Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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It has been close to 30 days since my dog Taz had his back, right leg amputated. His recovery has been wonderful! However, I am concerned about his remaining back leg twitching and kicking while he sleeps. He sleeps with me, and it often keeps me awake or wakes me up. Is this constant movement usual following an amputation.
Hu Sandra and pup Taz
Your post has been approved, although I noticed it looked like you had already joined as a member in august.
A couple of thoughts on Tsz kicking out his leg at night. It could be so many little things, like muscle cramps, of course some dreaming, and maybe just some nerves twitching as a result of the other leg being amputated. Does this wake Taz up when it's happening? Are their signs of discomfort or restlessness, or is this just in his sleep? If you try massaging him or repositioning him does it stop?
Does it seem to be any type of pain response?
What's his activity level like during the day? Is it possible he's over doing it with that leg and causing muscle soreness?
His remaining leg is being used in ways unlike before, so it makes sense that it may simply be just leg cramps once his body relaxes while he's sleeping.
The only thing I could suggest is maybe getting with a rehabilitation specialist and see if they can pinpoint the cause.
Often we'll see the twitching on the amp side with the remaining stump/ muscle, so not sure what this is about. Hopefully others will have some more input to help you figure this 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!
It's not unusual for muscle twitching to happen, but this sounds like more movement than a twitch? He must have quite a bit of stump left no?
My questions are identical to Sally's. Is he showing any pain signals ? Any vocalization when this happens? Does it wake him up? Did he used to dream a lot before the amputation? Or is this all new?
Thanks for responding. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, and he doesn’t wake up or cry out. He’s really doing well otherwise, and this could be me overreacting because his amputation was from an accident so it was quick. It’s been pretty upsetting for both of us.
Oh you guys have been through so much it's no wonder you are upset. It wouldn't be unusual to hyper focus on every little thing. I did too! Of course it's also good to be vigilant because you don't know what you don't know. This is all new territory for you both.
I suggest studying up on pain signals (see link) and then if you can catch him during a nap take a video for your vet that would be helpful too. Feel free to share it here (upload to YouTube and paste the URL here).
The video suggestion is a wonderful idea! The fact that I never even thought of that might give you insight into my thinking process being kind of fuzzy since Taz’s accident. It’s been pretty rough. I honestly was not prepared for the emotional and physical tole this experience has taken on both of us. I think he’s doing better than I am.
Just to clarify again....it's his REMAINING back leg twitching/kicking..you were not referencing his "stump" (if he has one) or amp area. As Jerry, noted, the amp area or stump, some twitch is normal. I was thinking it was his remaining leg, that's why I mentioned cramping, dreaming, etc, etc
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 think you’re correct. I’ve been watching him more closely, and I think he’s dreaming.
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