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10 yr old male lab front leg amputation
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Member Since:
16 December 2020
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16 December 2020 - 1:52 pm
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We have an amputation scheduled for the 22nd for our 10 year old male lab. He's always been a bit larger than other labs (he's tall and has a nice long chest) so he's always been at the top of the weight range, but other than *maybe* being overweight and having a ton of lipomas, he's pretty healthy. He gets a bit sore after a long weekend of bird hunting or if he plays a little too much at the lake. A few weeks ago I noticed a large bump on his front right leg. Thinking it was another lipoma, i didn't worry. But then he started to limp, so we had him seen hoping to get the lump removed so it didn't hurt his joint so badly. That's when we found out it's cancer 🙁 The vet said he'd be willing to do the amputation but that because of Remi's age and weight, recovery could be very very hard. I'm not convinced it would be harder than any other oldish lab in this forum, so we are going for it! He has so much energy and excitement left in him. It seems absolutely ridiculous to just sit back and wait for this to get worse until "it's time" when I really do think he'll be able to walk on 3 legs quite well and enjoy life a little longer. With the rate his tumor is growing, i don't see him lasting more than a month without amputation. 

We were told that even if the lymph node biopsy came back negative that it doesn't mean it hasn't spread (three vets). So there's a pretty good chance the cancer has already infiltrated his body and this will all have been done for no reason.... but if there's a chance it hasn't spread and he could have another summer at the lake, we know he would want to take that chance! 

So.... any advice on how to prepare, what to expect, what NOT to do, etc. will be VERY much appreciated. I really do feel like we are making the right choice!

Thank you so much!

On The Road


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16 December 2020 - 2:03 pm
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Hi Kayla and family, welcome! What's your pup's name? 

I'm sorry you guys are dealing with this diagnosis but your confidence and due diligence is awesome! You've done your homework and you've come to the best place for support, your doggie can't ask for more!

Being a little overweight isn't uncommon at all and amputation recovery is a good time to get the weight loss started, since most dogs aren't hungry when they're on pain management . We have lots of weight loss tips in the Tripawds Nutrition blog so check 'em out. Losing the extra pounds will make such a big difference in his overall mobility and comfort.

Work with your vet to help the weight come off safely, and also be sure to take advantage of the Tripawds Foundation Rehab Reimbursement program which will pay for your first rehab visit ! These experts can tell you the best ways to keep your pup young and injury free, and also guide you through the weight loss process.

Meanwhile, have you seen Jerry's Required Reading List or our What to Expect articles? Our e-books library also has tons of great tips.

What's your house situation like? Do you have slippery floors that need traction ? If so, now's the time to make no-slip surfaces for safety (hardwood floors are a Tripawds #1 enemy). 

Also, you may want to consider a harness like the Ruffwear Webmaster Plus or the Flagline harness , both of which can help you help your dog during recovery and beyond.

Hmm, let me come up with some other ideas for you in a bit. I'll check back soon and stay tuned for feedback from others!

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

Member Since:
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16 December 2020 - 2:31 pm
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Hi Jerry, thanks for the reply and all the great info!

His name is Remi and he is just the sweetest guy ever. Our house is needing a major overhaul for this to work! We actually have a WONDERFUL family who is going to help us this weekend.... I'm overwhelmed by the support we are getting. Currently, Remi is upstairs in our living room where most of our time is spent as a family. We have a split level home with a walk out basement. Until this cancer started growing, he would go in and out through the deck door and down an entire flight of stairs, but we've recently started using the front door since it's only half a flight of stairs and it isn't covered in snow.... but even that is getting hard. SOOOOOO, our unfinished basement is getting finished this weekend! We've been working on it in spare time for the last few months, but with Remi getting the amputation we want him down there where there are no stairs to get outside and the grass is literally just feet away from where he will have his bed. Our 15 year old son will also be moving down to the basement bedrooms and plans to have Remi hang out with him in his room. We'll also have a living room area down there where the family will hang out so he won't feel alone.  My worry is the flooring we've already purchased is vinyl planking (much like hardwood) so I'm going to go rug shopping and cover EVERYTHING with rugs! haha There's so so so much to do to get ready for this and it's super overwhelming to think about everything on top of getting ready for Christmas, but we don't really have any other choice! 

I'll definitely look into the rehab... but I wonder if I'll be able to find anything here (small town North Dakota doesn't have a lot of options like that). I've found some awesome articles that i've flagged to read and i'll dive into the required reading as well. 

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I'm so thankful to have found this forum! Prior to finding this site I was going along with what everyone was saying (he's too old, too overweight, recovery will be too hard, etc.) and my gut didn't sit right with just sitting back. I was constantly sad. But now I feel empowered and supported and I'm actually EXCITED to get him back to his happy energetic self!

Virginia







Member Since:
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16 December 2020 - 6:48 pm
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REMI IS SOOOOO LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH A LOVING FAMILY💖💖  He is clearly adored!!

