Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Last Thursday Dakota had oral surgery to remove his broken upper canine tooth. It had broken up in the gum and would be an infection invitation so it was removed. Saturday night he began to obsessively lick the air...for hours. Sunday (yesterday) he continued, off and on. The surgery area looked gunky and not very attractive.
I called the vet this morning and was asked to bring him back in. Somewhere along the line Dakota managed to get rid of approximately 6 stitches. That was probably what all the air licking was about. So Wednesday he gets to go back and they'll knock him out again and re-stitch him. I was told that leaving it alone would be a bad idea, as it doesn't really fill in with tissue since it's all bone up in there. Right now he has an open, gaping tooth socket more than an inch deep.
This time they will likely stitch him up with material that takes a very long time to dissolve (like months) and he will probably return in 10 days, be briefly knocked out (like 5 minutes, no gas) and have the sutures removed.
On top of this, whatever skin problem he's been messing with is getting worse. He has some very inflamed, bumpy skin along his belly and down a rear leg almost all the way. He licks it constantly. Benadryl and Claritin have not made the itching better.
I don't know what's up with this dog, but he truly is driving me crazy. Hopefully on Wednesday they can get him fixed up and tell me how to cure the skin problem. It's beginning to look almost fungal (kind of like ringworm) but that doesn't itch, does it? Or have bumps.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Way to go Evelyn! That'll make him think twice about messing with you next time!
Thank you, Sprocket. Whoever. Whatever. I knew I could count on you.
I saw your little movie thing. You have a funny tail. Your head is pretty small, too, so I guess your brain is also pretty small. Poor little guy.
Love, Dakota
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Shari,
I'm sorry D. Dawg is having such a time! I can imagin how frustrating it is for you as Obie sits on my lap right now alternating licking his paw and air licking. For his un-defined allergies I have had to put him on temeril-p (p is for prednisone). I don't like the pred, but he needs some relief. I only give it to him for a week or two at a time. He doesn't have the common pred side effects, and I don't have to taper him off.
I think ring worm might have bumps- I don't know about the itching. The pictures I have seen have very distinct round hair loss areas, but I think it can be irregular shape too.
I hope his mouth heals up this time too.
Karen
Poor Dakota! Gosh, he's a mess. Hope they can give you something to help fix up his skin troubles.
Don't know anything about ringworm and haven't ever had a pup with allergy issues so sorry I've got no advice to share.
Hope he starts feeling better soon!
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Ringworm is catchy! Evelyn be careful over there!
I bet you smell too Dummy Dawg! Ewwwww.
Oh, Dakota, you are really trying to make it into the record books for how much you can worry mom! I don't have any suggestions as to causes, but please know that we are sending lots of positive thoughts and big hugs - to you and to momma.
Lisa and Zeus
p.s. - Zeus says if it is ringworm, be sure to love Evelyn up reeeaaalllll good today! 
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Poor Dakota; my little bipawd had ringworm once-- once we knew what it was, it was easily cured with medicine-- can't remember if it was a oral or a cream. It is supposed to be highly contagious (although no one else in our family got it). I just hope the vet can figure it out soon; itchy skin is just about the most maddening thing ever.
Sorry about the tooth - you are really having a rough time at the moment.
Scout: January 31, 2002 to November 7, 2011
Scout's diagnosis was "poorly differentiated sarcoma"; amputation 1/11/2011. Scout enjoyed 9 fantastic years on 4 legs and 9 glorious months on 3 legs. If love alone could have saved you…
Owwwweeee! Your sissy sure knows how to make life exciting.
I hope you feel better my friend. We need you to get back to your old self for the pawty on Saturday! Good luck today.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hey Shari,
Of course I'm not saying that Dakota has ringworm, but here's my experience with it. Just last month my Kali had a "tumor" looking thing that grew from her nail bed. The vet only referred to cancers because it looked like a tumor. After amputation of the toe the results came back ringworm. So...while the norm is for ringworm to be a round area of hair loss it can also look like a tumor. That was an expensive and painful lesson.
Leslie
Hey Shari - our Sam had something that sounds a little similar. We woke up one morning to him literally chewing his back leg - when I brought him downstairs where I could take a look at it - it was disgusting. The entire inside of his leg was raw and inflamed and he had made it worse by chewing at it because it was so itchy. It ended up that he had an infection in his system (likely a random thing due to a weakened immune system from chemo) that presented in the itchy bumps and then the licking and biting made the bumps infected. We put him on temeril-p and then used a topical antibiotic spay that had a little numbing in it. He got immediate relief. The morning it all erupted, I cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide which helped too. Hope it's nothing serious - between the tooth and the rash....that's a crappy week! Xoxo Sue
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