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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Pretty sure I hear Toby saying, "Thanks Mom and Dad, for giving more quality time with yiu for loving and spoiling and tummy rubs and treats!! Thanks for staying strong and doing what needed to be done ro help me be Toby again! So, thanks for doing this FOR me!"
A d it still gets better and better!! 🙂
Hugs to all!
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!
Hi all!
I'm wondering if any of you have experienced this during the first week...
When taking our 3-year old lab mix (front leg amputated) out to potty he starts pulling on the leash toward our old pre-op walking route. We'll walk to the end of our driveway and then when turning around to go back to the house he refuses to walk. He never did this before.
Yesterday and today (Day 7) we waited 20 minutes trying to get him in. I wasn't sure if it's pain or a behavioral side effect from all his meds (tramadol, rimalydin and clintomycin).
I ended up wrapping my arm under his body towards his hind legs and lifting gently on his collar to take some weight off and then he'd start hopping along back to the house. He wouldn't respond to his favorite treats or the praise that he usually does.
He never was this stubborn!
It's 20-30 degrees outside and I'm nervous about him being out so long in the cold. My boyfriend and I are at a loss for what's going on and what to do.
Help!
Hi Benfranklin and family, thanks for joining. Your future posts won't need approval so post away. I'm glad you posted!
So you didn't say why he had his leg amputated. Do tell 🙂
I'm not a vet, but it does sound to me like he's doing too much. Even a short driveway walk during the first week is a lot for a new amputee to handle. Between the pain meds making him loopy and recovery, it can exhaust even the most fit dog. All he should be doing until his stitches are out is going outside on leash to potty and back in. Limit activity as much as possible.
How is his eating and drinking? Is all that normal?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Do you have a harness? We used the Ruffwear Webmaster Plus (after the stitches came out). Although it is still a but early for him to be walking (what's his name?), they do not always realize their limitations and want to be outside doing their normal walk. My Otis was famous for walking 5 houses and then plopping down in the grass for a long time. The harness was really helpful for getting him up and moving again. As a compromise, for now, I would eliminate the walk part, but dress warmly and sit outside with him a bit, just so he can smell the world, if even from your front yard. Sounds like he is doing great, however!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Yeah, DITTO Jerry and Otis!
Not sure if I made the right interpretation, but are you saying he stops and refuses to walk ONLY after you are trying to make him go back into the house? Up to thst point he is walking?
Does her walk okay once he's back in the house? Do you have non slip rugs down for traction if you jave hardwood floors?
Does he show any signs of pain? If you massage up a dnd down his back, his hip area, his shoulder a d neck area does he tense up anywhere?
As mentioned,dogs can overdo is sooo easily, especially at first and especially as a front legger! Front leggers especially walk fast as they use the momentum to help keep their balance.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Stay connected, okay?
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!
During the first week Toby would just walk to the end of the driveway. Our drive is just a little over a car leangth about the 2nd week he would want to go a little farther and check out who has been using the tree next to the neighbor. We are now at day 24 so he now stays awake a little longer and stays out for a few moments. I think since I have lowered his meds he does not overdue himself. I started trying to wean him off due to he was really spacey and just sleeping all the time. Now he is moving more and is getting back to be more like himself. I think we are at the point where he needs to start working his muscles a little more. Since he cannot tell me how much pain he is in or not it is hard to tell if he is bored or in pain sometimes.
I tried some of those toys they need to work at for a treat but he looks at me like why would I deal with that and let's our other dog take it. (I did get two so now she has both).
So today I am going to see about some other ones and new dog beds. We do have a really nice memory foam one he has been using but it is a few years old so both dogs get new one for xmas this year.
I agree until staples are out just short potty walks. Once staples are out slowly start going farther just a couple extra feet a day.
Gail & Toby
Thanks everyone, this is all super helpful!!
To answer some questions for clarification sake - his front leg was amputated as it was longer than the other leg and bent out at the elbow (?) upon which Ben would use it as a crutch which pained him. How it happened is unknown. When we adopted him from the shelter we were told that it had to be amputated.
As for the walk, it's only when having to return to the house. Today we tried to limit him to just the front yard and he did the same refusing to come in. We have three small steps for getting in and out of the house so I'm wondering if maybe it's avoidance of them - last week he had his first stumble going down them (luckily we were there to catch him). Twice we've caught him from trying to jump on our bed - it's like he doesn't know he's supposed to rest!Once he's back inside he hops around fine. Spends most of the day resting but seems to get up and change locations without any trouble or pain. He seems to always have panting spells 1-2 hours after his meds, so I'm not sure if it's a side effect of the medications or that he really is in pain.
We have our eye on the harness for once the stitches come out - thanks for the reco!
Once I figure out the site better I'll post a photo, every day is better than the next 🙂
It does sound like Ben Franklin is showing improvement every day. Right now any little improvement is really a HUGE IMPROVEMENT!!
Just guessing, but would say if the panting is shortly AFTER the dose, it probably js just a little reaction ti the pain meds. If the panting starts an hour or so BEFORE his next dose, then that coukd be a sign if lain starting up.
And again, just guessing, he coukd associate going back inside with the mishap in the steps. Tripawds need to gain confidence with their "new normal" and a slip on stairs can make them be fearful for awhile.
Next time he goes outside maybe you could have someone he really likes stop by. He (or she) could greet Ben with a @ot of excitement and maybe a cheese burger! Then head into the house quickly while enticing Ben to come too.
Hiw much does he weigh? What pain meds is he on? What amounts and timing are the pain meds?
Hang in there!! Stay confident and positive! You're doing great!
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!
I love these ideas! Thank you!
Ben is close to 60lbs. We are at Day 11 now and am weening him off Tramadol (it was 150mg up to 3x daily) as he continues Rimadyl (50mg 2x/day) and Cytomycin (I don't remember the dose off the top of my head).
We have been limiting his walks to just the front yard which seems to have helped. He is coming back into the house now. Today though he layed down on his back on the cold stones on our walkway and started wagging his tail - I think the cold air may make him feel good. He also started eating lots more snow from the ground. We got him up by having him follow a cup of ice up the stairs back into the house!
Looking into rehab exercises for building his flexibility and strength. Stitches come out Thursday!
Hmmm. The stairs could be the culprit if he had a bad experience on them. I think you're onto something there. Carry the best treats ever when you exit and enter and see if that makes a difference. And I do think once you get the painkillers out of the picture you'll start to see a big difference.
As for laying on the cold ground...yep, it probably felt really good on his sore muscles. Many dogs do that after surgery.
I hope this week goes well for you and Ben!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Ben, you sound like quite a character! And your avatar pic is very, very cute!!
Yeah, ditto that the cold feels good on sore muscles.
Glad Ben is deciding it's "safe" to tackle thos three steps again! And he's also done a good job in training you to give him treats and a cup of ice if you want him to go inside!! Smart vou!!
Toby is really doing well too! Whatw an update on that sweet boy?
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!
Great report on Ben. Sounds like he is right on track. And many dogs really perk up when the staples come out! Love his avatar picture!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
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