Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our pup, 8 year old Sadie who is a Brittany Spaniel (tripawd from cancer since October) has been struggling with severe pain for the past week now. It all happened suddenly and has progressed very quickly since the first day we noticed it. We took her to the vet and the doctor said that it's most likely severe back and neck pain, maybe arthritis, and that with rest and medication she should be able to recover. The examination she did on Sadie was only a thorough full body exam, so no tests were done. The past few days have been rough though- she won't bend over, if she lays on her side she yelps to get up, she's panting, and just letting out a lot of painful cries. Of course we will take her to the vet again on Monday, but is there anything else we can do for her? Should we plan for the worst?
I know I had an earlier post about Sadie in another topic and thanks for everyone's help. Worried that this is so progressive and looking for any wisdom or advice!
Taking her to the vet is a good thing to have things checked out. Sometimes, though, a pulled muscle or crooked vertebrae can also cause a lot of pain so I would try and see if I could get an appointment with a rehab vet. If it really is arthritis she probably will be on pain meds but sometimes rehab vets have their own tricks and you can do without meds.
The strain of being on three is pretty big so sadly, things happen. Have you tried gently massaging her? Sometimes they really enjoy it and you may be able to figure out the exact source of pain.
Keep us updated
tina & Manni
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
Ditto Tina's response.
Has Sadie been overactive? Slipped, jumped, or fell? Any unusual footing or outings or places she has gone? Stairs? Etc.? Now that it s getting warmer, some are more active and there generally is more wear and tear on a TriPawd.
Is she now on strict confinement/rest regimen? Does she do well with that or does confinement make her more active ( try to get out, etc.?)
Which pain meds/dosage/ timing is she on? It does sound as if she is still in pain. Is there any way the vet could adjust that?
Best wishes at the vet today! You are doing the right thing to take her in for an additional exam. A rehab vet is also a great suggestion.
Best wishes, huge hugs, and PyrPaws all around! Please let us know how the vet visit goes.
Nothing happened like a bad fall or trip that seemed to have brought all this on, which is also confusing. I have tried some massages and found one spot on her spine that she doesn't want to be touched at. She won't lay on her side or back anymore making it difficult to massage now also. We're keeping her pretty confined, she doesn't want to do much moving anyways, but it's difficult to stay comfortable.
If she's already in so much pain now will it be difficult for the rehab place to do anything? There is one nearby that we can look into. We also have an appointment for a in-home canine massage, although at this point we're worried it will be too painful for her.
Severe pain when the dog is not touched and increased panting is often neurologic in nature and can seem to happen out of the blue. Xrays can sometimes see a collapsed disc space as well as arthritis.
Neck pain is often much worse than back pain. Is your dog at least taking an NSAID? If that is not working a lot of these dogs need prednisone, a muscle relaxer, and sometimes gabapentin or tramadol. For some the only relief is surgical decompression.
Did your vet find any localized pain?
Pam
Hi, I'm really sorry to hear that your dog is pain. Can I ask you what the outcome has been since you took her to the vet/rehab please? Has she improved at all and what kind of treatment is she getting?
I'm asking because my 10 year old lurcher, rear leg amputated in Jan 2017 is also suffering. He has had some falls and two knock-overs by two different dogs, one was high speed impact. His neck is sore and his illiopsoas muscle according to the vet. He's been in vet hospital for three days on pain relief, and now he's home he's not looking very well.
I'm waiting until Monday (Saturday now) for the vet's opinion and hopefully some physio, however I do not want Ernie to suffer as he's been through so much.
Wishing you loads of luck,
Vicky
Hey Vicky, I'm just gonna chime in until our kind volunteer Vet checks in.
As our Vet mentioned above, in cases like the one above, it takes a lot of confinement and anti-inflammatories, pain meds, etc for a couple of weeks (or longer) to start seeing improvement.
Although the illipsosa, according to Dr Google, would be a bit different from the other scenario, it does seem like you're on the right path. And it does seem also.like it is a very painful thing, so I'm sure he isn't feeling very chipper at all!
What tests did the Vet do? Just a manual or any other test? How is his mobility? Is he eating, drinking, pooping peeing?
Hang in there. More help from Dr Pam will be coming soon. I know it's hard to be patient, but Ernie wil get through this!
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 Vicky,
I've had iliopsoas muscle problems myself and it was very painful. I was on pain meds so I could sleep for 4 hours, used ice and heat, had many massages and went for physio. Through physio I learned stretches that really helped and I still do them a year later to fend off the tightness that leads to the pain.
