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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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On The Road


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24 September 2009
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16 June 2021 - 4:43 pm
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Well that is wonderful!! A very good sign she's on track for an uneventful recovery.

Roxie now things she has a personal concierge! Haha. Yeah, it's OK to spoil her right now with the hand-feeding, but every so often you want to encourage her to do it on her own. The sooner you can normalize her life the easier her recovery will be.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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17 June 2021 - 12:15 pm
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Update: Today our girl walked to the water bowl to drink. Let us know she had to go out, and barked at a sound she heard. Surgery was Monday. We think she is really doing better than we expected. I am beginning to relax a little,and realize that she will be okay and we made the right decision.  I know it's early,but she seems to be getting better everyday. Thanks again for being here.

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17 June 2021 - 1:50 pm
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WOOOHOO! Thanks for sharing this great news.

Oh Roxie, you are showing everypawdy that you are even more pawesome than they imagined. Little by little you are getting back your mojo. Keep it up!

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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Virginia







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17 June 2021 - 10:33 pm
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 am beginning to relax a little,and realize that she will be okay and we made the right decision

This is such an important  step forward...and it only gets better and better!!  I know that bark was music to your ears.  Onward and upward!

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!

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19 June 2021 - 7:07 am
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Hello, Roxies nerve block wore off Friday. She does not appear to be in pain,but we gave her a gabepintin dose yesterday. She has not really progressed more than she had been going out 3 times a day to potty and walking to water bowl. She still insists on having her food brought to her. She seems kinda depressed. We really do not believe she is in pain,so we weren't going to give her any pain meds today. Is this typical behavior 6 days out?

Virginia







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19 June 2021 - 9:01 am
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Yes, it sounds like everything is fairly normal this early out. However, it is very important to give pain meds consistently at this point. Often what appears to be " depressio"  is actually a sign of pain. And once pain gets a head start it's much harder to keep it under control. So try giving the Gabapentin doses today and at least  for the next couple of days on a consistent basis and see if that doesn't help perk her up some.

The fact that she is eating and partying and peeing, all good. And if bringing her her food helps to motivate her to eat, that's okay.

Let us know if the pain meds help change her demeanor in the next couple of days to a little bit perkier. Remember, this is major surgery and oh, just like humans, dogs are not going to bounce back immediately. Her recovery time consists of rest right now for the most part.

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!

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19 June 2021 - 9:38 am
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Ok thank you,  I just gave her pain meds,and will follow the suggested dosage today and tomorrow. 

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19 June 2021 - 3:49 pm
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It does sound like Roxy is on track for a typical recovery as far as her mobility goes. When you say she insists on having her food brought to her, what happens if you don't bring it? Remember it's a fine line between babying and tough love, this requires walking right in the middle of it.

As far as she seems depressed, what kinds of signals is she giving? Often what we think is depression is just our dogs being tired from the hard work of recuperating, and a little off from the pain meds. It may also be one of several pain signals that we just aren't used to seeing so we don't recognize it as pain. Staying ahead of the pain is critical. Once a dog is in pain (or a person for that matter), getting it under control again takes  the body twice as long. It delays recovery because the body isn't allowed to heal at an even pace. So good job getting her back on the meds. YAY! It's important to keep the dosages and timing consistent and at least for a few more days. Most dogs are on meds at least 10 days, even if they don't seem painful. 

Keep us posted OK? 

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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20 June 2021 - 8:33 am
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We did give her a full day of meds yesterday,and her dose this morning.  She wouldn't go get water this morning or eat even if I brought it to her. She did go out to urinate and then came back in. She is laying down and demeanor hasn't changed. At this point I am feeling very sad for her. We will continue watching her today and see if anything changes by tomorrow.  Her incision looks wonderful.  No issues there. If she is like this tomorrow I thought maybe we should contact the vet. She seemed to  start out with a bang,but appears to be backsliding.

On The Road


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20 June 2021 - 10:20 am
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(((hugs))) Try not to see this as a backslide. It's part of recovery. It's hard not to feel sad or regretful, but keep in mind this process is never a straight line. It's the same for any human who has gone through a recovery.

First, the incision looking wonderful is AWESOME!!!! Celebrate, that is HUGE!!!!

Second, YAY for the pain control. Keep it going on, steady and even. Remember, her behavior may be related to just mellowing out while she's on the meds. That is OK. 

Try to tempt her into drinking by spiking her water with gatorade, no salt chicken or beef broth. See if that helps.

Have you tried gently massaging her today to see if she responds to any sore areas?

She does sound like there might be something going on that's causing her to feel crappy. Make sure she is drinking today, and at least able to stand and go outside to potty. Keep an eye on her symptoms, take good notes about when and how often they happen, and let your vet know what's going on.

And as hard as it is, remember that our dogs pick up on our emotions. They mirror us perfectly. Try to stay upbeat. Is there any way you can bring someone new over to see if that perks her up? Or possibly get her outside into the fresh air, maybe a car ride? Whatever it is that rocks her world, other than of course heavy physical activity. See what you can do to lift her spirits today and let us know if something works. We are keeping our paws crossed!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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20 June 2021 - 11:28 am
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Thank you! Funny you mentioned about bringing someone over. My son and grandsons came over today for Father's Day,and she got up and was so happy to see them. She then followed them out back,and went potty again too. I will try massaging today and pay extra attention to see if I can pick up on pain elsewhere.  I think,you are right, and we need to change our mindset and emotional output. It's possible we are contributing to her depression by hovering and acting like we need to smooth everything for her. Sometimes overdoing isn't always helpful. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again

On The Road


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20 June 2021 - 1:27 pm
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You are so welcome! And YAY for the Father's Day visitors! That's awesome and a VERY good sign. Sounds like you guys needed the visitors as much as she did 🙂

We'll wait for an update. Stick to that new frame of mind and you'll do fine!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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21 June 2021 - 9:46 am
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Hello, Day 7, This morning when we went to take Roxie out we actually got a tail wag. Lately this has typically been reserved for visitors so we were overjoyed. She ate all her breakfast (still handfed), but that was happening before the amputation as it hurt her to walk. We will wean her off that at some point. What surprised us today was when my husband went to take our other dog for a walk Roxie went to the door to go too. We took her out front for a short time. When it was time to take the other dog to the vet guess who was waiting at the door again? Roxie . Putting her on the meds really has helped her. Thanks for suggesting it as she has improved tremendously. 

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21 June 2021 - 1:34 pm
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roxie1 said
Putting her on the meds really has helped her. Thanks for suggesting it as she has improved tremendously. 

smiley_clapsmiley_clapsmiley_clapThat's wonderful! I'm so happy to know she's getting her sparkle back! Being on pain control doesn't automatically turn a dog into a zombie, it most cases it helps them feel good enough to get their life back as their body heals. And it's not forever either, at least usually. It's a tool like any thing else, to get to the outcome you want. Stick to the schedule and watch her get stronger and spunkier by the day. The meds are doing their job. YAY!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Virginia







Member Since:
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21 June 2021 - 2:10 pm
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YAAAAY!!!!  So glad your are seeing ao much of Roxie showing up again!!  The meds used consistently and being around some new energy with her visitors...all healing therapies   their own way.!

Thanks so much for the great update.  Can't  stop smiling 😁

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!

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