Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Everyone
I am driving myself "slightly" crazy, so I finally decided that I needed to ask for some opinions. So here goes.. Lily (my front leg amputee who is a greyhound) just celebrated her 29 month ampuversary 2 days ago, and we are so very grateful, but she has been doing a lot of panting over the last month, and I wish she could talk and tell me what is wrong. I have talked about her panting issues on here for a couple years now, but this is more. It was a long winter and she was pretty immobile, so when we started moving a little more, I noticed how much more she was panting-even getting up from her bed--or just hopping across the room. I took her out for a very short walk today, and she leaped ou the door and ran (dragging me behind) -it was like she needed desperately to run (she is a geyhound). So we ran for about half a block (on the grass always) and then she just hopped and sniffed for awhile.If someone comes and talks to us and we are standing for more than 5 minutes, her whole front leg starts shaking. She was panting the whole time and it takes her quite a while to calm down afterwards. (She has caught two bunny tails 
in the backyard in the last three months-so she is pretty fast-the bunnies got away)
I have taken her to the vet three times since March. They did chest xrays in March and all was totally clear--bloodwork-everything is normal-checked her all over. One of the vets suggested Rimadyl (which we use occasionally) and Gabapentin for a week to see if it made a difference. We just finished the week today, and I really don't see a difference. The only other medicine she is taking is Enalapril for some protein in her urine, but kidney function is fine. Her blood pressure is so elevated at the vets-she is terrified--so I had a mobile vet come this week--she was still scared and it was very high. She is a very shy greyhound, and is especially scared of men and men with beards terrify her. So of course the mobile vet was a man with a beard!
I would love to take her to physical therapy, but she is so so terrified-I took her to Univ of Penn vet school last year and I couldn't calm her down for 5- 6 hours afterwards. I swore that I would never do that again to her. So I know she will have the same reaction to physical therapy.
I'm scared that something is lurking somewhere ...or she is hurting...or I don't know what else. Any ideas or suggestions would be so welcome--HELP!
Thanks so much for being there,
Joan and Lily
Our beautiful Lily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her front leg on 12/14/11 at age 8 and had amp on 12/16/11. She completed 5 rounds of carbo. She was so brave and kicked cancer's butt daily! She lived life fully for 4 years, 3 months, and 15 days after her amp. My angel is a warrior princess. I miss her so much.
LIIIIIIILY!! Sweet, sweet Lilly! What the heck is going on with you silly girl!!
Okay, the GREAT NEWS all her tests are excellent! Big...HUGE...great news!
Ask the vet about elimimating the Enalapril for a short period as long as it would cause no arm. It seems to me.....could be waaaaayoff base....I gave that to ne of m senior dogs heart related......maybe? So maybe that could cause so ething (?)....whatever that something might be. Anyway, worth a shot in eliminatng for a week and see if you notice a difference.
As yoh already know, our tripawds are hit by weather/temperature chamges/humidity pretty hard. Even subtle changes. And certainly allergens in the air..pollen, etc.
I ccompletely understand not wanting to take her for PT withher stress level....absolutely would take away from her quality.
The shakng leg is a clue to something, maybe...but not sure what!! Tremors, etc. certainly can be part of the aging process. Any possibility of pinched nerve...anything like that? Would she tolerate massage if done byou? Acupu cture done at home?
Crazy, huh??? She,s clearly feeling fine in spite of these "issues" I know it's ridiculous to say not to worry.....but really, with everything about her being strong and fit, it may just be ne of those "jnexplained quirks".
Wish I had some answers for you, but one thing I do have is a STANDING OVATION FOR TWO AND A HALF YEAR AMPUVERSARY!!!!!!
LILY IS A MIRACLE GIRL.....still making the magic happen!!
SENDINGYOU LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE!!
And, most importantly.....a KNOWING tha all is well with Liy!!! Look at that sweet soul! She is doing just fine!!
Sally and Happy Hannah
PS....Put up a "no beards allowed" sign at your door!
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!
Love the "No beards allowed" Sally-you always make me smile, chuckle, and laugh
I did take her off Enalapril and didn't see any difference. I have to watch myself, cause I tend to hover... my husband thinks she picks up on the hovering
So, I need to Be More Dog
! I think I may also see if I can get a physical therapist to pay a house call--just no men or beards
Thanks again, Sally--lots of love to you from Lily and me!
Our beautiful Lily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her front leg on 12/14/11 at age 8 and had amp on 12/16/11. She completed 5 rounds of carbo. She was so brave and kicked cancer's butt daily! She lived life fully for 4 years, 3 months, and 15 days after her amp. My angel is a warrior princess. I miss her so much.