Kudos to you and your family for doing wjstecer intakes to give Remi the best pain free quaility  life possible!  Uou jave done an excellent  job of weighing  your options and coming  up with a plan that is right for Remi.  He clearly has a zest ,for life  and I know he appreciates the path forward you are traveling  with him.

STAY CONNECTED  and know that we are here every step of the way to help you navigate  thru recovery.  It's no picnic  for about two weeks-ish.  But once his sparkle starts to come back you will put all this behind you and just enjoy  Remi veing Remi again😎  Remember, ,it is MAJOR surgery and patience  is crucial.  Remi will recover  at his own pace and his own speed.  Staying  upbeat and pawsitive  will help him heal.  I have a feeling you already have the "upbeat and pawsitive" in your DNA!

He'll probably  come home with an antibiotic,  an anti inflammatory like Rimadyl, Gabapentin  and Tramadol.   pain management   is important  and often takes a little tweaking  to get the dose and frequency  just right. 

Will he be at an overnight  fully staffed clinic?  Is it with an Orthopedic  Surgeon?  When you do go to pick him up don't  even bother to draw att tomhis inc.  Just tell him what a good boy he is and he's going home!!!

You can get some non slip scatter rugs, or even cheap yoga mats, to make some paths to the door, to his bed, etc.  He'll peobably gravitate  to them and pretty much stay off the vinyl.

You'll get so much information from the links Jerry gave you.  But if you have any questions at all, we are here!  

You've got this!!!

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!

On The Road


Member Since:
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17 December 2020 - 12:02 pm
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I love love love your attitude of hope and pawsitivity! Remi's recovery will be so much easier because he is surrounded by optimism, hope and terrific people! 

You'll have to show us the basement remodel, what a lucky pup. I love that your neighbors are helping, that's the Midwest spirit! And yeah, the throw rugs for traction are absolutely the best thing you can do for him. They're an inexpensive way to give him the confidence he really needs during the recovery period and beyond.

If you want to private message me your location I can try finding a rehab therapist for you. Many people are surprised that they have a rehab center closer than they thought. I can usually find one about 95% of the time! But if not, yep, there are lots of resources we can point you to, like our Loving Life On Three Legs as a starting point, and downloadable canine rehab tips from Dr. Torraca. There is also a new canine rehab program by Dr. Waterhouse that we will cover in Tripawds News in January.

Holler with any questions you have OK? We are glad you found us too, and are here for you and your family every step of the way!

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

Member Since:
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18 December 2020 - 10:02 pm
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I'm sorry we've been MIA for a couple days now! We have been reading your replies and appreciate them so much 🙂 We've also been doing some of the required reading in our down time... which hasn't been much! Two bedrooms are ready for trim and then our son will move down to the basement! Our vanity for the bathroom won't be in until the 4th of January, but we have a sink to put in there for the time being (I know we'll need one down there). 

I'm so worried Remi's bone is going to break before Tuesday 🙁 he's limping so badly and it looks like it hurts so much! But that goofball STILL insists on standing up and getting all excited any time he sees us come up from the basement or get home from yet another hardware store run! LOL I really do think he understands something is happening for him. Should we wrap it or brace it somehow? We keep telling him to sit or lay down because we are worried it's just gonna snap... then he gets those sad eyes like we don't want him to be by us... and then I feel bad so I sit down and rub his belly and then he gets so excited and he has all this energy and wants to follow me. Seriously, this leg just needs to come off already because I really don't think it's going to slow him down for too long. 

Another worry of mine is the LARGE lipoma he has on his chest kind of up where the leg will be amputated. We'll ask the vet about it of course, but I wonder if it will be bothersome when he has the cone or when we have a harness on him. 

I'll include a couple pictures of his leg where the cancer is and the large lipoma on his chest and if you have any advice about bracing or harnessing please let me hear it 🙂

Thank you all again so very much!!!

On The Road


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19 December 2020 - 11:04 am
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Hey there, no apologies necessary! You've got a ton happening right now!

I can only imagine how hard it is to ask Remi to chillax. Is he on any pain medication at all? If not, and you have access to your vet before surgery day, it might be a good idea to get him started on some. That will help him mellow out, dull the pain a little and if they give him Gabapentin (ask for it!) it can prevent nerve pain once the leg is removed. Many vets give Gaba a day or two before surgery.

Hopefully the lipoma can get taken off at the same time. Good idea to point it out to your vet though, just in case they miss it.

If you'd like help adding images to the forums let me know OK?

This is how putting pictures in the Forums works.

  1. Upload pics to a photo sharing site like imgur.com or your own Tripawds blog!
  2. Right click and copy the Image URL or just copy the image if you’re on a phone
  3. Return to your Tripawds Forum post and paste the image URL (or the image itself) in your post. It should automatically appear.

If you’d like help figuring out the process let me know.

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

Member Since:
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19 December 2020 - 6:34 pm
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HI fellow lab lover! Brownie was a choc lab who had amputation 10 days before his 12th birthday of front left leg. He had no issues during recovery. He was hopping on his own on day three but part of that was because he was such a light weight with pain medication. Brownie was 95 lbs at time of amputation. Once he went on the diet "Feed the Dog, Starve the Cancer" he dropped to 75 lbs and did get around much better.

