Hi Clair, Michael, and Bella,

    Welcome, and hello Down Under I have to say first! Bella is beautiful. There are many others on this site that have way more experience than me and have front amps but I can put my two cents worth in here. I have a Great Pyrenees but he is a back leg amp. I'm sure you will hear from many on here that have front leg amps. It seems the location of the leg varies greatly in different challenges. I will tell you to please even though after the amputation if she is feeling and acting very well, not to have her overdo it. I took Patou out to see his sheep and piglets way too early after his amp (3 weeks) and now he is struggling with back leg weakness. I'm not sure that is what did it as many seem to suffer from that remaining leg weakness but it sure does not help matters.  Please make sure she takes it easy for a good while. My Pyr Patou is having his second chemo treatment tomorrow (that is why I am still up and can't sleep) Your treatment plan is totally a personal decision, but amputation seems to be the universal option due to pain. (sounds funny to create pain to alleviate pain, but I have been told and seen first hand that bone cancer pain is very bad.) My Patou was also 5 yrs of age when they found his. He just turned 6 yesterday. He is 4 weeks post amp. You will find that dogs are VERY resourceful and can bounce back after experiencing great obstacles... much more than we can. I'll have to say that this whole experience has been way harder on me than him, and I would never wish him any harm. Good luck with your decisions and much luck and Godspeed in her recovery. Please rely on these wonderful people on this site as I could have never made it through all this without their wisdom and insight and advise.

  Regards,

  Janet and Patou

Hi Clair, Michael, and Bella,

                                         Hello and Welcome.  We have recently also been in the difficult position as you with a giant breed, it is nearly 3 weeks since our Irish Wolhound Io had his front left leg amputated due to Osteosarcoma.  Below I have pasted an extract from our opening post as it details what we experienced during and after the difficult situation and decisions that you currently all face. 

Io was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his left front leg shortly two days before  Christmas, Our Vets were absolutely fantastic and managed to arrange a ct scan the same day so that we could see if it had spread so that we could make a decision on how to progress as soon as possible bearing in mind the Christmas holiday were imminent.   The scan showed that the cancer was confined to the leg (although they did explain that the scan is not a 100% guarantee) and so we had at least had the option of amputation rather than the heartbreak of having him put to sleep.  I have to admit that I was not too keen on this option at this stage as Io is a very active dog and a bit clumsy at the best of times, he also has a touch of arthritis.  After some research and consultation (basically everyone telling me to "stop thinking of it in human terms -  he is a dog and will not dwell on the fact he has lost a leg" !!!) we decided to go ahead with the amputation.

Io was in the Vets for 3 days and we finally got him home this Saturday. The first 12 hours of having him home was a bit difficult as he was still affected by the drugs and trauma of the operation and so he was all over the place mentally and physically , It was fantastic to have him home but no matter how much we expected it, actually seeing the extent of the wound and him in a bit of a state from the drugs was not easy.

He has now been home for 3 days and the last 48 hours has actually been quite astonishing in the progress he has made. He is now up and standing with ease – particularly at the sound of anything like a dinner bowl being prepared, he gets himself in and out into the garden and has sorted out his balance for all toilet functions.  He even managed to almost do a spectacular wipe out yesterday when he heard the walking stuff being prepared for our other Wolfhound,  My wife says that he then proceeded to stand by the back door whining all the time we were out as he wanted to go too !.  The wounds are healing well although he does have the odd muscle spasm which can result in some yelping.

We are now 19 days past the operation and things are still progressing very well, Io is his usual self (sulking like crazy when our other wolfhound goes for her walk) and getting around and adapting incredibly well - if anything he has actually lost some of the clumsiness.  The only real problem we have had is exactly what Janet posted above - overdoing excercise as he gets used to life on three legs , which is pretty much what we did on Sunday when talking him out for a "very short walk" !.

We have started a blog for Io - http://iowolfho.....ds.com/ - where we have tried to put as much information as we can as we go through recovery and chemo. We have had so much fantastic information and support form this site.

Best of luck to you all. Bella looks a real beauty !!

Io, cobweb, Rog and Mitch

Dante isn't a giant dog (shhh, don't tell him though, he thinks he is!) He's a pit bull mix, and 42 lbs. We think he will top out around 50, once he's done growing. However, he's a compact little guy, and small for as much as he weighs...so I assume the stress of his weight on his joints is more than that of a leaner, taller breed with the same weight. Similar to a mastiff build, just much smaller! He's a front leg amp as well, although not due to cancer. He was 8 weeks old when his leg was amputated - he's adjusted well, but the first few months were difficult for him. Much in the same way others have posted - over doing exercise (keeping a pit bull puppy calm? Ya, OKAY!). He had phantom pains, and you may find your girl (as other front leg amputees have noted) will move quicker, more of a gallop or run, because the momentum is easier for them, since most of their weight is in the front of their body. Dante doesn't have a walk. He has a painfully slow hop (hop one step, smell the flowers, hop another, smell the air, etc) or he's full speed ahead. No in between. 2 person job to walk all three of mine, simply because he's at a much different pace than the girls are. 

We've had many large/giant breeds on here do quite well with amputation. We adopted Dante 4 weeks after his amputation, so we didn't have to go through the terrible process of recovery, but from what I have read of others experiences, the first 2 weeks will be VERY tough, but it will only go up from there! 

Your girl is gorgeous! I just love those big old mastiff heads!

We do have at least one other mastiff here (that I can pull off the top of my head!)  - Hurricane Rosie, she has a blog. She was a pup when she lost her leg, but she's doing really well as she's grown and adjusted - quite the amazing big girl! She goes hiking, romping in snowy meadows, swimming, etc. Inspawrational for sure! Also makes a great purse when her mom has to strap her to her backpack!

Welcome to Tripawds!

Karen told you earlier about my girl Nova, a Great Dane, (aka Queen Nova) with a front leg amputation.  Nova is now 26 months post-amputation and still cancer free!  There IS hope for big dogs, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  Nova also has the added challenge of being blind (glaucoma) yet she still gets around great.  The first few weeks are the most trying, as others have already told you.

Her blog is at nova.tripawds.com.  There I have documented everything from Day 1.  Please, please do not hesitate to message me with any questions as your beautiful Bella starts this journey.  We wish you the best and are here to help.

Licks and Leans,

Sue and Queen Nova

Welcome Bella and family!

First let me just say, they sure do make them pretty down in Australia!  Bella is a beautiful girl!  Love the face!

You are going to get lots of help, advice and support here so try not to worry! 

Just remember, bone cancer is painful. Not just a little pain, but unmanageable pain!  A human can't even tolerate the pain.  So, the amputation is the best way to eliminate the pain.  The sooner the better.  Healing pain will be rough at first but this bone cancer pain is unbearable. 

I am very lucky, I am here with a three legged dog because of birth defect.  I've had her 12 years.  Granted she is just under 40lbs.  But having dealt with 3 legs for so long, I can promise you that 3 - legs isn't that big of a deal.  Cosmetically, yes.  But only to us humans!  Dogs can figure out how to get around and will.   And they really don't mind only having three legs.  It's a minor inconvenience to them.  It's a major shock to us human because we are visual.

Wishing you all the luck in the world for Bella,

Comet's mom