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Hip issues with rear leg amputation
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Member Since:
8 November 2024
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8 November 2024 - 1:46 pm
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Hello all!  New member, first time posting. (Yay me!)

Our girl Nina (7yr old Chi/Terrier Mix with RRear @Knee amputation) has been a Tri-Paw Patrol member for 7 years.  She has periodically had issues with her Left Hip over the years - usually caused by overexertion.  Recently, however, she's started to experience regular/consistent problems that is causing her some real mobility issues and some discomfort.

What we're doing right now:
Carprofen x2 a day as requested by her veterinarian.
Icing several times per day.
Limiting her activity as much as possible (for now) in order for her to 'rest' the hip.
We've changed her diet to focus on weight loss (she's a little fluffy), and to introduce more Raw foods.

Our next steps:
We've ordered a Hip Dysplasia brace from TailWindPets
We're obtaining Ramps for our couch, and if she acclimates we'll get one for our bed as well.
She is starting Wuffes joint chews (We've tried other brands in the past and she would not eat them)
We're trying to get her scheduled for Canine Acupuncture, and are considering swim therapy.

If it continues to be a problem we're going to consider a wheel chair for her, but we know that will come with it's own other hurdles.  We really want to avoid any kind of invasive interventions until their the last resort.

Is there anything we've missed?

Can anyone offer any other suggestions?

What worked for your Tripawd pet with hip issues?

 

Many many thanks in advance! sp_hearticon2

The Rainbow Bridge



Member Since:
25 April 2007
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8 November 2024 - 5:33 pm
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Hi Scott, welcome to you and Nina. Your future posts won't require approval so post away!

So managing a senior Tripawd can get challenging at times but you are on the right track for sure. Here are some of my thoughts about the situation:

Did your vet prescribe the brace? If not I would wait until you work with a rehab therapist. You want one who has multiple modalities in their toolkit. So a vet team that can offer both acupuncture, good pain control, manual therapy and exercise instruction. Swim therapy may or may not be helpful, and again that's where a therapist can assess for the need. If you'd like help find one please let me know your location (you can PM if it you'd like) and I'll look around. Don't buy any wheels until you do meet with one, as they are the best person to assess her need and sizing if she does need one.  Remember Tripads Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit too.

NSAID therapy is helpful, and so is a high quality fish oil for pets. It's really the #1 supplement that vets are comfortable recommending for osteoarthritis. 

What are your floors like? Are they slippery? Traction is super important.

And of course weight loss is the absolute #1 thing you can do so yay! Yes, get that weight off and it will improve her mobility tremendously.

Good work on managing her needs! 

Livermore, CA


Member Since:
18 October 2009
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8 November 2024 - 9:18 pm
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Hello and welcome.

My Tripawd is a little Pug mix who lost her right rear leg when she was 7 months old after being hit by a car.  Elly has been on three for more than 9 years, she will turn 10 next month.  She weighs 14 pounds.

Elly had no mobility issues until she hurt her left hip 2.5 years ago in a freak accident.  She strained the iliopsoas and it has become a chronic issue.  After the injury her rehab vet prescribed an exercise program as well as a muscle supplement. The following year we added the inject-able anti inflammatory adequan to the mix.  We also started chiropractic adjustments once a month.

I've had small dogs for years and I've trained them all to use stairs or stools to access the furniture on which they are allowed.  They don't always use those, especially when they are young but Elly uses them most of the time.

I have a stroller so that Elly can come on our walks.  For example today we did a 3 mile hike at the local lake.  My quad pup Callie walked and ran (and ran and ran!) the entire way while Elly walked some and rode some. She also wears a harness with a handle so that I can help her in and out of the truck and over and around obstacles.  In addition to the rehab exercises we do trick and obedience training, play food games and puzzles and we do the sport of Nose Work.  All of those things help with her core strength and balance, challenge her mind and are not too hard on her joints.

Elly's chiro vet suggested in September that it might be time to think about a wheelchair so that she can spend more time out of the stroller.  We have an appointment with the rehab vet next month so I will ask her for her input.

One thing that has helped me keep Elly's weight in check is weighing both girls once a week.  Quad girl Callie was wildly reactive when I adopted her 1.5 years ago and we had to do tons of training (with lots of treats) to change her behaviors.  Callie is healthy at 14.5 pounds and I accidentally got her over 16 pounds ...ooops!  Elly's harness got a little snug then too but now I can assess every week and make adjustments before things get out of hand. 

I started Elly on joint supplements when she was 4 years old, she also gets fish oil every day.  One thing the rehab vet recommended is a muscle supplement called Myos.  You can get it without a prescription and there is a stronger, prescription strength version.  I saw improvement in Elly's strength and mobility after we started on that.  And as I mentioned above Elly gets adequan injections every two weeks, I do them at home.  Again, I saw improvement with adequan.  We have not tried acupuncture with her yet, she is very anxious at the vet and we don't think that she will tolerate it right now. 

Elly also has a chronic anal gland issue, she has to have them drained at the vet every 4 weeks.  This problem started after she hurt her hip and I believe it is caused by the fact that she doesn't have the strength in her remaining hip to squeeze the gland and since she has no femur on her amp side she can't squeeze on that side at all.  The gland on her amp side is always full, sometimes the left one isn't.  We've tried diet changes and supplements that are supposed to make things move but nothing has worked.

 

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

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

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