Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

Hi! Sorry I missed you in the chatroom. My pup is an injury-tripawd, so we haven't had to deal with cancer..but I can tell you about how she's adapted. For the most part you will probably have to make a few small lifestyle changes. These are just bullet points, I'm sure I'll have missed a few things and like I said, I haven't dealt with cancer so there's probably other things to deal with regarding that.

Try and walk her on the grass as much as possible, so that the impact of hitting the concrete doesn't jar her joints.
If you're in an apartment complex, consider moving to a bottom floor so she can avoid too many stairs.
Rugs on hardwood and tile floors will help with slipping and jarring her joints.
Don't let her get too fat, too much weight can be hard on the remaining joints.

My girl gets glucosamine supplements, and essentially I just try and be mindful of her tripawd-ness and work with it. She can still haul her fuzzy butt around the yard at a pretty decent clip, can still dig (pretty amazing for a front tripawd) and swim (even though she hates the latter) and can beat the pants off my german shepherd who outweighs her by 30lbs.

In short, it isn't going to hinder them much, you just have to be a little more courteous regarding their new lifestyle.

Hope this helps!

I know this isn't what you asked for in terms of feedback from those who regretted the amputation, but I still wanted to add my two cents.  My furbaby Dixie is a 10 year old mixed breed and just had her right back leg amputated 11 days ago.  Prior to the surgery, she only had a slight limp and showed no pain that I could recognize.  I was hesitant at first, for the same reasons - I saw her play, run, etc., her appetite was great... it seemed like such an aggressive and scary option for a dog who didn't seem to be overly bothered by the issue.  At the vet's recommendation, we went forward with the surgery.  Sure, there were times I regretted it - when I saw her struggle to keep her balance, or seeing her bald butt with the drains.  But Dixie plays like she did before, she still drags me all over the neighborhood, she still bosses around the other dogs.  We're already walking together at the trails she enjoys so much.

She's the same dog.  She's just not in pain anymore.

At Dixie's vet appt today, the vet showed me post-op pictures of her leg,the tumor, and the bone.  As much as Dixie wasn't really showing many outward signs of pain, I knew as soon as I saw those pictures that she must have been in a lot of pain.  The tumor had been pressing into the bone and had also been pressing her quadricep muscle out of place.  I was so so so glad to have done the amputation.  Right before I left the clinic, I met a lady and her golden retriever who had just been diagnosed with bladder cancer.  Her dog was limping from it as well, but obviously amputation won't help her dog.  In that moment, I felt both extreme sadness for the lady and her dog, but also a sense of awe, realization, and gratitude that I even had the option of amputation to relieve Dixie's pain.  

I'm not trying to tell you what to do - I'm just sharing my story.  Amputation was the best option for us.  It may not be for everyone.  I only shared my story in the hopes that the concept of amputation seems a little less scary if you should choose to go that route. Reading the "Three Legs and a Spare " book that I downloaded from this site helped a lot.   You asked about "some of the things we may have to deal with" - well for me I haven't had many issues.  Just getting her through the first few days post-surgery was physically and emotionally exhausting, but so worth it.  

Whatever you decide, this is a great community to help you through every step.  Keep us updated!

Can they still run and play?  Heh heh heh -

This was a couple weeks ago (two years post-amp):

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