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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PS...Give your helpful neighbor with three Rotties a pat on the back for us!! Nice guy!
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!
Maybe the fact that the drain was plugged for a while caused fluid to back up more and now you've gotten it working you're seeing more? Plus moving him around more to the vet etc could be affecting it too? Max didn't have that type of drain just one sewed into the incision but I know he drained more after any activity. His always looked more red to me than pink too but if it was on a Kleenex I could see then it wasn't just blood but mixed with clear too if that makes any sense. I'm probably explaining it badly here. Your poor boy must feel better now I hope after getting cathed. Hoping things start improving now. Hugs to you both! Your beauty is so lucky to have you as his Dad! Hang in there things are starting to look up!
Great job with the drain and bandage, and I am so glad you got him to the vet! Sounds like he is doing better now! The incision looks pretty normal. Hopefully, he will start to get a bit more mobile and realize that he is allowed to pee on the patio. What a good dog!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
This morning he had 500 ml of urine in the bag at the 12 hour point so that looks good but now 2 hours after emptying the bag he had only passed about 10 ml and it was reddish in color when viewed in the catheter line. As I write this he is passing a tiny amount through the tube and it is yellow again but I see what looks like a couple clots in the urine.
My guess is that his bladder and or urinary tract is a bit distressed from the distention yesterday and maybe even infected. They took blood last night and his WBC count was pretty high and RBC was a bit low indicating infection but no idea if that would be from the surgery or from the lack of peeing. He is already on a high dosage of Cephalexin which is the treatment for UTI anyways so I will just keep him drinking as much as possible and see if it flushes out. The local Vets are pretty much all gone until the 18th now so hopefully he won't require another intervention.
He did vomit a very small amount of undigested food a couple times but he sort of did that occasionally before the surgery too so not sure what to make of that.
I am really feeling the effects of only 2 or 3 hours sleep each day and am trying not to over analyze any symptoms.
Goodness gracious Bruno!! You need to start settling into a "normal" recovery so your Dad can get some rest!!
This recovery pawty is auite exhausting emotionally and physically! And the stress and tension just getting to the point of doing the amputation is exhausting too!
Others more knowledgeable than I will have to chime jn, but it makes sense that there may be some irritation in his uriniary tract/bladder maybe caused by the catheter.
He is on an antibiotic so that's good. The antibiotic and all the pain meds can be causing gastro upset. Try several smaller meals and maybe some boiled hamburger and rice or boiled chicken.
Don't know if you want to try and take Bruno's temperature. Poor guy has been poked and prodded a lot!
Hmmm....just had an idea. We have a human Nurse here (her dog Murphy) and she maybe able to give you some insight about the blood or clot in the urine. I'll email her to check out your post and she shoukd see it in the morning (here).
TRY and get some rest! You have been through a pretty darn big ordeal these past few days, bringing Bruno home the day of the surgery, changing bandaging, unclogging drains, trying to express the bladder, trying to get help to haul him to the car, and on and on! 🙂 🙂
I know you get tired of us saying this, but recovery does not last forever! You are still in the roughest part! The first two weeks we call a roller coaster...full of ups and downs! But no one needs to tell you that, huh?
Thanks so much for keeping us updated. We're all checking in on Bruno! He's such a good boy with a very good caregiver!!
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!
We have had several members whose dogs have developed UTI's at this phase, and some where it was a secondary infection. How does the incision and drainage look?
Sally - Should we post a cross-reference under ask a vet?
Rob - I guess I have been presuming you are an ex pat? I am not sure if it will help, but with your permission, I can reach out to one of my Thai colleagues and see if he knows a vet who is still in Bangkok and who might be willing to help.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
His urine flow is half of what it was last night and still reddish meanwhile he is still eating and drinking well. The Vet that saw him last night says that he has cystitis now from the not peeing and has just started him on Amoxycillin/Clavulanic acid 875/125 mg twice daily in addition to the Cephalexin that he is already taking and has assured me that they are fine to take together. I will try to get him to drink even more water to help flush his bladder but hopefully that will start to clear in a couple days.
I have been massaging and draining every hour today and must have pulled out at 150-200ml but it is slowing down now and I can definitely see a big reduction in the swelling which is almost all gone now. The incision looks great, perfectly dry, not red or inflamed, and I will be changing the dressing again tomorrow.
I check his temperature daily and it is steady at 38.9 C (102F) so no fever.
His Fentanyl patch was scheduled to come off today and he still seems to be spot on with his pain meds.
I just took him onto the patio with the help of the towel sling and although he managed to walk the 25 feet with minimal assistance he really isn't interested in moving around yet.
I am almost a 3 hour drive from Bangkok so a Vet in Bangkok won't really be of any help. The Vet from last night is available by phone so we should be fine for now.
