Hey, Sally, thanks for responding!  (And you too, Jerry!)

She is drinking okay, and I think that's a great question for the vet - whether the tube could have caused some issues.  I don't see anything obvious on or in her mouth.  A spot on her tongue, but it's on the side she's eating on.  I'll take a meatball in with us and show him.  Hee!  This is what I'm after though; things I can pose to him to get us brainstorming on possibilities.

Just FYI, she's not jumping at all.  She's tall enough that all she has to do is step up onto the couch and step down. The first time I caught her was the morning after she came home, and I was scared the strain of the slight pull would pop a stitch.  When it didn't, I haven't stopped her. She gets up there and lays down on her stitches, which was my first hint she wasn't hurting much at the site.  On the floor, even on the carpet, she will not lay on the stitched side.  I put her dog bed on the floor in front of it to encourage her to sleep on that, but, nope, she wants her couch.  My vet said not to restrict her (within reason) because the more I did, the longer it would take her to get used to using three legs and that she'd do what she felt comfortable doing.  Since she's not a terribly active dog, and I've never seen her run except for the morning she was running on the road scared to death, I've not limited her at all.

On the upside of everything... While yes she's got some hurdles, I already see a vast improvement in her state of mind.  The week we were waiting for surgery, when that leg was just a mess -- not terribly painful, outwardly, but disgusting and gross -- and she had to wear the cone of shame , she was so depressed. Her eyes are brighter as well, and the thumping tail is a great sight to see.

Murphy didn't eat well after surgery, either, so I cooked rice and added chicken broth to it, then some chunks of chicken.  We also used Gabapentin for nerve pain (along with the Tramadol & Rimadyl).

Donna

Well, first up -- she's better on the leg today.  In fact, she's better all the way around.  This morning she *wanted* her meatballs, and ate them with more gusto, but her normal "volume" is very much decreased.  Not surprising since she's been off-food for a while.  I think the thing that concerns me the most about feeding home-cooked food or alternatives, is how much?  Without a scale --and I'm simply not breaking down to buy one -- I have no idea the comparative amounts.  I guess it doesn't really matter if I'm offering her 2-3 meals a day and letting her eat until she turns up her nose.

do you have a more specific diagnosis on Daisy's STS?  The reason I ask is if it was a Nerve Sheath Tumor like Pofi's, there may be significant residual nerve pain and for that Gabapentin was incredibly effective for us. 

Hester -- I honestly don't have any idea about the location or the specifics on her STS.  A little background:  We found her on the road in May.  It wasn't until mid-June we were certain she was dumped and not an escapee from one of the neighboring farms.  At that point, when I took her in to confirm what I suspected, that it was a small cancer tumor, we hadn't really become 100% attached.  We did an aspiration in the clinic and confirmed STS, and at that point I opted to just let her live her life because we have no idea how old she really is. The growth never bothered her, and she never limped on it. It was just beneath her "armpit".   In early September when she punctured the wound, it was pretty rapid "We have to do something now" and so I skipped all sorts of diagnostics and jumped right to amputation. Chemo is/was never an option, so what *was* there, didn't particularly matter in my head.  We amputated all the way up to and including the shoulder blade, and he said he took large margins around the good tissue, but I honestly didn't ask when I picked her up if he'd found it extended into her actual shoulder or chest regions. 

Don't hate me or think poorly of me for taking the cheapest, quickest solution, and not doing a bunch of other tests.  It's only because we became so attached to her over summer that we amputated at all.  We live in the country and dumped dogs are normal around here.  Half the time the fools leave their collars *and tags* on the dogs.  I'll take them in if we can, try to find their owners if we think they are lost, spay/neuter if not, vaccinate, and otherwise give them the best life we can, until their time comes.  Presently, Daisy is dog 12.  Four of my dogs I actually sought out.  LOL.  Daisy has, however, in the time we've owned her elevated herself to the favorite of the family's, second only to the Newfie.  This is the first time I even considered a procedure that is equivalent in expense to a livestock emergency or a bi-annual herd call.  It's not that I'm cold-hearted or don't care, but sometimes when the bigger picture is looked at, it's better to suffer a broken heart and euthanize.  In Daisy's case, I couldn't take that step.

RE The Gabapentin

Have any of you used it on a skinny dog?  Daisy has lost a lot of weight in the last two weeks (which is why the non-eating bothers me so much; she needs her weight up).  I read some information about Gabapentin last night, and it said side-effects could cause underweight dogs to have significant drop in coordination and balance.  I'd hate to give her something that causes her to fall now.  Yes, it's a question for the vet, but curious if your guys/gals have been underweight while on it.

I had not seen the massage tips, but just read and watched the video.  That's fairly close to what I was doing.  Will try some more of the specialized tips!  Thank you!

Rehab sounds tempting.  I looked -- the closest place is 40 miles away.  Any idea if this is typically a program that requires continued visits, or is it typically something that can develop an at-home program?  I'll call the place on Monday and see what their typical routine is.  I bet Daisy would like that.  She does love to go in the truck and see new people and new places.

Wow.  Claire.  All I have to say is that you are a Rock Star... and Daisy is lucky to have you.  Holy cow.  Nice job and thank you.  MysweetTed came home about 5 hours after surgery too, and it was a rough couple of days but he's doing pretty darned good now - almost two months post amp.  He is a sweet mellow boy but he does do a little "twirl" for a biscuit - which is ridiculous but so joyfully funny that we go with it..  he has never been a big eater but I wanted to make sure he did eat so I could give him pain and anti-inflammatory meds so I've been mixing a tiny bit of wet canned dog food with his kibble and that has been working really well. Have you tried that?  Cheese has also been a good go-to.  Ted had Gabapentin when he came home after his surgery for about two weeks and I honestly didn't notice anything different about him while he was taking it (and he is about 70 pounds)- but I did make sure he had food in his stomach to tolerate all of the drugs....CHEESE helped.  I hope things go well for you - Daisy sounds super special.  Nothing that you have posted here makes me think poorly of you at all.  

Wanda

Hi Claire! 

Meg had these issues after her amputation a few weeks ago - she stopped eating for a few days but when she resumed eating, it had to be tiny bits she could lick up because she didn't want to chew at all. Not sure why! Eventually I offered her normal wet dog food rather than the raw chicken she'd been on, and hand fed her tiny bits on the tip of my finger, and as she became more interested in the food, I increased the size of the bite. She happily chewed the last few bits.

I'm still having to do that in the morning, otherwise she will leave it too long and the other dog will get it. 

Hopefully slowly getting her used of her normal food everyday might help! 

Good luck 

Update!

We are having a *really* good day today!  Last night, the little stinker managed to get her head around far enough to start pulling at her stitches.  So I put her in a T-shirt -- green is kinda her color.

But today she's sitting up a lot more instead of just stretched out.  She's getting up every time the door opens.  She ate her meatballs pretty well this morning.  And something I have never seen in her--helicopter tail!  You know, where it goes around in circles it's going so fast, not just back and forth.

She even posed.  Heh.

Anxious to get to the vet tomorrow and discuss.  I don't think pain is her issue, except for muscle soreness, and maybe there's something she can take on an as-needed that is gentle on her stomach.  Like Advil for us when we have a headache.

I too go for the grain free with her, and that's why we did Taste of the Wild.  I used to feed Blue...something.  And then there were some issues with product reliability that made me uncomfortable.  Have any of you tried Merrick's brand?  I just saw it the other day and wondered about it.  Probably ought to take that to a different forum.  LOL.  Will look for a better place to stick it.