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
Boo (10yr old greyhound) lost her right front leg 8 months ago. Last night, I'm pretty sure she broke her "pinky toe" on her right back leg. It was right before we all went to sleep for the night...I looked her over and didn't see anything too crazy - no blood or anything looking out of place. Boo managed to (hobble/limp) get to her kennel and that is where she has stayed ever since. I got a good look at her this morning and her pinky toe is not right! She's seems relaxed, and she not messing with it. She's just not interested in moving.
I've heard everything from there is nothing you can do/should do for a broken pinky toe - to - just wrap it - to - splints and cast for 6-8weeks. Obviously, splints and cast are NOT an option when your dog only has 3 legs to begin with....and the broken toe is on the same side as the mission one!
Should I just keep her off her feet and let it heal in on it's own...or should we try wrapping it? Of course, IT'S SUNDAY! (always on a sunday) and it's hundreds of dollars just to walk into the emergency vet. I don't feel like this is emergency status...I guess I'm just looking for a some advice from a vet from the tripawd perspective! ....We have extra pain meds too left over from the surgery, should we give her one of those to easy the pain in the meantime?
Thanks!
Amanda & Boo
Boo became a Tripawd Warrior Princess on Sept 8, 2009. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge 2.7 years later on April 29, 2012. Run free Angel Boo!
Amanda, First I am NOT a vet. I will share what I would do with Trouble. We live in an area where the only e-clinic is 30 minutes away, and I'm not real impressed with the few encounters I've had with them over the years. If there were moderate pain, I would medicate and watch. If she seemed ok, I would wait until Monday to get her to her primary care vet. If the pain cannot be managed reasonably, I would go to the e-clinic.
This is a call you are going to have to make based on the information you have available. Good thoughts to both of you.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Is the toe swollen or bruised? Most broken toes swell to 2 or 3 times the normal size pretty quickly! An NSAID like Rimadyl or Metacam can help reduce inflammation and pain.
If the toe is broken then it needs to be re-set and splinted. A tripawd might not be able to handle a heavy splint but a padded bandage should be fine. You might have to use a bootie or double-sided tape to help with traction .
As long as you have pain meds you should be able to wait for your regular vet to see your dog on Monday.
Pam
Thanks Pam!
The toe has zero swelling but it does look a little bruised between the two toes. (middle & pinky). Could it just be severly jammed or dislocated...? Also it looks a little twisted. I think we've decided to wait until Monday and we'll bring her into our regular vet for xrays and re-setting.
She's not messing with it and doesn't appear to be in any pain - no whining or yelping....but we all know our dogs hide pain very well! We have 50MG tablets of Tramadol and we have 75MG tablets of Rimadyl. Is one better than the other? (It appears that we were giving half tablets since a few are already split).
Again - Thank YOU!
Boo became a Tripawd Warrior Princess on Sept 8, 2009. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge 2.7 years later on April 29, 2012. Run free Angel Boo!
Poor Boo! Hope you find out what's wrong tomorrow!
The Rimadyl is to relieve the inflammation/swelling/bruising. The tramadol blocks the pain. No vet here, but I'd give the 75mg of Rimadyl for sure. Tramadol will take away the pain temporarily. You can try a 1/2 or 1/3 of tramadol if you don't want a sleepy dog. Giving both won't hurt anything.
Just in case Pam doesn't get your message.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Rimadyl is dosed at 1 mg per pound of bodyweight once or twice daily. Greyhounds seem a little sensitive to Tramadol (nausea/sedation) so you probably only need 1/2 to 1 tablet of Tramadol 2 to 3 times daily.
Pam
We just gave her 1/2 tablet of Tramadol - to take the edge off. We'll give another 1/2 dose in about 8hrs and call our vet in the morning.
We'll let you know how the story ends...
Thanks for making our Sunday a lot less worrisome and a little more lazy!
Amanda & Boo
Boo became a Tripawd Warrior Princess on Sept 8, 2009. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge 2.7 years later on April 29, 2012. Run free Angel Boo!
Poor Boo!
Hopefully the pain meds will help until you get to the vet on Monday... How is Boo feeling now?
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Our vet was able to sneak us in at 8:30am! The current diagnosis is: this is just a bad infection.
We were instructed to give her Cephalexin (500mg) every 8hrs and Rimadyl (3/4 of a 75mg tablet) every 12hrs, both for the next 7days. If after 3 days on the meds, she still isn't putting any weight on that foot we need to bring her back in for an x-ray...but the doc is pretty certain that it's not broken.
Except for not eating yesterday, Boo seems fine. Hopefully the meds, and a little rice mixed in with her food, will bring everything back to normal in a few days time!
Boo became a Tripawd Warrior Princess on Sept 8, 2009. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge 2.7 years later on April 29, 2012. Run free Angel Boo!
Yay, good news! We hope Boo is feeling better soon.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well - we just got our answer regarding Boo's toe... It's broken! I know this because I just popped it back into place! 
Since starting the meds we've been keeping a close watch on it - one hour it looks way bent, the next it looks less swollen and a little straighter - then it looks crooked again?! I was just messing with it, then pop! I felt the bone go back in place!
We called the vet and we're going in to have them at least wrap it up so the bone doesn't keep flopping around! (Ouch)!
Poor Boo!
Boo became a Tripawd Warrior Princess on Sept 8, 2009. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge 2.7 years later on April 29, 2012. Run free Angel Boo!
Ouch, indeed! At least you know what you're dealing with now, though if it "popped back into place" hopefully it was just dislocated. Thanks for the update.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That's exacly what I was thinking! Dislocation since there isn't any swelling to speak of! Hopefully the vet will get it all worked out!
Good luck BOO!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Yes - best of luck to Boo! We hope the vet can wrap it and keep it from popping out again!
Hugs,
Holly and Holly's mom
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
1 Guest(s)
