Hi Gerry,

Glad you found us, so sorry you needed to!  And way to go getting the second opinion!!  It's sadly very common for limps caused by cancer to go undiagnosed for a long while as the vets try treating arthritis or tendonitis or any number of things - so way to be proactive.

Results vary, but if other health issues don't get in the way, going by reading the experiences of others here for months now, and my own experience wth my best buddy, Yoda, amputation will not prevent your dog from living a happy, full, pain-free life.  It shoud, rather, make it possible for him to do so again.

Now, I don't know anything about the cancer Dakota has (I feel like I barely know anything about the cancer Yoda has), but maybe factors you'll want to find out/consider are survival time statistics and whether more painful tumors are likely.  With osteosarcoma (bone cancer), it's pretty rare for another tumor to grow in the bone elsewhere after the primary tumor is removed - usually the next phase is that it goes to the lungs, though that can usually be delayed a good long while with chemo or even slowed down after they appear with various treatments.  So you'll probably want to ask about what's recommended after amputation in Dakota's case.  Also, if Dakota has any pre-existing health issues, ask if and how those might complicate having the amputation.  Those are the questions that first came to my mind after reading your post.  I'm sure you'll get other good suggestions from other people.

The three weeks after the amputation are pretty intense, but more manageable than I expected.  But then Yoda didn't have any complications, such as an infection.  But infections are treatable.  Certainly try to get as much time off of work as you can for the first two weeks, but Dakota will do a lot of sleeping, so it's very okay if you can't be with him 24/7.  The tricky part about being gone can just be making sure he's not going to be able to mess with his incision site, but there are many ways to deal with that which people here will share.  And your vet should advise you on that as well.

What people often report after amputation is that their dog is fairly active the first day or two home from the hospital (most vets will keep them two or three days, I think) - to the point of being troublemakers, some of them - and then crash and act more like dogs who have just had major surgery should and do a lot of sleeping.  It seems to be that the heavy-duty painkillers they get initially often keep them fairly anxious for a few days, but they wear off and they're able to catch up on sleeping and healing then (and the pain should be manageable on less meds, like Tramadol or Rimadyl).  Yoda did a lot of vocalizing (crying/whining) for the first couple days he was home (and the two days he was with the vet), which he never does, because of the pain meds he had.  When those faded, his vocalizing stopped (though staring into space and turning in circles lasted another couple days).  It's hard not to worry in those cases that they're not crying from pain, but Yoda's surgeon showed me how to gently pat Yoda's incision site and if he didn't react and his heart rate didn't go up, he said I could trust that Yoda wasn't in need of more painkillers.  Constipation is often an issue after an amputation, but your vet can recommend solutions such as feeding Dakota pumpkin, or chicken with rice, etc.  Yoda's surgeon ordered that Yoda be in a furniture-less room, or crated (but Yoda wasn't crate-trained), for the first two weeks to minimize the chances of him tearing his incision by getting on furniture or otherwise being too active.  Had to stay with my parents for those two weeks in order to have a room like that, but they were willing and it was a great comfort that Yoda wouldn't be alone as long when I had to go to work.  The first two weeks, going out to the bathroom and coming back in will probably be the extent of Dakota's exercise - though sometimes they'll push you pretty hard to let them do more!  Yoda's surgeon recommended just out to the bathroom and back in for the first two weeks and then a very gradual increase of walking time, but Yoda fought me pretty hard to go further faster.  This, however, resulted in very short walks (two to three houses away) that took a very long time, because on the way back it would be evident that I let him go to far and we would need to take 4 or 5 rests on the way back.

So those are the highlights of what I remember from Yoda's recovery period - to give you an idea what to expect.  Now for the fun part, telling you what I got to see after Yoda recovered!  Yoda was back at the dog park a month after his amputation.  Unfortunately, on his very first trip back he confirmed for me that, yes, he would still be able to mount other dogs, at least if they were very low to the ground - congratulations Yoda, you can still embarrass your mom at the park!  He played chase with other dogs that first day without any hesitation and we have had excellent, regular trips to the dog parks in our area ever since.  Yoda also became suddenly much better at catching tennis balls in the air - an unexpected post-amp talent.  He lost his hesitation about getting in the car, which inexplicably began over a year ago (guess he felt the tumor well before the limp began).  And, on our walks through the neighborhood, Yoda was suddenly dragging me over to visit with any neighbors who were out and about, rather than the other way around.  So in some ways, I can argue that Yoda is living an even fuller life since his amputation than he was before.