I hope Ernie will enjoy the benefits of rehab. Here's some info from a rehab expert:
Hugs for you and Ernie,
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your replies regarding Ernie. I was stroking him last night and found a hard lump between his shoulder blades, this is were the pain and stiffness is coming from as he reacted strongly. He's able to walk, although his legs looks stiff and his spine is crooked, he's eating and drinking as usual and doing a bit of wagging. However, we have had 3 hours sleep due to his acute diarrhoea which now has blood in it today. I'm thinking this is due to Tramadol, Gabapentin and Prednicare? He's drinking a lot.
His blood, urine and faecal tests flagged up low electrolytes, though his urine was the correct concentration, which after being on a intravenous fluids has returned to normal.
I'm annoyed that the vets, despite keeping him in for two days did not find the lump and the centre of his pain. He could have already been x-rayed in that time! I'm now not even sure that the psoas pain is a definite diagnosis? The best service about my vet's surgery are the RVN's, the nurses are amazing.
I'm tearful and worried that the big daft lurcher boy is suffering. I've also been Google-ing, which hasn't helped my mood....
Thanks again, Vicky xx
Update on Sadie: After taking her to the vet after a downhill first week, the vet upped her pain/anti-inflammatory meds and that seemed to help a lot, along with keeping her very confined (only let out to go to the restroom, being carried up and down stairs). For just over a week and a half she slowly improved, her posture wasn't so hunched, she wasn't crying nearly as much or at all, and she was able to bend over and shake again. Not 100%, but better. Seems the high dose of medication and strict confinement for a long period was helping.
We just took her in for her re-check and due to her progress the vet said to start leaning her off some of the meds... Suddenly we're going back downhill again and Sadie is gone back to being in pain. I'm so conflicted as to how long this should take and what else maybe we could do for her?
We tried one professional massage which Sadie loved and it seemed to help, but only temporarily. We're also strongly considering getting some CBD oil after chatting with someone about it, and our vet had actually mentioned it to us. Anybody have any other suggestions on CBD oil or other successes on getting through severe back or neck pain/arthritis? When comes the time that we make the decision that we can't do anything to help her?
This is the medication she is on currently-
denamarin
(For her liver, from past health issues she had) 225mg once a day
Prednisone 10mg once a day (This was at twice a day up until a few days ago, which is when we noticed the decline again... We wonder if this helps her the most, but the vet said to take this down to a lower dose when she went in for the re-check)
Gabapentin 200mg twice a day
Tramadol 50mg twice a day
Vicky- So sorry for not getting back sooner! Prayers for you and Ernie- any updates on your pup? Hoping for positive results and that maybe this forum has been somewhat helpful! I'm very new here but so far have very much appreciated everything I've read on the Tripawds website, there is so much useful information and it's so nice to have a community.
A muscle relaxer may also help. We tend to use methocarbamol or diazepam. The prednisone is probably the most helpful and definitely tell your vet she has declined on a lower dose as they might want to take it back up. Sometimes I will do 15 mg per day or alternate 20 mg/10 mg days.
pam
Does anyone have any last resort advice on this situation? We're just feeling like we will have to put her down, Sadie keeps getting worse no matter what we've tried. 🙁
Have you tried going to a rehab vet rather than your regular vet? It's completely different. A few months ago we took Murphy to one who does chiropractic adjustments as well as a variety of other rehab. She has a whole rehab facility that includes a pool, treadmill with water, massage, chiropractic, diet, laser, acupuncture and more. She evaluated Murphy's spine, talked to us about his diet, suggested him losing a little weight, gave us some exercises to do with him to help increase his core strength and did the adjustment.
We don't have one close to us - I had to search for her. We drive about 45 minutes to get to the clinic, but it's been worth it. I looked for "canine chiropractor" but you could look for rehab, too. I didn't need a referral, but they did want Murphy's records from our vet and from when he had his surgery & chemo.
It might be worth a try.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Donna- Thanks for the suggestion. That does sound like a great opportunity and something worth trying. The problem/concern is that Sadie is barely moving. Some moments she just stands up and doesn't want to lay down or move for 30+ minutes. And she'll cry out in pain quite frequently, and it's been about 4 weeks. We don't know what we can do if we can't get her out of this stage of pain.
birdmckenna said
...any last resort advice on this situation?
Yes, please consider consulting with a certified rehab vet/tech (CCRP or CCRT ) for a professional evaluation. They are specially trained to identify and treat orthopedic issues and help determine quality of life. You may even get reimbursed by the #Tripawds Foundation for your first visit!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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