Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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Hello, I am Jason, and this is my first post on the Tripawds Site. My dog Cody, an 8-year old 80lb Labordoodle, was just diagnosed with Histiocytic Sarcoma. It is a peri-articular per the oncologist, as it is around his right front shoulder (not in the bone) and has spread to his lymph node on the same side. The oncologist has not given us a very good prognosis since this is a very aggressive form of cancer. He gave us a range of options to consider, one being amputation of the right front leg. As we consider all of the options, our main concern is the quality of life for Cody for whatever time we have left together. We want to make sure that the impact of removing that front leg does not hamper his activity in anyway, especially since the oncologist was not very optimistic that any form of treatment would result in an increased life expectancy at this point. We know that the source of pain that causes him to limp would be removed with the amputation, but we are mainly concerned that he would not be able to navigate the stairs on his own, forcing him to be on only the first floor. We all sleep upstairs. This is also an issue as I am gone every third day due to my work as a firefighter, and would leave my wife and kids to attempt to help maneuver him up and down the stairs.
Does anybody else have any insight and experience as to whether or not a larger dog such as Cody would be able to eventually navigate the stairs on his own?
Also, he does have mild hip dysplasia, nothing that was needed to be fixed, but our concern is that this will worsen and cause even more issues with a missing limb. Does anybody have experience with this as well? I would hate to remove his leg and end up just causing him more discomfort and pain in other joints.
Thank you. - Jason and Cody
Hi Jason and Cody, thanks for joining us and registering, your future posts won't need approval.
I'm sorry about the diagnosis. We've had other dogs here with histio, some beat those awful odds and some do not, it's a gamble but the most important thing is making sure Cody has a pain-free life no matter what you decide, amputation or not.
First, what kind of stairs do you have? If they are carpeted, that wouldn't be much of an issue after a month or so as long as you guys can have someone walking alongside him to train him. Most dogs pick it up right away, and guiding with a Ruffwear Webmaster harness is super helpful too, no lifting required really. This search for "Stairs" in the Forums will show what I mean. Keep in mind that for a front-leg amputee it's a lot scarier going down stairs so more attention would need to be paid there.
When it comes to hip displaysia and that sort of thing, we've had others here who had it and did fine on 3. As long as you monitor his activity to make sure he doesn't overdo things he should be fine. But take that for what it's worth, I'm not a vet. Your best bet for most peace of mind is to get the opinion of a board-certified orthopedic vet. Is there one in your vet practice?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My Tripawd was a little rear amp pug named Maggie. She was only about 12" at the shoulder. She had a difficult time going up more than 4 or so stairs, although she could go down anything. As Jerry said, front amps tend to have issues (if they have any) going down. Most dogs learn how to do stairs and do just fine as long as there is good traction .
My only caution would be if you do the amp be sure Cody has only good experiences when learning stairs as a tripawd. Maggie wiped out once and it took quite a while for me to get her to try again.
No matter what you choose to do you are welcome here. The cancer journey is a tough one and I think it is helpful to have people who have been there offer support and advice.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi Jason and Cody...welcome to the best place on earth for help in dealing with the situation you find yourselves in. My Dobe Nitro is also a front amp - 15 months now. The harness Rene mentioned was a life saver for us in helping him get around in the beginning. It was very useful in navigating our basement stairs at the start. Now he goes up and down like a champ (12 steps); it is easier for a front amp to go up stairs, but he is able to go down by himself. I always try to monitor him on his way down, but he has done it completely by himself a few times (and scared me half to death)! And he was quite proud of himself, I might add. Good luck with the decisions you face, you will make the right one for him no matter what that turns out to be. We will be here for you.
paula and nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Thank you Jerry, Karen and Paula for the kind words, the advice and information. My family and I have been discussing our options for the past few days, trying to gather enough information to feel that we are making an informed decision. This web-site and forum are a great help. I will be reading a lot of pages as we have decided to take the gamble and hope that amputation and chemo help Cody enjoy some more time on this Earth with us and enjoy it in healthy pain-free spirits.
-Jason and Cody
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