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Hi all, Dixie had her Amputation on Tuesday night. She was slow to respond so the Dr. wanted to keep her for a couple of days. She ate, drank pee'd and even pooped once on Wednesday, but they said she wouldn't walk far before tiring. We picked her up and brought her home Friday morning and have her in our Den which is a 15 ft walk with one small step to the side yard which is where she suns and watches the world go by. The proximity is good because that distance is about the limit of her range before she tires and wants to lie down for a rest. On Friday she had no interest in food and only sparingly drank a little water when we brought it to her. This morning (Saturday) she had her first big drink, but she walked right past her breakfast (which used to be the highlight of the entire day). She did go out and urinate and now seems to be hopping better (without our help). I also got her to eat a little bacon & eggs (bacon is the miracle food), but she wouldn't eat unless fed by hand.
OK, I'm finally getting around to the question. Is there anything else we can do to interest her in food, or are we to just wait patiently? Should we continue a bacon only diet or stop to encourage her to eat other things? Also, how much importance should we place on her pooping
? I suppose that will come as she eats more (what goes in, must come out).
Thanks to all who give this great advice, you have been amazing in your caring 
This seems to happen a lot, whether it's just that they don't feel good, or it's from the medications, who knows. Most of us try just about anything to get them to eat. For Murphy I cooked up some rice & poured chicken broth over it, then added chunks of chicken. Scrambled eggs also worked. He would also take his meds with peanut butter. A lot of people find that burgers work, lunch meat, or something like liverwurst because it's smelly. Sally even started with ice cream, then swirled that into the water to get her baby to drink water. And yes, hand feeding if that's what it takes! They do get spoiled 
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
First of all, WELCOME HOME DIXIE!!
A d she has had a so we need to celebrate that too! YAY FOR POOP!! Yeah, the meds, the empty tummy, can all delay poop for a bit. No worries at this point.
And another YAY for her mobility continuing to improve, slowwwwly but surely! She's a big girl and still in pain meds so walking is still a bit unsteady.
Nkw this is just me, but I woukd feed her basically ANYTHING she will eat...cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, chicken, steak, pizza crust, etc. And if handfeeding works for now, do it!
And it's good that she's drinking..........that's important!
Keep us posted and let us know how the eating is going. Oh...if she shows signs that she's nauseous, you can ask the Vet for Cerenia. I think you'll see her appetite pick up in a other few days though.
LOVE!
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!
Oh heah Donna! I forget the best food in the world...ICE CREAM! For both of you! 🙂
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!
Yep, all sounds normal. Nothing wrong with hand fed bacon and eggs for a day or two. Introduce other things from time to time, including items from her normal diet and see what she wants. And, she has pooped once, so gets the happy poop icon. Don't worry that it is not every day right now. Lots of meds in her system.
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.
Hoooraaaaay for Dixie's homecoming! That's terrific!
You are doing a great job limiting her activity and keeping an eye on her. I really think her lack of appetite is totally normal and common, pain meds will do that. Have you tried mixing scrambled eggs, boiled chicken or other tasty treats into her regular food? There's nothing wrong with that, I would just stay away from high salt foods like bacon (as tasty as it is!). Hand feeding for a few days is fine but try not to do it too often, you want to normalize her activity as soon as possible.
Pooping will happen but you can move things along by adding olive oil, metamucil, steamed pumpkin or squash or bran cereal into her food.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
As Always thanks for the advice and reassuring comments.
We passed the eating hurdle as she got hungry last night and this morning. We added scrambled eggs and ground turkey to her normal food. She didn't eat a full normal amount, but just showing interest in food is a victory.
OK here is the next question, about every four hours she started getting pain at the amputation site. We know once it was when she was stretching. I'm sure as y'all have pointed out the new interest in food and incidence of pain is all related to the wearing off of pain meds (you take the good with the bad). We don't know if it is 'phantom' pain or just post op pain, any ideas as to how to tell the difference.
Thanks
Hi - you possibly posted elsewhere, but what is the pain management program currently? What meds, what dosage and what frequency?
Most describe phantom pain as being sudden and acute - often there is a startled and sudden yelp or sudden whining.
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.
