Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi guys,
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Just a question that I'm not sure belongs here. Zorion, my kelpie amputee, is quickly approaching his first birthday, and has been a tripawd for 3 months now. Since the amputation, and in particular, since about the beginning of June, when he was fully 'healed' and recovered from the operations, and therefore been relegated to being an outdoors dog again (most of the time anyway), he has starting whinging and whining throughout the day when he is outside. I am not sure if this can be contributed to phantom pain , or if it's just a plea for attention, or a 'let me in' cry, but I just wondered if anyone had any ideas about this? He is not on any medications anymore, he has full mobility for a tripawd, and he loves his runs down to the stables twice daily. Then I thought it could be a 'sibling rivalry' type thing, as I recently re-acquired my 6-yr old Labrador bitch, but Zorion has been carrying on since before I got her back.
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Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated
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Amy
Zorion – my 3-legged Kelpie. Joined the world of Tripawds on May 6th after a bad dislocation and failed FHO. Loving life as a Tripawd. Still capable of working sheep (and horses unfortunately) and loving having a sister now.
Jenny – my 4-legged Labrador. Obedience titled and loving being part of my family again, and enjoying teaching Zorion some manners.
Hi Amy,
I'm not sure why Zorion is whining... Could be behavioural, could be some lingering phantom pain ? Have you asked your vet about it yet? Hopefully our own Dr. Pam will have some words of wisdom for you...
Angel Jake and Wolfie'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!
Zorion said:
and therefore been relegated to being an outdoors dog again (most of the time anyway), he has starting whinging and whining throughout the day when he is outside . . .Â
I'm betting 100 bones this is why.
Is there any way he can come inside and be with you more? Sounds like that's exactly what he wants. That's my guess anyhow. Since I'm not there I can't say for sure but this is my best guess. Phantom limb pain is so much more acute and sudden, and usually pretty loud. if he doesn't whine when he's inside, you have your answer!
Glad to hear from you, we've been wondering how he's doing.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My dog Chloe (recent amp, 8 days ago) is just very talkative in general, even from a young age. Sometimes when the humans are having a conversation she starts "rooing" at us (wagging tail of course) and my dad encourages this by making similar noises back to her. They have quite the conversation the two of them. She also just whines at random times during the day even when she is with her favorite human (me!) all day long, regardless of how much attention she gets and how long she gets to go outside. For us, this is normal. There was incessant whining when we got back from the vet post amp, but it since it was an abnormal whining length, we figured she was in pain and needed meds. We call her a big baby cuz she whines and talks to us all the time, but that is just how she normally is. Â I am sure you will figure out what your dog's whining is all about. Just takes some investigation and time, but best of luck to your amped pup! Wow I just realized that last part rhymed...
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
It does seem late for phantom pain , and most likely he enjoyed the extra attention he received when he was recovering from his surgery. Does he get adequate interaction from you or from other dogs while he is outside? Most dogs want to be with their pack and do not like a solitary existence.
Pam
Hi guys,
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When he is outside, he is there with my Labrador, Jenny, so he isn't alone. They aren't actually outside a lot of the time, come to think of it, there is a couple hours in the morning while I'm at work, then I'm home from around lunch time. They get let in when I get home, we head down to the stables around 4 in the afternoon, then they are outside for dinner when we get back. It is after they have dinner and are outside while us humans eat that he carries on the most. After our dinner, they are back inside 🙂 And of course, they still sleep in my room, and in Zorion's case, on the bed.
So yes, it's probably just a jealousy, 'I want in' whine.
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Jakes Mom - I asked my friend the vet, who did his amputation, and she said it COULD be phantom pain , but 3 months on is a little late for it to be happening. She said he's just being a sook 🙂
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He is doing marvelously well - I think so anyway - and he beats me on the bike when we go to the stables. I'm trying to put a LITTLE bit more weight on him, but he's just burning it off too quick.
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Here's one of the latest pictures of Zorion and Jenny.
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Amy
Zorion – my 3-legged Kelpie. Joined the world of Tripawds on May 6th after a bad dislocation and failed FHO. Loving life as a Tripawd. Still capable of working sheep (and horses unfortunately) and loving having a sister now.
Jenny – my 4-legged Labrador. Obedience titled and loving being part of my family again, and enjoying teaching Zorion some manners.
what a great pictures...those are some serious ears!!!
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Haha that's not even the worst of the ears! He's still growing into them 😛 Hopefully, one day, his ears won't look so giant on his head.
Zorion – my 3-legged Kelpie. Joined the world of Tripawds on May 6th after a bad dislocation and failed FHO. Loving life as a Tripawd. Still capable of working sheep (and horses unfortunately) and loving having a sister now.
Jenny – my 4-legged Labrador. Obedience titled and loving being part of my family again, and enjoying teaching Zorion some manners.
I have a White Shepard who is 3 weeks post-amp. He is the whinniest thing you will ever meet. He was even whinny pre-amp when he was healthy and had all of his parts! He is just naturally whinny. The vet told us when we took him in the last time, she said, "I don't mean to sound rude, but we have noticed he is a bit of a whimp". We were laughing so hard because we know that it is true. She also said "He really knows how to make us feel sorry for him". He always has been. We notice that he whines the most when we are in view of his sight. If he dosen't see us then he usually wont whine. But he is a HUGE attention craver. I sometimes feel bad because we have to leave him for 9 hours during the day by himself. He has a sister but they are tied up on seperate ends of the patio with their own dog houses throughout the day. They have a tendency to run off together if we don't keep them seperated during the day! They are both a mess, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
The other day I said something I never thought I would say before the amputation occured. I said "I have never been so thankful to be covered in dog drool and hair in all my life, as what I am now!" 🙂
*~Lindsay & Tripawd Jake~*
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