Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My Drake was hit by a car two days ago and had to have his back right leg amputated yesterday. He came home today and seems to be moving around great for the most part. He was out of the car and up the front porch steps before I even made it up the sidewalk. He can even still wiggle under the couch and chew on things he's not supposed to. But I'm worried about the incision. Its not bandaged or anything. The vet gave me antibiotics and anti-inflammatories to give him every morning. But he didn't say anything about cleaning it or what to watch for if it goes bad. Also, Drake keeps trying to lick it. This doesn't seem sanitary to me but...the vet didn't tell me not to let him. He didn't tell me anything really. And I'm at a loss. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
dolly1852 said:
I'm worried about the incision. Its not bandaged or anything.
Many dogs go home without a bandage, Jerry never had one. Sometimes we think vets put on bandages for the people more than for the dog. If the area does get soiled, use a soft warm wet cloth without soap and pat, don't rub.
For a rear-legger, you can use an old pair of boxer shorts (with the tail through the flap) to help keep the incision clean. And if Drake doesn't have an e-collar – or hates it – consider these cone of shame alternatives.
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Rumbles didn't have a bandage either. He had about 60 stitches and the wound healed very quickly (much faster than my husband's hip replacement incision, by the way). Our surgeon (the dog's not my husband's) 
told us to watch for excessive swelling, redness or non-clear oozing. He also had antibiotic tablets as well as a pre-surgery anti-biotic injection. Things went great for Rumbles. By the time he had his stitches removed (14 days post-op), the incision was so well-healed that the vet had to really work to get the stitches out.
We tried the blue inflated color – it lasted about the same amount of time as it took to take a few pictures and then Riley hated it….(she can speak volumes with her glaring eyes) and we took it off……We did the t-shirt thing too….and then wrapping her with really loose gauze…..We ended up putting the collar of shame back on as a last resort when she pulled out 2 stitches…..
That was helpful huh……
Oh, please keep him off the incision! Cone of shame was the only thing we found that would work (Tate's a rear amp as well.) We just couldn't keep it on him enough, one minute without it and he'd be licking it. We were at wit's end, finally got some Lidicaine and that's helped a lot - but you don't want to go there if you can avoid it.
http://tate.tripawds.com/
August 16, 2006 to November 28, 2011
TATE ~ Forever in our hearts.
We didnt have a bandage either and we had to use the cone, especially at night when we were sleeping or couldnt be right there with him. Hope he has an otherwise good recovery!
We didn't have a bandage either and had to do the cone of shame until Chili figured out how to take it off a couple days before his staples came out.
Diagnosed with OSA: 5/2/2011 Ampuversary: 5/11/2011 OSA returned in hip: 8/26/2011
Chili Dawg crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 8/30/2011 & is now pain free. He was my heart dog, and I miss him every day.
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