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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Rocco is my precious male rottie, he is turning 9 yrs old next month and he had amputation on Monday 9/262022. I have so many questions and I love this support website, but feel there are so many wonderful information that get my head spinning and don't know how to navigate so much. I am worried about Rocco not wanting to do anything ever is this just because it is so recent or is he already depressed, I know he has to be in a lot of pain even though I am giving him the pain medication as prescribed. He is very quiet not wanting to get up, he has gotten up twice only today.
Hi Tommy! I'm so glad you decided to post about Rocco. We are here for you!
First, have you seen the Tripawds Start page ? It gives a tour of the website and how to navigate.
But we also know your head is spinning with all sorts of questions. I'll try to help make things easier, and so will everyone else in the community!
It is very early in recovery, and resting is what Rocco needs right now. Tell us more about what pain medication he is on: what are the meds, the dosages, and the timing?
Is he drinking and eating anything? Keep in mind pain medications will dull appetite for a while. I'm going to guess he hasn't pooped yet? If he hasn't, that's pretty normal too. Most dogs need a few days before 
.
Here are some Tripawds News posts that might make you feel a little better:
Tripawds What to Expect articles
My Tripawd is Depressed, Now What?
Stay tuned for more feedback from others.
We know how scary this early part of recovery is, so ha g k to us. We'll help you navigate through this rough part. We'll soon be celebrating with you as Rocco's sparkle comes back.
Rocco just had MAJOR surgery and is on some good pain meds (hopefullu), all while trying to adapt to three. A hooman would still be in the hospital on a morphine drip!
The fact that Rocco just wants to rest is exactly what he needs right now to heal. Once it gets his sea legs and gets a vit more steady kn the next few days he should only be up for short potty breaks and then back to ved.
As Jerry asked, let is know about his pain meds, dose, frequency, etc. Deinking amd peeing are very important, but, as Jerry said, he may not have an appetite for a few days.
If you have hardwood floors you'll want nonslip scatter rugs for traction . Also a fairly firm bed so he doesn't slip and slide when trying to get up.
Rocco will get his sparkle back and will be Rocco again! It is important for you to have a strong and confident energy around him. He will feed off of your pawsitivty.
Being soooo early after this MAJOR surgery, let him REST and recover at his own pace. All the strong hospital meds should be clearing his system and that is when some tweaking of the pain meds often happens under the guidance of a Vet.
Yoi'be got this!!! Stay connected and lean on us, okay? Try and get so e rest yourself. If you're like most of us you are exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally getting to this point..
Hugs
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!
Rocco is on two pain meds, one antibiotic and I started on my own turkey tail mushroom supplements.
Amazingly he has a very good appetite and is drinking lots of water. I am bringing the water to him. Also he has pooped and urinated twice a day only. He will not get up more than twice a day for now.
Is there any natural pain medication I can buy that is effective?
Below list of meds he is taking. I appreciate your help.
- carprofen 100mg every 12 hrs.
- gabapentin 300 mg twice daily - but I am administering it three times a day.
He is also on an antibiotic - antirobe Clindamycin 300 mg twice a day for 7 days
- turkey tail mycelium 1 gm - 550 mg polysaccharides
Sally thank you so much for your encouraging words I am extremely tired and hide to cry so Rocco does not sense me sad. I appreciate y’all dedicated time to this site. I hope one day I can encourage others.
Thank you Benny!
Hmm. So 300mg Gabapentin 3x daily is a higher dose depending on what Rocco weighs and how sensitive he is to pain meds (some dogs more than other). Ask your vet about adjusting that dose, it may be why he is so lethargic.
Unfortunately there are no non-pharmaceutical meds that we know of that will be effective during this type of recovery. You can certainly try homeopathy but please don't replace the prescriptions with these remedies. And keep in mind that the AVMA is against homeopathy because it has not been proven to be effective for pain relief.
See:
https://nutriti.....n-recover/
But you can try natural methods of pain control like ice therapy (an ice pack in a dish towel applied near the incision a few times daily), and very very gentle massage are other ways you can approach pain relief.
How is he doing today?
Rocco is panting today and salivating which he was not yesterday. He got up this morning walking fast to go outside to take care of business, he almost ran back inside and has not gotten up at all only turns from side to side on one of his beds here in my office. An hour and a half after I gave him the gaba (2nd dose) he stopped panting and is quietly sleeping. The Gabapentin says every 8 to 12 hours a day. I give it 6 hours after first dose. Doctor should call me today. I will ask him about the medication. Oh the bruising spread and got a lot darker in color. Thank you so much for your support. It is good to be heard. I appreciate you all!
