Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi. I was referred here from the Greytalk board. I have a greyhound who is going to have a front leg amputated in Nov. I've gone through all the discussions I can about dogs who have had amputations, but I still have many questions.
What kind of advice can you give for little things like:
Did you need to do anything special for the trip home?
Where do I put a towel to help her get up? Will it be OK to lift her to get the towel under her?
What do I need to avoid?
What might happen re: after effects, pain, oozing, drains?
What do I need to know/ask about before I leave the hospital? This is a very big, far away hospital and I'm not sure I can get hold of the surgeon easily.
What should I make sure I have before I leave the hospital?
Am I going to need to change dressings or do anything else?
What should I have on hand?
Is a harness a necessity?
How do I feed her until she is steady on her legs, or do I assume she will carry on as usual? She has never eaten lying down except for bones.
Will she be allowed to jump up onto or off of my bed or the couch? Is it OK to let her if she feels she can do it?
Will I need to stay home 24/7 and guard against her bothering her wound?
Should I crate her? She hasn't been crated since the first week I had her.
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j wagar said:
... I still have many questions.
As is expected ... all of your questions have been addressed elswhere in these forums, but maybe a few of us can chime in here with a summary.
My hospital was six hours from my home, so my people just made a large comfortable flat bed for me in the back of our truck for the ride home.
IF additional support is needed to help up your pup, sling a towel under the belly and don't be afraid tgo lift her. Just keep pressure directly off the wound area. Best thing is to just let her rest for the first couple days unless she is obviously struggling, which is rare. She may just surprise you!
Avoid slippery floors, don't freak out over a draining wound (search for seroma on this site), don't let her jump up/down until she regains her strength, and above all else ... be strrong yourself!
If you are stressed and worried, she will be too. Be a strong pack leader and business will indeed be as usual.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi there! I too have a greyhound that had front leg amputation a week ago today due to a shattered leg/osteomeylitis.
I had all of those questions too so I'll try to answer them from the perspective of a greyhound owner.
We had nothing special for the ride home. I sat in the back of a Honda Fit with her and she lay down & got up to look 3 times.
It will be OK to use a towel, but Calamity has never needed one.
Avoid stairs for the recovery period. We have a ramp built at our backdoor.
We had no oozing or drains. We have a ton of staples and a pretty large incision. You can see Calamity's photos here. She came home with a pain patch. We added Tramadol & Metacam to her pain relief protocol. We have added gabapentin for her phantom pain.
They will give you all kinds of instructions before you leave the hospital. Maybe take a notebook & all of these questions with you? What hospital are you using?
I'd be prepared by having sources of heat or cold to place on the incision if needed. I use frozen corn for cold & heated dry rice bags for warmth.
You shouldn't need to change any dressings. Calamity came home with a big wrap on her that we removed after 2 days. I fashioned a t-shirt for her to wear as she wants to scratch the incision without a covering on it.
Calamity wore a harness before this when I walked her as she had a minor neck injury when she raced. She is wearing nothing right now. I think a harness would benefit them.
I always fed my greyhounds in standing feeders (I use plant holders from Wal-Mart), so none of that has changed for us. If you feed standing, you're ahead of the game.
Our instructions say that Calamity can not jump for 2 weeks, your vet may choose different. Ask your vet this question.
Since the Woodlands closed, I'm home 24/7, and I am glad I am with the minor complications she has had. We have a houseful of greyhounds too, so turn-outs are a bit complicated. You will need to determine how she does alone.
If she is not an only greyhound, I would recomend setting up a crate as a safe haven for her. Calamity has not been in a crate since I brought her home but now she seeks it as a place to be safe.
I hope I answered everything for you and I wish you the best of luck.
Janie & Calamity
Janie & Calamity http://www.trix.....gspot.com/
We have a ton of staples and a pretty large incision. I hope she doesn't get staples as I found them personally to be way more painful than stitches when it came to removal, but it seems that's the popular choice now. We added Tramadol & Metacam to her pain relief protocol. We have added gabapentin for her phantom pain. When you say you added Tramadol,Metacam and gabapentin, I assume it was not prescribed at the hospital? Would it be a good idea to ask for that before leaving or wait and see how she is coping?
