Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We haven't been around for a while...our little family split up for a while this summer, but happily all are back where they belong.
Dante was panting a lot this summer, but I figured dark dog + insanely hot house + missing leg would do that to him. Mina was panting quite a lot, too.
Now that it's cooler, and freezing outside, I thought it would stop or atleast be less frequent. Dante pants pretty much constantly if he's active. If he's laying down or sleeping, he is good...otherwise he's panting.
I know he exerts himself much more than the average 4 legged dog, but I just wanted to make sure this is common as I know panting can be a sign of pain and discomfort. When we got him as a young pup he didn't pant like this.
He's not panting hard, or doesn't seem/act like he's in any pain. He's just as wild and crazy as ever!
Dr. Pam (aka tazziedog) will be away for a while. Please remind us if Dante has cancer, and if so what type? If not, what was the reason for his amputation? Does he have any other health issues? How's his weight?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Dante will be 1 on christmas eve and he lost his leg due to an attack at 6 weeks old. He's now 10 months post amp. He has no other health issues that we know of..and his weight is pretty good. He's about 42 lbs now and still growing a bit. He could maybe lose a pound or two, but not because he's over weight, just because he's a tripawd and we'd like to keep him slimmer. He is slimming out some since coming back home.
Interesting... If he only started the panting after the amputation, he may just be overexerting himself or need more core strengthening exercises. Which leg is it again? The rear leg can often take much longer to rebuild strength. Does he eat a healthy high protien diet? Maggie informed us about K9 Super Fuel which helps build muscle.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
When we adopted him he'd already had his amputation..and he didn't pant a lot then. He didn't start really panting until the summer, but it hasn't stopped. Of course it's not as hard as in the summer when he's hot..but he's still panting more often than not. It's his left foreleg that he's lost.
Welcome back, I'm just going to throw out a couple things I thought of. Have you had him back to the vet and discussed this with him/her? Can heartworm cause this, I don't know how dogs act with it. He must be getting along with his food, so I'm going to assume no food allergies. Is he on any meds for anything, possibly a side effect if he is. Maybe there is something else around him that he might be having some kind of allergy with, i.e. a material in a blanket, maybe a cleaner you use around the house, do you have city water or well water, have a water softener if you have a well. I'm just throwing things out to try and help with a process of elimination, good luck, Paws up, Spirit Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
Good thoughts DJ.
I can't think of anything...we don't have heartworm here, luckily (and not so luckily for us heat loving humans!) we don't get warm enough for heartworm to develop. I haven't changed cleaners or anything since we got him....I use really minimal cleaners and hypoallergenic everything I can due to my own skin sensitivities and such...but I guess there is a possibility he's developed an allergy. His sister Mina does have an unidentified allergy that crops up in the form of hives every now and then...so maybe he also has one. It seems to be more linked to his activity level though. We have city water. No medications...although somedays I think ritalin wouldn't hurt!
We haven't been back to the vet for it yet...I thought nothing of it over the summer since it was hot out, then he left for just over two months and has been back for a few weeks now and I've just begun to notice how much he pants. We will take him to the vet though, I just wanted to ask here before we went incase it's common...didn't need to pay $60 for the vet to look at me like I'm dumb because it's 100% normal!
The only other thing I can think of is that the place he was living in for those two or so months was muuuuuch smaller and he was much less active. Maybe he lost some muscle tone/endurance and now that he's back with much more space to romp around in, and a bigger yard and an extra dog to play with, he's needing to build up his endurance and such again?
You can try a benedryl. Google it for the dosage.
When Comet's nose is stopped up, she'll pant more. Allergies can develop at anytime.
Good luck!
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.
Was Dante a pup when he had his amputation? If so he could have developed more muscles which expend more heat when he hops around so now he has to pant. This is very typical for heavily muscled breeds such as Rotties, Pits, and Mastiffs. My Tazzie panted even in the winter whenever she was active but it stopped after about 5 minutes at rest.
Pam
Thanks Dr. Pam! Welcome back.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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