As Bob mentioned earlier we did take Emily off of her tramadol early because she did not react well to it.  I wish I would have kept a journal of her recovery so I could tell you how long after surgery we took her off her meds because I can't remember.  (That is good news actually because I bet right now you don't think you will ever forget a single moment.) 

Easier said than done, I know, but try not to worry.  Amputation is a very major surgery.  Give Sadie time to recouperate.  Remember, also, that first and foremost that Sadie is a pack animal.  She will watch you to see how she should react to her missing let.  I kind of have a problem assigning the emotion of depression to a dog, even ones so spectacular and human-like as ours!  I think they may need time to physically  adjust to having three legs but they don't have the emotional baggage about their physical body that we do.

My only other suggestions are to raise Sadie's food dish so they she doesn't have a work harder to balance when her heavy head is lowered to eat, and to start her on a good joint supplement, if you haven't already done so.

I think you will see that after the first couple of weeks you will see the old Sadie coming back.  She looks like she is a pretty big dog and they can take a little longer.  

Your girl is really cute!

Debra & Angel Emily

Hi Sadie

You are a beautiful dog, with great parents, that's for sure.

So you aren't only dealing with amputation (which was enough – I lay low for 2 weeks straight), but also chemo. It is normal to be more lethargic about 7-10 days after chemo with Adriamycin due to low cell count. I'm sure Sadie's blood was monitored closely if she spent so long at the vet. You might ask the vet if he or she wants to do more bloodwork if Sadie continues to have accidents in the house. It is normal to be depressed and lethargic after surgery, but you also don't want the cell counts to get too low due to the chemo.

It must be hard to know what issues are related to surgery and what ones are related to the chemo. I know my Tazzie was far more lethargic after surgery than he ever was after chemo. In contrast, he had a good appetite after surgery, but not after Adriamycin. It came back though. The first thing I got him to eat after the chemo was straight up meat (no kibble and no canned food and no other human food). The next time around we used the anti-nausea pill before the chemo and he never lost his appetite.

The tramadol probably makes her more lethargic but is probably needed for the pain. If she does yelp out loud, you might want to ask the vet for additional pain meds, e.g, Gabapentin which is commonly prescribed for phantom pain .

As others said, you might just have to wait out the next week or two. But if she has accidents or yelps out loud, I'd take her in to get checked or at least talk to the vet.

I'm impressed she has already relearned her doggie door.  That seems like it would be really hard for a front leg amputee!  You rock Sadie!

Debra & Angel Emily

Way to go Sadie!  I think you are doing great!  Let's hope your cone-head days will come to an end soon!

Did Dr. Hoefle do her surgery?