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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What it sounds like to me is that nasty broken leg was more painful than the surgery pain. I've experienced that with my quad pug Obie after his last knee surgery. He was only doing limited weight bearing before the surgery and after he clearly felt better.
It is really important to keep her away from the incision, but I wouldn't do the cone either if she fights it so much. You can try putting some boxer shorts on her (tail goes through the fly) or try an alternative to the cone, HERE are some ideas.
Obie is a rescue who doesn't see well and was abused by his original owner. The cone is not a good thing for him so after his knee surgeries I have used the donut version and made him some pants that covered his incision. The donut works well for short faced dogs like pugs.
It does seem that the younger pups tend to act like nothing happened, and the biggest challenge is keeping them quiet during the recovery period. And that is a good problem to have!
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
Online
My Happy Hannaw did NOT wear the cone nor was there ever any need for her to!!
As you've already seen, every dog is different and every recovery is differet. .any dogs do not lick their incision...some dogs are obsessively licking and chewing. If Iris is leaving her stitches alone she'll be just fine. Of course, continue to keel an eye on her. You're doing a BREAT JOB!!
She may have a day or two when she doesn't feel quite so lerky once the hospital meds are out of her system...or. ay not! Some dogs just have a much smoother recovery than others.....and that's a good thing!! Sounds like you have good timing on the pain med doses too.
And Happy Hannah wouldn't tolerate the ice pack so I never proceeded with thst either. But Iris's incision looks really good anyway so I wouldw worry too much about it!
She looks really good!! She knows she's loved...she's in her forever ho e and that painful @eg is gone! She's a happy gitl!!
Big hugs to all!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!
Hi Mike,
Iris looks phenomenal! Like Karen mentioned the pain of the broken leg was probably way more intense than the amputation site so Iris probably feels so much better not dealing with that.
Regarding the cone issue...my Leland didn't wear the cone 24/7. As long as someone was with him keeping an eye out that he wasn't messing with the incision we didn't fool with it. When we did attempt to put it on he was knocking into things because it's so big and cumbersome. So I went to PetSmart and got an inflatable device that looks like a donut. You would lace the dog's collar through the straps to hold it in place. Leland would use it as a pillow to lay his head on when laying down. I think the problem with the cones is they obstruct a dogs peripheral vision. That may be why Iris is fighting you so much. Plus it's added weight on the neck and I would think just plain uncomfortable. You should look around for the inflatable donut kind or I've even seen "soft" cones which is pretty much just like a big flap that would lay around Iris's shoulders.
Oh and one other thing...if the icing isn't going to well you may want to try applying warm moist compresses. Leland's surgeon instructed us to do the warm compresses and not cold. I don't think it would do much for swelling but our surgeon had indicated it would help in the healing of the skin at the incision site. We'd take a dish towel and soak it in water, ring it out, and then microwave it for like 50 seconds. We'd apply it to Leland until it turned cool. Leland didn't seem to mind this and would lay there peacefully while it was being applied.
Sahana and her Angel Leland
November 17, 2009 - June 30, 2014
May you finally be healthy and running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Until we meet again my sweet boy!
Hi Mike
It looks like Iris is doing great. It's no big deal to her.
My vet took my cat to his home the night of the surgery and when I picked her up I asked about the cone and he said she didn't need it because she was not bothering with the stitches. She had a drain in which I had the snap and clean up and that's the only thing she would scratch at because it draining stuff would dry on her skin. When I saw her scratch at it I'd distract her attention by putting a warm damp washcloth on the site.
There are a lot of great ideas in the previous posts. I'd love to see a picture of Iris in boxers
Mona also had bruising.
You two are doing great and your very wise to keep checking in to ensure everything goes well. Also phone your vet with any questions and reassurance.
Kerren and Trikitty Mona
Hey folks. Thank you so much for the feedback and reassurance. Iris did try to lick the wound here and there today, I went to petsmart and bought the donut, but she can still reach the wound. I got the cone on her, I figured out how... DRUG EM! lol
I called the vet, and they were adamant about the cone, but said the ice isn't as big of a concern if she's not letting me do it. I do get a few minutes in here and there.
So this is going so smoothly I don't think I'm going to be much help with advice to a future tripawder. I will still try though!
And yes Jerry, I would love to bring Iris down for the convention in May!
Thanks again everyone! Talk to ya soon!
Since Murphy was a front leg, they didn't make him wear the cone. We just put a t shirt on him to keep the incision covered and keep it clean. That might work for her, though, too, some of the time, just to give her a break from the cone. I know when we've had to use the cone on our Cassie when she had a hot spot on the base of her tail it was a disaster! lol she kept knocking into things, bumping into the wall, ugh.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Whatever you can do as far as icing (remember use a towel between the cold pack and the skin), even three or four minutes at most, is helpful but don't force it if she hates it. Sounds like things are going well, she's on her way!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Today was yet again another uneventful day!!
Iris is doing so ridiculously well!
Pre-op, as the weather warmed up she would even prefer sleeping outside instead of in my smelly man room. That has changed. She does not want me out of her sight, and I think it has nothing to do with the amputation, but the stress of being away for 48hrs, with such new and stressful surroundings, which resulted in a sudden change of living, although I know U.C. Davis gave her the bells and whistles, that the last time I left her, stuff changed, and she doesn't want that change again...
They said she was slightly overweight before surgery, and the main concern is managing her weight. I'm not going to meal her just yet, but I'm not doing the 1cup kibble/2 tablespoons of wet food mix for her anymore. If she is hungry, she will eat the kibble. I'm giving her medicine with wet food so I can make sure she gets it for now, but I'm sure she will do just fine with bare kibble after she's recovered. Right now we are on Iam's 'large breed puppy' kibble, with Iam's 'puppy' wet food. I may change her kibble to something even leaner down the line. We will see.