Maybe take a notebook & all of these questions with you? Excellent idea as I am sure I will be shocked no matter what I do to prepare and not take in half of what is said. What hospital are you using? Western Canada Specialists in Vancouver
I’d be prepared by having sources of heat or cold to place on the incision if needed. I wondered about this -- I'll have to find my old rice bags and get in come frozen veggies! When do I use which?
I am glad I am with the minor complications she has had. What kind of complications? I know they might never happen, but I always want to know so I recognise it. We have a houseful of greyhounds too, so turn-outs are a bit complicated. You will need to determine how she does alone. Should I turn her out with just myself and her? I have 1 other grey and a little mutt, but Jamaica is the instigator of any action that occurs. Is it better for observation /safety purposes to turn her out alone?
Calamity has not been in a crate since I brought her home but now she seeks it as a place to be safe. Good suggestion. Never thought of it as becoming a safe place after all these years. I'll set one up and see how she reacts.
I hope I answered everything for you and I wish you the best. Thanks very much for the insights. BTW, I love your dog's name!
It has been said there that staples vs. sutures are at the surgeon's discression. My advise is to discuss it with your surgeon & make the decision together. Staples look gastly, but in my little experience with suture removal, I would think the staple method would be much easier & quicker on the pet for removal. We have a vet on here that may be able to post the pros/cons of each.
I used the veggie bags at first, when she had some sweling. The heat was applied when she develpoed her seromas and now for her phantom pain , which is the nerve pain. Phantom pain has been Calamity's only complication and it's only been a week, so I'm sure this is normal healing.
We turn Calamity out alone. We have 5 greyhounds ages 7, 7, 6, and 2 that are just barely 2. The young ones are crazy and don't pay attention to anything but themselves. I don't want her bumped into. In the house, we have a crate set up in the living room that we keep the door open to, she stays there for the most part. At night, I put her in our "crate room" where we have 2 crates set up for the young ones when we leave the house. We keep one of the crates open and also have a well padded dog bed in there so she can have her choice of where to lay. We babygate that room during the night.
When she came home, she was on the metacam - she has been on it for a year now - and the tramadol (as needed). We added the gabapentin when the phantom pain started on Monday. Depending on how close you are to the hospital....I'm always a big fan of being prepared for whatever can happen. Again, discuss this with your surgeon.
Make sure you take your notebook with your questions 🙂 We were given 6 pages of instructions when we left VSEC, I hope your hospital does something nice like that for you too.
Did your girl come from Kansas? We shipped a lot of greyhounds to Vancouver, I was curious if maybe she came from my adoption kennel 🙂
I can't take credit for Calamity's name, her racing owner named her and all of the litter for wild west people. Her name is "Trix Calamity J" and I have a littermate of hers here also who was named "Trix Morgan E" (Morgan). I like her name too & she certainly lives up to it!
Janie & Calamity
Janie & Calamity http://www.trix.....gspot.com/
I'll add a few thoughts from the emotional side of things since Jerry and Calamity did a great job covering all the basis...
When you first see her after amputation...try not be shocked or upset or afraid or anxious...she will definitely pick up on it and react accordingly. It's difficult to see them - prepare yourself for that. They are still figuring out how to get around and under some heavy medication, so Zeus was woozy which didn't help him with adjusting to 3 legs. I didn't even look at his body...just his sweet face and gave him a big smooch. Look at the difficult pictures of dogs immediately after amputation - I was thankful that I did that to at least intellectually know what I was going to see...it's always more traumatic when it's your baby.
Stay pawsitive and upbeat - she will follow your lead. Stay in touch here...it's beyond helpful...it's comforting and soothing for us and a place to "get it out" - which you may need to do. The first 2 weeks are trying...the first couple days are difficult...prepare yourself for that and know that it does get better...it does.
