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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A friend recommended I check out this site..So I'm just kinda nosing around right now but I thought I'd offer a hello...I'm new to all of this. My 3 year old Roxie just had her rear leg removed on January 3rd.. The biopsy showed cancer but she's not showing any other signs of having issues...We were told to hope for the best but prepare for the worst...So I enjoy every moment I have with my baby girl. She did great at first but the last few days she seems to be regressing a bit.. She falls more and shes having a harder time getting up the stairs and up on the couch.. Used to try so hard to keep her off of it now it breaks my heart to see her not up there...because while she healed from surgery that was the only place she wanted to be....anyway thats our story briefly, I'm looking forward to interacting with other people who are going through what I'm going through.. much love to all of you-
Jami & Roxie
Welcome to you and Roxi, sorry you had to find us here, but you won't be sorry you did.
Hate to see a young pup with cancer. Our pup also had it very young (15 mo) but we had another amazing 15 mo. with her.
You have the right attitude - prepare for the worst, but hope for the best! It's one of the mottos around here.
As for doing a bit worse, Abby was a front leg amp, so I can't answer directly but have heard others say that back leg amps really need to build up their strength in the remaining leg. I'm sure others will chime in.
All the best to Roxi,
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
welcome!! we were front leg amp as well, but there are many great blogs and such about exercises and PT to build up the back leg. maggie in maine is two years post amp, and does a great job of posting videos and 'how to' instruction on strength training. she's a border collie and will definitely be a great resource.
pictures, we definitely need pictures of miss roxie!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Roxie does have her own facebook page...She got an incredible ego after all of the attention she was getting through the chip in page a friend made for her so I could afford the surgery ( I have Lupus and am on disability myself)...I haven't paid enough attention to see how to share photos on here yet...but you are welcome to see her billions of pics on facebook https://www.fac.....3328667789
I got her at a shelter..while I was looking for a small dog because I had recently lost a chihuahua on Christmas day...(that was the 2nd dog I had lost around Christmas..I lost another baby 5 years ago from the massive pet food recall...)anyway...there were a litter of lab mix puppies there and I can't resist puppy breath but I put her down knowing I wanted a small dog...and went home because I hadn't found any that felt like a match...that night I had a dream about one of the puppies (the one with the funky colors on her leg) and in the dream her name was Roxie....I went back the next day and brought her home to me....75lbs later I'm still in love...and after going through all of this with her I know why I had the dream about her..she's taught me so much about the love and generosity of strangers when its so easy to get jaded by how the world sometimes feels like its falling apart...there's a little more of our story 🙂
Hi Jami and Roxie
Just wanted to say welcome!!!
This site is awesome the support from everyone is amazing and you will find it so helpful in answering all those little questions and problems you have.
Sarah and Kayla
Jamie, you brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes all it takes is one look, soul to soul.
I wonder — is Roxie still taking a lot of pain medication? The reason I ask is because Sammy seemed to go backward a week or so after surgery. When we brought him home and lifted him out of the car, with the aid of a sling he tottered over and did his business. We thought recovery was going to be a breeze. A week later he was apathetic, not eating, not drinking and not as stable on his feet as he was when we got home. We tried everything to shake him out of his funk. One of our vets, thinking he was in pain, added another pain med (carbonating) to the tramadol and deramaxx he was already taking. It only got worse. Finally we rebelled and stated cutting the pain meds. As we did, our Sammy came back full force. That's one thought ...
The other thing that came to mind is that Sammy suffered from phantom pain for about a month after the surgery. For several weeks he was quite timid about movement. The couch was his favorite place, too, but when he got down (we always tried to help him but occasionally he was too fast) sometimes he would cry out. If he started to run, like when the doorbell rang, he would yipe and sometimes fall. I think that confused and scared him, so he just backed off a little. Could that be a possibility?
I bet Roxie is simply adjusting in her own time. We'll send positive energy your way and hope Roxie is up on the couch with you soon!
— Beth and Spirit Sammy
Smilin' Sammy, March 16, 2004 – Dec. 5, 2011
Golden retriever, diagnosed with osteosarcoma in September 2010 — right front leg amputated November 2010. He fought valiantly to stay with us; but a second diagnosis of osteosarcoma, this time in his left front leg, was more than our golden warrior could overcome. He loved his pack — and everyone else he met.
We loved him even more.
Thanks for the pennies, Sammy. They helped.
Welcome Roxie and Jamie,
We're glad you found us. Rio was also a rear amp, and it did take a bit for that leg to get stronger. In her case, it took longer than some because she also had Cushings disease, which caused muscle atrophy.
Roxie's issue could be the pain meds. A lot of times you will see the dogs doing great initially, but then have a setback during the second week or so. Sometimes its the pain meds, and they need to be adjusted (either up or down, depending on the dog). And sometimes it's because they're feeling so good on the pain meds that they overdo it, and they are just tired or hurting from that. And with a few days of resting, they are feeling good again. This is major surgery, and it usually takes a bit for the pups to bounce back from it. But they nearly always do.
Hope Roxie is feeling back to herself soon. What type of cancer did she have?