Iris looked like she was going to be a 85+lb dog, but I think our goal, will be to stay around 65-75. Very large Pit specimen here, her paws are huge! She was pre-op 48lbs@ 6 mos, those details will be worked out in the future though. Right now, my baby can have whatever she wants! In moderation of course. OHHH and by the way, we had 2 healthy bowel movements today. I was expecting it to take about 4-5 days, but she wasn't! lol
I can't believe how easy this recovery is going. Right now it's simply monitoring the wound, spending ALOT of time with her and making sure I'm not giving her too much pain meds, it's nice to have her sleeping calmly but she does need a "slight" level of pain to keep her from being too rambunctious, she is a 6 month old Pit after all...
Talk to you all soon! Thanks for everything!
Mike that is GREAT! Yay for an uneventful day. Isn't it crazy how those "ordinary" days become so special after you go through something like this?
Puppy food is a high calorie meal, you definitely want to talk to your vet about another type for her. You're definitely on the right track; a lean Tripawd is a pain-free Tripawd, you want her to be skinner than average. Since she's a puppy still I would talk to your vet about food but I know that for our Wyatt, who lost his leg at 8 months, we had him on adult food by then and he was fine. He's a lean 74 pounds, but should probably be closer to 78 or 80 for his breed. The vets all say he's perfect for a Tripawd though.
Here's to you and Iris, you are both such an inspawration! How about some more pics?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hey Mike,
So hoppy to hear Iris is doing so well! Uneventful is good! Yeah the donut doesn't work for us either with our long nosed GSDs. They seem to be able to work around a cone too. So we double up and put the donut and a cone on. Yup, they hate it but it is the only thing that works. We found a clear cone,
rather than the opaque ones the vets always sends home with you. They tolerate it better (and don't crash into as many things) because they can see through it. It also is smaller in diameter so definitely doesn't work by itself for us. Even if Iris is not messing with her wound much now, she may become more enthusiastic about doing so as it heals up and gets into the itchy phase.I think you are probably right about her new found separation anxiety. It may also have to do with the pain meds. Maybe because she feels out of it she wants you close by for security.
Speaking of, once she is off the pain meds, her recovery may become more "eventful"
. Simply in that she will still need to be relatively inactive for awhile and she will be full of pain-free puppy energy!
xoxo,
Codie Rae and the OP
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
Codie Rae,
By hers isn't opaque, but definitely isn't fully clear. It's hard to describe but for instance I can see the tv colors through it, but not faces if you know what I mean. She's dealing with it. She keeps managing to get the seam part in mouth reach and is chewing at the strip, I'm going to try moving the dog collar part as I think the clips end up away from her throat, it's hard to describe but it was only dramatic for 5 minutes.
The sad part right now is that even though I have her on K9 Advantix, the fleas are sooooo bad here that she might be collecting one or two when she goes outside and her cone is preventing her from getting em. She's not infested but even one flea is misery with a cone on. Luckily we have a thunderstorm. For those of us in California, you remember those things that brought rain? lol. So that will keep the fleas in check I hope. Gotta run. Ttyl!
Mike and Iris,
Sounds like things are going really well. And yes, as I type it is raining here in northern California, a most unusual sound. My Maggie had to wear the collar for a short while until she proved she was no longer interested in licking her stitches. I luckily don't have many fleas here but do have ticks and have to do body checks on my 2 dogs every night. You are doing great!
Penny, Blink, Hank and Spirit Maggie
mike&iris said
Today was yet again another uneventful day!!Iris is doing so ridiculously well!
Pre-op, as the weather warmed up she would even prefer sleeping outside instead of in my smelly man room. That has changed. She does not want me out of her sight, and I think it has nothing to do with the amputation, but the stress of being away for 48hrs, with such new and stressful surroundings, which resulted in a sudden change of living, although I know U.C. Davis gave her the bells and whistles, that the last time I left her, stuff changed, and she doesn't want that change again...
They said she was slightly overweight before surgery, and the main concern is managing her weight. I'm not going to meal her just yet, but I'm not doing the 1cup kibble/2 tablespoons of wet food mix for her anymore. If she is hungry, she will eat the kibble. I'm giving her medicine with wet food so I can make sure she gets it for now, but I'm sure she will do just fine with bare kibble after she's recovered. Right now we are on Iam's 'large breed puppy' kibble, with Iam's 'puppy' wet food. I may change her kibble to something even leaner down the line. We will see.
Iris looked like she was going to be a 85+lb dog, but I think our goal, will be to stay around 65-75. Very large Pit specimen here, her paws are huge! She was pre-op 48lbs@ 6 mos, those details will be worked out in the future though. Right now, my baby can have whatever she wants! In moderation of course. OHHH and by the way, we had 2 healthy bowel movements today. I was expecting it to take about 4-5 days, but she wasn't! lol
I can't believe how easy this recovery is going. Right now it's simply monitoring the wound, spending ALOT of time with her and making sure I'm not giving her too much pain meds, it's nice to have her sleeping calmly but she does need a "slight" level of pain to keep her from being too rambunctious, she is a 6 month old Pit after all...
Talk to you all soon! Thanks for everything!
It sounds like she is doing awesome! Pups are so amazing. One thing you might want to talk to your vet about is switching to a grain-free food. It really helps with weight management- in my (admittedly) limited experience.
beesmom,
I agree, even though Iams is good there are still fillers. I just didn't want to adjust her appetite yet. We pick the ball back up with care at her normal vet on Sunday to pull staples if ready, but I'm perfectly content with them leaving the staples until ready, but just getting a checkup from her normal doc, and then we will get on a plan for diet. I want to make sure she has enough to build up the 3 legs without over bearing them.
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