We are here for you...we'll walk this with you.
Love and prayers,
Heather and Zeus
Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together
Zeus said:
When you first see her after amputation…try not be shocked or upset or afraid or anxious…
I wish I had thought to find photos of post amp dogs before I went to visit Buddy. That is so smart. We live in a fairly small town in Colorado -- the lifesyle is pretty informal for the most part. Buddy's was the only surgery that day. The vet team had him on some big blankets on the floor in the OR so they could be close to him as they worked through their day. I came to see him him a few hours after surgery -- without bandages -- and went to my knees in a puddle of tears. He had gotten up because he heard my voice coming down the hallway, so there he stood surrounded by tile and stainless steel and that incision looking pretty horrible. They assured me that it looked worse than it was going to actually be, and they had warned me to be kind of prepare to see that. I obviously did not prepare well enough. The problem is that he needed me to be strong then, and I had nothing for him. I don't have any medical background (on purpose), but if I had been a little better prepared, I believe would have been able to offer him the support he needed. You are smart to have found this site presurgery. These guys have seen it and can offer some great ideas.
Healing thoughts to you and your girl.
I saw my vet friend's greyhound when he had his amputation, so I knew what it was going to look like but when I saw Calamity, I became a puddle of tears also. It's always so different when it's your own dog.
Janie & Calamity http://www.trix.....gspot.com/
My Mom was a mess too. When she and Dad came to get me, they didn't have any kind of warning about what I would look like. They saw me hopping down the hallway, and first saw my "good side," the one with all the fur left. Mom was like "Oh he doesn't look so bad!" Then I turned around and when she saw my scar (no bandages) she almost passed out!
When Dad decided to put my surgery photos in the gallery here, Mom was mad, she didn't want them up there. But then he talked her into it, because he convinced her that they would help others not be so shocked when it happened to their dog. Hope it helped you all and didn't gross you out too much!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
After doing alot of research I was prepared to see Titan. He actually didn't look as bad as I thought. On the way home from picking him up I called my husband and told him to put on a smile and positive energy when he saw Titan. The thing we weren't prepared for was getting Titan in the house. He hopped out of the vets and into the car but getting home was a different story. It took 2.5 hours and it was physically and mentally exhausting. Titan was 135 prior to surgery so we couldn't just pick him up. We ended taking a quilt and making a stretcher. What I would do different is come up with something better and get in the car so it would be under Titan. Good luck
Hang in there
Heidi and Titan
Hi and welcome to the community~ I would love to know your name and your greyhound's name. You will find great support here at tripawds.com because we have all experienced this season you are in.
I do have a few suggestions: 1. Ask for your vet's cell phone # in case of emergency over a weekend. We had to go to an ER and it was very traumatic and very expensive. Our vet gave me his cell #and apologized the next time I took Abbey in, (first thing Mon am) 2. Make lots of comfortable pallets in different rooms instead of your dog's regular bed. Tripawds prefer to stretch out. 3. Send an unwashed shirt of yours to the hospital with your dog so he/she is comforted by your scent. Take his or her bedding if they'll let you too. 4. Focus on his/her EYES when you are first reunited. The joy of reunion will override the shock of appearance, although the surgical site will be wrapped, it is still weird to see them hopping to you. 5. Staying home several days if you can is best. It's an odd way to take vacation time, but well worth it. 6. Once the bandages are removed (2 wks for us) dress your pup with a t shirt knotted up on the back so your dog cannot mess with the sutures. (We pinned the shirt and nearly died one day, when the pin was missing! I was about to take her for an x-ray when I found it on the floor! After that, I knotted the shirt...)
Please keep us updated on the surgery date and again, we'd love to know your names.
You are in our thoughts at this difficult time and are here for you,
Diane
Oh Diane, thank you, those are awesome suggestions! Especially the one about the vet's cell number.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
kcgreys, my name is Jaye. Tansi & Jamaica both come from Colorado thru Royal Hounds (Don Godsby dogs). Jamaica is the one going for amputation (formerly Nanny's Girl/Gaby). I think they came to Royal Hounds through Greyhound Connection.
