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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Hi there, I am brand new to the site, found it looking for information on 3 legged dogs, recovery from surgery etc as my dog (Kirby) is scheduled for surgery at 8 am tomorrow. She went after some coyotes on Friday and played chicken with a car where unfortunately she lost the contest. It broke her both bones in her back leg. We took her in to the teaching hospital where they decided the car must have only hit her leg because she doesn't have any other injuries except some bruising on her front legs presumably from the tumble she must have took after being hit. They said the best option was to use an external fixator and pin the the leg but my bank account says otherwise
They suggested amputation but the cost at that clinic is very very high so once I got in contact with my regular vet we came up with a more affordable amputation at her clinic. Today I had to take Kirby in today for a bandage change as her toes were swelling and the vet said I really should give splinting it for 6 weeks some good thought. The fracture is spiral with about 1 cm of displacement and possibly more fragments that aren't clear on the x-rays they took. My dog is very active and as much as I would love to see her on 4 legs, I just can't imagine a break like that healing into anything usable but the vets have much more experience than I! The other big question is if she has an acl tear because the knee joint doesn't look quite right on the x-ray but the vet said it could just be the way she was laying and the angle. If we went the splinting route and it didn't work we could always amputate it later but then I have put her through 4-6 weeks of weekly splinting and strict kennel rest for nothing. I am not sure she will even stay sane being crated all the time.... I don't have a problem getting it amputated but at the same time maybe it could actually heal ok? I am hoping there are others out there who have had a similiar experience who can share some insight!
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I'm so sorry that you are faced with this tough decision. My first thought after reading Kirby's story is why the vet at the teaching hospital didn't consider the splint option. Is there a way to get a 3rd opinion from an orthopedic vet? Splinting it may be an option, and is good because it's non-invasive. Keeping an active dog confined can certainly be a challenge ( I had to do it once with a very active 6 month old puppy for 6 weeks! Imagine non-stop barking from her kennel ALL DAY LONG!) If it doesn't work, then amputation is still an option. I understand not wanting to go the implanted hardware route, since it is very invasive and has risks and possible complications even greater than amputation (not to mention the expense.) I hope everything goes ok and that Kirby's not in too much pain. This site is a great resource and I'm sure you will get wonderful advice. Please keep us posted!
Lisa
Sadie is my 9yr old Rott/Shepherd mix. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right scapula 1/28/10. Our brave girl had her amputation 2/13/10 and her last chemotherapy on 6/6/10. Unfortunately, a tumor appeared in her back right leg and on 10/7/2010 Sadie's earthly journey came to an end. On 10/24/2010 we adopted Ranger, a handsome Rott/Lab mix tripawd (got hit by a car) I think Sadie sent him to us.
http://ranger.t.....pawds.com/
Welcome to the family. I think all of us would ike to keep all four legs if possible, but for those of us that have had cancer that 's not an option, so your lucky your not dealing with the big C. I'm not familiar with the procedures you describe, so what I'll do is offer my experience witha 3 legged dog and maybe a few things to consider. First, don't think because your dog had 3 legs it will take her life away. Once they heal from the surgery you will be amazed at how well they get around, and for alot of us, if it wasn't for the hop you wouldn't even know they were missing one. We live on a farm and Gus did everything he always did before surgery.Hopefully you can get some advice about the procedures your having to consider, but if the procedures don't work and you still have to amputate, you have lost time to get Kirby back to a normal life, plus you will have more invested with the end result being the same. I'm not trying to talk you into amputation, your correct in trying to find out about all options, just try to make sure the percentages are in your favor with the other things vs. amputation. If you should decide to amputate, once healed Kirby should live a normal life just like she would have anyway, so if amputation is what you decide, don't think your going to have an invalid dog, far from it.Good luck, Paws Up, Spirit Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
Thanks for your responses! I suppose I should clarify, when the surgeon first looked at the x-rays he dismissed the splinting option because of how bad the break is, when I took her in yesterday the student vet contacted him again and asked him to take another look and he said you could always try but wasn't really confident that it would work. So I have decided to have a discussion with my regular vet today before we go through with this as she would be the one splinting it every week and she was she thinks. I am totally cool going the amputation route I don't think my dog will even miss the leg, she is a trooper! The other bad thing about splinting it would be that if she did have an acl tear in addition to the break it would have to be surgically repaired after anyway and we have no way of testing for that until the bones heal abit. She is such a stoic dog that it is tough to tell when she is hurting because she hides it all so if the leg was splinted and healed bad and was a constant source of pain I am not sure I would be able to tell....I mean she got hit walked herself 100m back to our house and sat at the back door waiting patiently for someone to find her no whining crying or panting. Musta hurt like heck though because her leg was only attached by skin....