Hmmm I am not sure what is going on. If the x-rays were clear and all blood tests were basically good then I am stumped. I am glad to hear over all she is doing well. Hard to Be More Dog . I honestly understand that.
Hugs
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
Hi Joan,
Funny that you should post this today.....Tuck was pretty immobilized by our very icy, snowy winter as well and he has been panting more during our walks lately too.
I know from Rene and Jim that walks just build endurance - not core strength- and I have been doing some of the suggested activities from "Loving Life On Three Legs " with him. One of the vets in the practice I go to with Tuck is currently getting certified in PT so I have tentatively set up some appointments with her starting in about three weeks.
Give Lily a big hug for Tuck and I.....she continues to be a Tripawds rockstar!
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
Okay, I'm going to ask what is probably a dumb question: do you think it could be arthritis? If that could be the case, we used this on Max for a bit for his hip dysplasia:
http://www.synf.....ynflex.php
I think it costs about $25, so maybe try it to to see if it helps?? Whatever the problem, I hope it resolves soon. Hang in there Lily!!! You are a true Tripawd Rock Star!!!
Diane brings up a good point on arthritis, how old is Lily now? My quad pug Tani was diagnosed with arthritis at age 6. I saw a huge improvement in mobility when I started her on a glucosamine supplement. I don't remember what her panting was like then, she was pretty wild for a pug, always on the go.
I would think a week on rimadyl should have shown some improvement. When Tani started on that she was better than less than a week.
Is she stiff in the mornings? More sore in cold or wet weather? Maybe talk with your vet about arthritis.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thank you all so much!! Arthritis...hmmm-she is on Dasaquan with glucosamine-for about a year--I'm calling the vet again this afternoon to check. Last night before bed, she was panting a lot--it took her awhile to settle down. This is so frustrating-this morning-no panting . She's definitely worse at night-now I'm second guessing whether she was panting less with the Rimadyl and Gabapentin. She doesn't have any trouble getting around-pulled me out of the house yesterday-running. Lily is 11. The weird thing is that there's more panting while we're walking-and it takes her longer than usual to recover, but the panting started really heavily again when she was going to bed last night-with no exercise-ugh--I'll let you know what the vet says.
Thank you all so much for your ideas-I'll mention them to the vet.I'm going to call some physical therapists also to see if there is anyone who does housecalls.
Linda, Please let me know how the PT with Tucker goes-good luck!!
Joan and Lily
Our beautiful Lily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her front leg on 12/14/11 at age 8 and had amp on 12/16/11. She completed 5 rounds of carbo. She was so brave and kicked cancer's butt daily! She lived life fully for 4 years, 3 months, and 15 days after her amp. My angel is a warrior princess. I miss her so much.
Joan, I know this is perplexing and probably drivingyou whacky.! One thing to remember as you contine to immerse yourself in the spirit of being dog ((YAY!), Lily is not letting anything bother her...she's not worrying, she's thoroughly enjoying herself!
Maybe the panting is an outward sign of so ething being a little off, but whatever it is (if anything), it's not bothering her in any major way and certainly not taking away her joy for life!
I'm sure the vet has checked out her heart thoroughly, but it could "simply" be her heart becoming a little more enlarged as she ages.
You could certainly try some Tramadol again at night...but maybe start it ahead of time before ghe panting starts. I don't know if Liy is addicted to food or not, but when she's having a "panting episode", try and give her a "goody" (I mean a REAL gooody.....a HAPPY HANNAH GOODY...a scoop of ice cream of three M&Ms!!) and see if she eats it. If she does, I wouldn't think whatever "it" is hurts too much!!
Sending you and Liy all the love in the world! And give that girl a scoop of ice cream tonight!! That's always been a "go to" medicine" in Happy Hannah's "nutritional list" that worked wonders!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAY LILY!!!!!!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Hmmm. Just catching up on things (Hoppy Ampvuersary Lily! YAY!)
Well in my experience here it seems that panting usually happens more at night, even it's related to just simple exhaustion from overdoing things.And also, the warming weather often has much to do with it. I agree with Tucker's Mom, some at-home core-strenthening exercises can help.
With her being on such comprehensive pain meds, it IS perplexing! But perhaps the Gaba is making the panting worse as you suspect. Not all drugs work the same on all dogs, if you think that things got worse after you started then maybe it's time to cut back? Ask your vet of course.
One other thing; is there a mobile vet in town that can do acupuncture at your home? It can really do wonders and release built-up tension even when you don't know that it's there. We saw the effects firsthand and are convinced that all dogs with mobility issues can benefit. Just a thought.
Keep us posted and give that beautiful girl of yours a hug from us!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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