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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Ditto Kati and Jerry
Its probably already been mentioned, but getting an appt with a Certified Rehab Specialist can help too.The Tripawds Foundation will pay for the first visit.👍
In the meantime, gove him some gentle massages up and down hos spin to help keep those logt muscles lose.
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!
My only fear with rehab specialists is nobody can be hands on with Boston. He is an extremely reactive dog with other humans and also other dogs other than Bella his little sidekick (Australian bulldog). Even vet visits are often very difficult and we usually end up getting him sedated in the car while I distract and hold his head from the other side!
So in terms of rehab I was definitely going to ask questions, but if there is a sense that I can learn as much as possible and do as much myself as possible I will put as much time into it as I can to make sure it isn’t a skipped step for him and us.
We have just dropped him off and he is in surgery as we speak, fingers crossed it all goes well. Weird feelings, one moment it’s like a weight off the shoulders that he’s in there, the next it’s anxiety. Hoping he’s an absolute trooper though like he has been. The vets seemed to be leaning towards us collecting him later today due to his anxiety levels and general nature. He’s a lovely boy honest haha, he just gets real anxious. Takes him about an hour to get him to mingle with friends, very strict protocols haha.
Yeah, the relief the surgery is being done and then the anxiety the surgery is veing done!!
We do have a variety of videos on the site showing a Rehab appt and the stretches, movements, etc one can do at home. Some are quite simple like going from sit to stand, sit to stand,. stretch9ng, etc Of course, every movement has to be done correctly. More on that later.
For now, just know that bringing Boston home the same day as surgery can be quite challenging. He'll be shaking off the anesthesia, depending on if he comes home with a Fentynal patch he can be quite confused, whiny and whacked. It may be that he's got sich good hospital meds in him ot will be a quieter night. Jist saying it could go either way.
Was th9s a 24/7 fully staffed clinic? If so, I'm surprised they didn't feel confident in handling all of Boston's....er....unique personality!!
Boston, we know you are a lovely boy.♥️. We love you for who you are and Hapoy tonget to know you. Very special dogs require an understanding that very special people like your hoomans can appreciate....Vet techs, ,maybe not so much.
Okay, update when you can.
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!
Aww poor Boston. It's hard going through life as a reactive doggie. I know, our Wyatt Ray had reactivity issues too.
Yes as Sally mentioned we do have At-Home Rehab Videos here. They are useful when a vet visit isn't an option, and an excellent rehab vet we know personally is the guy who made them so we know the exercises are safe to do.
So the big day is here 
I hope surgery goes great! Keep us posted!
Hey guys,
just jumping on to update that from what the vet has said, surgery today went really well and Boston seemed chilled enough that he suggested we opt for him to stay there over night.
Probably best for all involved by the sounds of it, and glad that it sounds like pain management and anxiety management is going well.
The vet said that the bones were “very broken” and we should keep in mind that whatever pain he has from now on is probably not as bad as what he was experiencing! So that’s a big plus and now we’re just ready to learn, adapt, and start his new normal.
Our other dog Bella can enjoy being centre of attention for a night before we get the big patient back home haha- I think she’s missing him too seems a bit down! We will all be glad to get him home 
Thanks for the rehab references will definitely be onto those.
WOOOHOO!!! Surgery is over, time for the recovery!!! 
That's great news.
Yes, the pain of bone cancer is far worse than recovery itself. As long as you keep consistent pain control by staggering dosages, giving before pain spikes, and not changing anything without talking to your vet, Boston should stay comfortable and healing.
Rest up! He'll be home before you know it.
YAAAAAY!! Surgery is done! Glad he got to stay overnight. Hopefully you used that time to catch up on some sleep.
When you go to pick him up be strong, confident, upbeat! Don't even bother to draw attention to the incision. He just wants to see your happy faces telling him what a good boy it is and he's going home!
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!
Hi guys apologies I’ll give a more full update shortly-
just a quick question have any of you had to deal with metacam in the 100ml bottles with the syringe?
I’ve been giving Boston syringe supplements for years and never thought measuring something/reading instructions would make me feel so dumb.
Doesn’t help I have 5 or 6 different things going on all around me with two dogs eating their dinner and asking to move locations and go for wees during a thunderstorm and just all that general dinner time chaos.. everytime I read the instructions and try to correlate them to the syringe I’ve been sent, for a 40kg plus dog is just making my eyes glaze over haha!
