Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
So glad to hear how well Rufus is doing! 🙂 🙂 And it continues to get better and better! It seems like it starts with little iddy biddy signs of improvement, a d then things start to k mprove at a pretty rapid pace. You hear us say it a lot here, but you really will forget Rufus is a tripawd after awhile! He's already forgotten it! 🙂
I used K9 Immunity Plus and Apocaps for Happy Hannah. As you know, with big dogs they can go through the supplements quickly and that can be quite an "investment"! I wasn't always able to do them in a consistent basis. Did they help? Dunno. I do feel like I could see a difference in Happy Hannah's energy level when she had her K9 Immunity in a consistent basis.
I did some home cooking also for Happy Hannah. Like Tina, that's not something I even do for myself! I also rotated among HONEST KITCHEN, ORIJEN SIX FISH, EVO, MERRICK ORGANIC, FROMM. This was several years ago, but I still think they are outstanding products. Of course, there are ALWAYS "new" discoveries. Grain free became the gold standard. Now, "supposedly" that "may" not be the case. I'm still going grain free though.
Can't wait for the pictures!
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!
TALK ABOUT TIMELY! Look what Jerry just posted in the blogs on behalf of Whatt Ray. I'm gonna give it a try! 🙂
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!
I am so sorry that you are here for a second time because of this 💩💩💩 disease!!! I haven’t had a moment to read Bruno’s story yet, but I certainly will...
Rufus, you found your saviour just in the nick of time I think! You are such a fortunate boy to have found her!!! We are all in your corner for this fight buddy, you are going to be the Bantam Weight Champion!!!! 🥊 🏅
Mum, I really am sorry that you have to go through this again, but you must have proven with Bruno that you are definitely the right person to go through this with Rufus! Bruno led Rufus right to your door! What a treasure!
Our Stewie boy is 3 1/2 months post amputation!!! He is a 7 1/2 yr old Bernese/Rotty cross. We are very proud pawrents! We are also treating Stewie with Carboplatin chemotherapy and he has had 5 sessions so far and is due for his 6th in a week and a half and then we’re done with that s#$t! We had been told that 4 is the typical norm, but we decided to go for the full six. Paul and I had decided that we wouldn’t do anymore X-rays after his chemo, as we were also of the same mind set that we are doing all that we are capable of doing and he’ll let us know when this 💩 disease is taking too much out of him.
Now having said that, we also hadn’t expected to add in acupuncture and Ortho-Bionomy into his recovery regiment!!! He goes for his second session after his blood work next week and then every week for a little while after that. I have already noticed a difference in the now non-existent flakes on his skin. Possibly due to the chemotherapy. It has also helped considerably with his phantom jumping and licking discomfort. He slept like a baby after his session and has been relaxed ever since! And that was after just one session, so I’m definitely going back!
I wanted to mention the Phantom pain thing. We were given Gabapentin by our vet as soon as we knew we were going to amputate Stewie’s leg. He remained on the Gaba until a few days after his stitches were out and then we slowly weened him off. I have personal experience with Gabapentin and it isn’t something you can just stop if on a high dosage. I knew that it was a nerve pain medication, but it also helped with Stewie as a general pain reliever and relaxant. I had been considering putting him back on it until I found that the acupuncture did such a good job! Vets don’t know it all. They are not the ones at home watching our fur babies go through a surgery as extreme as an amputation. If you would like to start a medication and the vet doesn’t agree with you, you are allowed to insist on trying it! Gabapentin is a relatively new drug in the vet business, maybe your vet isn’t aware of the benefits to dogs who have gone through amputation.
we are also trying him on a local miracle cancer treatment.... this could just be a Kootenay thing, but people swear by it around these parts! It is the Shaga Mushroom ‘tea’. It is supposed to suppress cancer cells and boost the immune system??? Who knows what we may try next...?! This is an ever evolving journey as I learn from people with hands on experience! Tripawds has been my solace after the last few months.
Hoping all is still going so well for Rufus. Hugs being sent your way...