I made sure Brownie took it easy for the first two weeks. Several short potty breaks. Brownie did come home with a pain patch and pain meds and did not seem to have any issues.

Labs are remarkable, stubbrand and determined dogs which is a good attitude to have when fighting this disease. 

We are wishing Remi a speedy recovery, and sending positive thoughts your way❤

Nancy and Angel Brownie

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

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22 December 2020 - 10:40 am
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My heart is breaking and I don't know what to do. The vet did a chest x-ray prior to starting surgery to see if the cancer has spread. He recommended we not go through with the amputation and to just spend as much time with Remi as we can. This is so hard to accept. I don't want to give up!!! Do dogs really beat it if they do chemo after it has already spread? Is it going to make him miserable? I don't want to make him miserable to avoid our heart break, but I also don't want to give up on him. HOW DO I DECIDE? Ugh. 

On The Road


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24 September 2009
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22 December 2020 - 12:09 pm
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I'm so sorry. How bad is the lung metastasis? Did he say how many tumors? Are there many or just one or two?

This happens occasionally and members must decide whether or not to proceed. Many forward-thinking oncologists will proceed with amputation anyways, because it still allows the dog to have a good quality of life. In this situation, if your vet isn't an oncologist (sorry I can't recall), I would definitely get a second opinion from an onco vet).

Here are some links you'll want to check out:

https://tripawd.....mp-surgery

https://tripawd.....a/#p227610

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

Member Since:
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22 December 2020 - 1:25 pm
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I am so sorry!  I would read Lady's forum.  She did not have clear lungs at time of amputation.

https://tripawd.....-walk-yet/

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

On The Road


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22 December 2020 - 4:40 pm
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Oh thanks for reminding me Nancy! You're right!

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

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22 December 2020 - 5:06 pm
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I never forget a Lab!

Ditto to what Jerry said. I second to see an oncologist. 

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

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23 December 2020 - 1:39 pm
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Hi everyone 🙂 We don't have an actual oncology vet in North Dakota, but there is one over by Fargo that is more versed in oncology. We had Remi's records sent there and today they called and said they weren't able to see any metastasis in the x-rays that were taken yesterday but that it could be because when you look at someone else's x-rays you aren't able to manipulate the images with lighting and zooming like you could if you had taken them on your own machine (or something like that). So this is very promising! Unfortunately with the holiday though we aren't able to get in to see them until next Wednesday the 30th. I honestly don't know if Remi's leg will last that long, but we are keeping him very calm and I've put a wrist brace on his leg (haha, I know I'm weird). I originally ordered a brace made for a dog's leg, but the cancer lump on his bone is so big his leg won't fit in the brace 🙁 When we were working in the basement I found an old wrist brace and immediately thought we could try that on him. He doesn't like walking with it on, but at least it keeps that joint stable. Actually, when he goes outside, he BARELY uses that leg because the brace is on it, so it's a double win. He seems to do very well not using that leg though! 

I'm really confused why our vet said it had metastasized. Maybe he saw something the other vet isn't seeing. IDK. I also wonder if it has to do with the fact that he's always dealt with farmers and their animals where the mentality is usually more of "oh there's cancer? Time to put them to sleep." I wonder if he was saying this so we'd do what he thinks we should do rather than what we want to do. I'm probably way off base thinking that though. 

Right now, Remi is on Rimadyl 100 mg twice per day and Gabapentin 900 mg twice a day. He seems very stoned from it.... not moving much and seems super tired. I also got some CBD oil from our local health foods store that we are giving him too. 

Now I'm wondering.... what are your guys' thoughts are on Fenbendazole? I've read some things that this could be helpful in slowing the progression as well. 

Thanks again for all of your help! You guys really are amazing!

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23 December 2020 - 4:15 pm
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Keeping fingers crossed! Does Remi have any kind of Hack or any issues breathing. When Brownie's mass got large he had a horrible hack and when he would lay down he would have issues breathing. 

There are mushroom powders that are suppose to slow down the Cancer. Also Alpocaps. Don't know if I spelled that right, but look in the nutrition blog. You want to feed high protein and Stay away from sugar and carbs as much as possible. All this information is in the book " The Dog Cancer Survival Guide ". There is a recipe I used for Brownie, "Feed the Dog Starve the Cancer". These are some of the things I did for Brownie. I don't know if it helped but it didn't hurt.

Rember a vet does not know how much time Remi has. They are going by statics. All dogs are different. Brownie was given two to three months, and he lived an additional one year and eight days. So don't get caught up in numbers. I was not going to amputate at first because Brownie was a few weeks from his 12th birthday. But who am I to tell him he can't do it and won't be happy. He deserved the right to fight, and he fought!

It's good Remi is having trouble walking with the brace. You don't want him running.

Sending nothing but Positive Thoughts!

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

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