But if I were to use their “kg scale” I feel like id be giving him the whole syringe full to the max and that doesn’t feel right.
Any help appreciated.
Ok, think I sussed the metacam thing, I think it’s more self explanatory than I thought I think I just thought it was going to seem like too much liquid compared to what I’m used to seeing with supps I give him. Found a helpful calculator online for metacam quantity conversions just to be sure.
So yeah, we picked up our boy earlier today, he’s had a full 35 or so hours since surgery now.. the vet warn us that in usual circumstances when people pick up their pets after amputation, their pet would already have had a few toilet runs to practice their new walking technique, but because of how he is we were the first people able to get him out of his “treatment kennel” so we would be walking him on his very first try.
Vet seemed very happy with how he handled it, definitely a bit stumbly and I was probably over protective in trying to spot some weight for him with his lead, but it was in general not bad for a first run and then I lifted him into the car cos I thought it was too soon to make him have to have too much input into that part of the journey!
Getting him home was positive, because immediately he jumped onto his bed and Emma had a new toy waiting for him and he was immediately interested! Which was surprising because there is no way he would have been interested in chewing a toy in the previous days. That was a great indicator that he was feeling a lot better- and since then he has been doing water trips to his new elevated bowl station, and for his dinner that went relatively smoothly although it does still look very awkward. Add to that one very slow toilet trip in a thunderstorm with me just stood next to him just incase and yeah we were happy with his first efforts.
The only anxiety so far has come from, as his small trips mounted up tonight, his movements did seem a lot less smooth and I felt like his front leg was tiring. Not going to panic about that of course and have told myself I’m sure it’s just first steps fatigue, and he will get stronger, not to mention the fact he’s been on and off sedatives for the past week almost now, and will have had a huge few days plus more gabapentin today. Was this something you guys noticed or something we should keep tabs on over the coming days?
The only other slight worry was his breathing seeming quite “stressed” just in the last hour when he fell into a deep sleep, and then when we put him to bed (in our room now where Emma has gone to bed already too)- just that heavy panting even while looking comfortable type breathing, not sure if it could be pain related or again maybe due to all the sedatives n stuff he’s on- again just wonder if that’s something any of you guys experienced at all?
I’ll attach some photos, the one thing I can say is yet again he seems very game and very eager to do things, but it does feel like there’s a small level of frustration in him atm but could for sure just be based on pain and being a bit whacked out overall. Hopefully he sleeps well through tonight and tomorrow is a new day. 🙂
Welcome home Boston!!! So thrilled that everything went well, and what a win that he was comfortable enough with the team to stay overnight. I'm sure that was a relief for all and hopefully you got some rest.
Sounds like you figured out the metacam which is great - I'm surprised the prescription didn't say on it exactly how much to give Boston? We've had Forrest on metacam for a while now and 3 different scripts all had a marker of exactly how much to give. Regardless, good you have it sorted. What other pain meds have they prescribed (dose and frequency)? We've had a tougher go the past two days as the heavy duty hospital meds have worn off and we've had to sort through figuring out the right dosage of his gabapentin. We were originally told to do 300mg 3x/day, but he has been crying and whining quite a bit and we weren't sure if it was pain or anxiety. After speaking with our vet they suggested upping to 600mg 3x/day and that seems to be providing a bit more relief, but if I could give any advice it would be the second you suspect he's in pain do call your vet and ask them for flexibility with the dosage. As Sally has told me, and I can now confirm, it's much better to get ahead of the pain than be trying to catch up!
The sore front leg definitely makes sense to me - he's figuring out putting more weight onto that leg and adjusting his balance, I can only imagine that would be tiring! Forrest the first couple days seemed okay with being more mobile but I'm noticing today that he is needing a bit more rest in between steps (i.e. he'll hop for a few feet and then want to lay down). He's adjusting and it's exhausting! I'm not sure too much about the panting so hopefully Jerry/Sally can weigh in there, but if you have any concerns with both his breathing and tiring quicker than you would expect him to then definitely call your vet!
Overall it seems like he's had a great first day home which is fantastic - keep up the positive energy and confidence, he will feed off that for the better.
The pictures are ADORABLE - he has such a sweet face, that smile!! My goodness. So sweet that his sister is keeping close as well. Wish you all the best!
YAY Boston! So hoppy you are home! Looks like Emma's pretty happy about it too!