Great - sounds like you have some good support, and that all of the issues seem under control. If he has an infection, that will delay his recovery progress a bit, so once again, do not be concerned that he isn't hopping around or very active right now - Mosby pops to mind as a dog who had similar issues and is doing well now. For the first 5 - 6 days, I was only able to get Otis (who was also a large dog) up and out to pee twice a day. I tried many times each day, but he just wanted to sleep. I knew he was on the mend when he started to move himself from one dog bed to another about 5 feet away. So keep doing what you are doing, get sleep when you can, and know that this recovery period does not last forever.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
You are such an observant and thorough caregiver. I'm sure impressed at all of the details and how you're caring for him Rob! Good job. And it's super helpful to have that vet work with you on the phone, I'm glad you found that connection.
I agree with Christine, the secondary infection is probably making him feel more "Meh" than usual amputation recovery patients so that's to be expected. He'll get that sparkle back when his body is stronger. Keep caring for him the way you are and that day won't be too far away.
Thanks for the updates. You might be half a world away but you have a big group of cheerleaders rootin' for you both over here in the states.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Today thing improved. I took him outside on the patio again with the towel sling for a change of scenery after his breakfast and changed his dressing. The wound looks good still. He finally pooped after 4 days but it came as a surprise while changing his dressing, fortunately we were outside on the astro turf.
His urine seems to be clear now after the first day on the Amoxycillin/Clavulanic acid.
I pulled a total of 167 ml of red fluid from his wound drain in the past 24 hours, still not sure how long that should be going on but I am glad that it is coming out rather than forming a seroma . It has some cloudy stuff in it occasionally and seems to be a bit oily when it has been sitting in the syringe. Again not sure how normal that is but I think the combination of antibiotics should clear any infection if there is something going on.
I am worried that he still isn't able to or isn't even interested in walking yet. Not walking means not peeing on his own and I can't remove the catheter until he does.
Hooray for 
!
In terms of his walking, you are only 4 days out from surgery - that is still really early in the recovery process. And for many dogs, there is a crash about days 3 - 5 as the hospital meds wear off. Plus the infection will impact his recovery. He is continuing to make improvement every day. And right now, I think that is just great!
Do you have yoga mats or something down for traction ?
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Hey that sounds like HUGE progress, that's great! The seroma fluid sounds normal, so try not to worry and just keep watching it. I also agree that it's still soon after surgery. Many dogs are still too dopey and tired to maneuver, especially the big pups out there. When you try to get him up, are you using irresistible treats to bribe him?
But it does sound like he's having a pretty normal recovery otherwise. Hope you're getting some sleep.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yes I have the place covered in yoga mats and he can manage to upright himself on them with quite and effort but so far has never stood up on 3 on his own. Even when I help him up with the towel sling he just sort of stands there and then collapses. Yesterday when I helped him outside his front leg was barely carry any weight when I was able to get him to walk. Today he is absolutely not interested in getting up at all and his appetite has diminished. He still ate the same amount of food split into 4 meals with a lot of coaxing, hand feeding and pouring some beef broth on it. I have had to put his meds in a bit of peanut butter as he has lost interest in the usual canned food meatballs that I had been giving him all these weeks.
This morning I spoke to a high school friend of mine who is an interventional radiologist and he clarified the drainage as being quite normal for the extent of tissue plane disruption associated with the amputation and said the best thing is to keep it draining and it should eventually slow down in a few days. His urine is free of blood now and flowing well and we still have a few more days until that catheter will need to come out so hopefully he will be up before then.
If you recall in one of my early posts I did say that Bruno keeping still and resting post op was not going to be an issue and it is definitely holding true. I figure that he is just really bored and feeling lethargic and unmotivated so I have been having occasional visitors drop by to try to cheer him up. Overall I can see that he is progressing and we seem to be cruising now, I am even sleeping more now too and I have managed to get all caught up on Homeland, Walking Dead, Blindspot, Billions and a few others.
Brunoooooooooo!!! You take your time doing what you want to do when you want to do it ( including the snooozzzzzeeeeefests). Just make certain you have enough " pink elephant" medicine to help you through the next week or two! ( Well, that and meatballs, and Netflix, and your Pawrent by your side...I mean, that sounds pretty ideal, right?!? ) So happy to hear that Bruno is recovering well this early on! Best wishes, huge hugs, and PyrPaws all around!
I just caught up on Bruno's post op story. What a tough boy. I find I get so much comfort and support by reading how others are coping with this ups and downs of recovery. The wise folks on this site are so correct; all dogs are different in their recovery. And the 3 to 5 day set back is definitely true. Bella is post op day 5 today and even though she is eating and doing her business, I think she's feeling the soreness of having to use her remaining 3 legs a bit more than before. If she's standing and moving more than 3 to 5 minutes, she starts to pant. I have to get back to work tomorrow, so my husband Aaron is going to be on full duty during the day until I get home. Our home has been transformed with textured runners along every hard surface. We now have a doggy ramp on our deck stair (complete with astro turf). I am trying to live in the moment and accept a slower pace these days. Our other dog, Maya is so great with Bella. She is giving her plenty of room. My two cats, Ziggy and Ninja are also curious and love the new textured runners over the floors. I find them lounging in the middle of the hallway because they like the way it feels. So we are a regular wild kingdom here most days. I know Bruno is going to be just fine. Keep posting updates. I'll try and upload some of the photos I've been taking of Bella's recovery too.
Schnuffies,
Brenda
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