Are you tapering off pain meds now? Most pups here stay on pain meds for two or three weeks. It may be that your girl needs meds a bit longer to be comfortable.
Good that she is eating!
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
Maggie's Story Amputation and Chemo
Find me now on Tripawds Circle
Glad to hear Dixie is doing better! I always hated when Kylie did not have an appetite. that was one of the worst parts of when she's not well. She's normally such a pig! It hard to watch her turn up her nose at foods she normally loves. I've learned Ritz crackers (low sodium brand of course lol) worked REALLY well for her when she wasn't interested in eating.
Also boiled chicken with a bit of rice helped fill her up and it was nutritious too. Even some broth over her regular kibble helped. Or juice from a can of tuna or salmon, she loves that.I also hand fed her to make her eat and it worked. I feel like its what you gotta do at first, I wanted her to keep her strength up & for that she needs to eat and rest. Slowly the appetite came back to normal, & she ate on her own, but I found its also a tricky balance as time goes on because our Vet said the Tramadol suppresses appetite, yet she also needed it every 8hrs after surgery! But as Karen noted above, most dogs need the pain meds for a good couple weeks. Kylie was around 2.5 weeks probably. We went through the not eating phase again when she started chemo. But we've got that figured out now too. Its certainly a learning process but they are so much better for it in the end! Sounds like Dixie is off to a great start though! With eating more, getting up and walking a bit, and peeing and pooping! All great things! Now just pamper her with tons of love & pets and you're all set 
Chris & Kylie xo
As a couple of others have asked, what pain meds is she on? If they're wearing off before the next dose is due, you may be able to stagger them to give her all round cover.
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
As always, thank you all for your responses. Dixie had a great couple of days of eating, drinking, pooping & peeing and not showing a lot of pain. She would hop around to get outside and through out the house. After our last post she was having some pain so we gave her one Gabapentin 300mg as well as her daily Deramaxx 75mg. Since then the previous pain subsided so we haven't given her anything other than her daily Deramaxx.
Yesterday I noticed she was licking her nose quite a bit and began panting. She became less "active", wasn't drinking and wouldn't leave her bed. She panted most of the night and her bed is drenched from the panting and she won't drink or get up. The surgeon called yesterday while things were still good and I told her all was going well. But now I am quite concerned. Could she have an infection or possibly pneumonia? The wound looks good, no redness or oozing. Has anyone experienced this kind of setback? What would an infection/pneumonia look like?
As soon as the surgeon's office opens, we'll call to see what she thinks, but y'all have walked down this road and we greatly respect and appreciate your advice.
I know we sound like a broken record sometimes, but it sounds like Dixie is in pain. She's about eight days out of MAJOR surgery and, as best I can determine, she hasn't been on pain meds consistently. Thr anti inflammatory is not for heavy duty pain by itself.
Panting and restlessness are generally signs of pain. Dixie may have been overdoing a bit. Not wanting to get up could mean pulled muscles, neck/back pain, etc. Just potty breaks and rest for now.
Generally, most Vets prescribe Gabapentin AND Tramadol for abouttwo weeks or longer, sometimes less. So talk to the Vet sbout getting Dixie on pain meds CONSISTENTLY. The Tramadol and Gaba work on separate pain issues and are most effective when both are used.
I'm certainly not a Vet nor giving Vet advice. Certainly she could have an infection or fever and you need to get thst checked and eliminate that.
This is why we talk about the "ups and downs" during recovery. Take some deep breaths and know that Dixie WILL get pass all this recovery stuff a d feel better soon!
Update us as soon as you speak to the Vet.
Lots of love!
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!
Jackie and Dixie here and it's finally morning! Why is it that things always seem a little better in the morning?! With a lot of coaxing, Dixie got up, came out, ate, drank some water, went out and pee'd, and back in...panting the entire time. But at least she was up, ate and drank. The surgeon said to give her Trazodone 100mg every 8 hours. She said she was probably anxious and in some pain. We'll see how this works. I know I'd be absolutely exhausted if I had panted all night!
Praying for all the precious dogs and families going thru surgeries today.
Oh heah, things are always scarcer at night!
So did the Vet suggest any pain meds, or just the sedative type pill?
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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