Sorry we weren't up when you posted about the Metacam. Please call your vet to be sure of the amount. There are markers on the syringe right? They can tell you exactly how much. You want to be super careful with it or it can cause GI upset if he gets too much.
We use the liquid Metacam for our Nellie, and the vet was thoughtful enough to indicate her syringe dosage with a red marker, and then wrap tape around it so it wouldn't come off. You may want to do the same once you get the dosage confirmed. Be sure to rinse the syringe by taking it apart each time, or it can get gross in there.
Yes, the wobbliness and panting is very normal. Panting can also be a sign of pain signals though, so keep an eye on it. If he continues with excess panting, anxiety, restlessness, it's usually an indicator that his pain meds need some tweaking. Let your vet know so they can work with you to adjust it. Some dogs need more, some need less.
Also, about his unsteadiness. Yes that front leg gets tired, and especially the neck and shoulders. It's a lot of weight up front for any dog who loses a front leg but especially a breed like Boston's. Think of it as constantly walking around with your arm outstretched, holding a very heavy kettlebell. In time he will adapt but if you'd like to have him evaluated by a canine physiotherapist, our Tripawds Foundation can pay for the first rehab visit . It's quite educational and will let you know where he can use some help getting stronger, how to keep him injury free, etc.
I hope things go smoothly this weekend. Sure looks like it based on the adorable photos you shared! Couch time for everyone!
Ditto Jerry and Kati about their insight on mobility, the meds, etc. As you can see, Boston is in the "this is normal for this early on" phase.
You can ask your Bet about adding Amantadine into the mix to ise inbetween the Gaba doses. It's often used for inbetween rhe last dose and next dose of Gaba.
Is he still on sedation meds? They can definitely make him wobbly, etc.
Thank you soooo much for posting those pictures! He is so darn cute!!!! No way a Bulldog could not be cute, right?? And love seeing Emma in the background. Post all the pictures you want...we love them!
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!
Hey guys,
not much to update our end, maybe a couple of questions though.
Boston actually seemed to take a couple of backward steps in terms of activity the past couple of days. It led me to end up in a google rabbit hole about post op depression in dogs as he has definitely seemed a lot less happy in himself. I read somewhere that this could often be made worse by the Gabapentin, and it did make me think maybe we shouldn’t be hammering him so much with it now that at day 6 he was seeming more comfortable pain wise (other than stiffness in his other legs when moving)..
just wondering, how and when do you judge when it’s ok to start reducing the amount of pain meds they’re getting? I’d thought about reducing his dosing slightly today to see if I could get his spark back a bit again but now it’s bedtime and he’s fast asleep but the breathing thing I mentioned earlier in the week is happening again.
He doesn’t seem massively restless he’s actually falling asleep fairly easily but his breathing is very fast and heavy. Not sure if this is due to pain still?
His bandages are due off tomorrow and in general he seemed to be coping well but the last couple of days have definitely seemed like a slight step back. From what I have read on here seems very normal, just wondering if there is any indicators we should be keeping a look out for or experiences people have had with ups and downs on the pain and comfort sides of things with their dogs?
Hi George, good to hear back!
Try to remember that recovery is not a linear experience. There are hills and valleys, ups and downs, especially this early on. What we often see as depression is a new Tripawd's response to being so tired from recovering, and the pain meds side effects. We wrote an article you might want to check out:
My Tripawd is Depressed, Now What?
As far as cutting back his pain meds, that's something to ask your vet tomorrow. I wouldn't change anything until then. What concerns me is this:
at day 6 he was seeming more comfortable pain wise (other than stiffness in his other legs when moving)..
Hey might look better now, but signs of stiffness when moving is not comfort, he may still be experiencing pain. It's early in recovery.
just wondering, how and when do you judge when it’s ok to start reducing the amount of pain meds they’re getting? I’d thought about reducing his dosing slightly today to see if I could get his spark back a bit again but now it’s bedtime and he’s fast asleep but the breathing thing I mentioned earlier in the week is happening again.
Again, this is a question for your vet. Most dogs are on meds for 10-14 days. They do experience the same pain signals that humans do, and when a human has an amputation they are on pain meds a lot longer than 2 weeks.
Boston's sparkle will return, just try to be patient. I know it's so hard, we just aren't used to seeing our dogs so down. But his body needs that mellow healing time. As it gets stronger, his sparkle will follow. See what your vet says and let us know OK?
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