Yoda re-mastered just about every physical activity (stairs, running, etc.) in less than two months (I think it was like a month and a half).  The only thing that took him longer was chasing his tail - for some reason that took him three months on the dot.  He hasn't caught a rabbit in the yard (he has caught 4 or more in the 3 years I've had him), but I actively thwart his efforts, and he has come very close even then, so I am going to assume he could still do that too.  Yoda does seem to have been above the average as far as activity/exercise level post-amputation from what others have said.  He's always been a skinny, athletic boy, which the vet said would make him a good candidate for adjusting quickly and he certainly did.

I am so so so so glad that Yoda had his amputation.  It was such a rotten couple of months that he limped and limped and the vet couldn't figure out why and I had to keep him from playing and running, so being able to have these past 3 1/2 months of Yoda being able to be active and do all his favorite things again has been such a gift!

Good luck with your decision.  It's clear you love Dakota dearly, so you'll do the best you possibly can for him, whatever that may be. 

I hope my response wasn't too jumbled or rambly.  Yoda's not doing so great tonight, so, rather than sleeping, I'm up keeping watch per the ER vet's instructions, to see if he needs to go in for emergency care or if he's going to be able to get some sleep at home tonight first and then we can have him seen by oncology when they get in in the morning.  So far, it looks like waiting til morning was the right choice, he's sleeping now.  I realize though, that I may not be fully coherent.

Gerry, when Oslo was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, we took 10 days to cope about the whole situation.  I could not agree to any decision.  My mind was a real mess. But then I felt deep in my heart as well as in my head what I thought would be the best for him.   Take your time to look for infomations and trust yourself. 

Suzanne

Hi Gerry

Glad you found this website group and have been getting loads of feedback. Dakota's cancer sounds very different than the type found in most of our dogs. But it is great that it sounds like a slow-growing cancer that is unlikely to show up or spread within his lifetime. Wow! Most of us can only dream of that. But I understand that depends on the results of the MRI, and wish you all the best with that. You will have lots of tripawds rooting (and malamute tripawds rooing) for Dakota that day.

How is Dakota's general mobility and health? You probably already mentioned these points, but I am just asking things that might help you guess how he will do following amputation. Does he have arthritis or other medical (kidney or liver, etc) issues?

Most of our dogs do well as 3-leggeds, although some bounce back more quickly than others. Young and small dogs seem to bounce back the quickest. My dog was a little slow on the uptake, but has been getting stronger every day (we are around 9 weeks now). We hang out at the dog parks and swim (until the water freezes), although we can't walk miles. But I'd have to say he is as happy as ever, but I probably do more to make sure that is the case.

My dog Tazzie has had a busy summer when it comes to anesthetic and surgery: June 1, general anesthetic for torsion emergency; ~July 5, a lump removed from a leg with a sedative, supposedly benign but it was not sent to the lab; July 15, amputation for OSA; last week, another lump removed with a general. So he has not had two general anesthetics only one week apart, but has still had a few. But ask your vet if that is safe. It might be just as safe as keeping him under for longer, but I don't think any of us can comment on that one (except for the vets).

If the cancer has not spread, it sounds as though your choice is either amputation or putting him down when the pain gets too bad. That was the choice for most of us. Given how happy and healthy (generally speaking, apart from the cancer) most of our dogs are, the latter usually does not seem like an option. Given your prognosis is promising, it sounds as though you might have even more time to look forward to than most OSA dogs.

Good for you for taking Dakota to the hospital. It can take a long time for vets to diagnose these things.

Susan and Tazzie

You are going through the most terrifying time, and most of us have been there too.  Do your research, trust you vet to lead you, talk to Dakota, and make your decision based on what is best for Dakota.  No one knows him as you do, so no one is better equipped to make the decision for him.

This is not an easy time.  Trouble was diagnosed on a Monday late afternoon, had a second opinion consult late afternoon Tuesday, and was in surgery Wednesday morning.  Let me tell you, when I dropped her off Wednesday morning all I could do was pray we were doing the right thing.  The consulting (and now treating) vet assured us the only way to stop the pain was to remove the leg.  He also stressed it was the chance she needed for extending her life. 

The vet kept in contact with my husband Wednesday morning as he did pre-op x-rays, he lead us through each decision we needed to make and made sure we understood what our options were every step of the way.

Trouble's recovery was pretty mild compared to some.  Whether or not we made the right choice with the amputation has never been an issue for us.  We know we did what we could to give her a chance.  We are not 10 months post amputation and she is a happy, happy old lady.

Best of luck to you as you struggle through this.  Trust yourself.  You can do this.