Wow, she really is a trooper! What an amazing dog you have there! Please keep us posted
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.
Well after having a further discussion with my vet we went ahead and removed the leg. She said that once she opened it up the amount of damage was amazing.... They were going to keep her over night on IV because she had some blood loss but I wasn't totally comfortable with that as there is no one at the clinic during the night. I asked if at all possible that I would be able to bring her home because at least I would be able to watch her then. They called me back a couple hours later and said it was remarkable how fast she came around after the surgery. She was up and trying to run around! So I did get to bring her home which was awesome! I think it was fate we got to bring her home because not 20 minutes after settling her into the kennel she had the cone off and was trying to lick her incision! Can you imagine the damage she could have done had she been at the clinic and on her own for 10 hours!!!! After we cinched the cone up it was quite a rough evening and night. She was agitated, whiny and generally miserable growling at any unfortunate dog who happened to show concern. I think the cone was the biggest aggrevator because she keeps catching it on stuff and it makes her mad. She was up and down and up and down all evening and night, I don't think she slept at all. She has some spectacular bruising and quite a bit of swelling which I suppose it normal for a surgery like this. She is quite settled and back to herself today. She is relaxed and slept soundly pretty much all day! When I take her out for potty breaks she tries to run like a maniac and I am worried that she is going to knock herself over one of these times when she hits the end of the leash! I know they need to go faster that normal dogs but she is trying to full out run! After seeing her attitude today I think I definitely made the right decision and I think in a few weeks life will be back to normal!
Kirby sounds spunky! You're going to have your hands full keeping her calm enough to recover!
Bo had quite a bit of bruising too. Our vet suggested icing him 2-3 times a day for 20 minutes. And yes, the first few nights after surgery are rough. Everyone is trying to adjust to the changes and it can be uncomfortable. Just try to rest as much as possible.
You sound very positive and upbeat, which is great! We're hoping for a speedy recovery for your pup!
Ohhh, Kirby, you gotta take it easy on your human when you're recovering! It's very stressful for people. (Oh well, it was worth a shot to say so. She sounds too outstanding to be reasoned with). You actually might find Kirby conks out kind of suddenly in the next few days, after having a lot of energy shortly after the amputation. That happens some times as they adjust to the meds, or some of the heavier stuff they got at the vet wears off (depending on what your vet gave). Then again, sometimes that doesn't happen. Results vary! That's why it's great to hear about your experiences to add to that long list Tripawds has going here! Oh yes, and usually we can come up with something useful to share too. But one of the most important things - don't be shy about calling up your vet as much as you want to (as long as that's an option for you). This was a major operation. It's totally reasonable that you're going to need a lot more help from your vet than usual as you get through this major recovery with Kirby.
Welcome to Tripawds!
Hope to see some pictures of Kirby soon. Did you say why kind of dog she is? Did I miss that?
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Glad that Kirby got to come home! Chili Dawg had some spectacular bruising as well-which is how I came upon this website (I googled amputation bruising and this website popped up). To protect the incision you can try using a pair of boxer shorts (the tail comes out the opening) over it and maybe that will keep her from licking it and from getting annoyed with the cone. The first couple nights are the roughest as they try to adjust. I remember the first night Chili was doing the up and down thing and whining a lot. Neither of us slept well that night. It did get better though. Make sure you get rest too!
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.
Welcome home Kirby, best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Kirby is a mini aussie! She is doing awesome today I think she is ready to be done with the kennel... She lays on both sides and she rolls over on the stub without any concern it seems. I can't imagine a person going through something like this and being as mobile as she wants to be only a few days after! Here are some before and afters, please excuse the grainy cell phone pictures....I just moved 2 weeks ago and still cant find my camera!
She's beautiful! She is looking good- the pink cast was her color pre-amputation.
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.
I hope Kirby is recovering well.
I had to post the pug version of sharing a disc toy, not quite as athletic as a pair of mini aussies 
.
That is Maggie on the left, she was my tri-pug, also a left rear amp.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Awww what a pretty girl! Love that pink cone.
Keep us posted and feel free to start a new topic in "Treatment and Recovery" if you'd like!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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