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.
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Hello - I'm new here - My Golden Retriever Eddie is undergoing amputation of his rear right leg now. He broke it playing and turned out to be either osteosarcoma or radiation-induced necrosis (he had a mast cell tumor 5 years ago followed by radiation) - we won't know until the pathology comes back. This all happened out of nowhere are we are reeling. Any advice on bringing him home and what to expect and how to help him adapt?
Hello Golden Eddie and Christine.
Goodness, sorry for the out of the blue fracture.
Your post has been approved and we look forward to helping you navigate through recovery and on to sharing for all of the successes coming Eddie's way!
Will Eddie be staying overnight at a fully staffed clinic? Sometimes that's not possible and you have to bring your dog home the same day of surgery. It certainly doable, but can be a little difficult sometimes so be sure and stay connected, okay?
When you do go pick Eddie up after the surgery you'll want to be confident and upbeat and convey a positive energy. He will read your energy and needs to know that everything is going to be okay. Also, don't even bother to look at the incision, just look into his druggie ass and tell him what a good boy he is and he's going home!
I'll give you a couple of links to read to help you feel more confident about recovery and what to do, what to expect.
Just a couple of tips to start out with. If you have hardwood floors you'll want to put down non-slip scatter rugs for traction . Raising the food and water bowl can help also to prevent any straining.
The first two weeks you'll want short leashed potty breaks and then back inside for more rest. Slow and easy is so important in recovery.
Some dogs are able to hop a little 24 hours after surgery, some need a bit more time to gain their sea legs and get mobile. You may have to assist Eddie standing up and walking. You can do that with a towel sling.
Some dogs are quite out of it for a day or two while they shake off the anesthesia. Some are not. Sometimes pain meds need to be tweaked based on the individual dog. Most come home with gabapentin, and anti-inflammatory and maybe an antibiotic.
Experience drinking and peeing are important, but Eddie may not feel like eating much and he may not potty for a couple of days because of the meds.
Okay, let us know how the surgery is going. We are here right by your side the entire time., so stay connected.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Christine, Eddie and family, welcome. You are in the best place for help and to be with people who get it. I'm sorry this happened, and we will try to help make his recovery and life on three as easy as possible.
The links Sally provided are spot-on. Start there and try not to get too overwhelmed. That is so easy to do at a time like this, but just know that it's your attitude that will make or break recovery. Dogs mirror our emotions, and Eddie wants nothing more than to know that you've got things under control. So do your best to stay strong, keeping an eye on the future when he's all better, while being present today and doing your best to see that he is so much more than the the four legged dog you've always known. Eddie is an incredible soul who will teach you so much about resiliency during this process and beyond. You won't believe how much he will impress you!
Please check out those links and holler with any questions OK? We are here to help.
Hello and welcome.
I'm sorry you had to join us, especially so unexpectedly.
Sally gave you some great links and info to get started with this new phase of Eddie's life. Rest and pain management are most important for the next couple weeks of recovery. It's hard but try and stay positive and upbeat when you are around Eddie so he knows everything is OK.
Once you know what you are dealing with you can make a plan to move forward, but for now just focus on getting your house ready and for Eddie's recovery.
Let us know how he is doing and when you get him home.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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