Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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our boy Howard had his left fron leg amputated in August. He was doing great but this morning he would not get up snd has some swelling on his left hock. We did a x-ray and it jist showed soft tissue swelling. We are waiting to here from his oncologist. We think he twisted or injured his ankle but now he wont stand or walk so he wont go to the bathroom. He is on pain meds and we are icing it. Im not sure what to do and how to help him. I hope he feels better tomorrow. Has anyone had this happen and how did you deal with it?
Oh gosh I'm sorry to hear this. If it's any comfort, this kind of situation isn't too uncommon. Usually it's exactly what you suspect, a dog overdoes things and pulls a muscle.
That's good you have him back on pain medication. What are you giving him and how often?
The icing should help too. Have you tried gentle massage? If so, does he react when you touch him in certain areas?
If he cannot get up, you can try helping him with a sling or if you have a Ruffwear Webmaster harness , using the handle to aid him in walking outside to potty. If that's all he can do right now, that's fine, don't let him do anything more till you know what you are dealing with.
You may want to get him into a canine rehab therapy center for an evaluation to see what the next steps could be. Hopefully this is something that can be resolved with PT and some R&R. Most times that's exactly what is needed.
Paws and fingers crossed that you get some good news back. Please keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I know this is unsettling , to say the least. It's always scary when a tripawd injures one of their remai legs. But yes, we do see it right much around here.
And DITTO everything Jerry said. Right now, the meds, the complete and total rest, the icing and, when you can, an evaluation from a Certified Rehab Specialist .
Just keep doing what you're doing and keep him confined as much as possible. It sounds like his mobility is restricted anyway. Maybe he'll be doped up enough in pain meds he'll pee in his bed. I know that's not ideal, but for now it may work.
Did the Vet put Howard on any anti-inflammatory like Rimadyl? That could be helpful too. Don't expect overnight miracles with these types of things. Healing can be slow, but it does heal!
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!
Howard is on Galliprant daily and we added in injections of buprenex for 24 hrs then he actually takes Vicodin! I felt weird giving him this but it actually helped after his amputation. I will try the massage and we have a help em up harness. He hates any type of help so moving him is hard. He did go out and poop, but tried to run to get back to the bed fast, which made me nervous
Slow down Howard!!! You silly boy! BTW, love your name!!-!
Well, even though it was scary, sound's like if Howard was trying to run, he feels pretty good! And definitely having a poop makes him feel good!
My tripawd Frankie has had various "issues" with his remaining legs. He often...literally...walked in two legs, but had to fly like the wind to keep his balance.
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!
Update. He is now putting some weight on the leg. And is going out to poop with a lot of support. He still will not urinate and I have to catheterize him. That is a little concerning and the swelling looks about the same but maybe hurting less. Hopefully he continues to improve. The idea we go through amputation ,splenectomy and chemo. To loose him to a twisted ankle is too much
Putting some weight on is a good sign. This will likely take some time for him to come around but it looks like you have it under control. Keeping good thoughts for you and Howard's progress. ( Love his name also 
)
Jackie and Huck
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Sooop glad to hear about this improvement! While I did believe he would improve, I didn't really expect to see any signs of it quite yet!
And he's probably not peeing due to all the circumstances he has going on right now. Having to have to use "suppprt" while trying to pee...nah...Howard isn't thrilled about that!
Howard will get through this, okay??? So continue to stay strong and pawsitive . This little MIRACLE DOG knows how to handle challenges and overcome them Howard-style!😎
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!
Thank you very much !! He actually went out and peed and is standing and walking now. He is uncomfortable with it but doing it so I’m thrilled !!
Yay for improvement! 
What has your vet advised as far as figuring out the cause of the problem? Have you been able to get him checked out? Try not to panic until you know what you're dealing with.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yes we’ve had him examined and xrays done. The xrays were clear and just showed inflammation around the joint. He was otherwise ok and just couldn’t stand. He is much better now. Walking and urinating and pooping well. So looks like a sprain. We spoke with his pt dr and oncologist. The oncologist said if it gets better then it’s unlikely to be related and his cancer tends to spread to visceral organs before back to a limb. We will see his pt dr on Tuesday for some laser treatments rather than the standard under water treadmill we do weekly. He also had blood work and a oncologist appointment a week before and was looking good then.
Oh Howard!!!!! I am sooop happy to hear you are making sich HUGE progress!! Now, just because you are healing that leg more and more everyday, do NOT over do it Mr Howard the RockStar!😎
This update made my day😁
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!
Hi! I just joined Tripawds today. I am so happy to hear that your Howard is doing better! We are going through something similar with our Bailey. You have no idea how reassuring it is to read your story and the comments here.
Bailey's left hind leg was amputated on December 21, 2017 due to histiocytic sarcoma in the stifle joint (she had undergone radiation therapy to treat the tumor but ended up with pathological fractures in the bone so the leg had to go). She has been taking chemo about every 4 weeks since October 2017. She is doing really, really well! Until...last Thursday.
She stopped walking while on a walk with my husband. She just stood still and did not want to move. Ugh! It was terrifying! We took her to the ER. The best the vet could determine was that she sprained something. Her white cells were a little low as well - not surprising since she was 9 days post chemo. She was put on pain meds and antibiotics. She seemed to improve over the next day. However, she got so excited when I came home from work on Friday that she seemed to re-injure herself. She could not get up from a sitting position. It was at that time that we realized the problem was her remaining hind leg. She could not put any weight on it. So, so scary.
We had a very sleepless night Friday night into Saturday (Bailey slept just fine, snoring peacefully in our bed). She got up at 3 a.m. so we took her outside. When my husband set her down in the grass, she completely collapsed. We tried using a towel as a sling to support her so she could go to the bathroom but she wasn't having it. We took her back in and she went back to sleep while my mind raced. I was sure that it was the cancer spread to her other leg.
We took her back to the ER on Saturday morning. They did chest x-rays (clear!!!) and leg x-rays (normal!). So, the vet switched up her pain med to Rimadyl from gabapentin (she had been prescribed that earlier for fear of stomach upset with Rimadyl and the antibiotic). By Saturday afternoon she was hopping around again!
We are trying to limit her activity and excitement for at least another week (easier said than done!). She has been pulling to go for a walk when we take her out to the bathroom (on leash so she won't run off after a critter - did I mention she is a springer spaniel? Lol!). We may also have a consult with the ortho surgeon who amputated her leg just to make sure she doesn't see anything fishy on the x-ray. We may also look into some physical therapy/rehabilitation. Fingers crossed that Bailey and Howard continue to improve!
Hi Bailey's people, welcome! Thanks for chiming in, it's always so helpful for members to share experiences. I hope that you'll consider starting a new topic about Bailey in Hopping Around, so that we can follow along with her situation.
I love that you are so conscientious about keeping her from doing crazy things! Good job! By the way, for a speedier recovery I would absolutely get her into a rehab therapy clinic. Gabapentin is great but it's not addressing the underlying issue and a therapist can help pinpoint what it is. Usually it's nothing more than determining good exercises and activity for the patient. Don't forget, the Tripawds Foundation may even pay for your first rehab visit ! Let us know if you'd like help finding a qualified practitioner.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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