Glad to hear he settled down after his Gaba dose. Good job of record keeping!.
Yeah, conti to keep upir Vet in the loop regarding the pain meds. How mich does Rocco weigh??
The salivating may mean it's a nausea from the meds...maube??
Send the Vet a picture of the bruising. Some is expected.
You're doing a really good job👍
Hugs
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!
Rocco weight was 103 lbs when he went in to surgery. The only day he did not eat was the evening after surgery and morning after surgery. After surgery he saw me go pick him up I could see he was so happy to see me, and he has not stopped eating since he eats his two meals well everyday since. Drinks plenty of water. I had been adding turmeric to his food since before I found out he has osteosarcoma.
His doctor did call me back yesterday evening and said the bruising was normal and not to let him walk a lot for now, only small walks to potty. He also said that gabapentin was ok 3X a day for now.
Today Rocco looks in better spirits, he slept well last night consequently so did I.
I know the cancer is very aggressive and we do not know if it is anywhere else, which one of the vets (not the surgeon) in the clinic, by the way does not have good bedside manners, told me that the CA is probably metastasized already and she only gives him 6 months to one year with us 
. Needless to say I am sad but we will take it one day at a time and love him like we have always loved him.
Forever grateful, I can talk to you!!
I know it doesn't seem like it, but Rocco really is doing well,! We always say not to compare one recovery to another. However, the fact that he's eating drinking and does have some Mobility this early on really is good.
And we can never state it enough around here, things like what that vet said to you don't mean squat! Truly, statistics just don't mean that much. Every dog is different every dog has its own unique makeup. And I think the most important thing, and I mean this, is dogs don't listen to any kind of prognosis/schmognosis that a vet tells the human. 👍😎 They do not have a time frame stamped on their butt and they do not count days on a calendar. So don't even focus on anything but making the best of each moment you have, loving and spoiling and watching Rocco live his best life as a tripawd!
We would love to see a picture of Rocco when you have a chance. Here's a link for adding images .
Hugs
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!
Hi Tommy,
This all sounds really normal and on the right track. I'm so glad you both got some rest last night, and having the vet review the photo was super smart.
Yes, osteosarcoma has some pretty grim odds. But we see many dogs go way past the prognosis, and that's what you have to hope for in this journey. Not all will of course. But remember, statistics are just numbers based on studies that didn't include Rocco. He is his own dog! You just never know what will happen and hopefully it's all good and he'll kick cancer's butt for a long, long time.
I think the reason vets give the worst case scenario is so that we don't have inflated expectations. So, at this point, every extra day together is icing on the cake. Enjoy it together and make the most of every moment!
Let us know how today goes. I've got the Tripawds Chat open most of the day if you have any questions and want to talk.
Rocco was a little restless yesterday mid morning he was panting some but not as much as the day before I gave him the gaba at 2 pm, it took effect 1 hour later he was fine again. A friend gave me four 10 ml brand new bottles of cbd oil. I gave him 1 ml with a treat in the evening. We both had a very peaceful night Rocco did not toss and turn or any panting during the night. He did not want to go out this morning at his usual hour (7am) I left him alone to rest and he got up at 8:30 am with an urgency like ‘hurry up mom I need to go pee and potty’ 😀. He is again resting and very calm.
I found an oncology vet clinic with the doctor having very high reviews very close to my home. I will make an appointment on Monday
Again I am so grateful to have found you, talking about our experience and having you reply has been restoring and makes me feel that I can let go and breath again. 💕
Aww we are glad you found us too. And yay for getting some rest last night. I hope this continues!
Just curious what CBD oil are you using?
American Wholesale Hemp
americanwholesalehemp.com
Rocco did not need the 2pm gaba today he is peacefully resting. I feel he is depressed but I have read your link on depression after amputation I am hopeful he will come out of it.
Thanks for the link. That looks like a quality product from what I can tell based on the tinctures' Certificates of Analysis. Which formula are you using?
Don't know if you saw our posts about cannabis, but it might be interesting to you:
https://tripawd...../cannabis/
Glad that Rocco is resting. I'm glad the article made you feel better. Yes, you will see his sparkle return!
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