From Super Stu and his ever loving Pack!❤️❤️❤️
Remember...“live in the moment!“ 
Super Stu!- Rufus does lick a lot. Does that mean pain? Thanks for your post.
bennny55 thanks for the link on crave. I'm wondering if we'll continue k-9 immunity after chemo.
Hi Rufus and Mum
i can’t say that the licking is pain, or what... I do know that it’s an irritant to him in some way. He especially licks after activity. I noticed yesterday that he was licking at his spot again and I’m thinking that the acupuncture has worn off...??? Did your vet mention anything? I had tshirts on Stewie so that he would only be licking at his shirt and not his incision. It could also be the fact that the fur is growing back in... and sometimes of course, dogs get into the habit if licking at an area too, so I always watching and telling him not to lick.
All the best and keep us posted as to how Rufus is doing please.
Petra, Super Stu and his kitty gang!❤️❤️❤️
Rufus will lick his only front paw and his bed. I ask him to stop licking his bed. We look before we tell him to stop licking, unless it wakes me at 2 in the morning, because he may be grooming himself. (We only had him wear the cone while we're at work. ) He'll lick his incision occasionally. In the beginning it was scratch scratch scratch at the top of his neck where I think he was razor burned. I was sad - he had enough to deal with. I was happy - he had something to concentrate on instead of his incision.
I'll (try to) update my avatar so y'all can meet Rufus. Maybe I'll be able to create an avatar with both boys. I don't know where my original Bruno went - when I uploaded a new one it went sideways.
Good morning! It doesn’t sound like Rufus has a licking issue. Stewie is always grooming his feet too, it’s only the surgical ‘lump’ or ‘dog ear’ that I am concerned about. Did your vet talk about phantom pain to you? I’m just wondering about the licking of his bed, is he licking at his phantom leg? Again, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but do keep an eye.
Hugs to Dear Rufus...❤️
As far as changing your avatar picture, I believe you go to you home page and choose the avatar choice out of the menu and then you need to reset your picture?! Was your picture sideways in your library? Do try again, we would love to see pictures of Rufus.
I have a blog started for Stewie, so I download his pictures into the media library and then I copy and paste it into here. Here’s a recent picture of the Stu man...
Oh those Rorries we love! Since coming to this site, I see far too many Rottweiler and Rottweiler mixes, but I would get another in a heart beat.
I went back and read your past experiences. So sad you had such a short time with Bruno after diagnosis.
Bailey, like Stewie is 3 1/2 months post amp and 5 chemos down. She is on Gabapentin still and will remain on for osteoarthritis pain in hip and remaining leg. I have never been one for medications for myself or dog, but I am committed to giving Bailey any medication needed to keep her as pain free as possible for he rest of her life.
I so hope you will have a long, joyful time with Rufus.
Hi TT Bailey! Rufus, just so you know, Stewie and Bailey are Tripawd Twins, we are neck to neck on this journey and we try to keep up on each other’s journeys.
Jan, I would have to agree with you... Before Stewie came along, I had never had many experiences with Rottweilers, but have always had an admirable respect for them. It wasn’t until Stewie came along that I realized how smart, loyal and smoochable they were!!! I was just saying to Paul the other day that there seems to be a common denominator on this site with Rotty’s, Great Danes and Pugs... Why is that? I would adopt another Rotty mix in a heartbeat though, especially since joining this site... they are up there on my top choice of breeds now, along with German Shepard’s.
Im not one big on pills either, but I do agree with Jan, if meds are needed to make our fur babies comfy, then we do what we need to do. Gabapentin is definitely still in the shelf if the acupuncture and Ortho-Bionomy does t work, but I am confident that it will.
Here’s to The Rotty’s that Rock this World! 🌎 
Have a great day ladies! 
Yay Rufus is uploaded, but distorted. The pic is right side up when I select it. I Just need to get to the computer.
Phantom pain - maybe. I did ask vet about the medicine gabapentin, but he said that he hasn't seen phantom leg as an issue. I will pursue if I think Rufus needs it.
How much does Stewie weigh? He is beautiful!
