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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Benny55 - I am in Springfield, VA. The place near Charlottesville (Schuyler to be exact) is for our retirement - if and when we finally decide to do it. There will be many dogs then... :).
So glad to hear Ted is doing well, sounds like you are very prepaired so that should ease things a bit. We all know what you have had to deal with the last few days/weeks. It can be rough and we are all here to help in any way we can.
The history, knowledge, recorces, and support here are awesome.
One thing we didnt plan for was constipation from the surgury meds, our vet said pumkin ( from a can) with the food, natural stool softener. Didn't have pumpkin so we used some low surar apple sauce that seemed to work. She didn't sleep more than an hour or two first few nights, restless & hard to get comfortable. getting a lot more solid sleeps now hours at a time and through the night. we are 6 days post OP now. Keep Ted from scratching, it only takes once. Mya hated it but we put a long tube sock on her rear leg, although it made it hard to get up , slipping a bit.
Keep us posted on Teds progress, we are all pulling for ya...
WOW! Things sure do change quickly around here! Surgery js done and Ted is home! A d I'm sure things are quite chaotic at your house right now! Guessing a lot of whining and restlessness and some pitiful looks coming from Ted! You've got a rough couple of nignts ahead of you and very little sleep.
It is better that he's home though if the vet didn't jave overnight care.
Hang in tnere! Check in when you.
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!
So glad he did well in surgery! Hope you both continue to do well through the night.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
It has been a long night.. He whined and whimpered most of it and continues into the morning. I feel bad for him. It seems like he's in pain but I've given him the gabapentin and tramadol doses and he's not due for another couple of hours. I'm thinking of giving the tramadol early.
It is so early yet. Talk to your vet today about dosages and frequency and any tweaking that might be done. There is a wide dosing range on the Gabapentin and it may also take a few days to be truly effective. Also, Rimadyl can be part of the equation. It is a different modality - addresses the post surgical inflammation. Has Ted ever taken it before or are there any liver concerns for him?
Pofi and many other dogs took all 3 meds post surgery.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
The drugs oftentimes make them whiney and restless too. It's hard sometimes to know if it's pain or their reaction to the drugs these first few days. We were on Rimidyl, tramadol, gabapentin and an antibiotic. Max didn't do well with the tramadol so with vet approval we swapped out the tramadol for the Tylenol with codeine we had been given pre surgery by UW Madison for pain and that seemed to help Max get some nice deep sleep. Work with your vet closely sometimes just a bit of tweaking works wonders. Hugs!
Linda, Riley & Spirits Mighty Max & Ollie
Otis had both the Rimadyl and the Tramadol. We did have to adjust his Tramadol dosage up, but I would talk to your vet before doing so on your own. Tramadol can have some weird side effects (disphoria), so you want to make sure that the dosage is right. We continued to use the Tramadol into week 3, although started tapering off once the staples came out by eliminating his midday dose - Otis had his Tramadol dosage every 8 hours, and for a period of time, I was staggering it - 1 pill, and then 2 pills one hour later, to prevent a crash as the dosage wore off. Most of us don't bring our guys home until the day after, so hang in there!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Oh wow, I'm really glad to hear Ted spent the night with you. I know it wasn't easy but definitely better than leaving him alone all night. How's he doing today? I hope the pain meds kicked in and you both got some sleep. Definitely call your vet if he's still restless.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Wanda and Ted....nice chatting with you last night. Well, you got night one under your belt and you survived! Like Linda said, sometimes the meds make them whiney, and it really is so hard to tell the difference between pain and the meds. My vet told me that dogs don't like the feeling of losing control like the meds can make them feel, so they will sometimes fight it. Did you say he sees the vet again today? Make sure you get all your questions/concerns addressed. And one other piece of advice, although I think you've got it covered - stay calm and positive around him. I had some difficulties with this in the early stages, and I'm sure Nitro sensed it. (I tend to be a bit high strung where my dogs are concerned).
Looking forward to your next update, and maybe some more time in the chat room tonite?
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
Hi there. I was in the chat room very briefly last night.... I was dead tired and actually fell asleep (along with Ted). He is doing well today. He is getting up and standing on his own and is walking with assistance outside and also to the porch to get fresh air. He is eating well and drinking well and wagging his tail too. We took the compression bandages off this morning and the incision looks pretty good. I've been icing it every few hours and he is tolerating that well. The share pei in him means he has a lot of extra skin in the neck area so there are a lot of folds there... He's in a t-shirt now and seems pretty happy - tired from being so happy - but happy nonetheless. Just got back from a little walk about and he is napping (I think I will too). Thank you to all of you for your support.
w
Glad to hear this update....sounds like he is doing great! At this point in recovery, you really couldn't ask for more; eating (check), drinking (check), tail wagging (check). Just wait until staples/stitches come out - then he'll really shine. Congratulations
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
Happy update! So glad to hear sweet Ted is doing well and taking all this in stride. Happy is great in these early days. Enjoy your naps sounds like everything is going very well!
I'd fall asleep too! You have both been through a lot. Glad that he's doing well.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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