Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Sit pretty and roll over are both excellent core strengthening exercises .
My current Tripawd Elly is a rear amp who does lots of tricks. She doesn't have a good sitting base so he needs help with sit pretty but can roll over both ways. She does have a little more trouble going from her right side (missing leg side) over but she can do it.
My first tripawd was a pug named Maggie who lost a rear leg to mast cell cancer. As a pug her two best tricks were 'empty the food bowl' and 'nap on a lap'.
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
I think the Vicodin is making Rufus stare at the walls and needing continual prompting to lay down. He will sit and hang his head. He has peed in the house twice. The first time we were trying to get him to go out, he refused, then later peed. That was yesterday. Today we were outside sun bathing and I asked him to go before we went in, but he didn't. A little after coming inside he peed. He seems out of it.
I'm supposed to give him meds until sutures come out 10/27. I think if he gets off his meds he'll get back to his old self.
If anyone else experienced this, it would be helpful to know.
When he had surgery for his total blockage, he didn't act in pain so I weaned him off his meds after a few days. I thought that was quick for a major surgery. Now, an amputation seems really intense so while I'm really wanting to wean him off so he can get back to regular and stop acting weird, I don't want him to be in pain and go against doctor's orders. Can't wait until he can kick these meds. I know he needs them because he wiggles his body when we awakes, but then he cries.
Just a thought. Maybe you could talk to your Vet about switching from Vicoden to Tramadol and Gabapentin. I mention thst simply because we see more of those two here than Vicoden (and I believe he's on codeine too?). From you you've said, it sounds like the Vicoden isn't really managing his pain anyway, but just making him spacey.
Sending hugs!
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!
Hey there 🌺
I agree with Sally, I think most of us here used Tramadol (for pain) and Gabapentin (for fantom pain) so maybe you could ask your vet what he thinks?
It is normal for our babies to be spaced out and act weird, Eurydice had one episode that looked like a seizure where she wouldn't recognise me, light or sound but I haven't read here of a similar thing happening to others.
This was a reaction to all the pain meds so nothing serious at all in the end.
Be really careful not to cut the meds down too early (and follow vet's instructions at all times) most dogs stay on pain meds for at least 2 weeks, sometimes longer.
This is major surgery and it hurts like hell so it's crucial to keep meds even if they make our babies do strange things and behave in a weird way.
Keep up the good work and remember recovery doesn't last forever !!!
Big kiss and cuddles 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 :-)
Thanks Benny55 and Eurydice. Ok we're going with loopy until vet tells me. He didn't get back to me today. Yes recovery isn't forever.
Vet said rimadyl is enough so that's what we're on as of tonight. I'm going to order k-9 immunity. I had Bruno on this for his last month.
How many people have their pups on k-9 and how do you decide on dog food? I'm looking at solid gold.
This cancer is going to have a hard time because we're fighting!
Hey there 🌺
My girl didn't take K-9 but lots of others did so you'll get lots of first hand info for sure.
I am SO glad to hear you're up for a fight 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾 against this piece of 💩 disease.
We're all cheering madly for you and Rufus here!
😘😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
Thanks eurydice for your cheering! 
Rufus was more himself last night. He even barked at a doorbell from the tv! It was a courtesy bark, but so nice to see him acting like himself. We were so pleased!
Also - we got the confirmation from the biopsy, osteoblastic osteosarcoma.
How many people have their pups on k-9 and how do you decide on dog food?
Glad to hear Rufus is doing better. Keep up that pawsitivity, it goes very far!
Have you seen the Tripawds Nutrition blog ? Or the Eating Healthy Discussion Forum Topic? Both are filled with lots of ideas to give cancer the ol' heave-ho.
Sorry about the diagnosis, that final confirmation is tough. But with your fighting spirit, Rufus has every chance to beat the odds and live a long healthy life.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hey there 🌺
How is Rufus doing ?
And you ?
😘😘😘🐮✨💫🌟🌹
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 :-)
Rufus is doing well. He was active yesterday, playing with his bobble treat feeder and squeak toy. He hates the cone. Sutures come out Friday while getting first round Chemo. One of these days I'll get on the computer to share pics. His smile is refreshing!
My husband was able to get Friday off, so we'll go to chemo together.
Hey there,
I think getting that nasty piece of a disease with TWO dogs is everyone's nightmare...
While Manni is not doing all that well anymore we did manage to get to now 23 months after amputation and I think that's a huge success. while I am sure that luck had a lot to do with it there are some things I would always do again:
IV chemo
physio therapy and lots of related exercises, not just for getting strength and balance back but also for the mind! Manni's tricks are very much the same as Rufus' are and he was still able to do almost all of them after the amp. I also always included little mind games with hidden treats and such.
I prepare Dr. Dresslers "cancer diet" for him, as in : I cook... never thought I would, but there you go.
I feed K9 immunity and Apocaps
I also had x-rays done every three months at first and then every six, however, as my vet said: you can do that or leave it, it's a matter of personal opinion. and yes, there are still some options if you find mets or, as in our case, a new osteosarcoma. If these actually work or not I can't really say if I'm honest. I still felt it was worth pursuing.
All the best to you guys!!
tina
&Manni
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
Thanks tinsch Tina. We look forward to the IV chemo we'll get carboplatin.... yikes spelling. 4 rounds to keep the lungs healthy. Seems like natural progression following an amputation.
We haven't talked yet about what we're going to do if mets show up, another osteosarcoma shows up, and if we'll xray and how frequently.
We're working with an internal medicine doc and will pick his brain tomorrow.
Yay for 23 months! Rufus is quite the character, more stubborn than I am so I'm looking forward to his tenacity to help him fight and live a full life. I can't wait to see him run again. This dog- he fetched so aggressively in the house when we first got him that he had carpet burns on his pads. We didn't realize it until they bled leaving marks in the snow. We don't do that anymore.
After sutures come out we'll remove baby gates and start sleeping upstairs in our bed and get back to regular routine. After week one I think Rufus was confused why we're still camping in the basement.
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