Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, I had a username, but was unable to log in, so I’m asking as a guest. Polly 10 and a half year old Amstaff mix, had her front right leg amputated due to osteosarcoma. So far she did wonderful on three legs. Getting around like she had four legs. we spent Easter with the family and the nephews played a little with her. Easter Monday she walked stiff and I thought she was just sore, overdoing the play time. Then it got worse every day. We have been at the vet Tuesday, couldn’t find anything. Got Carprofen for the pain. After she felt worse we went to the wet on Thursday, x-rayed hips knee and toes. Nothing. Doctor added Gabapentin and strict rest and we’ll come back in on Tuesday. rnI feel she has gotten even worse over night. Now struggling to use both of her hind legs. She is not paralyzed. When she lays down she can lift the leg/s up and wiggle her tail. rnDid any of you ever experience anything like this? Could the Chemo have anything to do with it? Her last treatment was end of March. The Kids said she slid out on a piece of tarp, but was right back up wanting to play.
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When she lays down she can lift the leg/s up and wiggle her tail. rnDid any of you ever experience anything like this? Could the Chemo have anything to do with it? Her last treatment was end of March. The Kids said she slid out on a piece of tarp, but was right back up wanting to play.
I'm so sorry to hear about Polly. It does sound like she had some sort of muscle pull while playing with the kids. And yes it happens all the time.
Your vet's plan sounds pretty standard to wait and see if R&R will help. But if the Gabapentin and rest is not helping today please let the vet know you would like to tweak her medication to give her more relief until the visit. What is the dosage she is on? And frequency? Oftentimes vets start out with a conservative approach so there is room to move up on dosage if necessary. Sounds like it is. Give them a call asap, don't wait.
Meanwhile, do some very gentle massage (like you would on a baby) and see if / where she reacts when you touch. That will help the vet when they examine her.
If your vet doesn't have a plan to pinpoint why she is in such pain, get another opinion. The Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit so maybe this is a good time to take advantage of the program.
Also, if you would like help logging back in, message us for assistance, we're here to help! Hope she feels better soon.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My username was/is juggernaut78.
Polly is getting 100MG 20
1 1/4 tablet every 24 hours and
Gabapentin 100 MG capsules
2 capsules every 8 hours
Juggy said
My username was/is juggernaut78.
It still is. 
Hit the reset password link when logging in, or email us and we can reset that for you.
FYI: Your username and password are both Case Sensitive.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'm sorry that Polly isn't feeling well. When Brownie started feeling stiff and having trouble getting up and down his vet found he had arthritis in his spine. He was also given Gabapetin. It made his back legs like jello so I only gave it to him at night.
Hope Polly gets to feeling better soon.
My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019. With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer. I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud! He will live forever in my Heart!
04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020
"March Saint"
I managed to reset my password. I don’t know why that didn’t work on my first try.
Thanks for all the answers so far. I wanted to write a nice update on her after this Easter weekend on how well she was doing and that the amputation and chemo didn’t hold her back at all.
Then this lameness happened. I’ll talk to the doctor as soon as they open. I hope the loss of leg function is a side effect from the gabapentin...
I’ll keep you guys updated!
And I bet you'll still get to update is on how well she is foing after this bump in the road subsides.👌
When you tried the massaging, dif she show any tenseness anywhere as you went up and down her spine and neck and shoulder area?
Rest and pain management should do the trick. Even though she got right up after the rug slide, often miscle issues show up a day or so later.
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!
This is becoming weirder and weirder. When she started to show she’s in pain she just started to walk less. Our vet prescribed Carprofen. 1 1/4 pill per day. Then we saw that she was trying to keep weight off of her right leg. The Vet said we gotta up her pain meds so she will just rest through this. We added Gabapentin 2 capsules every 8 hours. That basically knocked her out for a few days. At no time did she react on any part of her body. Not when the vet patted her down, not when my husband or I patted her down. Her x rays showed nothing. Then she couldn’t walk by herself anymore and that scared us. I remembered she was wobbly after the amputation surgery back then as well and we waited. Next we reduced the gabapentin, because her falling over when she kept on trying to get up by herself. Not knowing what the original cause of pain was and realizing she was trying to get up more we figured it can’t be good if she wobbles and falls around. On Wednesday we decided to quit the Gabapentin. A lot of times she’s just so fast getting up that I can’t make it to her with the towel sling. So last Wednesday morning she got her last dose of gabapentin. I expected her to start walking on her own again by yesterday evening... I read somewhere it takes 24 hours. My vet said we’ll wait this weekend. If she still can’t walk good then, we should get her checked by a neurologist. I already called MedVet (where she got her amputation and chemotherapy) but only could leave a message on the answering machine. That’s 2.5 hours away, so I can’t just swing by there. So here’s my question: might this just take more time to get out of her system. I don’t think she did as bad as far as walking goes that long after her surgery. Meaning I think she walked better while being on gabapentin back when she got amputated.
I’m really getting worried...
So here’s my question: might this just take more time to get out of her system. I don’t think she did as bad as far as walking goes that long after her surgery. Meaning I think she walked better while being on gabapentin back when she got amputated.