So we're about 3 months behind Stewie and Bailey. Bailey....a girl? Ugh I thought we might get another Rottie one of these years and it'll be a female...... or just keep our male intact.... big sigh cancer -i need to avoid you!
Please tell me Stewie and Bailey's age, time between diagnosis and amputation, and weight. Thanks for your information.
Rufus is smaller 70 pounds, will be 8 next month and limping started mid Sept -22nd was first prominent sign of lowered activity level, xray Sept 27 results 28th(by the 27th there was noticeable atrophy by Oct 7 he stopped using the leg). chest xrays Oct 6 amputate Oct 9. I knew we needed to move quickly.
You did great to jump on Rufus’ treatment so quickly!!! Good girl!
Stewie is 7 1/2 years old. He weighs 48.5kg now but was at 50.8kg before amputation. He is a mix of Bernese, Rottweiler and Retriever.
stewie started limping in the middle of August and it got progressively worse over the next couple of weeks. We had an X-ray of his leg on July 5th, (his left forearm bone had a massive tumour in it!) and he had his surgery on July 10th. We knew then that we were buying time, but we are so grateful for him now and have no regrets.
Anymore Questions please feel free to ask.....
Stewie sends sloppy kisses 👅❤️
p.s. thanks for mentioning about Rufus’ tricks...! I haven’t been asking Stewie to do any of his tricks since his amputation and I asked him to give me his paw yesterday and he was thrilled to give it to me!!!! Thank you Rufus!
Hey there Rufus and Mom 🌺💕
Euryduce's phantom pain although very, very mild and not often, manifested itself by a) sudden jump (from lying down) and yelping for maybe 30 sec and then back to normal and b) by licking the area where her amputated leg should be.
Luckily this didn't last long, we cut Gabapentin 10 days after surgery (as per the hospital instructions) and she was ok with that.
Yup, there are a lot of Rotties, Danes and giant breeds here, apparently they are more predisposed to osteosarcoma but I have to say when I see so many other breeds and mixed breeds of all sizes going through that it makes me think it's just like with us humans.
If we were meant to go through cancer sadly we will.
But hey, we manage to keep our spirits high and find comfort in the Tripawd family and that helps enormously!
Sending you a big hug and tons of cuddles to Rufus (love his name) 😘😘😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
eurydice said
Hey there Rufus and Mom 🌺💕Euryduce's phantom pain although very, very mild and not often, manifested itself by a) sudden jump (from lying down) and yelping for maybe 30 sec and then back to normal and b) by licking the area where her amputated leg should be.
Stewie does this same thing Teresa, although I haven’t seen it in the last week. (Since the acupuncture and Ortho-Bionomy.)
Yup, there are a lot of Rotties, Danes and giant breeds here, apparently they are more predisposed to osteosarcoma but I have to say when I see so many other breeds and mixed breeds of all sizes going through that it makes me think it's just like with us humans.
If we were meant to go through cancer sadly we will.
You’re probably right about this too my darling Teresa! The stats do say that 1 out of four dogs are getting cancer!!! Could it be the foods we have fed them over the years! Could it be the over breeding (in some cases) or could it simply be genetics?
Hugs to you all! ❤️
chemo was super scary for me today. Internal medicine doc said stop solid gold(because of antioxidants) stop k-9(because of chemo, but the fish oils are ok). I felt like I was jumping ahead on his healing. We started k-9 10/21 and stopped 10/26. We'll start all the healthy eating with antioxidants and k-9 immunity boosters after December 29th or a little later past his last chemo.
Rufus got his nails trimmed and sutures out. He wasn't as out of it from sedation as I expected compared to when he got xrays at the vet.
His WBC was 2.9 . 3.0 is considered low, but doc went ahead. If this low number appeared between chemo, then he'd adjust amount of carboplatin.
I'm glad the tech was more personable, made me feel more comfortable. Doc was less sociable, but as long as he knows what he's doing, ill get over it.
When we got home Rufus played for about 10 minutes with his ball, then retreated to the garage to tell my husband it was time for a nap.
We may have doggie play date tomorrow. We'll go back to sleeping in our bed and baby gates down. 😉
1 Guest(s)
