin gave you some good links to get started. Traction is a huge issue for Tripawds, especially new ones so be sure you cover any slippery floors with throw rugs or yoga mats. Since Barney is a big boy you might want to raise his food and water bowl.
The recovery period can be full of ups and downs so don't get discouraged. Remember you are taking away Barney's pain and giving him a chance at more quality time with you.
As far as success stories... two that I think will give you some hope. My local friend Cemil, a 150 pound front amp Anatolian Shephard, is still hopping though life more than 7 YEARS after his OSA diagnosis.
Queen Nova the Great Dane, also a front amp, crossed the Bridge in 2013 but not before beating OSA for more than 4 years, she even went blind not long after her amp.
Not all are so lucky of course but it does happen. You are giving Barney a chance.
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
Hi Barney and Tracy ❤️
So so sorry to have you joining us but now you are part of our family, we all know how you feel.
It is overwhelming to hear our babies have incurable cancer especially if they are young and happy such as your Barney and my Eurydice.
My girl is a very large Great Dane, she weighed 77kg before amputation and is now 68kg/150 pounds.
She has osteosarcoma and got her right front leg amputated almost 4 months ago.
Recovery and general hopping habilities are harder for bigger breeds such as our lovely gentle giants than for smaller breeds but we all get there in the end.
The first few days can be heartbreaking for us as we see our big babies struggling to get up and hop and I would advise you to leave Bruce at the hospital for 2 or 3 days (if they have 24/7 staff) if possible.
Again, smaller breeds are far easier to look after during the first few days of recovery.
Having said this, recovery is not the end of the world and after stitches come out you will see a lot of steady progress.
We used a t-shirt with a soft harness on top 24/7 until stitches came out, you definitely want to keep the harness on all the time to be able to help Bruce stand up and hold him when he pees and poos, if necessary.
Very important to block access to stairs, he may or may not be able to negotiate them in the future, my sweetie doesn't do stairs any more and I doubt she will ever be able to do it again but other biggish dogs were ok in due course.
It is really good news that he doesn't have any spreads anywhere and you are going to take his pain away!
I will post a few videos of Eurydice so you can see how well our giant babies can do on 3 legs.
Be veeeery patient during recovery and keep a clear head and before you know it the difficult times will be over and Bruce will be Bruce again.
Don't be surprised if he takes quite a while for him to poo, it can take days to happen (Eurydice took about 5 days after surgery to have her first 💩)
Also, he may loose his appetite but you are allowed to use any trick to get him to eat so anything is allowed, in our case I gave her lots of sausages and grilled chicken breast alternating with boiled chicken with olive oil added to the water.
If he stops drinking (as my girl did) there are plenty of tricks you can use too.
I kept a diary with schedules for medications, food and water intake and pees and poos and found that very useful.
This is a lot to digest but you can do it and so can your sweetie pie🐾
Sending you a cloud of pawsitive energy and an avalanche of hugs and cuddles to your cutie, me and Eurydice LOVE newffies ❤️❤️❤️
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 :-)
Hi again Tracy,
I'm using my mobile so can't copy the videos as I normally do (not a computer expert at all) but you can go to YouTube and put in Teresa Heliodoro and they are all there.
Eurydice at the beach was done when she was 5 weeks after amputation.
Big hug and lots of tummy rubs to your cutie pie 🐾🐾
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 :-)
trace1974 said
Our beloved 4 year old Newfie Barney has bone cancer in his front left leg and is due to undergo amputation on 31st August. We are worried sick about how he will cope but as the tumour has already fractured his leg we feel there is no option. He has been scanned and at the moment the cancer hasn't spread so we really want to give him the chance to enjoy life for a while longer. Any advice, success stories etc would be really welcome. Thanks Tracy
Hi Tracy and Barney,
So sorry that you have found a reason to be on this site but that being said, it is a wonderful resource for Tripawd families with many wonderful, caring members.
Our girl, Cayenne, who is a Great Pyrenees-Golden Retriever cross just went through front limb amputation (4 weeks ago tomorrow). She is a large, big, robust girl and weighed in at 138 lbs. prior to surgery....not fat...just takes after the Pyrenees side of her genetics. We, too, were quite concerned about her being a large/giant breed type and not doing well after surgery on 3 legs. Some articles suggest that larger breeds don't do well at all and in fact, you will come across stories from others on here where their vet won't do an amputation because the dog is large.