Rio's momma
 |
~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
The biopsy says "I suspect hemangiosarcoma but cannot rule out the possibility of parosteal telangiectatic osteosarcoma. The patient seems young for hemangiosarcoma. I recommend having the radiographs evaluated by a veterinary radiologist for input if you have not already done this. I would expect this mass to be locally aggressive and to metastasize via either blood vessels or lymphatics"
the radiographs have been viewed by a lot of different vets...no one has really been able to give me clear answers, because they say they are hard reads and dont present like what they've normally seen.. I can't stand the heart break of losing another dog so I'm trying to stay positive. He hasnt recommended chemo or anything.. Says its basically a wait and see thing at this point. If she starts to have trouble breathing we will do a chest xray. He did say he had a dog come in to have a spleen removed and got the exact same biopsy report and is still doing fine 5 years later with no signs of cancer at all..so that does give me some hope.
She was in a lot of pain with her leg for about a month before it was amputated and now she's still healing, shes showing a little interest in her toys..but I miss my silly girl.
Welcome to tripawds! This is the best community! Chili Dawg was a front amp, so I can't give you any advice for rear leg, but you have definitely come to the right place for advice, encouragement, to vent your frustrations, etc.
Jenna & Spirit Chili Dawg
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.
Jami and Roxie,
Here in Oaktown we have three tripawd German Shepherds at the moment, all rear leg amputees. Every dog reacts differently to pain and pain meds. Some dogs will be off pain meds in a couple days after surgery, and others need it for a month. The combination that works can sometimes take some trial and error to figure out. Another drug to ask about is gabepentin that is used for phantom pain .
Having gone through recovery with three tripawds, my impression is that they have to reprogram the brain to walk on three legs instead of four, and that can take months to learn. With the rear leg tripawds they cannot get up as easily and they have to learn how to jump, because they need to use the front legs more to compensate. Codie Rae could not jump at all when we first got her, but she now jumps very well. It is also important to keep the dogs weight under control. Missing the spare puts more stresses on the three legs, and the best way to do that is keep the dogs slim.
Welcome to Tripawds and I hope this helps.
Ralph
Hi and welcome.
Sorry you don't have a clear diagnosis- that is frustrating but happens sometimes.
My little pug Maggie was a rear amp. She took quite awhile to build up her strength and endurance. While it is true that dogs take 60% of their weight on their front ends, it seems that rear leggers take longer to build activity level.
Also- real leggers have more trouble going up stairs or jumping up on anything. Maggie never could do more than a few stairs, but I attribute that mostly to her small size (12" at the shoulder) and her stubbornness (she just didn't want too!). Maggie took awhile to adapt at all, 3 or 4 weeks (that stubborn streak again). She was walking fine, but not happy. She eventually came around- took longer than most here talk about, but she got there. Give Roxie a little time- you will see that spark again.
Here is Maggie the Agile Cow Dogs blog (I call her the OTHER Maggie) that Charon mentioned. She is also a rear amp. Her mom Tracy does lots of work with her to keep her strong.
Karen and the pugapalooza
thank you to everyone who has been so kind to welcome us...
She hasn't been on pain meds for a week or so.. she doesn't seem to be in pain and she was a little overweight before the surgery..
She had one spell of what I think was phantom pain .. the night after I brought her home she just started screaming and I couldn't get her to calm down...
Im thinking its just that she needs to build up strength in her other legs, it also doesnt help that we have tile throughout the house.. with the next paycheck I'm buying some runners to place strategically around. I try to take her on short walks so she doesnt lay around and lose strength.
You are all so wonderful already I'm so glad I found you
I was feeling a little discouraged, because it seems like so many of you have lost your babies.. but Maggie's situation sounded a lot like Roxie's with the hard diagnosis and where the problems were. At first they weren't sure if it was a bone injury causing the mass on her knee or the mass on her knee causing the bone injury. She sounds like shes done amazing.
Good News- between my last post and this one..Roxie has gotten up on the couch...she struggled a bit but she made it there.. must be all the new positive thoughts coming our way.
I think I'm gonna love it here.
Jami and Roxie, welcome!
Wow, her diagnosis (or lack therof) is such a tough thing to cope with, I'm so sorry you're going through that. That kind of uncertainty gives a whole new meaning to living life to the fullest and enjoying every day. Cancer has a weird way of teaching us things like this that make our lives with our packmates better, we just have to remember to tune in to what its telling us.
There are so many ups and downs when it comes to your first month or so as a Tripawd. Lots of pups have a hard time hopping around at first but they do get the hang of it. My first thought is, definitely get the runners. That will make a huge difference in her confidence. Also, do you have a step for her to use to get up on the couch? That should help too (I'm guessing the reason she was able to do it so soon after surgery was she was hopped up on the pain meds and feeling pretty good).
Here are some places to start becoming familiar with what Tripawds needs are. They aren't much, but the little things can make the biggest difference in their comfort level and ability to get around.
Tripawds Required Reading List
Tripawds e-Book, "Three Legs & a Spare"
California Animal Rehabilitation Center's Fitness and Mobility Videos and Interviews
I hope this helps! Again, welcome, we're so glad you found us.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi, just to weigh in - Ajax was an 8 year old rear leg amp and also a black Lab. After surgery and to this day, slippery vs. non-slippery floors makes a HUGE difference. When the floor is slippery, it really hurts his confidence. If you haven't settled (or don't want to spend the money on) permanent runners at this point, I recommend yoga mats - you can get them for about $10 each and they cover a lot of ground. Good luck!
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