I never thought about nerve pain. Since I am going thru that right now, I will certainly watch out for it. It really hurts!
Zeus, I have been going thru pics of post amps, and they scare the bejeebers out of me. I will be afraid to just touch anywhere near her surgery site. I always am shocked by their appearance after a dental or stitches, and freaked when I saw her wound from the last surgery, so this is going to be very hard. I can't afford to be an emotional wreck as I have to get her home, driving through a city I do not know and am afraid to drive in.
She has crept into my heart further than any dog I've had, and I keep thinking it should be my 16 yr old mutt this is happening to, not her. She is so happy and healthy right now and her tumor is not causing her pain; I feel like I shouldn't be doing this to her -- I should delay it until she is "sick", even though I know if I wait it will be pointless.
diriley, getting the cell # might not work. My son tells me I will be lucky to get to the hospital for 8:00 am if I leave at 5:00 am, so if there is any problem, I am better off to either call her reg vet or go to the ER (1 hour away). I will check to see if the reg vet has a cell number when I go in to tell him this is going to happen. I get the feeling he is reluctant to treat a cancer dog, although he has been very kind to Jamaica and me. We have only been here for a year, so I don't know how amenable he is to after hours calls. Unfortunately, her reg bed is mine or the loveseat; she has never spent a night on one of the 4 well-stuffed dog beds. I am going to put my mattress on the floor, but I can bet she will try to get up on the box spring! I don't know how I'm going to keep her off the loveseat. I plan to take a shirt or something for her, because when she had her first surgery she freaked out with being kenneled. I luckily saw a hospital rep at the dog show this weekend and she told me to let them know as they have some place for dogs that is not a crate. I am retired, so being around 24/7 is not a problem. I just need to remember to stock up so I don't need to run out for anything for the first few days. I have lots of shirts on hand from her last surgery, but am not too sure about how successful using them will be -- she got out of sweatshirts somehow without tearing them or popping the safety pins and ate her way out of T-shirts!
Titan, we are looking at a similar length of time for the trip home. How did your dog handle the trip itself? I am thinking she might be thirsty and I should take water and a bowl?
Thanks everyone for your ideas and comments. We will get thru this, but it's greyt to know how to make it a bit less traumatic. Now does anyone hand out valium for pre-op moms? 
She's out of surgery! What a day! We started out at 5 am to be there by 7:30/8. A half hour out, the audio on my GPS died and when I got to the critical turns, the images went wonky, so I ended up lost. Then after all that rush, they didn't start surgery until 4 pm! Jamaica must have been sooo hungry!
The vet phoned at 7:30 pm. She said it went well, that the tumour had grown a lot since she last saw her and amputation definitely was the right choice. I'm to call tomorrow around 11 am to see how things are going. Jamaica will probably come home Friday or Saturday.
I'm kind of glad I don't get to see her immediately post op. I just don't think I could bear it, and it gives her a bit of time to get somewhat mobile so I can feel a bit more confident about caring for her. Plus she will be in better shape to make the trek home.
They know it's spindle cell sarcoma, so they don't need to do a biopsy, I don't think. There will be no chemo as the surgeon and the oncologist both felt it was still localized. She x-rayed again before surgery and still feels the same way.
If they don't need to send it for biopsy, what happens to her leg? It shouldn't bother me, but we had a friend lose both legs, and one day he asked me if I would find out what happened to his legs. He was afraid they just sent them to the dump and it bothered him. I never thought to ask Dr. S when she called. I could handle cremation, but it seems to devalue her to put her leg in the trash.
Should seem like the worst is over, but I think the worst is yet to come. I'm quite sure I will be asking many more questions, so I hope you will bear with me!
Glad to hear that the surgery went well. Be positive, the worst is over, things can only get better and better for Jamaica. She will be up and hopping in no time.
Wish Jamaica have a speedy recovery.
P.S. I would imagine her leg, and other bio wastes from surgeries go to incinerators?
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