First off, remember that each dog is an individual and will respond accordingly. Size isn't necessarily a problem or a barrier. There are no hard and fast rules here so don't become discouraged. Barney will make adjustments quicker than you think. He will probably even amaze you as he starts to recover and make his necessary adjustments. Dogs seem to cope better than we humans do with the whole situation. One of the things that my husband and I have had to do was to be more 'dog like' and just let Cay do her thing. Of course, we oversee her activities, but it has been important to let her go back to doing anything that she used to do whenever she feels capable, as long as it's not putting her in any real danger.
In Cayenne's case, she has managed quite well thus far. The next morning after surgery, she was able to get up on her own and walk out to the fenced grass area at the vet office to go potty. In 34 hours, the vet felt that she was stable enough on 3 legs to come home. Getting her up the stairs to the deck and house was a bit challenging but she did just have surgery the day before. We quickly built new low profile stairs for her and although she was ambulatory, she was hesitant at first to use them as they were new and not familiar to her. We used our border collie to show her how to use them and since then she has become a pro at it and it's embarrassing to say that she makes it up the stairs faster than I do 
. She gets around on her 3 legs fairly well and even runs at times to get a squeaky toy or chase a squirrel. She even climbed the steep stairs into our loft this morning without a problem. Actually floored me a little but she was so pleased with herself that I couldn't help but be pleased too! So my point is, large breeds can do well after surgery. They might not act like a border collie or a small breed type after surgery but they can certainly progress and find their way so to speak.
As others have mentioned throughout this forum, it is important to make some basic adjustments for life as a tripawd family such as providing non slip/skid rugs or mats in the house if you have slippery floors, non skid/slip things on outside stairs if you have them. Many have found that the Ruff Wear Harness is handy. We have one and find it useful for getting in and out of vehicles but otherwise Cay ambles on her own.
The first couple of weeks of recovery are probably the most tedious because you are dealing with the healing process but the time goes fast and each day is an opportunity for improvement.
Life as we knew it before surgery does change afterwards but with each day that passes, things seem to have a way of normalizing to a degree.
Best of luck to you, your family and Barney!
Hugs to you,
Gayle and Cayenne
Hi Barney and Tracy
How is Barney doing? And how are you doing?
Any updates ???
Sending you much love and cuddles
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 :-)
Gayle and Cayenne
Reading how well Cay is doing fills my heart with joy, it is so fantastic he is recovering so, so well!
And she even does stairs !!!
What a trooper
Keep up the good work!
Lots of hugs and cuddles to Super Cay
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 :-)
eurydice said
Gayle and CayenneReading how well Cay is doing fills my heart with joy, it is so fantastic he is recovering so, so well!
And she even does stairs !!!
What a trooper
Keep up the good work!
Lots of hugs and cuddles to Super Cay
Thank you, Eurydice and Eurydice's Pawrent for your kind words and enthusiasm! Cay has really amazed us in her progress! She lives here with us on a sheep ranch so she was used to doing a lot of things that many dogs probably never have exposure to so that may help now in her ultimate recovery. She wants to be outside with us and seems to make her adjustments as she goes along. She has a good mind and seems to know when she is ready to do the next thing.
She managed the new outside low profile stairs that my husband built for her two days after she came home from surgery but was very tentative on the first go round. Once she watched our border collie go up and down them a few times she was far more willing and comfortable. Now it's not an issue. The stairs to our loft are actually quite steep and of concern and we normally have them blocked off. Not blocked off yesterday and up she came before we could stop her. 14 stairs there. She also snuck down the basement stairs about a week ago (managed to get the basement door open by herself also) and managed 12 stairs there. She's sort of a big goofball
My goodness !!!!!!!!!!!
She should meet Tank then, they are two of a kind
They could be Superman's dogs 
Show this video to Cay she is going to fall in love with him
Lots of love and wow your girl is really amazing super hyper extra ultra cuddles for her
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 :-)
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 :-)
Barney and Tracy, so sorry to "steal" your post ...
Hope all is well with Barney's recovery!
Much love and cuddles
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 :-)
It's so funny how hard-headed these dogs become! It's like they just have to prove to us that they can do anything we're worried they may not/should not do. Time after time someone has a room/stairway/exit/furniture blocked off & nope, they find some way to get there!
Good job Barney! However, stop scaring mommy lol
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
eurydice said
My goodness !!!!!!!!!!!She should meet Tank then, they are two of a kind
They could be Superman's dogs
Show this video to Cay she is going to fall in love with him
Lots of love and wow your girl is really amazing super hyper extra ultra cuddles for her
Tank is pretty amazing!!!
Sure hope that Barney and Tracy are doing good after surgery! Tracy will you let us know if you can? Well wishes for you all!
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