Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I am new to this forum and appreciate all input and experiences. I have a 9.5 yr old female Great Dane. She was dx with osteo of her Rt ulna 6 months ago. At that time I was told she had a couple months to live, she is old, amputation would be hard on her, treatment is expensive, etc. Here we are six months later and she has been doing wonderful. She is very stoic and has barely had any limp at all up until 2 days ago. We were out of town for 2 days while a family member stayed with her, we came home to her being non weight bearing which was absolutely heart breaking. Her tumor has gotten larger over the months but she has shown no other symptoms of mets and no increase in limping. Right after her initial diagnosis she did suffer and non displaced ulnar fracture while she was nesting in her bed. I actually witnessed this and her horrible cry. I am assuming that another pathological fracture has happened this time, only probably to her radius since she cannot bear weight. Now I find myself either sobbing or frantic on what treatment to do now. In my heart I feel like putting her to sleep is so unfair bc she has been so healthy and full of life regardless of her cancer. What is best for her is the question, not what is best for me. She of course has been my best friend, even before my marriage, and looking into her big eyes I can see my own soul. I cannot imagine putting out that incredible light and spirit. ANY thoughts, please.....
Hello and welcome. What's your dog's name? She's been pretty amazing so far! I'm glad you found us now, hopefully we can help guide you to a decision you can feel good about. Whether or not that is amputation is up to you, it's not always right for every dog, but if you decide to proceed you can rest assured that the vast majority of dogs, even giant breeds, do well on three.
My first question is, has she seen an oncologist since the limp started? She is very likely in a ton of pain right now, as dogs will do anything to avoid showing weaknesses. If she hasn't seen a vet please get her to one ASAP so they can figure out if it's a fracture and get her pain under control.
She's at a pretty advanced age for a Dane but if she has been otherwise healthy there's no real reason why she wouldn't do well. Please seek another opinion preferably from a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who can give you a precise evaluation about her candidacy for life as a Tripawd.
I hope this helps. Stay tuned for more feedback from others.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi there,
I also had a Great Dane female who had her front leg amputated due to osteosarcoma.
She was diagnosed end of April and her surgery happened May 4th.
Luckily I had a great surgeon and a great oncologist who did not sell me the image of a "big dog not being able to do well on three legs". They do well on three, regardless of size and age as we see here all the time.
Going back to your sweet girl, what kind of pain medicine has she been on for the past six months ?
Dogs are brave to the point of being insanely stupid, they can bear pain which would make us humans want to commit suicide ...
My strong advise to you is to get her to see a surgeon and an oncologist right away!
I cannot begin to imagine the pain she is going through with a possible second pathological fracture on her leg!
Sorry to be so blunt but I totally feel what I say.
You have got to address her pain right now and check options and I would add amputation might still be on the cards, if she is fit enough.
Age is just a number, the only thing that really counts is quality of life for our babies.
Best of luck and please let us know what the doctors say, fingers crossed for your girl here!
😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Welcome.
I'm assuming she is on some pain meds with a previous fracture and a potential new fracture. The pain meds might work for a little while but the pain from bone cancer is severe and only gets worse.
If she is otherwise strong and healthy then amputation may be a good choice. But I think you need a chest xray to asses any possible spread of the cancer to her lungs. Whether or not there are lung mets present would have a huge impact on your decisions going forward.
You need to get her into the vet and get her leg and lungs assessed so you know what options you have at this point. Information is power and it should allow you to make the best possible decisions for your best friend.
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
My girl is Lazuli and she is a beautiful blue Dane. She is smart and sassy and incredibly tough. She has been on Tramadol, Gabapentin, and Carprofen since dx. I haven’t been to an oncologist bc I didn’t think we would be that aggressive in the beginning bc of her age and the prognosis. Her regular vet has been very supportive and given me options to see specialists. I feel like if I would have known how much success people have experienced I would have been more aggressive as I never thought we would go six months from the start. I am mad at myself for not finding this site earlier and have so much guilt. I know her pain has to be horrible now so I have to make a decision fast. I wanted to give her quality over quantity if I had to choose and I feel like honestly up till the last few days I have given her that. She is 9.5, I can’t bear the thought of letting her go but putting her through so much at this point is where I am struggling. I have been an RN for almost 30 years and my mother died from cancer so I know those two things have a huge impact on my feelings about my sweet girl.
OK- no beating yourself up!! You clearly love Lazuli and have made the best decisions you could with the information you had.
Remember- there is no way of knowing what would have happened if you chose another path! For now she needs you to be strong and sort through your options. It sounds like she is on a great pain protocol- it's just that it won't work for the long term.
If you truly think that she has more life left to live (and it sounds from your first post like you do) then get her to an oncologist who can do a chest x-ray and see where you stand. If she has mets in her lungs then that might help you decide. If there are no mets then maybe amputation is the way to go. It won't cure the cancer but it gets rid of the pain.
Try not to compare her cancer to the others you have seen. Lazuli is her own self and has her own battle to fight. She has been a warrior so far- you have done great to get her 6 months from diagnosis.
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
You cannot change the past but the thing to take into account at this moment in time is to take her to see a surgeon/oncologist now!
No point discussing things in theory as your Dane is going through unbelievable pain.
You need to stop her pain first and consider what to do after you did that.
If it was my dog I would want to act as fast as lightning now, for her sake.
And, again, if it was my dog I would still consider options even if lung mets were present.
I don’t know if you are aware of this but older dogs generally get to live much longer with cancer than younger dogs do.
Your Dane’s age is a big advantage.
Let is know when you get professional help.
😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
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