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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Great advice Jerry I haev a doggie bed at the foot of the bed as a " Stepping Stone" !
Also I was wondering The worst of the pain seems to be behind us and it seems the pain meds make her a little depressed. Do I give as needed or stick to a schedule?
Hi Doug and Cookie!
The stepping stone sounds like a great idea! I don't mean to sound like a downer but Cookie just had MAJOR surgery and it has not even been a week yet. Some of the depression is her transitioning from all the meds given at the hospital. What you have at home should be given right on schedule. The problem with "as needed" is that once pain meds wear off and pain comes back by the time you realize shes in pain it is hard, if not impossible to get it back in to the controlled mode.
Most dogs (and cats) are on pain meds for about 2 weeks. As she becomes more active, especially after suture removal, she will be sore. It it not unusual a few days after surgery to see them a little dumpy for a bit. But she is eating, drinking, and sleeping... that is most important for her to heal right now.
Glad to hear she is progressing so well! Have you learned how to post pictures yet?? We love pictures in here, the more the better 🙂
Jackie and Huck
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Jerry's Required Reading List <-- Here is a BUNCH of helpful information for pre and post op patients, pain management
, rehab, just a wonderful smorgasbord of information. Hope it helps 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
What a great doggie parent you are! I'm glad to see she has a way to get off the bed safely.
When it comes to pain medication, you'll need to gauge how long she should be on it. Sometimes it takes trial and error over a couple of weeks to see what she needs. Let your vet know that you want to try cutting back before doing it. And be sure to watch for any pain indicators as she gets back to her new normal. Start slow and easy, and see how she does.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Depending on the meds, you may need to taper them off.
Rocky was on his for at least three weeks after surgery. About a week after the surgery, he had a bit of a crash. But it only lasted a few days.
David and Rocky (and Baxter now too!)
Rocky had his right front leg amputated on Valentine's Day 2017 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
He joined the September Saints on September 3, 2017.
He is the toughest, bravest, sweetest and best friend I'll ever know.
Thank you for all the advice.
jackie I just haven’t had time to figure out the picture thing. Trying to take care of cookie and keeping my business going has left me really having to choose priorities
ill take another stab at it eventually
Good to hear Cookie is doing well!
My little pug Maggie was on pain meds for two weeks post amputation although we were tapering down the last couple of days.
I'm a huge proponent of always tapering off pain meds for a couple reasons. Tapering allows you to judge pain levels without it getting completely out of control. When quad pug Obie had his knee surgeries I would start a slow taper and if he showed he was uncomfortable I could go back up and try again later. And from my own personal experience with strong pain meds stopping suddenly messes with both physical and mental comfort.
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
Thank you Karen. We are on the tramadol. Is that what you were given ?
Also we are getting the bandage off on Monday. Is it customary to put a tee shirt on after ?
I notice that some animals are released from surgery without a bandage? Wondering why some bandage the wound and others don’t ?
Hey Doug and Cookie 🌺
Eurydice was on tramadol for a couple of weeks, she had a terrible episode where she lost conscience and went into a seizure and I panicked big time.
I called the hospital and they said it was the medication, I "decided" I was going to cut it short but luckily they got some sense into me and explained it was still early days and I kept the drugs on.
So glad I did.
She didn't come back with a bandage but a lot of dogs did.
She wore a tshirt under her harness until stitches came out, it protects the wound and is comfortable for our babies.
In any case there's no reason why Cookie shouldn't wear at shirt besides she will look cute 💕
😘😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
Hi Doug,
Yes, Obie was on Tramadol after his knee surgeries, and Tripug Maggie was on it after her amp. Both also had a fentanyl patch for a few days post op.
The bandage seems to be vet specific. It's rare for rear amps to have them- it's hard to keep a bandage on the back end! Some front amps have them, some don't. A tee shirt is a good idea to give her a break from the cone maybe, unless she is really interested in her incision. Some use the tee shirt to keep the incision area clean although it's not a requirement.
Keep up the good healing!
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Great advice. The tramadol makes cook breathe rather shallow so I be sure to watch her closely
she is a front leg amputee so she did get the bandage. I worry that she will try and scratch with her back leg as she is already showing she wants to scratch a bit
once the bandage comes off I have the tire thing for her neck although I don’t think she can lick the wound
I got to be real careful of that when she gets her bandage off
I will I’ll ask the dr if he thinks I shouldn’t keep it covered somewhat. Great advice once again
thank you
Doug,
Is she on just tramadol or did they give her gabapentin also?
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Gabapentin is given to help treat and ward off phantom limb pain which is very common in amputees. It's generally started just before surgery and continued during recovery.
It's a great drug, but it's also another drug that is recommended to be weaned off of.
I'm not a doctor, I don't even play one on t.v. (comical drum roll inserted here) 🙃
You may want to consider bringing this up to Cookie's doctor. Even if you get a prescription and don't use it (probably not likely) if the need arises you will want to have it on hand.
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
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