Oh I'm sorry for the ruff road you're on right now! Honestly I can't say if eliminating the Gabapentin is helping or harming. Some dogs are sensitive to it and too wobbly, but she was on a very low dose based on your last post and her size. A dose that small should not be having much of an effect on her balance. Did the dosage get bumped up since you mentioned she was on the 200mg every 8 hours?
MedVet is an excellent, award-winning practice so I have no doubt they can figure out what's going on, quickly. Polly may not even need a neurologist, it could be that a good pain specialist can find out where and why she is hurting. But either way, she's got access to a fantastic practice so try to hang in there.
What is her mobility like now? Is she not walking at all? Or is she wobbly? Until you check in with your vet, you can try giving her some gentle massage and spending time with her to see if there are any reactions at all. Also, are your floors slippery? Do you have traction down for her? Could it be that she is not getting good footing on them? That's also a pretty common situation. I hope it's something that simple!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We have carpet all through the house and put rugs down where we had hard floors. It’s not a traction
problem. She is definitely eager to get up but then it’s like she is walking on stilts. Lifting her legs way higher than needed. Than she just tips over on her side or just struggles for a few more steps and then falls over. It’s just really tough to watch her.
For every planned walk or getting up I massage her first. I can tell she wants to be more mobile again, but gets frustrated when she falls, just wigging at me, like she’s saying: help Mom, make my legs work again.
After Easter on April 6th she got Carprofen first. Because she just didn’t want to walk. I saw that she was hurt somewhere and she had played a little too hard with the nephews. After being on the Carprofen she still didn’t want to walk and started to not put weight on her right hind leg. That concerned the vet and she said we are going to put her on the dosage she had after amputation. That was on April 9th. Carprofen and gabapentin like I mentioned in the beginning. 1 1/4 Carprofen a day and three times 2 gabapentin every 8 hours. Then she slept basically all Saturday and Sunday and also couldn’t walk by herself any more. Since I didn’t remember her having as bad walking problems the vet said to lower the gabapentin Dose to maybe ease the side effects. We don’t live in the biggest town, so she kind of copied the dosage from MedVet after amputation.
Like Jerry, I can6 imagine that the low dose of Gaba is causing the issue, espec since nothing has changed now that she's off it. That said, all things ate possible in this crazy journey.
May have already asked you, does she show reaction when you pinch her foot....try to pull away?
And she was doing fine until she apparently over did something when playing with the nephews?
How is she when not trying to be mobile? Alert? Engaged? Tail wags? Interested in food and drink? Pottying...how is that going? Did Vet do any bloodwork? Jist throwing stuff out.....Any chance of poison and getting bitten by something??
I do hope you can get an appt as soon as poss at that MedBet place. Maybe your regular Vet can call and get Polly in quicker than of you called. If that takes awhile, is it possible to get a Rehabilitation Specialist to see her?
Gotta be hard, but hang in there. This will get figured out,
(((((((((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!
OK so you are doing everything possible to minimize any further injury and help pinpoint her issues. Keep up with the great observations. Writing them down will be super helpful for the MedVet team.
How is she today?
I'm sorry this is so hard. Keep her activity as minimal as you can right now. Play some interactive brain games to keep her engaged. And don't give up. These things happen and it's very likely that a strained muscle is the problem, which is totally treatable.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi all,
Im not sure how many of the questions I missed answering. She is eating and drinking and going potty. She reacts to tickling her toes but didn’t have any pain reaction anywhere on her body.
She is always close to us when we are out in the field. The only thing that bit her is ticks. Our local vet did x rays and bloodwork. Everything looks normal. We are at Medvet in Columbus right now. Getting her checked out.
She has been off the Gabapentin since Wednesday afternoon/evening and doesn’t feel like she is in pain. She was trying to pull me down the hill (our usual route) for the past couple of days. Right now her only problem is that she can’t really walk without us helping her with a sling. She walks like a drunk person. Throwing her hind legs high and out to the side, wobbling to both sides. This „symptom“ wasn’t originally there when she started to show pain on April 4th.
The neurologist thinks it’s cancer in her spine that causes the wobbly gait. They don’t think its a problem with one of the discs because she isn’t reacting when her back is being checked.
they are putting her on steroids now and told us that if that doesn’t improve her quality of live euthanasia is inevitable. She was doing so well. I’m heartbroken.
You have a lot on your plate.....hopefully you will fi d some answers at the clinic today.
I certainly understand that the walking is a big issue, but otherwise she is doing really well. No pain, eating, trying to pull you down the hill...all good signs!!
Try and get a video when you can, okay? That would really be helpful. Obviously we aren't Vets and not trying to "diagnose" anything as professionals, but maybe a member here has had a similar"gait" situation and can help.
It's weird how she sounds like she is trying to avoid "stepping".kinda like she's trying to throw something off her foot????. I know her paws have been checked out thoroughly
Have to say, quite perplexing and we will await your update when you jave a chance to catch your breath.
Hang in there- You are getting closer to a solution by peeling away all the layers of possibilities.
And if I read this eight, there has been "some" improvement since she tried to pull you?
(((((((((((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!
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