Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Maggie is a 12 year old lab and she had her rear leg removed about 2.5 weeks ago. The operation went ok but we have had a terrible time controling her pain. From the day she came home from the hospital she has had a dry, drippy nose. She has been shaking. I am just reading today (which is sunday and it is why i am not running to the vet) the symptoms of kidney disease. She has all the symptoms except i have to bring the bowl of water over to her. She will not get up and get it herself. I have been mentioning her nose and the shaking to three different vets incudling our own vet(the hospital that she went to has different vets at different times since it is a 24 care facility) why wouldnt any of them catch that?? She is very uncofortable still and no one has any answers for me. This is not phantom pain , she doesn't even look at where her leg was. If anyone that is reading this has had any experience with the dry drippy nose two weeks after the surgery, let me know~! i don't think it is normal. AFter a week of heavy meds, i have her totally off the meds. No change in her pain on or off the meds. What does that say?
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Bo was a 6 year old lab and he got "drippy" a few weeks after surgery. His nose and eyes both. In fact, they were so runny that they left pink stains on the side of his snout (not blood, just from excessive running) and in the corners of his eyes. His eyes were extremely droopy too. We chalked it up to allergies even though he'd never had an issue before. Antibiotics seemed to clear up the issue. I don't remember his nose being particularly dry though.
Bo had severe phantom pains and they would typically include a yelp and shaking. He would sometimes look at the missing leg, but not always. Is Maggie on any kind of nerve pain medicine ie. Gabapentin? I know with most of the meds it is good to ween them off or they may show withdrawal symptoms.
Also, was Maggie on NSAIDS at any point? Our vet told us that for some reason Labs don't respond well to long term NSAID usage. I guess their livers can't take it. Bo was on Rimadyl for 10 and had heightened liver enzymes.
I would definitely call your vet to keep them up-to-date with what's going on. On several occasions, I would make a follow-up appointment with the vet and go in with my list of concerns. Usually, it was something mild and it certainly gave me peace of mind.
Give Maggie an extra belly scratch from us and keep us updated!!
Laurie, I'm so sorry, I wish I could help. I hope Dr. Wiltzius sees this and can offer some insight. You are being a GREAT advocate for Maggie, keep it up. Get her to another clinic if you can for a different opinion, it might help. I hope it does. Please let us know OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'm sorry no experience here either.
Try not to jump to the worst until you jingle up your vet. It can be something a simple as allergies. But the still being uncomfortable would bother me.
Here are few things I would look at for kidney issues - since you can't get to the vet today:
Is she comsuming more water than usual?
Are her gums nice and pink? Pale or grey is not good and should be taken as an emergency.
Do you smell a foul order from her mouth?
You can gather her urine and see if it is really dilute with no odor. Looking like water with no smell is not a good sign.
I don't know if that is helpful, but it may help a little until you can talk again with your vet. Keep pushing them on the symptoms until someone listens and starts looking deeper.
Here's hoping Maggie is better soon and none of it is serious!
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.
i know, you guys must be sick of me. Im sick of me!! I am bringing her in tomorrow to get checked AGAIN. I really believe that she had a couple things going on. I think her ulcer acted up and i got that under control. I took her off her meds so her head cleared up and now the residual problem of trembling and dry nose, but real drippy. She went to the park today and i think that helped her spirits. She has a great appetite. She is drinking. She is such a cutie, i just want her to feel good.
As i typed the last reply, she started crying again and she is drooling, nose is dry and she is trembling like you do when you have a fever. Maybe it is some kind of infection. Ugggggggggggggggggggg. Please make it stop 🙁
NEVER feel bad about asking questions or being a strong advocate for Maggie. All of this would be sooooo much easier if our pups could just tell us what is wrong!!
In my opinion it is better to take her to the vet and get some peace of mind for yourself. It will be great if her symptoms are no big deal... but imagine how you would feel if you didn't pursue things and something was wrong.
You know Maggie best, you know how she acts- go with your gut feelings.
Sorry I don't have any experience with a drippy nose as a symptom- I have pugs so all matter of drippy stuff comes out of noses and mouths on a regular basis 
.
Let us know what the vet says tomorrow.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Can you take her temperature? Anything over 102.5 is high for a dog and might warrant a call or trip to the emergency vet.
Karen
Also-
My Maggie had kidney failure and one of the major symptoms we had to deal with was lack of appetite- it was really hard to get her to eat. A good sign I think if your Maggie is eating and drinking.
I can meet you in the chat room right now...
Karen
No experience to be able to offer advice - but don't worry about coming here and asking lots of questions! We want Maggie to feel good too.
Hope it all gets worked out!
Hang in there.
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!
i know, you guys must be sick of me. Im sick of me!!
-
You didn't just type that???!!!!! 
WE ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT SICK OF YOU!!!! We want you to feel comfortable coming and asking questions, venting and needing someone to listen! That's why we are all here! This is scary stuff and we all know it. Sometimes, I may not write like it is scary, but I rank right up there at the top of being the most scared person when my furbabies got/get sick! And even when they are healthy, I can conjure up something wrong with them in my head!
Did you check her gums? Like Karen said, can you check her temp? If you can do a rectal temp check even better. (use vasoline)
Please keep us posted!
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.
Poor Maggie! Sorry she is having such a ruff recovery! Hang in there, both of you!
bringing her to the vet today. I am not leaving til they do every test on her to find out whats wrong. I first made a appointment with my usual vet but he is proving to me that he is scatter brained and needs aderol to focus. He told me he was coming by to see maggie saturday at work (he lives close and is also a customer of ours) but he never showed up! He has an attention span of a knat. So my gut said bring her back to the big hospital and then maybe i willhave a better chance of finding out whats wrong. I will keep you posted guys.
and ....thank you so much for listening.
If the nasal discharge is clear then allergies could be the culprit. You can give Benadryl for this but ask your vet first. Did she have her blood checked prior to surgery? We usually screen for liver and kidney issues just prior to anesthesia but you could always repeat a few tests to see how her kidneys are doing.
The shaking can be due to so many things so see what your vet says after he looks at her. Maybe she needs her pain meds adjusted.
Pam
Her blood test came back clean today. The doctors have nothing for me. She is still trembling. She did this when she was on her pain meds so its not pain management . The drs and other people think she is doing it for attention but how can you tremble for attention? Cry, whimper, maybe but shake? I am still treating her as she might have a ulcer. There is no explanation for her symptoms. It was even worse today. My vet mentioned that maybe it is neurological. Here we go with the guessing game. Meanwhile I am watching maggie in distress.
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