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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New here to the forum and still in shock. So our 73lb pit mix (boomer) had his right rear leg amputated Friday. (Probably osteosarcoma - awaiting biopsy results but doesn't look good ) He came home Saturday and has been doing ok. He's on gabapentin and fentynol patch and cefpodoxime. He was lame for three weeks before the surgery due to misdiagnosis by vet #1 (strained ligament - idiot!) so he's able to move around ok already to go relieve himself. Appetite is fine. He's sleeping A LOT. (Not seeing the phantom pain that I read a lot about thankfully). Anyway as we go through this process I look forward to uncovering all the great info on here!
Hi Boomer and family, welcome. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this, it's a shock that many of us are familiar with. The good news is you have an entire community to lean on.
That's pretty cool that he's already moving about and going potty, and eating. Yay! And yep, sleeping is normal and very necessary right now so he can heal. Try not to worry and know that if you have any questions at all, we're here to help OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks for the welcome. He was limping around on 3 legs no problem before the surgery. He can make it outside to pee but then it's right back to bed and he tires quickly and we sometimes need the sling to get him back to his bed. I'm assuming it's the meds that are just making him weak. The patch comes off on Wednesday. I know it's entirely possible that he will be pretty mobile soon but he's 73lbs of solid muscle and it's hard to imagine that weight on one back leg!
Sorry you and Boomer find yourselves here. Under the circumstances however, there is no better place to be for information, support and understanding. Stay connected and we will help you and Boomer get through recovery and onto living life to the fullest without a painful leg!
Unfortunately comma most dogs here are misdiagnosed at first with either sprained or arthritis Etc. It's Not Unusual at all. Kudos to you for doing what needs to be done to relieve Boomer of his pain and get on with loving and spoiling and eating as many treats as he can handle in one day!
Recovery is full of ups and downs the first couple of weeks. right now Boomer is still feeling somewhat okay because of the hospital meds in his system. Sometimes around day three there may, or may not, be a bit of a crash when the meds are out of his system. That is when the game of balancing the pain meds becomes crucial.
If you have hardwood floors, you will want to get some non-slip scatter rugs for traction . You'll also want to get some raised water bowls and food bowls to prevent strain. No jumping or running for a couple of weeks. Boomer is doing exactly what he needs to be doing right now and that is sleeping and resting. He's a very smart boy!
Yeah, it really is great news that he's already mobile and pottying!! YAAAAAAAAAY FOR BOOMER! 🙂
Try and get some rest. You've really been through a lot these past several days. You are obviously very devoted to Boomer and a great advocate for him! YAAAAAAAAAY FOR YOU!! 🙂
You are not alone, okay? Stay connected and let us know how we can hell!
Love to all
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!
Thanks. Yes we are exhausted and are sleeping in shifts! This dog was an adult rescue and we've only had him a few years. We are not yet ready to say goodbye to him so as long as he can have some more quality (pain free) time with us, we'll be satisfied with that. He's hopefully got many more hours of snoozing in the sun on the deck ahead of him (his favorite activity as his profile picture suggests!)
The day my Otis moved from his dog bed by my mattress to a dog bed (Tess') in the sun by the sliding glass door gave me so much joy! The sleeping is normal - remember this was major surgery. The next few days will be hard, but once the staples come out - day 10 or so - you should really start to see improvement. I strongly recommend the Ruffwear Webmaster Plus harness - you can see a photo in the gear blog.
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.
Thanks I'll check out that harness. Our boy is 73lbs and has a giant barrel chest and huge block head so most of his weight is up front! That harness works with dogs of that 'physique'?
Our Murphy was also about 75 pounds and deep chested with a big head that people always remarked on. He was a Tripawd due to injury and also had a total hip replacement on his remaining hip. We got a Webmaster harness after the THR and sure wished we had known about them before. We used it and used it. Even after he didn't actually need to wear it, we found it to be invaluable for keeping him under control when going to the vet, etc. it also helped to load him into the Jeep, although we did get a ramp for that.
Keep in touch here. You will never find a better family to help you through this.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Sounds like Boomer is off to a great start! Many of us started out with a misdiagnosis - our Murphy was actually misdiagnosed for 4 months, so don't feel bad. Dogs are pretty stoic, so they hide how much pain they are really in. A little bit of medication and Murphy was actually walking on his leg, which lead to his initial x-rays being done without sedation so they were blurry. Our vet could only go by what the radiology center said, but once the limping continued, he referred us to an orthopedic specialist, but then that took time to get in for an appointment. We can't change the past, so we just move forward.
A back leg is actually better, since dogs carry more weight in the front. Keep up with the pain medications. It's good that he's eating, sleeping & going potty. The first 2 weeks or so are the hardest, but things will get better. And we'll all be here for you!
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
My Otis is a lab/Dane mix, so also has the barrel chest and is bigger at 100 lbs. The harness has adjustable straps and works great for us.
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.
A crowd chatting now if anyone wants to join.
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.
Boomers swelling and bruising has reduced significantly in the past 24 hours with vigilant cool packs. He was quite bright and cheerful this morning and went outside for a pee and poop and actually balanced on his front two legs for about 3 seconds until he realized something was amiss! He's had his breakfast and morning medication and is back on the couch in full zombie dog mode for now. He is noticing the fentanyl patch on his leg though and really wants to lick it which I know is a really bad idea so if anyone has any tips to stop that let me know (the vet said Vic's vaparub but I don't have any at the moment)
Hi there Boomer, how lovely to see your picture, you are such a beautiful boy 
Great to hear you are recovering so well from the operation, with that kind of progress you will be hoping around happily in no time !!!
Not such a good idea to lick the wound, no ...
My girl is a front leg amputee so I just got a t-shirt over the wound and that did it. Boomer probably needs an elizabethan collar to prevent him from giving in to the temptation of fiddling with the wound ...
And yes, it is so much better to loose a back leg than a front leg, especially for big chested breeds.
Sending you a big hug and a huge cuddle to your gorgeous boy
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Love the name Boomer, though I might be biased. (Boomer is my Papillon's name). Yay for pooping! 
(Fentynal is known to cause constipation). My girl Sadie was a front leg amp, but I know some people have had success with boxer-style underwear for back leg coverage.
It's funny. He doesn't seem too interested in licking the wound itself it just seems like the fentanyl patch has his attention. We of course had the e collar on him but he has a neck like a tree trunk so the collar he needed was enormous and he wasn't getting any rest at all with it so we took it off and are just sitting with him 24/7
He actually prefers to lie wound side down as he's figured out that makes it easier to get back up. Smarter than I give him credit for!
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